Road Trip Virginia in the Fall

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year and I can’t help but eat up the bold golds, reds and oranges that dot the landscape around DC. But even for this city gal, I need a break from the traffic downtown and around the beltway. One of my favorite ways to escape is grabbing my girlfriends and taking a road trip!

If you want to keep thing on the cheap, pack a picnic lunch and have each girl bring a dish. Spice up the occasion by having themed dishes or keep it classy with a baguette and some cheese. Preparing a mix is a must for any road trip. Designate someone to make a playlist that will have you rockin’ out on the highway. Remember: Because thought and time goes into creating the perfect mix, the DJ gets to sit shotgun.

Now that you have the basics nailed, it’s time to choose a destination. If you want Georgetown flair outside DC, I recommend visiting Middleburg, VA off I-66. This cute town has been around since 1787 and lies in the heart of Virginia’s hunt country. Known for great dining, boutiques, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and a love for anything equestrian, Middleburg is a great place to spend a day walking around.

For the nature lover, I recommend traveling further West on 1-66 to Skyline Drive. People travel from all over to see Virginia’s famed fall foliage. Drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains and stop at scenic overlooks. The sight is breathtaking.

Travel south on I-81 to reach the history lover’s destination (about three hours from DC). Lexington, VA is a picture-perfect civil war town full of antique shops and local historic areas of interest. Stop at the coffee shop in the main part of town and shuffle through the fallen leaves to the Virginia Military Institute. Here, you can take free tours and even see Stonewall Jackson’s preserved horse in the campus museum.

I’ve done all three trips before and they’re perfect for this time of year. Plus they only take a few hours so your entire weekend isn’t tied up. Check out http://www.virginia.org/ for more ideas. Safe travels!

The Golden Circle is Anything But Square

The Golden Circle is probably the most tourist-y thing you can do in Iceland minus visiting the Blue Lagoon. Sometimes, you've just gotta embrace the inner tourist and do as other visitors do! My choir arranged for a bus to take us around Þingvellir National Park (Þ is pronounced as a 'th' so many English tanslations are spelled Thingvellir), Iceland's first national park and the location of the Mid Atlantic Ridge. This excursion did not disappoint!


Our first stop was the geysers. Around each of the geysers were colorful pools of bubbling thermal water cordoned off by rope and a small boardwalk. I found that the geysers in Yellowstone were much more impressive than the ones I saw in Iceland. The only one that erupts on the regular is Strokkur which goes off about every 5 minutes for only a few seconds. The other geyser, Geysir (the geyser whose namesake was applied internationally), hasn't erupted in a long time.


I climbed to the top of a nearby hill to get a better view of the action. On the other side of the hill was a small valley with a river and a few houses sporadically placed in the landscape. It was quite beautiful. If you get a chance, climb the hill and sit on the peak and absorb the park- you can see for miles on a clear day :) After lunch at a nearby restaurant with an epic wedgie statue, our bus took us to Gullfoss (Golden Falls), the most powerful waterfall in Europe! It was HUGE. The water cascaded over a triangular cliff into a picturesque river valley. On good days, you can spot a rainbow in the vapor mist (I managed to catch a faint color spectrum on my DSLR). We walked down to the rocks closest to the falls and further down near the rock face to the left, I waded my feet in the freezing,rushing current.


Our next stop was the AlÞingi parliament site. As we walked, we came upon a fairy tale blueish green water by a bridge which was known as the wishing well (or 'wissing well' according to our hilarious tour guide who accidentally mispronounced s's on occasion ie. volcanic ash--> volcanic ass). If you throw a coin, make a wish, and see it land your wish will come true. I threw in a penny and forgot to make a wish. Fail.


We continued along the boardwalk up to a site with the ceremonial Icelandic flag waving in the breeze. This is where the Viking parliament, AlÞing, met 10 centuries ago, making it the oldest parliament in the world! Behind the flag and between the enormous lava rock formation was a path that serves as a visual of the rift between the American and European tectonic plates. Also, the small valley where the AlÞing is located has been sinking every year due to plate movement, and looking out over the field, it's noticeable.


