From Albany to Rochester, Part 2

Once I left East Tennessee I headed straight up through Virginia and West Virginia. I had never been to West Virginia before and I've always thought of it as one of the most backwards places in the nation. What I didn't realize is how beautiful it is. The highway I was on went right over New River Gorge Bridge.  It is the longest arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere.  Wow was it a sight to see.  The way it spans the New River Gorge is incredible.

The weather was like 75 degrees which made it for a perfect day to get out and do some exploring.  The first place I came to was an overlook that was easily accessible from a parking lot right off the highway.  It was pretty hazy that day, but some of the photos still turned out pretty nicely.

View from the visitor center overlook.

Cool stairway I had to take to get down to the overlook.

One of the coolest things I learned out this gorge is that it was carved through a plateau which gives it a spectacular aerial view.  It is quite the site to see from above.  Follow this link to an awesome slideshow of aerial views of the gorge/bridge.

From the overlook I could see a very narrow road below.  I just had to figure out how to get down there. Luckily it wasn't very hard to find and ended up being a true "scenic route." Too bad I couldn't spend more time there.  I drove past multiple trail heads, each one leading to some cool place that I hope to explore someday. 

"This rock will have to do until I get a tripod."

Taken from a bridge below.  River rafters in the distance.

From Albany to Rochester, Part 1

About a week ago I was traveling from Albany, GA up to Rochester, NY for work.  It is a long drive but I took my time stopping along the way when I saw something interesting.  I've decided that is the way to travel. My first stop was in Vienna, GA at "We're Nuts".  It is a pecan company and they had a pretty big retail store with about 25 different flavors of pecans....YUM!  I tried almost every flavor and decided I ought to buy some.

Next I looked at the map and thought about how else I could make the drive interesting. I saw Knoxville as a potential stopping point, especially since cousins Winston, Connie, and Martin Dickey live by there.  So I called them up to find out that they were at the Appalachian Fair near Johnson City, TN where Martin was showing farm animals.  I didn't get to see Martin cuz he stayed back at their campsite, but Connie, Winston and I had a great time looking at the different exhibits, checking out all the hillbillies and even enjoyed a country music concert by Justin Moore.  We also rode the swings. Winston brought his camera on the swings and filmed the whole thing!  All in all it was a night to remember!  They are really fun to hang out with.

"This way"

Tobacco!!

Best Friends!

Good thing we eat them and they don't eat us.

"This ain't no wig!"