Afton, VA > Mineral, VA
The cyclist only lodging in Afton didn't improve through the night. Oh no. It got worse, but only because I didn't get much sleep. Dogs.
It's hard to hear so listen close.
It was less creepy in the day time. That video pretty much summed up my morning. I was glad to get out of there, mainly from a sanity point of view. It turned out to be a perfect day to ride and the sun put me in a better mood as I continued NE to Charlottesville. Lots of miles of kind of confusing windy roads that only had numbers designating what anything was. One of the few named roads had the same name as a summer camp I went to many a year ago: Whippoorwill Ln. There was also a giant concrete factory manufacturer around the same place. I had never seen that kind of thing before. There were a fair amount of trucks around as you might imagine bringing supplies and taking away mixed concrete.
Eventually I reached Charlottesville and wouldn't you know it, that's where UVA is! Haha, I had no idea nor did I even think about it but it made for the perfect place to have a bite to eat. I found a table halfway inside and halfway outside a pub-type restaurant and ordered a burger. Holy joy (I typed "holy moly" but i messed up and it autocorrected to "holy joy"), it was amazing. I almost ordered another because I still wasn't full but I knew I'd be comatose if I did that and it wouldn't make for productive riding post feast. Womp. =( It was a nice atmosphere though. Not unlike sitting at Fido's near Vandy and watching a bunch of students do their thing. I enjoyed being in a city again if only for a moment.
Monticello was close by as I left Charlottesville and since I remembered seeing a picture of it in a high school history book, I wanted to check it out first hand. Monticello is the estate of our 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson. He dabbled in architecture among other things in his day and the mansion he built for himself is something to behold. Being a little later in the day, I had missed the 3 o'clock tour and there wasn't another that day. The tickets were also $24 which I thought was too much. As part of the visitor's center though, there's a free museum you can wander around and so I did. They have some very large scale models of the house so I basically saw it without seeing it. The views from the property would have been nice, but they wouldn't have really been any different from the views I had been seeing from my bike for the past day. Maybe one day I'll get back there. John Adam's estate is nearby as well.
Eventually I reached Charlottesville and wouldn't you know it, that's where UVA is! Haha, I had no idea nor did I even think about it but it made for the perfect place to have a bite to eat. I found a table halfway inside and halfway outside a pub-type restaurant and ordered a burger. Holy joy (I typed "holy moly" but i messed up and it autocorrected to "holy joy"), it was amazing. I almost ordered another because I still wasn't full but I knew I'd be comatose if I did that and it wouldn't make for productive riding post feast. Womp. =( It was a nice atmosphere though. Not unlike sitting at Fido's near Vandy and watching a bunch of students do their thing. I enjoyed being in a city again if only for a moment.
Monticello was close by as I left Charlottesville and since I remembered seeing a picture of it in a high school history book, I wanted to check it out first hand. Monticello is the estate of our 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson. He dabbled in architecture among other things in his day and the mansion he built for himself is something to behold. Being a little later in the day, I had missed the 3 o'clock tour and there wasn't another that day. The tickets were also $24 which I thought was too much. As part of the visitor's center though, there's a free museum you can wander around and so I did. They have some very large scale models of the house so I basically saw it without seeing it. The views from the property would have been nice, but they wouldn't have really been any different from the views I had been seeing from my bike for the past day. Maybe one day I'll get back there. John Adam's estate is nearby as well.
It was warm and cosy inside, but really I was there for the electricity. More winding, somewhat hard to follow roads laid ahead as snaked my way towards Mineral. I stopped a micro convenience store in the middle of nothing to get a chocolate milk and a Snickers. I ended talking to a guy who was trying to win the lottery and was in disbelief that I was doing what I was doing. Very few people could even wrap their head around my trip... A little ways out from Mineral, I stopped at a gas station to get some pizza for dinner. It was late enough that I didn't think anything would be open once I got to Mineral, plus it was a really small town so there wouldn't have been many options anyway. It was a good choice. It made the last little push into town more bearable. I saw another non-touring cyclist on Hwy 522 too which was nice. I felt I was in good company, even if he was a little disheveled and hippyish.
My camping spot was at another fire house. There was another cyclist tent set up in the yard but I never met who it was because I think they were asleep already (it wasn't that late). I took a birdbath in the bathroom sink inside and set up my stuff for the evening. Some family members of a few of the guys who were on duty there were hanging out at the picnic tables with me for a bit and they let me inside where it was warmer so I could blog and such. I also used the wifi to figure out how I was going to get to D.C. the next day since I had reached the end of my usable map and was now about to head off route in the morning. Not a bad night at all.
My camping spot was at another fire house. There was another cyclist tent set up in the yard but I never met who it was because I think they were asleep already (it wasn't that late). I took a birdbath in the bathroom sink inside and set up my stuff for the evening. Some family members of a few of the guys who were on duty there were hanging out at the picnic tables with me for a bit and they let me inside where it was warmer so I could blog and such. I also used the wifi to figure out how I was going to get to D.C. the next day since I had reached the end of my usable map and was now about to head off route in the morning. Not a bad night at all.
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