The rock walls were really impressive, easily reaching 50 feet in height. It looked as if someone took a knife and cut it like a birthday cake- that's how noticeable the geological rift was. At one point, the choir gathered in the middle and sang a song as the acoustics were surprisingly quite good (we even drew a small crowd from afar). Afterward, our guide led us down to a pond where the Vikings used to drown women. A man would stand on one side with a rope to pull her in and another man would stand opposite with a long stick to push and hold her under since the water was relatively shallow. Why does it seem that drowning women was a popular past time for so many cultures?!


We continued up the path to the top of the rocks and could see the entire park as well as a beautiful lake to our right, a memorable sight to by which to remember Þingvellir. What an amazing place to experience! After returning to the states, I found out that you can go scuba diving and literally be in between 2 continents. Next trip?!

Jeeohthermuhl

The morning started out rough. The roomie and I were fresh off our Rúntur which meant we caught less than an hour of sleep after getting back to the hotel after 7 am and going to breakfast at 8 am. I went down to breakfast in sweats with my hair still wet looking all kinds of shambles. I loaded up on carbs, juice, and kaffi, and changed in time to meet my group in the lobby at 9:15.

A bus picked up about 20 0f us from our choir for the Golden Circle tour. I made a beeline for the long seat in the back of the bus and passed out. We must have been on the road for a half an hour when we pulled into the parking lot of Hellisheiði geothermal power plant.


I signed the guest book as we entered. We were funneled to a large staircase in the middle of the lobby that served as make-shift seating for tourists. A powerpoint on the plant and how Iceland uses geothermal energy was given in English. Not having any room to sit (and to keep from falling asleep), I walked around the second floor.


There was a cool exhibit towards the back that demonstrated the force of a volcanic eruption with sound. The floor shook as the sound waves did their thing and it was loud (not ideal post-Rúntur, haha). After the powerpoint presentation ended, more people took interest in the sound exhibit I discovered, so I went outside on the terrace. There were large, metal machines and pipes winding there way into the active volcano ridge. When you drive through Iceland, you can see the pipes alongside the road. They're responsible for heating all of Reykjavík! Also, a tid bit I picked up from my oh-so-educational power plant excursion, the pipes are on wheels so they flex in strong weather conditions!


After taking pictures, I went back inside and looked through a large window that showed the internal power plant machinery. There were metal machines everywhere and it too was very loud. It reminded me of the inside of the Little Debbie factory in Stuarts Draft, VA (Organizational Communications class field trip in college. SO LEGIT. After we toured the facility, they gave us boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes that fed me and my roomies for weeks), though not quite as large-scale, and of the turbines at the Hoover Dam, though not quite as big. Be sure to pick up a tiny booklet at the information desk on your way out. It has interesting graphs, charts, and maps of Iceland's geothermal energy usage since 1940 as well as recent energy consumption and plotted locations of geothermal fields around the country.

Hiking the Fire Castle

The roomie and I were dead set on hiking in Iceland during our free days. It'd be ludicrous to pass up the opportunity to actually experience the incredible natural landscape! For this road trip, we explored the Snæfellsnes Peninsula north of Reykjavík and the Faxaflói Bay (about a 2 1/2 hour trip with stops).

At the suggestion of the front desk guy at the hotel, we detoured around the Hvalfjörður instead of going through a tunnel that cuts the trip by about 45 minutes. It was a picturesque drive and worth the extra time to drive!!! The expansive water was calm and of a pristine blue color. The mountains and hills surrounded the water and Icelandic horses and sheep freely roamed the stretches of green grass that weaved in and out of the hills. As we drove further north, the mountains began to spread out, the terrain got rockier, the hills more mountainous, and the flora multiplied. This reminded me of the American West.


We weren't sure how far we had to get to our destination, Snæfellsjökull, the volcano that Jules Verne posed as having the entrance to a passage leading to the center of the earth in his novel, A Journey to the Center of the Earth. (I wish I could say I was clever enough to have read the book or that I knew of our destination's significance beforehand, but no. It wasn't until we started reading our guidebooks out loud in the car -- mainly the elf and troll stories because they were hilarious-- that we came across the literary tie.) Since the volcano was the furthest point West and we had rehearsal at 5:30 we began to think of other options. Plus our sage hotel guy cautioned us that the hike we planned on was a bit dangerous for novices. The weather changes at the drop of a hat and people get lost all the time. He even suggested that we notify a local farmer to let them know we were out there if indeed we pursued the idea. Below is an up-close view of Snæfellsjökull from our drive as we rounded the peninsula on its furthest point west.


