Friday September 10, 2010

 

 

Road Trip – Day 7

Last Day

…heading north from Roanoke

Tuesday, August 24

 

 

Our first stop on Tuesday morning was Cracker Barrel.

 

 

As we approached Roanoke on Monday evening, I thought, “This is were Ike Risser lives, we should call and see if he is available to meet us for breakfast.”

 

 

We were delighted that it suited him. He was a regular speaker at our TFC Northeast Retreats in the eighties and nineties. It had been many years since we saw him – and the first time since his wife, Mildred, passed away.

It was wonderful to catch up on his life.

 

 

We had an appointment in Culpeper, Virginia, and decided to go by Liberty University in Lynchburg because we had never see it, and some of our friends attended here.

 

 

It was a rainy morning, with lots of water on the road in Lynchburg, as you can see by the water spray caused by this car.

 

 

Our stop in Culpeper was to check out this truck.

The owner was not home, but told Cerwin where to find the keys. He wanted to donate it to TFC. It was interesting that he called Cerwin while we were in Virginia (heading south) – so it worked out nicely to see it on our way home.

 

 

While Cerwin checked out the exterior, I went inside the cab.

 

 

It had a lot of neat, plush features – and stuffed animals.

 

 

I am used to seeing the interior of TFC’s 1992 Volvo, and found this 2000 Freightliner layout to be quite different and more modern.

 

 

The dash was quite elaborate.

 

 

Cerwin checked out everything – wheels, engine, and body.

 

 

Since the only reason TFC needs a tractor, is to pull the International Chapel to truck shows and churches – and to deliver new chapels – a new tractor must be an improvement over what we have.

 

 

Cerwin’s conclusion was that this needed too much work, and would be expensive to change into a TFC tractor. It also has 1.4 million miles on it – a lot more than the Volvo.

 

 

 Thanks, Tom, for thinking of TFC.

That means we’re going to keep on driving yours, Barry.

 

 

Since Culpeper was our last planned stop – we looked for a few antique shops. Both of us enjoy browsing in these unique places. The exterior of this one got my attention!

 

 

We didn’t find anything here, but I loved her creative decor.

After supper at Mountain Gate Restaurant, Thurmont, Maryland, we headed home.  It was a great road trip – one of the best we have ever taken – but it is good to be home again.

 

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Tomorrow night: Blacktopping Our Road

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