Saturday, 21 July 2012

On our way out of Charleston, we grab an early breakfast at Frutcake–a great cup of coffee and a very tasty blueberry scone and egg & sausage muffin. Undeterred by the drizzly weather we hit our first landmark stop of the trip: The New River Gorge Bridge. We make the descent down to the bridge overlook, snap some photos, and marvel at the view. Even with the fog and under overcast skies, the bridge is wildly impressive. So what if it’s no longer the world’s longest steel single-span bridge (it’s third), NRG Bridge is quite a marvel.

Continuing on to the Virginia state line, we stop in the cute town of Lewisburg, WV for lunch. The Stardust Cafe was a real accidental find, tasty locally-sourced ingredients and loads of character. My avocado melt was fantastic. Before we hit the road again, we three split a pot of French press coffee and a slice of the delicious cocoanut cake that has been tempting us from the display case of delectable baked goods.

Back on the highway, we’ve left coal country for the lush, green-forested winding roads through the Appalachian mountains between West Virginia and Virginia. We reach our destination, Charlottesville, and check into a very nice Courtyard Marriott near the University of Virginia campus. At dinnertime, we walk about a mile over to a pedestrian mall that is hopping with activity, shoppers and diners, tourists and locals. We dine on fresh fish at Blue Lite, sitting outside in the middle of the mall, sipping local beer and people watching.