Same route, new adventure

Last weekend, I took a random, spontaneous trip South to visit and revive a too-long neglected friendship. But what I found along the way was unexpected.  It wasn't just a 4 hour drive through the middle of nowhere, this was an emotional, and somewhat painful at times, trip down memory lane through some of Virginia's most beautiful real estate.

The trip along Route 29 South from DC or from the I-64 interchange in Charlottesville is soaked with memories and the Deja Vu gnomes lurk around every corner.  But the circumstances were much different this time.  These familiar sights, sounds, and smells no longer build a sense of anticipation, excitement, and joy.  Instead it filled me, as I drove sans-passenger, with a sinking feeling of dread and sadness, a drenching aura of loss and nostalgia.  Dreading the light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that the light burns.  It was somewhat akin to driving by the site of a car crash that claimed the life of a friend.  You remember the life of that friend, the good times that were shared, and the feeling the first time you drove past after the accident.  It is the kind of sinking feeling of sadness that seems to push the slow motion button and turn the radio volume down a few notches.

Once I pulled out of that oddly-appropriate-song-induced haze, the rest of the drive was wonderful.  Route 29 South and then Route 15 South take you through the heart of Virginia.  You skirt the Blue Ridge off to the West and pass through town after town, each rich with stories and character.  So many little general stores, antique shops, and watering holes.  Small brick houses with rocking chairs on the porch.  Old, run-down houses that undoubtedly hosted family and friends in years past, but now are only containers where films about ghosts reside, remembered and referenced occasionally many miles away.  But they have character, they have substance.  Southern Virginia isn't plagued by McMansions overlapping each other and popping up every month.  No, the pace of life is slower, the things valued don't have a brand name or a price tag.  It was just nice to see a part of the Old Dominion that I feel more connected to and enjoy more than Northern VA.  

Not to mention the beautiful scenery and the accompanying music.  All in all, the trip was fabulous.  In spite of getting lost on Memory Lane and winding up in a dark alley, the clouds and sunset and great music paired perfectly with the constant hum of the road and the bastions of tradition along the roadside.  Route 29 and Route 15 south, definitely a drive I recommend.