Let's Talk About the Weather

Okay, not just the weather...but a lot about the weather.

A little Shenandoah National Park Day Trip to break up the heat.

It is an interesting thing to live the majority of our lives outside and watch the world change around us; especially after many years spent inside the bar nearly 24 hours a day. We really were out of the loop about weather changes.

A little bit of history about each of us. Bob grew up in Northern Massachusetts with true scenarios of walking two miles up a hill to school in snow up to his knees. He was so adapted to the colder weather that all he needed for a day out of fun with his friends was a sleeveless t-shirt and some gloves. Later in life, he moved to North Carolina where he was forced to adjust to the heat of Southern Summers. And finally, he landed in Virginia...land of the unpredictable bipolar weather where he has adjusted just fine with his previously diverse weather experiences. He complains very little unlike me...I complain all the time. No matter what temperature it is I am never satisfied. At least that is what Bob will tell you.

Okay, it may be true that I am always looking for that perfect weather. A weather that is predictable and allows me to stay in the same outfit all day. How did I get this way you ask? I grew up in Virginia when the winters were snowy and icy and the summer heat was as hot as the cicadas were loud. The skies around Richmond were usually white no matter what time of the year it was. Science says it is something about water vapors, but whatever, my Florida friends will tell you they will take their Florida temps and blue skies any day over the sticky white skies of Virginia. So speaking of Florida, that is actually where I ended up after high school for about ten years. Here is where we find out about my annoyance with layers of clothes to make it through the day comfortably.

I didn't realize at the time what Florida was doing to me, but when I moved back to Virginia it became clear. Once I arrived back home, my strange behavior started with an obsession with watching the weather news. Remember the years before the internet and mandatory cable channels with your phone bill? Yes...so that weather report on the news of one of the three channels that I had to wait for throughout the hours before I knew what layers to bring.

Anyway...enough of that and let's get to the fun stuff.

Do you see what we see?

On September 7th, we had had enough. While yes our AC inside the RV never lets us down we do spend most of our time outside. Between car shows, animal care, farm chores, and dishes/shower/toileting we are a good 80% outdoors. We feel every change in degrees and every rotation of the Earth as the sun sneaks from our shaded Eastern side to our bare naked Western side. We can tell that 2:00 pm is approaching as we lose our shade and spend the next five hours wondering how we are going to survive this.

So like I said, by early September we had enough! And I suddenly remembered when the kids were little I would take them up to the mountains for the day so they could play outside in the cool air. So off we went.

We were quite surprised by the temperature change, the thermometer actually showed a 22-degree drop that started around the west side of Charlottesville. It was just a few hours of heaven but well worth the $3.64 a gallon for gas. That heaven included trees peeping pigment changes of light yellow and mild red hues. For those of you looking for your Fall foilage fill here are some links to help you plan your own adventure. Shenandoah National Park Webcams and a prediction map.

We stopped for a gnat filled picnic at Lewis Mountain Campground after a visit to Harry F. Byrd, Sr. Visitor Center. This is where we met even more surprises. Without getting too political or controversial, let's just say that we appreciate the little museum's transparency. Bob, as a Northerner, hadn't heard about all the controversy about SNP and I only had a taste of it when I went to JMU not far from the park. You can learn more here before you go to SNP virtual museum.

Before we run off to plan our next adventure, I want to share my favorite document from the museum. I spent some time reading these documents full of data on each land acquisition for the park. It shares family names, acreage, purchase prices, structures, and more. The historian in me wants to know more I am still looking for an online version if anyone finds one, please let us know.

We are off to the Carolinas stay posted for those adventures as well as some brief Virginia day trips from the summertime!