Day 12-It was a chilly morning in the tent, but our hearts were strangely warmed at the prospect of something that’d been absent while adventuring and camping for two days. Showers! On the way out of Ace Adventure Lodge, we would pass by the elusive shower house that had escaped us. Our campsite had a bath house, but it only had potties, not the luxury of sinks and showers! And not only did we need to scrub off the sludge, but we also had to blow dry our hair and put on our faces! We emerged from the very primitive shower house like butterflies from a chrysalis headed to White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia to visit The Greenbrier! The Greenbrier is known for a couple of things. Namely, It's unique décor and it’s top-secret, government classified Cold War bunker housed within it. Hidden in plain sight, the bunker was intended to house Congress if the Soviet Union decided to go all nukey on us during the Cold War. President Eisenhower commissioned an apocalypse-resistant bomb shelter the size of a football field. And, since it was uncovered by some meddling reporter and de-classified, you can go on a tour of it! You can read more about it here:
https://www.npr.org/2011/03/26/134379296/the-secret-bunker-congress-never-used
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| Bunker door hidden behind wallpapered false wall |
Our tour guide was a sullen, grouchy little lady from New York. She would answer your questions with responses such as, “I don’t even know why you would even ask that”, or “If you would just read the wall, the answer will be quite clear”. Then she would ask us a question and we’d all stare at her blankly, afraid to speak. Perhaps she was trying to help us experience a communist regime, or maybe she just forgot to eat her Wheaties.
However, it is impossible to be sullen for long at The Greenbrier! Just open your eyes and you will behold the LOUD and PROUD décor of one Mrs. Dorothy Draper. Mrs. Draper was not afraid of color or pattern or putting it all together in one big pleated, plaited, polka-dotted visual cacophony! I am fairly certain that Mrs. Draper influenced my floral rompers of the 1980s as well as my Laura Ashley everything. She was unapologetically anti-minimalist and while I am not sure that Mr. Bullington would permit huge, bow-shaped, bright yellow cornices, one can certainly appreciate her ability to mix literally everything with everything then trim it with some tassels and put a bow on it.
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| All cleaned up for The Greenbrier |
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| Lerd. That's a lot. |
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| Expert Chair Tester |
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| Also Dessert Stop |
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| Lunch Stop |
We ended the day in my new favorite town (until I get back to my one true love, Marietta). Charlottesville, Virginia, is quite a special little stop. We walked along the Mall, which isn’t anything like Town Center at Cobb, but an outdoor pedestrian-only street lined with adorable shops and amazing restaurants. AND, as fortune would have it, they just happened to be having a free concert! Mr. Bullington and I took in some tunes while the kids complained and rolled their eyes until we tried to talk to them and then they ignored us. Nothing like feeling the love from your teens and tweens when they are cranky. It's like trying to square dance with a ferrel cat.
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| Look at this little treasure. The last one of it's kind! |
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| Hey Dave, sorry we missed you! |
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| Good Night, Charlottesville! We'll be back! |
Our dinner stop was chosen because Dave Matthews used to tend bar here before he was THE Dave Matthews. Miller’s didn’t disappoint! I WAS disappointed that Dave didn’t decide to return to Miller’s this particular night to make me a drink and sing me a song, but you can’t have everything.
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