Virginia: Abingdon to the "Scene of the Crime" to Lynchburg

Sunday, June 22: Day 13.

We found a lovely United Methodist Church in Abingdon, VA this morning. 

We attended the 8:45 contemporary service, and it was such a blessing. Since the United Methodist denomination moves pastors around in the summer we hit the Sunday when the Abingdon church was between pastors. The usual worship leader was speaking in the traditional service, so a delightful woman named Pat Farmer led worship this morning. She and the praise band really set the tone for a wonderful time of worship. Made me a little homesick for the opportunity to be up there myself!

Joe Lyle, an attorney, was the lay preacher for the service this morning. He delivered a very inspirational sermon, encouraging us to get outside the church and our comfortable groups and share God's love even in the most unlikely places. This is what Curt and I are praying to do on this trip.

After church as we headed deeper into Virginia, we saw so many beautiful mountain scenes. 

And we finally made it up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed to the Scene of the Crime, a spot Curt and I haven't visited in 39 years... But we remember it like it was yesterday. The place is a small stop on the Parkway called The Peaks Of Otter, where I was living and working in the summer of 1975. Curt flew over from Oklahoma where he was teaching climbing, tried to rent a car (but all he could find on a Sunday in the little mountain town was a huge U-Haul truck), and drove up to the Parkway and swept me away. We eloped to Las Vegas, much to the dismay of our parents and all our friends. They said it would never last! But 39 years, 4 children, and 12 grandchildren later, they're starting to think that we might have a chance after all!

One of the 2 Peaks there; the other was totally obscured by clouds:

What fun we had today, reminiscing about what we've always called our Flight From Reality! We bought quite a few Peaks of Otter souvenirs, and laughed and just enjoyed ourselves and our memories so much!

Then we wound back down the mountain through more beautiful scenery and low-hanging clouds.

Tonight we're camped in a KOA Campground outside of Lynchburg. It's raining lightly, but that doesn't bother us a bit. For the first time we're using the screen room we bought for this trip, and it's perfect! We can be outside even in the rain, and keep the bugs out as well. Here's dinner in the "dining room":

We'll probably stay here a couple of nights. It's such a lovely spot. We want to take a little time to rearrange our camping and living gear to make life a little more efficient. And there's a sparkling clean outdoor swimming pool, cool nights, and lots of good food in the cooler. We are indeed blessed!