After our car passed a sign for what looked like a possible hiking opportunity, we made an executive decision to turn around and check it out. We made a right off the main road (it's a left if approaching from the south) at the hiking sign for the Eldborg volcano crater aka the Fire Castle, the most complete volcano crater in the world! It was relatively small, but it rose 1,000 ft. We parked in front of what looked like a house and went up to the door and knocked, as the sign at the back said 'reception.' My roomie opened the door to what looked like a mud room to ascertain if it was ok to park where we were. Yeahhhh it definitely was someone's house, no one ever came to the door. The whole situation was awkward. We decided to leave the car, pack our lunches and hike the 2+ miles to the summit.


Our hike took us alongside a small river then along the barbed wire fence past the sheep, fields and farmland which ultimately led us to an open area with lots of rocks, dried lava and low-lying bushes.

Icelandic joke time: What do you do when you're lost in a forest in Iceland? You stand up. hahahahahaha

Why it's funny: There aren't many trees in Iceland (the most I ever saw in one place was in the arboretum in Reykjavík). Low-lying bushes, like the ones we saw on the hike, seemed to be the norm.

The path was clearly marked, a reddish soil that was clearly used a lot. It also was hot outside (maybe 70 degrees F?) so I stripped down a layer of clothes. Near the crater, we came across a group of American elementary school-aged kids with 2 women chaperones and a golden retriever (seriously, how random?!) that must have belonged to the awkward situation house people where we parked. A rock and soil path steeply climbed the front of the crater and a chain link fence was there for support on the descent. The roomie and I opted to climb the rocks instead of using the path the entire time. It was easy because the rocks jutted out and provided an easy foothold and the smaller, less secure rocks, were easy to spot.


We reached the top and had a great view of the ocean running alongside the peninsula and Snæfellsjökull, which we lovingly dubbed Mt. Fugi because of the uncanny resemblance.

Sidenote: As we flew home from Keyflavík, I looked out my window and saw a clear view of our Mt. Fugi jutting through the clouds. It truly was special to know that I was there, that I experienced its beauty firsthand. My last memory of Iceland, the last thing I saw. The sight is etched in my brain and I can't help but smile when I think back to my trip.

The hills/volcanoes/mountains around us had a bold coloring to them as the valley had a light cloud cover and the light was seeping through. There wasn't much of a path at the top of the crater, just a small, roped off area with sharp lava rocks. We ate our lunches (mostly makeshift sandwiches from our hotel breakfast) and took in the scene. The point of departure was far off in the distance, the house a small detail in the expanse of open land. Our new vantage point allowed a more accurate perspective of just how far we hiked (quite a sense of accomplishment)!


The hike back didn't take as long. I think Eldborg was near a camping place, though none of us officially figured it out. Back near the house were a few buildings, like cabins, off to the side of a larger building with picnic tables out front (it almost seemed like a dorm). There were kids everywhere, perhaps the group we saw on the hike, in addition to some Icelandic children? The whole thing was confusing. The dorm-like building had a bathroom, signs pointed the way to the WC. It wasn't really a public restroom per se. It led us to a restroom right off of someone's room. We had no clue if we were on private property or what. Oops? Again, more awkwardness. Luckily no one seemed to mind.

Next to the faux dorm, Icelandic horses were fenced in. We pet them and I took pictures. I then made my way down to the river to wade my feet which then turned into a short nap. I was awoken by one of may car mates hurling rocks in the water toward me to wake me up. It was time to pile in the car and head towards Olafsvík.

Visiting .00125% of Icelanders

The second leg of our journey south after Seljalandsfoss was full of ash (see "Kicking Ash and Taking Names" post). As we drove the ring road the ash disappeared into the hovering clouds allowing us expansive views of the lush, green countryside. The topography was mountainous and the views were more beautiful the further we drove.


