The McCabe Family Great Smoky Mountains Road Trip 2014

We arrived at Monica & Bob's about 2:30 and stayed till about 6:00 for Veronica's graduation party.  The food was great and the company even better.  But we were tired and longed for home.  Here's our farewell photo on the front steps. Thanks again to Monica and Bob for their hospitality.  And thank you again to Kathleen Collins for the Choice Hotels family & friends rate link which helped us stay at Choice Hotels properties at very inexpensive rates.

Tomorrow, the last day of our road trip, we head first to Ellicott City, Maryland, to visit with my sister Monica Collins and brother-in-law Bob, and for my niece Veronica Collins's graduation party.  Then, it's back home to Philadelphia.  We'll be sorry to end the adventures of our road trip, but happy to be home.

His room:

After dinner at Mel's, we did a quick tour of the "lawn" of the University of Virginia which is located in Charolottesville.  It's a beautiful campus. The Rotunda: The lawn: Some historical markers:

After checking in at the hotel and resting a bit, we drove to the campus of the University of Virginia and grabbed a bite to eat at Mel's Cafe, a greasy spoon with unassuming looks but very good comfort food. My meal was hamburger steak and grilled onions smothered in gravy, with sides of mashed potatoes and collard greens.  It was very good. The kids also especially enjoyed their meals, and Suzanne finished hers as well. And I finally had myself a piece of pie! A slice of homemade sweet potato pie, topped with some whipped cream.  Clare and Conor also had a slice of sweet potato pie, without the topping.

On the way to our hotel, we drove past a memorial to Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and William Clark (1770-1838) located at a busy intersection in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Suzanne stopped the car and I hopped out to take a photo.  The memorial reads: "Bold and farseeing pathfinders who carried the flag of the young republic to the western ocean and revealed an unknown empire to the uses of mankind." Of course, Thomas Jefferson conceived of the Lewis & Clark Expedition while he was president, and Lewis and Clark were both from Virginia, which I suppose is why the memorial is located in Charlottesville.

Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  He is buried in a private gravesite on the grounds of Monticello.  Check out the inscription on his gravestone.

We left Kernersville, North Carolina, about 8:30 for the close to four hour drive to Monticello .  We arrived at the visitor center (opened in 2004) about 12:30 or so, had a quick lunch of sandwiches, and then saw a short film on Jefferson.  We also did some shopping - every place we visited had a gift shop!  A shuttle bus drove us up to the house at Monticello.  We had a 45-minute tour of the house which was illuminating and quite interesting.

Tomorrow we're headed to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, our last attraction on the road trip.

Thanks once again to my trusty Road Food book, we grabbed an inexpensive dinner at Stamey's , a well-known barbecue joint in Greensboro, North Carolina.  Stamey's, which has been around since 1930, is known for its “Lexington-style” barbecue pork.  Stamey's slow cooks its pork barbecue over a pit of hardwood hickory coals.  Needless to say, it did not disappoint any of us.  Dad, Clare and Conor had the sliced pork, with baked beans and hush puppies.  Mom had a chicken and chopped pork combo with baked beans and rolls.  We also enjoyed Cheerwine , a local cherry-flavored soft drink.  It's so good that I plan to bring home a case.  For dessert, Conor and Dad had the peach cobbler, with Conor's topped with vanilla ice cream.  If you are ever in Greensboro, you must check our Stamey's.  You will not be sorry!