Day #44: Sunday, May 21, 1995
138,657 Miles

Today was a sad day. I knew, like I had written to Parixit, I had to leave Washington today. My plan for today did offer some consolation -- I would be sightseeing at Shenandoah National Park, which is one of the more scenic National Parks in the lower 48 states.

I checked out of the motel at 11:30 AM. It was a beautiful sunny day.

12:05 PM Virginia; 138676 miles.

12:30 PM - 12:45 PM Rest area/Virginia Tourist Information Center at I-66 Exit 47

1:00 PM - 1:15 PM Lunch at Taco Bell in Manassas. I had already left Washington's city limits almost two hours ago, but I still felt like staying there as long as possible. After leaving Washington, I stopped practically every opportunity I got. I was not hungry right now, but ate anyway because Manassas was "part of the Washington area".

2:15 PM Entered Shenandoah National Park.


Shenandoah National Park is located approximately 60 miles West of Washington DC on "Skyline Drive". The main road through the park offers magnificent views of the Shenandoah mountain range and the valleys below. All the trees were green this time of the year, and the weather was also "just right". I took many pictures of myself at almost every overlook. I would balance the camera on top of a Coke can, which would be on top of the car roof or hood. Then set the timer, run to where I was supposed to be, and pose for the picture. Both of my car's windows were rolled down. Sometimes, I would place the camera on the door and set the timer from there. There were not many other tourists sightseeing at Shenandoah, so I did not have many people to ask to take my picture.

4:40 PM Checked in at Ramada Inn at Luray, VA. Rating for Shenandoah National Park withheld.

License Plates:
HIS INC MD BMW 750i
RZERBAK VA Mercedes 300
83 TANK VA Volvo
HOE VPI VA Toyota Tercel
EMPATHY VA Mercury Topaz
X ME VA Ford
FURLCME VA Volvo
PS 8 1 MD Ford Explorer
I ROK BB VA Mercury Capri
COY VIA VA Cadillac

Expenses:
$54.19 Chase Days Inn College Park, MD
$9.26 Discover Gas & Postcard Front Royal, VA
$4 Cash Dinner -- McDonalds Luray, VA

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Day #45: Monday, May 22, 1995
138,788 Miles

I was feeling a little better today. Leaving Washington was tough, but Shenandoah National Park was an excellent replacement. I checked out of the motel at noon.

12:30 PM Entered Shenandoah National Park.

Today's section was much prettier than yesterday's. The valleys looked more impressive, the trees were more abundant, and the roadside overlooks were more frequent. I took a lot more pictures (using the camera's timer) today. Each picture I took taught me new ways of placing the camera on something sturdy and straight. I was in nature -- and there were not too many places where I could keep my camera to set the timer. My car was the only thing I had to rest the camera. I also went on several hiking trails, which were not so nice. There were several honeybees on the hiking trails. I never got stung, but I did not like their presence either!

After a while, I stopped going on the hiking trails. The roadside views offered plenty of "Kodak Moments". I used an entire roll of film at Shenandoah National Park -- all the pictures were of myself taken by myself.

This time of the year (Spring season) is the second-best time to visit Shenandoah National Park. The best time is late Autumn, when the trees themselves become the highlight of the Park. In the Spring, all the trees were green. Towards the Southern end of the park, I also saw several colorful wildflowers growing by the roadside. The lush green trees, the beautiful colorful flowers, the magnificent valley views and the fantastic Shenandoah Mountains made me give this park a rating.

5:10 PM Left Shenandoah National Park, and entered Blue Ridge Parkway.

I drove for about ten minutes South on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The scenery was the same as at Shenandoah National Park. But there was a lot more of EVERYTHING. The trees were greener, the flowers were more beautiful and colorful, the valley was deeper, and the mountains looked even prettier (even though they were the same mountains). I knew immediately that I would have to spend some more time here. So I drove back North to the start of the Parkway, then West on I-64 to Staunton and checked in at the Days Inn.

License Plates:
THE GOL4 IL Plymouth Voyager (and I am THE 2RIST)
S DIVER VA Chevrolet Blazer ("Sky" or "Scuba"?)
I MOSES VA Oldsmobile ("Good morning, Moses. How is God doing?")
KINTRUCK VA Volkswagen

Expenses:
$37.57 Chase Ramada Inn Luray, VA
$5 Cash Lunch -- McDonalds Luray, VA
$4 Cash Dinner -- McDonalds Staunton, VA

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