Today my family went to the mountains. It was a lovely trip, even though all (or 99.99%) of the leaves were gone, and the trees looked bare.
I love how the grass always looks so green in the mountains. I like this picture because of the way the mountains look in the background. Here in Virginia, we have a specialty license plate that has mountains on it that look exactly like that. We rode about 50 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, "America's Favorite Drive." Well, let me tell you that orange road construction signs should be illegal on "America's Favorite Drive."



These ducks (at Mabry Mill) were very friendly. They swam all the way across right to us, and climbed out, shaking their feathers. Then when a couple came along with their huge dog, they shook their feathers right back into the water. I love ducks. They're so pretty, and I love the sounds they make (although I hear, from my dad, that they make a terrible mess, thus aren't so good to have around the farm). When we went to Disney World, there were a ton of ducks at one outdoor eating area in the Animal Kingdom (at least they were in the right park). They were like dogs, sitting there watching you eat, practically begging for food. But there were "Do not feed the ducks" signs everywhere, plus a very protective janitor.

The beautiful, famous Mabry Mill. Famous around here, anyway. It is a lovely place. Unfortunately, since we missed the peak by about two weeks (gasp!!), everything was shut down. The apple butter makers and the blacksmiths are gone. The park rangers are nowhere to be found. And the worst part was...
Seriously? After the peak, every single public restroom on the Blue Ridge Parkway is shut down? You've got to be kidding me. We drove for 40 miles on the parkway to Rocky Knob. We go there every year and knew there was a restroom there, and everyone in the vehicle really, really had to go. Guess what? The doors were locked. We went on a hike to a picnic area where there were some restroooms...that were locked. We hiked back to the car, almost in enough of a panic to call the 1-800 park emergency number, just to see if any rangers would show up and escort us to a restroom. We drive to Mabry Mill, where the above picture was taken. Closed. We finally had to go the extra few miles into Meadows of Dan, where we were going anyway, just to find a bathroom. It was ridiculous, like some sort of cruel joke.
After that, everything was fine. We went in a Christmas store, where we found my ornament for this year: a ruler with a pincushion, dress form, and pair of scissors hanging from it. We went in Nancy's Candy Company, one of the most heavenly places that sells the best homemade fudge, awesome chocolate and white chocolate dipped pretzels, and "I Love Lucy" chocolate factory stuff. It's a delicious tradition for us to go every year and gain several pounds over the week after. We also stopped by Lover's Leap, still one of the most amazing views I've ever seen, despite the bare trees. Last year it was so foggy that we couldn't see over the stone wall.
These ducks (at Mabry Mill) were very friendly. They swam all the way across right to us, and climbed out, shaking their feathers. Then when a couple came along with their huge dog, they shook their feathers right back into the water. I love ducks. They're so pretty, and I love the sounds they make (although I hear, from my dad, that they make a terrible mess, thus aren't so good to have around the farm). When we went to Disney World, there were a ton of ducks at one outdoor eating area in the Animal Kingdom (at least they were in the right park). They were like dogs, sitting there watching you eat, practically begging for food. But there were "Do not feed the ducks" signs everywhere, plus a very protective janitor.
It was a lovely fall day.
Now I get to go study for a test, work on a research paper, and write for NaNoWriMo.
Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)
Kristin (missvintagegirl)
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