right on bro!

I’m off driving again, at least for a couple of days. Left Philadelphia in the morning, feeling hungover - went out drinking the night before with an old friend from college. The sun was back out and it’s making everything a lot more pleasant, although it’s still really cold and windy. Drove south down I-95 along the urban sprawl - Wilmington, Baltimore, and onto the Outer Beltway in Washington, DC. I passed Silver Spring, Maryland, home of Velocity Girl, and Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, former home of the largest shopping mall in the United States. From there, it was Virginia’s Interstate 66 (not to be confused with Route 66) out west.

Virginia is chock-full of history and stuff to see - 18th century settlements, numerous Civil War battlefields, etc. - but I’ve seen some of it already, so I didn’t bother to stop. Interstate 66 takes me to 81 south, along the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are really beautiful at this time of year.

Late in the afternoon I arrived at the place I wanted to see - Natural Bridge. Natural Bridge claims to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It’s giant rock bridge, something like 240 feet high and 45 feet thick. I could have sworn I was here when I was younger, on a family road trip, but it didn’t look familiar. I paid my $10 admission at the visitor’s center (complete with wax museum and hotel) and walk down a trail, and the bridge was right there. There was a walking trail that ran under the bridge, and it led to a replica of an Indian village, a saltpeter cave that they mined to make gunpowder, and some waterfalls at the very end. I walked the trail quickly because it was getting dark, and the place was empty, and it started to get kind of creepy. I took the shuttle bus back up to the visitor’s center and asked the shuttle driver if anyone had ever gotten hit by falling rocks when they were underneath the bridge. To her knowledge, it hasn’t happened.

After that, I went to check out Foamhenge - a replica of Stonehenge, made out of foam. Unfortunately, Foamhenge was closed - the gates were locked, but I could see it from the road. So I took a couple of pictures.

I wasn’t really sure where I was going to stay last night, so I drove across the highway and stopped at the Pink Cadillac Diner to look at my road atlas and get my bearings. The Pink Cadillac is chock full of cheap Elvis memorabilia in one room, and a bunch of 50s diner type stuff in another. I asked who the Elvis fan is, and the waitress says nobody, that’s just the theme. The french onion soup is pretty good though.

Last night I stayed in Roanoke, Virginia, which is where I am now. I read on Chowhound that there was a great local restaurant called the Roanoker, so I went there for dinner. It was a family diner that was about to close for the day, and I felt reallly out of place. But the food was pretty good I guess. I got lost coming back and ended up driving through downtown’s market square, which looked more lively and had some bars. Maybe next time.

Here are yesterday’s photos.

Anyone have any idea what the other six natural wonders of the world are?