Blessed are the Intrepid, Day 2: In the Sky -

I slept soundly in my car on night one. And even though I forgot to bring my pillow from home, I woke up with no aches or cricks anywhere. I quickly packed up my site to head south… I will be heading souther and souther everyday starting this new day. And I was already burning daylight!

Goodbye first campsite. 👋

A tip if you’re camping at Cherry Spring… freshen up in the bathrooms in the astronomer’s field. There are sinks and mirrors and outlets unlike the porta-johns elsewhere in the park.

Breakfast would be in State Collge, PA… an annoying sprawl next to Penn State where you can’t park anywhere. I got a bowl at Playa Bowl where you have to endure 4 whiney white girls having conversations about their college conquests over hip hop with many n-words dropping. Just icky all around. The bowl was as okay as it could be in that environment. But hardly anything is fresh–the kale and coconut milk base was like -56 degrees, the fruit clearly used to be frozen. It makes a big difference… I’m thinking back to this bowl as a point of contrast.

So you know I gotta get firework while I’m on the road! Well, some of you may know that I am in the middle of crafting a Fourth of July wreath that needs more fireworks. Ok again, only a couple of people know that.

Time for Dunch! I made a B-line from my motel to Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg, Virginia as soon as I got in town. I needed a proper meal after snacking for most of my other meals thus far.

It was just what the doctor ordered: potatoes! Sure, the tofu and sausage patty helped but I really just wanted a mound of potatoes apparently. And covered in gravy? Yes, please. Besides this, the employee-owned cafe just oozed comfort, cool and good heartedness.

My plan was to check in to a motel to take care of the ton of pictures I thought I’d have of the meteor. And to go in the pool that was closed for maintenance. Curses! My sprinkling of motel stops were to serve certain purposes, especially on nights I predict a need to have their utilities, convenience and comforts. But I was just 28 minutes from Shenandoah National Park. Of course I’d have to go!

The Skyline Drive, which I first visited two years ago, left an indelible memory–blues and greens I had never seen. I was happy to get to see them again.