Asheville to Williamsburg

Oh dear, that’s a long drive. Don’t let anyone kid you, it’s a really long drive.

The beginning was interesting. I-40 coming out of Asheville is a lot more winding and downhill than I’m used to. You know the road is mountainous when there are signs instructing trucks that they can use the shoulder to cool their brakes. They also had a 35mph limit on them. And the absolute best was the ramps for out of control trucks…. uhm… I saw enough of those to make me think that they must be for a reason… They amounted to a lot of small dirt hills leading to a large one… One would assume the small bumps were to slow the truck and the last big one was the final stop… brrr….

And here’s a random observation, you know you’re not in Georgia anymore when all the rest stops have ONLY Pepsi products. I stopped at two stops in North Carolina and one in Virginia…. nothing but Pepsi… bleh… Oh well, when you’re desperate, you’re getting what they sell… well, at two of three stops anyway…

I’m going to have to examine the maps a bit before I leave, especially once I settle on where I’m stopping over on my way back. I followed the AAA map that I got before leaving and once I got off I-95, I figured I must be close… oh, try at least 30 miles away… I mean, the scenery was beautiful, a very rural way in, but after 7 hours on the road, staring at the map constantly and watching for the next turn was absolutely no fun. Maybe if you had a co-pilot, but solo, I think there has to be a perhaps longer but more interstate oriented route out of here…. I hope…

Speaking of solo, I had expected to pick up a friend from deviant art on the way up, but he had to back out because things came up to keep him in Charlotte. I had planned this trip solo anyway, but it would have been nice to have had some company on that long tedious drive, let me tell you. Maybe another time.

Once here, I checked into the hotel and then headed over to the Welcome center to get my tickets. I’m paid up for my whole stay in Williamsburg for entry to the colonial village and to Jamestowne and Yorktown. That also includes the shuttle buses to those attractions. After that drive, I think I’m going to let someone else do the driving for the next few days. I’m more or less in walking distance of the village. I walk at a good pace and it’s about 10 minutes away.

I also booked a couple of tours and some evening activities in the village. It’s kind of nuts how busy they are. I had thought to be a little less schedule oriented here, but the lady at the counter advised against that. In fact, as I went through the schedule of things I wanted to do, for three of the four, I snagged the last spots on those tours… yoiks! So, looks like all day tomorrow is Colonial Williamsburg, I have a tour at 10am and another in the afternoon and one more that night. Wednesday is probably all day at Jamestowne. And then Thursday is probably part day here and part day in Yorktown.

Williamsburg was already pretty much shut down when I got the tickets done and drove back over here. But I tested out the walk and got some evening shots of the village. Beautiful warm light. When I have the energy to actually go through these shots….

So, back here, grabbed some dinner, and now it’s time for TV and bed…

Aren’t I exciting as all get out?