Take me home, country roads . . .

     My road trip from Indiana to my sister's place in Maryland had me gleefully singing John Denver's song, "Take me home, country roads." I savored these West Virginia country roads . . . .

. . . over the many Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountain ranges (steep grades with 15 mph switchback curves), plus the historic Shenandoah Valley areas. Had the road almost to myself.

400 glorious curvy mountainous miles!

All on mostly Route 50, heading directly east to my sister's place just south of Baltimore-Washington International  (BWI) airport. 

     One night at a hospital parking lot in Grafton, West Virginia, I had this pent-house view of the town along the Tygart Valley River.

     I program my GPS for "shortest route" which is the slowest route, including dirt roads and all the little villages. That way, I'm guaranteed minimal traffic and maximum views. Most folks program their GPS for "fastest route". 

     I didn't give much thought to where my GPS directed me to go. Anywhere east was good. The GPS directed me to turn east on White's Ferry Road. Surprise! What a gem that road is! And in the rain, it's more precious than a $5 million Monet painting.

Little did I realize White's Ferry Road actually does lead to a real ferry!

     Ten of us vehicles crossed the Potomac River; they put me in the middle. I later wondered where the bridges were located on the Potomac. See the red star (photo below)? That's the ferry location. The only nearby bridges are at Point of Rocks and Cabin John, Maryland -- at least 35 miles of river with no bridge. No wonder the ferry does good business.

When I disembarked the ferry, I passed under a sign that said "Thank you" and I replied "The pleasure was all mine".

     The reason, by the way, I'm visiting my sister is because she and I will be flying from BWI to Iceland and Europe. We won't return until the week before Thanksgiving. I'll fill you in on the details, next post.