through the snow storm to the American Way

second day, overnight some snow has dropped on the car, my snow wiper was not useless for this trip after all

The I 95 passes south east of Baltimore and then gets to the large ring road around Washington, in the chapter of little difference I can list the followinf, exit in roads go by number, but not exactly sequential, after exit 53 you may find exit 56, and where 54 and 55 ended up? it is that they number the exit with the mileage of the road. thus exit 53 is located at mile 53 of that road. I turn west on the 495 and get round, here directions are very well indicated, I get indication for the I66 when I am still on the 95. Yes the 66, the mitic 66 I have to make just about 30 miles on it before turning south on a state road. When I get onto it I do not loose the opportunity for an historic picture

As I pose for this picture I see some flocks of snow, actually a snow storm is arriving from south, and I will drive for the rest of day in the snow. There is something magic in driving in the falling snow, the flocks they do not hit the windshield, but taken by the aerodinamic flow around the car they fly accross and disappear over the car, you can actually drive without windshield wipers.

From the 66 I turn to the State (virginia) road 29. It is actually much nicer to drive on state roads, interstates are not ideal to enjoy the scenery and there are no houses or stores along. Along the 29 there are a couple of sites of Civil War battles. The terrain is moved the road goes up and down pleasantly, crops and some livestocks, it seems a rich land. It is snowy everywhere, not completely covered.

I arrive in Charlottesville at 1 pm. With Taylor, we go to the city centre, the pedestrian area is is being repaved, Miller, an historic place for its live music, linked recently to Dave Matthews Band (he used to bartend there) is there. Inside is dark and smoky, while we eat a duo starts playing, a piano and an harmonic guy, very old. The atmosphere is decadent and pleasant. I had forgotten my camera, so I ask a bartender if she can send me some, let's see if she does. Otherwise you just have to search the internet for it

Later we go to visit the neoclassic campus of the University of Virginia, designed by Thomas Jefferson whose famous mansion in Monticello (I did not know about it) is just few minutes away. With some regrets I leave at 4, let's hope the snow is not too strong, in case I can come back. The forecast is bad, 7 inches of snow. However both on the 64 and later on the I 81 south the situation is very good. It is possible to continue to drive around 55 m/hour without any problems. The I 81 runs in direction NE-SW following the appalachian mountains, the pass is just before the state boundary between Virginia and Tennessee. Along the way I can make a first evaluation of the car consumption, it get down to 30 miles per gallon, which here is considered quite good. but is less than 15 km per liter....I pass on the other side of the mountains, it is dark already, I am not sure is the major pass or a minor one, but there is less snow here. In Kingsport where my motel is located there are stores where they sell houses, not real estate agency they sell the house, I want to go back tomorrow morning. The address of of the motel was the reason to come, 1900 American Way.