Thursday, March 10, 2022
Map and video of today’s route.
I am so happy to be, finally, heading off on my first significant road trip since Australia in 2019. I was just about to leave on my spring trip in March 2020 when I suffered a stroke that landed me in the hospital for three weeks just as covid hit the U.S. I am long recovered from the stroke but only now have covid levels subsided sufficiently to allow many indoor tourist facilities to re-open and for me to feel confident about visiting them.
The target of this trip is San Francisco where I will be sharing a house with a couple of wonderful friends who will fly out from DC to join me. We will be enjoying several days over Spring Break eating, drinking, walking and sightseeing guided by two other great friends who retired to San Francisco from DC a few years back.
Today’s 254 mile drive was from home to Roanoke, VA incorporating the northern section of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. The only tourist activity was a hike from Skyline Drive up to Compton Peak which was a pleasant climb along the Appalachian Trail and cleared the city air from my lungs. As is usually the case in Shenandoah the air was not clear and the view from the peak was pretty hazy but I didn’t care.
The start of the trip may be a little challenging as I was hoping to make a fairly quick dash to Dallas, TX before starting my real sightseeing but there is a cold front moving across the country that is predicted to bring snow to the area that I will be in on Saturday. Today, however was pleasant with hazy sunshine for much of the day and felt very good.
Lovely to read this, thank you, Kusum
See you soon 🙂
Yeah! Back on the road again. I hope the trip goes well and you get through the weather disruptions this weekend.
Thanks. The snow will come overnight and morning so I’ll wait and see how much distance I can cover tomorrow.
Hope you are doing well.
Delighted to receive this news and learn that you are able to travel again. Will rules and regs vary according to each count/ state you encounter?
Sue and I , 2 years after cancellation on day of travel, made it to Vancouver/ whistler to ski with friends and finally see her relations . The paperwork to enter Canada by air was horrendous and we had to test at an expensive government nominated lab the day before travel. The flight was oppressive; 9 hours during which we were allowed just 15 mins to eat and drink before the mask police interfered. I left my seat once to use the toilet, but was not allowed to stand up and undertake anti DVT exercises, being sent back to seat straight away.
On arrival Sue was randomly selected for testing. 24 hours later she received a positive result and instructions to isolate for 10 days ( federal rule) though locals only have to endure 5 days. Sue has no symptoms whatsoever and no option to re test. Those in Sue’s household ( luckily our friends are staying in separate accommodation) have to quarantine for 14 days after their last contact with Sue, despite being negative, healthy and symptom- free ( locals have to quarantine for ZERO days in these circumstances)
Sue managed one day skiing and will possibly make one more day when her isolation ends in time to fly home. Luckily we have a balcony with view, a comfortable room and friends to bring us victuals, but we have been enduring the whole range of emotions from anger to laughter at the situation. Ski independence , our travel company have been as helpful as they can; Dominic Raab, Uk travel minister, has replied to our e mail and will not get involved and the Consulate in Vancouver have not replied to what is blatant discrimination against visitors compared with local BC residents. Sue’s cousin came as close to swearing as she ever has when she summed up the situation in one word: “ Trudeau”.
We will survive, but no doubt rather less fit than on March 6th, despite our scheduled in room stretching and aerobics sessions. Welcome to Canada!
Will look forward to your daily messages and live vicariously through your experiences. Sorry to have gone on and on. Best wishes
Bob and Sue
Your recent trips to western Canada have not gone well. I thought they were relaxing the rules but what you have described sounds even more draconian than Australia. So sorry for the effective loss of the vacation that you waited so long for. Hopefully, you will come down on the side of laughter in time but anger is quite understandable at the moment.
Good luck, Steve.
Thanks Steve
Enjoy your trip and stay healthy. Good to hear you are meeting up with friends in San Francisco. Drive safely.
Thank you. It will be fun once I get the snow day out of the way.
Safe travels Steve. Looking forward to reading future posts (nice having Bob’s blog to go along with yours!). See you April 12 at the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway, probably at the Loveless Cafe…………….if all goes to plan.
Thanks. Looks like 3-4 inches of snow is coming overnight and tomorrow morning. Not sure how quickly the south will deal with it so I may not travel far tomorrow. See you April 12.
Good use of the word “finally”. Makes me want to plan something (I have 4 nights in the Lake District next week with friends, but time to look at travelling again). Looking forward to following your daily reports.
Glad to hear you are ready to travel. Thanks for following along.