After our picnic stop and stretch break, we continued east through the Greenbrier valley where we traveled a section that I think was the most beautiful of our entire trip. As Becky was cruising along, I was hanging out the window snapping photos like I'm so fond of doing.
We were really looking forward to Lewisburg because of all we had read about it being one of National Geographic's Best Small Town Escapes, one of the National Trust's Dozen Distinctive Destinations, and Budget Travel Magazines' Coolest Small Town. That was our next stop and it didn't disappoint!
Once the home to Greenbrier College, its flowered-lined sidewalks, friendly people, and fun shopping made for a great two-hour stop. Lewisburg has become a haven for "West Virginians by choice" and it has become a fascinating and unique little town located at mile marker 161.
On site is a top-secret cold war-era Congressional bunker buried some 720 feet into the hillside. We would liked to have taken the tour of it, but we couldn't find a place to park that wasn't restricted. Becky parked illegally for a few minutes so I could hop out and snap a photo of this grand place that reminded us of the White House in DC.
And then it was over. We drove past mile marker 172, signaling the end to the Midland Trail. What a fun trip with all the interesting things we saw, good food that we ate, and people that we chatted with. But it wasn't over quite yet because we had one more destination in mind...Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA. So over the mountain we went and had one more day to look forward to! |