Day 87 (August 9). UVa and Home

From: Raphine, VA

To: Alexandria, VA

Miles today: 222

Total miles: 17910

Rather than take US 11 (or I-81) north to Front Royal and then head east, I chose to do one more run of twisties over the Blue Ridge.  From Raphine I went back to Steele’s Tavern (two miles) and then took VA 56.  I went pretty slow, enjoying the day and the road. 

Road sign along VA 56.  No, I didn't take it.

Thirty-five miles later I was at US 29; if you take that north, it goes to Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia.  Not only did I go to college there, I started in August 1975 – forty years ago to the month.  I couldn’t say no to that.

The fall semester hasn’t started yet.  (When it does, my nephew Cary will be an entering First-Yearman.)  Both ends of the famous Lawn (Cabell Hall and the Rotunda) have scaffolding all over them, and looks like it will be that way for some time.  McCormick Road, one of the main roads through campus (excuse me, the Grounds) is torn up to a depth of about ten feet; it looks like they are replacing steam pipes.  I suspect that this job was supposed to be done before classes started, but there is no way that will happen. I did walk around for an hour or so, and would have had a beer in Pavilion XI had it been open, and if they still sold beer, but those days are long gone.  Here are a couple of photos.

Left: Page Dorm at UVa, where I arrived 40 years ago this month.  Right: I'm not squinting from the sun, I'm grimacing from the memories of homework problems still unsolved. 

 Whenever I visit UVa, I always try to go to my favorite spot there, Observatory Hill.  I discovered this place early in my first year, and always liked it.  My last three semesters at UVa I got to work there, as a lowly observer, taking photos of nearby stars for parallax studies.  (This has been rendered obsolete by two generations of satellites now, but it was still really cool to do and is one of my fondest memories of the place.)

Selfie at my favorite spot at UVa while I was there: the Observatory. This place is almost holy to me.

From Charlottesville, I headed home on some roads that I have driven many times before on a motorcycle (VA 20, 321, and 55, among others).  The day was beautiful, and riding those roads was like seeing old friends.  Eventually I got to the town of Gainsville, which meant it was time to get on I-66 and take it back through the beltway.  The traffic is always tough on this road, and today was no different, but I made it without incident.  Home safe!

Last shot: safe at home, cycle parked in the driveway.

So, here are the totals from my trip, for those who keep score.

Consecutive days on the road: 87

Consecutive nights in a hotel, motel, or B&B: 86.

Miles ridden: 17,910

US States visited: 30

Canadian Provinces visited: 6

Oceans or Gulfs seen: 4

Sets of tires used: 4

Number of boxes of rocks and other souvenirs I mailed myself: 6

Amount of money this trip cost me: I can’t even think about that now

Number of Amazing Experiences: too many to count

Number of Ice Floes seen: zero

Number of Saddle Sores suffered: zero

Number of major accidents experienced: zero

Number of times I expect to do something of this magnitude again: zero

Happy Trails to All!