I didn't get very much sleep last night and the time change ("Spring Forward") didn't help... Somehow, I was still packed and ready to leave Marion by 0800. I used I-81, I-77 and US-58 to make my way over towards Fairy Stone State Park. After getting disoriented (no cell signal), I ended up on VA-57 and found the Visitor Center (0930). While there, I got directions to the "Hunt Site" and drove a short distance to it. Between 1000 and 1100, I looked for a while but couldn’t find any of the famous stones. There were a lot of people with kids searching too (“Is this a fairy stone, Dad? Is THIS one?”). I’ll admit, it occurred to me that this might be a cruel joke (e.g., “snipe”), perpetuated by the locals... However, there were gift shops nearby that sold some (although they didn’t look like the pictures). Reminded me of parks I’ve visited near fossil beds, gold fields, petrified wood - the best stuff is always long gone. Another pretty day, though! Got back in the car, following Google Maps, and used lots of back roads to US-29 (found it just south of Lynchburg). Despite unreliable cell signal, I managed to make calls to Tyler (catch up), Mollie (arrange pick-up) and Kelly (arrange meet up). The traffic was OK for most of the drive but it was horrible (as usual) near Charlottesville. I also had a big slow down after I made it to I-66. I arrived at Kelly and John's house in Vienna just before 1600. We had fun chatting, reminiscing, drinking beer and then walking over to the Open Road Grill & Icehouse for dinner (done at 1900). I finished the visit with my friends (back at their house) at around 2030 and then continued my trip - took back roads to reach I-495 and drove over to Telegraph Road. Got gas at Speedway in Alexandria (2045) and then picked up Mollie. We drove to Fort Belvoir and got our room - despite the fact they only had rooms with one bed, I managed to find a place for Mollie to sleep (arm chair and Ottoman). We both read books until going to bed at 2300 - lots more driving tomorrow!
