Today’s 11k to Hanover doesn’t bring me any closer to DC, but it takes me out to Virginia’s Hwy 301, which locals overwhelmingly recommend I walk instead of the busy, 4-lane Hwy 1. From here, the next 40 miles will carry me through the last of “Sweet Rural Virginia” before stepping into the outer reaches of the greater DC metro area…
Leaving Ashland, Virginia…
Walking Highway 54 from Ashland to Hanover…
Walking Highway 54 from Ashland to Hanover…
Walking Highway 54 from Ashland to Hanover, The Flagg Family stops to give me a warm Hello!
Walking Highway 54 from Ashland to Hanover…
Walking Highway 54 from Ashland to Hanover…
Walking Highway 54 from Ashland to Hanover…
Reaching Hanover on Hwy 54 from Ashland, VA
Today was a “support driver day.” In other words, locals Jenny & Sammy had offered to pick me up in Hanover (population 252) after my 11k walk, return me to Ashland, and then drop me off in Hanover tomorrow. What a wonderful way to do it– as they invited me to a delicious tofu meatloaf dinner that evening, showed me a favorite rural jogging route of theirs (shown here), took me by loudly buzzing cicadas in the peak of a 17-year cycle, and shared their wonderful experiences and perspectives over hours of enriching evening conversation!