Day 11: West Virginia

This was mostly just a driving day but we did have one stop at Twin Falls State Park in WV. We had some trouble finding the entrance to the park but once there we had an easy one mile hike to see the two main falls at the park. Why they call them twin falls is a mystery to us, they really weren't all that similar. The drive through WV was beautiful. Lots of winding roads with plenty of awesome views.

Just a side note: If you are wondering what happened to banjo playing youth named Lonnie from "Deliverance" I met him in the laundry room at one of our hotels a few days ago. Well, it may not of actually been him but this was running through my mind as I was talking to him. Quite scarry.

Day 10 (part 3): North Carolina

Our last stop of the day was at Stone Mountain State Park. Wow, three mountains in one day; could this day get any better? Here we saw a couple waterfalls, Stone Mountain, and the Hutchinson Homestead. The waterfalls weren't as full with water as we hoped they would be, but they were still interesting. The photo shows Stone Mountain Falls, a 200 foot drop down an inclined rock face. The homestead was built in the late 1800's and had interactive displays telling about that period of time. We hiked the about 3 of the 4.5 mile long trail around the mountain, skipping the climb to the top. There were so many deer (we saw about 12). Even though we didn't hike up the mountain it was still pretty gruesome, the end of the trail had about 450 steps, it felt so good to sit in the air conditioned car, but the hike was totally worth it.

Day 10 (part 2): North Carolina

Our second stop was at Pilot Mountain State Park. I can't tell you how excited Jessie and I were when we saw this mountain from the side of the road. Luckily we got to drive most of the way up, and we only had to do a short trail around the top. There were also a few overlooks that we stopped at where we saw a beautiful valley below, which we all enjoyed. At first it was a little foggy and you couldn't see the whole mountain but after the hike we went back to an overlook and got a couple of pictures, like the photo shown. When we were driving in the parking lot we stopped to let a squirrel by, but it seemed to be challenging us, as if saying "Come closer I dare you!" Thankfully it finally moved and we went on to find a parking place.

Day 10 (part 1): North Carolina

Our first stop today was at Hanging Rock State Park. We did three different trails here: one to see a pathetic waterfall, one to see some ok waterfalls, and one to see Hanging Rock. The trail to Hanging Rock wasn't that bad (compared to all the mountains we've been hiking up). When we got to the top you were able to walk out on some cliffs and yes, you guessed it, a hanging rock. The view from the top was pretty awesome with shear cliffs all around you. Even though the picture was suppose to be of me, Jessie always manages to find her way in somehow. God, Jessie, whatever you wanted to tell me, I think it could wait!

Atlantic Sunrise

I took this sunrise photo from our balcony at our Virginia Beach hotel. A great view but a dump of a hotel. It was like being on spring break with all the sights, sounds, and smells you would imagine. We couldn't get out of this area fast enough.

Day 9: Virginia

Ok, now we're back on track, but I've written the last three days all in one night so don't expect anything big for this one. Today on our ninth day of sight seeing, we went to Colonial Williamsburg and James River Park. Colonial Williamsburg was awesome! There were constant reenactments, and houses and shops you could visit to see how things were done and made.

James River Park in Richmond was not worth the hike we took to try and find it. Again more bad directions from the locals; a confederate mile must equal about five northern miles. The only reason I kept walking was so that at the end I could go in the river and drown myself. I did however end up saving a fish from frying itself in a drying up pool of water so I guess I had a reason to go there in the end. Dad note: Jessie and I had fun here, Alli didn't want to go in the water and is getting tired of hiking. Won't tomorrow be fun - up two mountains in NC.

Day 8: Virginia and North Carolina

On day eight we visited First Landing State Park, Wright Brothers Memorial, and the Historic Jamestown Fort (photo). First landing wasn't that interesting; just a walk in the woods (cypress swamp) with lots of mosquitos eating you alive, and sucky directions from both signs and people. It was however the first place where members of the Virginia Company landed. The Wright Brothers Memorial was more entertaining though. We saw the memorial, the museum/visitor center, and the airfield and distance markers for their first four flight attempts. At Jamestown we saw remains and replicas of old of buildings, some statues, and a museum where they showed artifacts that had been discovered at the site. Life was pretty rough back then.