#395 Going 'Up' for Mary's birthday

We kicked off Mary's birthday month with a trip to Fork Union, VA. I spared no expense wining and dining the birthday girl at Sal's Italian Restaurant and Grille in the heart of downtown Fork Union. Sal served us twice as much hearty spaghetti and spinach ravioli as we could eat. So we left for the drive-in with that full feeling all over. Yes, the birthday extravaganza continued at the Fork Union Drive-In theater - a throwback to the 1950s. Open since 1953, "Virginia's smallest drive-in is a rural classic with a grass field that is still sectored by traditional pole speakers for up to 180 cars." See that speaker? That was made by Projected Sound in Plainfield, IN. It sounded pretty good, but the car stereo turned to 90.3 FM sounded even better. The windows were down. The air was cool. The movie snacks were ready in the back seat if by some miracle we became hungry after Sal's. The kids were playing all kinds of games in the lawn below the movie screen. And finally it was time to see Disney's Up. We LOVED it! Carl and Russell and Dug and Kevin topped off an amazing movie-going experience. It's been a year since our last amazing movie-going experience watching Mamma Mia in Greece in gold-class comfort with our adopted daughters. Where shall we go next? Yours in lifting Mary UP for birthday month, Kelly

#394 Joyce on the road

Our friend Joyce Kullman is finishing up 6 days and 325 miles on her bike. By riding from Pittsburgh, PA to the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, Joyce is raising awareness for the Vasculitis Foundation. Says Joyce, "This bike trip is all about the power of the individual connecting with the powerful lawmakers in Washington DC.” Way to go, Joyce!

Yours in admiration of those committed riders,
Mary

#393 Linda in the house

The Johnston Visitor Plan always includes a visit to Monticello - graphically described by Maira Kalman in her New York Times article Time Wastes Too Fast. But when our Indy friend Linda came to town last week for Bike Virginia to cycle hundreds of miles and hang out with 2000 other passionate pedal pushers, there was just no time for a visit to Jefferson's little mountain. So we squeezed in a tour of Mr. Jefferson's university, a Friday after five dinner downtown, and we introduced Linda to friends. Yours in pursuing happiness with no time wasted,
Kelly

#391 Mountain Lake and Microcosmos

This week I did two things for the very first time. First new thing: I visited Mountain Lake Biological Station, the beautiful field research station for the University of Virginia Biology Department. The station's perched at around 4000' in the cool Blue Ridge Mountains. I gave my camera's "macro" button a good workout on this dripping orange fungus. Second new thing: Back in Charlottesville a friend suggested I watch Microcosmos. Turns out Microcosmos is shot almost entirely in macro mode with lots of dripping. Yes, it's been a macro week for me.

Yours in seeing the small stuff,
Kelly

#390 Dating the rails

Did you know every section of railroad track is marked with the manufacturer's name and among other info, the manufacture date? Me neither! William Least Heat-Moon brought this to my attention in Roads to Quoz. So I followed up with some fieldwork of my own and some research on The Google.

The tracks we cross every day on our way to work are vintage September 1956 from the Steelton mill weighing in at a hefty 132 pounds per yard. (Click on the photo to see the mark.)

Translation tips for your own fieldwork:

Look for the information embossed on the side of the rail. If the numbers / letters you see don't match with the scheme described here, look on the other side of the rail.

Weight: The first 2 or 3 numbers give the weight of the rail in pounds per linear yard. Here's a chart to further expand the weight into dimensions.

Name and year: You can directly read the name and year. The name can be the steel mill or in some cases the railroad company.

Month: Count the vertical bars following the date to find the month. Nine bars mean September.

Yours in railfanning,
Kelly

#389 Panama vs James River

Since we couldn't join our friends sailing through the Panama Canal last week, we decided to do the next best thing. We visited a restored lock of the James River and Kanawha Canal, a massive public works project envisioned by George Washington in the 18th century to connect the seaport of Richmond, Virginia to the Ohio River and points west.

During our visit, we learned
- the ranger staffing the James River Visitor Center believes his post to be the most beautiful along the Blue Ridge Parkway. - the James River is the largest (but not the longest) river wholly within a state.
- the James River is older than the surrounding mountains.
- the canal reached its zenith in 1851 covering nearly 200 miles from Richmond to Buchanan but was quickly made obsolete by a new technology called the railroad.
- the canal lock we visited, one of 90 along the James River, was only 15 feet wide and walled with massive locally mined stone blocks.

So except for the lack of live web cameras, Virginia's James River and Kanawha Canal and the Panama Canal are a lot alike. ;-)

Yours in comparing canals,
Kelly

#388 Kellys on the trail

Just to clear up any confusion, I was NOT in Panama this week. I captured the images of the MV Explorer sailing through the Panama Canal from a web camera and then made the animation right here at home. But if I can't be sailing around Central America, I might as well be enjoying the gorgeous spring right here in Charlottesville.

I'm lucky enough to get to walk to work with Kelly every day. And when I'm extra lucky, I get to walk with 2 Kellys. Here are Kelly and Kelly walking through the woods near our home.

Yours in appreciation of springtime in Virginia,
Mary