Nomad Life - Day 198

Another weekend day!  This morning, I was awake at 0630.  Sadly, it was raining outside and I (again) had to give up on ideas of walking on the nearby New River Trail.  Instead, I spent time reading and working on Duolingo and puzzles.  At 0745, I went to breakfast in the Lobby of the Super 8 (Fort Chiswell).  Beyond that, I worked on my blog and updated information related to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (recorded my miles and was impressed by the results).  After packing up my car, I left Fort Chiswell at 1015.  By then, the temps were 55 F and it was raining steadily,  Armed with research I'd done earlier, I drove north on I-81 (lots of crazy drivers and heavy truck traffic) until I was able to exit on to VA-177.  This route allowed me to arrive at St. Jude Catholic Church by 1100 - just in time for Easter Sunday Mass!  The church parking lot was packed and I felt very fortunately to find a seat in the back of the sanctuary (outside the glass doors).  The service featured a very young priest, lots of young families, pretty piano music (although it was unfamiliar music for each prayer), lots of altar boys and deacons, very few icons/statues.  Overall, I was impressed!  I left the church at 1200 (even though the service was still wrapping up) so I could continue north to Brenna's home.  I used VA-177 to get back to I-81.  By then, the rain had stopped while I made my way (with lots of traffic) through Salem and Roanoke.  As usual, there was the regular (annoying and nasty) truck behavior - I haven't missed this drive...  Fortunately, the number of vehicles thinned out to the north of Daleville and I had a rather easy drive (with good speeds) as I drove towards Lexington.  Even better, the sun came out from behind the thick clouds.  After a LOT of effort, I made it to an area near the I-64 merge (Staunton) that featured a lot of speed cameras.  Feeling quite hungry by that point, I stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel (1340).  Because it was Easter, there was (understandably) a long waiting list.  When I told Brenna I might be delayed (and gave my location), this led to some funny phone calls - she thought I was at the same Cracker Barrel as she was (in Harrisonburg).  I eventually got to sit down (1350) but there was a long delay for the food to arrive.  Despite these (First World) frustrations, I enjoyed a delicious meal of Hash Brown Shepherd's Pie (with a hash brown crust, pot roast meat, fewer potatoes than usual).  I also had some nice (very warm) biscuits.  The food was very rich!  Finished with my meal 1500, I drove north on I-81 until I could exit the Interstate to the south of Harrisonburg - from there, I drove a short distance (via back roads) to Brenna's.  When I arrived (1530), I found Jesse waiting to greet me (along with my daughter).  We did some visiting for a little while and then got changed and left to visit the nearby Cross Keys Battlefield.  Neither Brenna or Jesse had ever been there and I was glad to see that they enjoyed this first site contained within the Harrisonburg, Cross Keys and Port Republic Battlefield parks.  From signage nearby, we learned that an important battle was fought in the area on June 8, 1862.  This conflict had significant repercussions for the Shenandoah Valley and the Peninsular Campaign (to the east).  We were treated to lots of walking on some well maintained trails - we also got pretty views of Massanutten and Shenandoah NP.  It was breezy and cooler (50s).  More importantly, though, Jesse was recovering from a long distance race (he'd competed the day before).  He was uncomfortable but was a trooper!  Next, we moved our car to the little hamlet of Port Republic, where another battle took place the following day (June 9, 1862).  In this area, we found the site of a covered bridge (burned during the battle), a cemetery that included a stone marker for a CSA soldier who died in 1862 (perhaps during the battle?).  Eventually, we moved to the area near the "Coaling", which was a tall hill that sheltered Union cannon emplacements until the guns were overrun by persistent Confederate soldiers.  We climbed to the summit of the ridge and got some very nice views of the Shenandoah Valley (and City of Harrisonburg) below.  At the base of the hill, we found a historic Episcopal Church that featured pretty Easter Decorations.  With our outdoor time completed, Jesse drove us back to town, where we visited the Capitol Ale House for dinner.  After arriving (1945) we ordered appetizers (salads, pretzel, artisanal cheese, sausage) and began to have a rather entertaining conversation about things that made Brenna laugh.  I got some local beers and later ordered a brownie dessert (Jesse and Brenna shared it with me).  We were finished at 2100 and returned to Brenna's apartment.  After a bit more visiting, we said goodbye to Jesse (he had to drive back to his home about 30 miles to the north).  In all the excitement, I  never made my step goal for Sunday (dang).  With the day coming to a close, I spent time reading and talking with Brenna.  Bed time (on Brenna's couch) finally arrived at 2330.  What a great Easter Sunday - excited to spend the week with my daughter!