Haggis
Appalachian Ridgerunner
Here in unfolds the tale of how Mr. and Mrs. Haggis abandoned their everyday responsibilities, dumped their teenage offspring off at Grandma's house and became itinerant vagabonds if only for a week all in the name of celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. So please get comfortable as a tale unfolds with a passage from Mountains to Shore to Mountains once again all the while two happy campers celebrate their wedded bliss.
From when first we met Michelle and I have had the urge to explore the next valley together. Almost all of our travels have involved seeking new sights beyond those outside our own everyday world and those travels have been the source of many happy memories together. But it's lately been a bit frantic around the hold since my lovely wife Michelle started back to college to further her nursing career. With Michelle working full time while doing the online college thing, time for travel and even just getting away has been limited. I don't feel right trekking out on my own and leaving my best travel buddy behind so I haven't been out much myself even. Being home bound drags us both down somewhat, but you gotta do what you gotta do. So when we were deciding on how to mark our 20th we decided to do some travelling like we have done so many times together…with a loaded truck, lots of food, a barely conceived plan and our sights set on what's over the next hill.
With an upcoming break between classes the start of May we decide to head south in search of warmer weather. So on the last Friday of April, with the snow blowing around the clan hold, we went chasing the greening foliage of places south. Our plan was to head straight down to Cape Lookout on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, spend a few days getting sand in our shorts and then head over to the highlands of western North Carolina. We ain't ever been in them mountains before, so we were rearin' to go. The plan got modified when Michelle got her current course done early and we had an extra day free to run. With two days instead of one to get to the Ferry in Davis, NC I suggested another route to replace the cannonball run we had planned. We gathered the gear, loaded up some new kit and dumped them teenagers off at Grandmas and pointed our Tundra Fafhrd South.
What I had proposed was to detour to Skyline Drive in Virginia as it was a trip Michelle and I had done 21 years ago. Yeah, it's a slow driving blacktop, but there are some great views and some nice hiking trails along its path and for us it would be a traverse down memory lane. Michelle started off driving while she was bright eyed and bushytailed as the wooded foothills of Pennsylvania rolled by.
A few hours later we were climbing the foothills of Front Royal Virginia as we started up Skyline Drive. My memories of this route were one of overwhelming cars but that last trip so many years ago took place in the midst of summer, this time it was pretty empty of folks and many of the areas were still closed up for the season. We drove the twisting tarmac, pulling over at any overlook that drew our attention. On occasion we would step out in the chilly brisk winds and hike a trail that seemed to head somewhere. We love the Appalachians and the rolling hills always beckon us forward to see more…
From when first we met Michelle and I have had the urge to explore the next valley together. Almost all of our travels have involved seeking new sights beyond those outside our own everyday world and those travels have been the source of many happy memories together. But it's lately been a bit frantic around the hold since my lovely wife Michelle started back to college to further her nursing career. With Michelle working full time while doing the online college thing, time for travel and even just getting away has been limited. I don't feel right trekking out on my own and leaving my best travel buddy behind so I haven't been out much myself even. Being home bound drags us both down somewhat, but you gotta do what you gotta do. So when we were deciding on how to mark our 20th we decided to do some travelling like we have done so many times together…with a loaded truck, lots of food, a barely conceived plan and our sights set on what's over the next hill.
With an upcoming break between classes the start of May we decide to head south in search of warmer weather. So on the last Friday of April, with the snow blowing around the clan hold, we went chasing the greening foliage of places south. Our plan was to head straight down to Cape Lookout on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, spend a few days getting sand in our shorts and then head over to the highlands of western North Carolina. We ain't ever been in them mountains before, so we were rearin' to go. The plan got modified when Michelle got her current course done early and we had an extra day free to run. With two days instead of one to get to the Ferry in Davis, NC I suggested another route to replace the cannonball run we had planned. We gathered the gear, loaded up some new kit and dumped them teenagers off at Grandmas and pointed our Tundra Fafhrd South.
What I had proposed was to detour to Skyline Drive in Virginia as it was a trip Michelle and I had done 21 years ago. Yeah, it's a slow driving blacktop, but there are some great views and some nice hiking trails along its path and for us it would be a traverse down memory lane. Michelle started off driving while she was bright eyed and bushytailed as the wooded foothills of Pennsylvania rolled by.
A few hours later we were climbing the foothills of Front Royal Virginia as we started up Skyline Drive. My memories of this route were one of overwhelming cars but that last trip so many years ago took place in the midst of summer, this time it was pretty empty of folks and many of the areas were still closed up for the season. We drove the twisting tarmac, pulling over at any overlook that drew our attention. On occasion we would step out in the chilly brisk winds and hike a trail that seemed to head somewhere. We love the Appalachians and the rolling hills always beckon us forward to see more…