A Birthday Visit North

 

We've been trying to make yearly Thanksgiving visits to my parents for years, ever since they moved to Virginia. As they got older, we started adding a springtime visit as well when possible. It's quite beautiful in May!

On the drive up, our car needed gas with perfect timing for us to make our first visit to Buc-cee's. It lived up to its reputation, and next time maybe it will coincide with lunch or dinner as well, so we can try their food.

This year we managed to time it to arrive on Dad's birthday. After enjoying our hike (see here), we paid a quick visit to Holly so she could give her gift to Dad. And then we had a delicious steak dinner complete with birthday cake, but didn't bother to take any pictures.

Holly was all dressed up to attend church on Mother's Day, but the van didn't start, so she wasn't able to make it. Without transportation, she wasn't able to join us for Sunday dinner either, so she missed out on the shock of having the salt shaker lid come off while seasoning the vegetables. (Fortunately, the dinner was salvaged.)

In addition to trying a new trail each visit, we also like to try a new restaurant and hotel. The Hillsville Diner was a fun and unique experience, and the typical diner far was delicious as well. The Holiday Inn Express cost twice as much as other local hotels, so we only stayed there one night instead of four. It was definitely a nicer place, but we're not sure we want to pay for that every time. We'll see.

After our nice visit with family, we headed off on Part B of our adventure - exploring our next national park - New River Gorge in West Virginia.