Greetings all. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while but, I've been very busy with work and travelling to Richmond, Virginia and back. I got back to the apartment about 20 minutes ago.
First impressions of my trip. I have big time mixed feelings about Amtrak. They are convenient, can save lots of hassle, and their trains are fun to ride. The down side is their timeliness can royally suck. I ended up getting back 3 hours late today. If you have to be some place by a certain time, I would recommend you DON'T take Amtrak. If you're not in any hurry, they are a fun way to travel though do be prepared for delays. I plan to take the train whenever I go to Richmond. It really saves a lot of hassle though it would be cheaper to drive my car down there.
Places I got to see: Shenandoah Valley National Park, Luray Caverns, Mitchie Tavern, and Monticello. The rangers at the park were very helpful. The woods were beautiful and the views from the park were stunning. I managed to get a few pictures which I'll post once I get them developed.
The Luray Caverns were very impressive. They reportedly are the largest on the East Coast. Some of the stalactites and stalagmites were huge. It was something to think it took millions of years to make them.
Mitchie Tavern was very nice though I do have a gripe with the dang hours. They are only open from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Me and Harvey ended up having to go there before Monticello so we could have lunch there. The buffet they offer is all right and reasonably priced. The menu is fried chicken, bar-b-que pork, potatoe salad, cole slaw, sweet yams, green beans, black eyed peas, and corn bread. Drinks and dessert are extra. This place also gets busy at times. We ended up waiting 20 minutes to get in.
Monticello was awesome. The mansion isn't as big as you would think a mansion would be but it is still very impressive. You definitely get the impression that Thomas Jefferson was a renaissance man though he was only able to be that thanks to the 110 slaves he owned. Without the slaves labor and the money they made for Jefferson, I highly doubt he would've achieved nearly as much as he did. I also wasn't amused that Jefferson who called slavery an abomination only freed 5 slaves during his life and in his will. If slavery really was such an abomination (and it is), he clearly could've done more. Barring that, I very much enjoyed my visit to Monticello. It was great to finally get to see it.
One correction to previous posts, Harvey it turns out is 68. He only retired about 3 years ago. I thought it had been longer then that.
Future plans, a new trip is in the works. While riding the train to Richmond, I noticed a package promotion Amtrak is doing where you can get train fare to NYC, a ticket in the orchestra section to see the Rockettes Christmas show, and a soda with popcorn at the show. I didn't get to see the Rockettes perform when I visited NYC in July and, I would very much like to see them. Me and Harvey are looking at doing a weekend trip. We'll see if it happens. Hopefully, it will. It would be a lot of fun.
Cheers! :-)
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