We reached our destination, Vík, the wettest place in Icleand which is ironic because when we were there it didn't rain. Vík is a town of 400 people. On the map in my guidebook, the town was marked with a larger dot so I thought it would be bigger. Guess it's big for Iceland, roughly .00125% of the population! The town had one church up on a hill set along the mountainside. We took the main road and parked at what we thought looked like a school or rec center with an interesting mural that made me laugh so hard. From what I could tell, it depicted a kid running into a volcano, falling in, then blowing up. Hilarious. (pic below)


We weren't sure we were allowed to park there so we found a gravel road that led us to a small lot by the German memorial. It looked like a mini Stonehenge design and the only inscriptions were in German. It commemorates a German fishing boat that was wrecked off the beach and was erected by the fishing company to thank the Icelanders who had risked their lives to save crew members.


Since we couldn't read German well, we continued toward the beach (voted a top ten black sand beach in the world... and rightly so!) Along the rock face of the Reynisfall cliffs to our right we saw a large and industrious colony of arctic terns. Beyond that was a stegasaurus-like basalt rock formation called Reynisdrangar. Legend claims the pillars of basalt rock was formed when two trolls couldn't land their boat before dawn and consequently turned to stone. (below)


All the sites were taken in from the beach. We waded our feet in the freezing Atlantic ocean and walked to the shoreline which became rockier and harder to walk on as we headed back toward the town. Side note: I can handle cold water like no one's business, sometimes I think my body is as well insulated as a polar bear, but this water was coooold. My only regret is that I didn't bring my suit with me for the road trip, otherwise I'd be all over doing a true polar plunge! We hopped Rte 1 back to Reykjavík for our first rehearsal with Vox Academica in Langholtskirkja after taking in the nature, walking along the beach, and taking pictures.

Seljalandsfoss= Win!

We woke up early and had an awesome breakfast. The hotel had fresh bread, meats- my fave was a round one that looked like salami- Icelandic cheese (to die for!), fresh fruit, o.j., bacon and eggs, and kaffi. We set our destination as Vík, as well as a park east of there to hike (though we never made it because we had a 5:00 rehearsal back in Reykjavík). Around the time the road turned to gravel due to the glacier flooding from the volcano eruption, we saw 3 beautiful waterfalls lining the edge of a cliff so we had to explore!


We stumbled upon Seljalandsfoss (pictured above)! Reading up on it after the fact, I found that since the waterfall is very picturesque, it is often featured in calendars. It was also in season 6 of the Amazing Race. Anyway, we parked the car in a gravel lot along with a tour bus and other day trippers. What surprised me the most was how bouncy the ground was! We took pictures and headed toward the first fall which was the largest.


A small pool, a medium-sized pond, really, lay at the bottom of the fall. We took a rocky path (above) that led up the hill behind the falls. I even went down to the base of the pool and tasted the water- fresh and cold! Note to travelers: You will get soaked! The spray is intense, especially if you choose to venture along the backside of the waterfall. That's also what made the experience fun :)


We emerged on the other side, climbing down a slippery staircase, to reach the second waterfall. The path was lined with Alaska Lupine and the largest daisies I have ever seen. This waterfall didn't have much going for it in terms of size, but it was pretty against the verdant vegetation (above). We also spotted a pipe that sprung a leak causing two tall spouts of water to come out at its base. The color spectrum could be seen in its mist.


We followed the small stream along the bottom of the hill to the third waterfall. To get to it, we jumped across rocks where the stream widened and climbed up the steep hill. What was cool about this waterfall was that there was a large barrel at the base (above). Perfect spot for a photo op! Across the way, there was a shallow cave in the rock face nearby which made for an adventure for those willing to scale rocks to check it out. Eventually we made our way back down to the little hut with a grass roof (window shown below) and headed back to the car for the next leg of our journey.

We spent about 45 minutes checking out our first Icelandic waterfalls. The country is teeming with them- you can't drive the ring road and not see one :) Seljalandsfoss= easily accessible from the Ring Road + isn't too far from Reykjavík + one stop to see three waterfalls = Win!