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| Matthews, Virginia |
Blue Ridge Mountains to
Bristol, Tennessee |
Great Smokey Mountains
National Park |
Matthews, VA
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On our first stop from Philadelphia to New Orleans, Angela and I visited family in Mathews, VA. This small, rural community
located on Virginia's Middle Peninsula is a well kept secret. Actually, I feel like a snitch
just printing this now. In the approximately 87 square miles that make up Mathews,
there is not one traffic light! My Aunt and Uncle put us up for a few days, and I took the opportunity to explore the area
thoroughly by bike. The following are just a few selected photos taken during that biking tour.
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| An abandoned pick-up truck in an overgrown lot near Beaverlett, VA.
[Click here for a hi-res 800x507 copy of the above image.] |
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The diamond shaped sign on this abandoned building reads, "Kitt's Creek Farm Stand" and the rectangular sign beneath that adds, "HERBS." |
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The sign on this run-down building reads, "Needed Things." Notice the discarded plow overgrown by weeds in the foreground. |
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Finally after about 5.5 miles of riding, I met Mr. William "Bill" Johnson of Bavon, VA and his two sons. Several things happened all at once. I pulled up to his mailbox and the dog immediately took an interest in me. The youngest boy (in picture) seemed concerned that his dog was approaching me, so he also came towards me. Then the older son (not pictured) came flying into the scene on a lawn mower. Being young and unbothered by the expenses of lawnmower upkeep, he disregarded the raised three-inch wooden frame between driveway and yard. This all happened faster than I could say “Watch out!“ The front wheels of the mower hit the wooden frame and snapped up into the air, bucking the kid back like a rodeo cowboy. The back tires followed suit popping him back into position. Mr. Johnson was doing yard work. He looked up, yelled, “Stop!!”, just as his son was hitting the frame. I can only imagine what kind of damage that rattle did to the lawn mower’s alignment. The kid walked away unscathed, apart from the justified scolding he received from his father. [Click here for a hi-res 800x537 copy of the above image.]
We did eventually get to talking. I inquired on how to most efficiently get to the lighthouse. He inquired as to how I came to be on a bike in the middle of Mathews County. In passing, I mentioned to Mr. Johnson that none of the motorists signaled when turning off the road. Quick as a whip, he came back with, “No one uses turn signals in Mathews because everyone knows where everyone is going.” You just can not argue with that kind of logic. It was at that moment that a car pulled up to the green building with yellow trim across the street.
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Out of the car stepped the sprightly Mrs. Trusch, owner and operator of the building pictured above - an old post office turned
"museum of political memorabilia". I introduced myself as a nephew of Jeff White from “up the road”, and after a little prodding,
she was rattling off my family members‘ names! Turns out that Mrs. Trusch taught school with my uncle's grandmother for many
years. (She taught government, hence the political memorabelia.) I did not have time to visit the museum, filled with “old Mathews
stuff collected over the years" as she put it, but will definitely have to return for a proper tour one day.
[Click here for a hi-res 800x500 copy of the
above image.]
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Hermit crabs busily toiling under the observation deck at the New Point Comfort Lighthouse. |
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The beach near New Point, overlooking the Chesapeake bay. According to the sign, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries denotes this area as a "Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail". |
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By the abnormally low price of gas, old newspaper in the dispenser, and vacant shelves seen only partially through cloudy windows, I would say that this general store has been unoccupied for quite some time.
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This is the Onemo post office- Zip Code 23130. What came first, the town or the post office? Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Trusch told me a little story about post offices in Mathews County. It stands to reason that there can be no post office if there is no zip code, and there can be no zip code if there is no town. What would you do if you were tired of going all the way into town to ship a parcel or check your post office box? Well, at some point, the more remote people of Mathews Co. somehow came to the unanimous decision that they must incorporate in order to gain a post office. That is how the name “Onemo” came to be. The people, near what is now Onemo, wanted another post office. They wanted “one more” - “one mo” - “Onemo”! Brilliant!
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The Susan post office- Zip Code 23163 |
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A “for sale” sign just out of the frame reveals the secret to this haphazard lawn-bazaar. |
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I accidentally bypassed my exit and ended up on the Bethel Beach overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. As I walked along the high-tide line, I met this couple, visiting from New Hampshire. They had family in the area and enjoyed coming out to Bethel Beach to rummage around for shells.
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Finally, after about 23 miles of riding, I arrived at my destination - a party, thrown by neighbors of my Aunt and Uncle. Everyone was already there when I arrived around lunchtime. Pictured above is Steve, cooking burgers in front of his barn.
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Steve’s goat and hen pen. |
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This is a scan of the map I made of Mathews County. The red line shows my route to the lighthouse, and the green line shows my route to the party. Click here for a larger copy of the map.
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Click on the Blue Ridge link for the next leg of the journey.
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| Matthews, Virginia |
Blue Ridge Mountains to
Bristol, Tennessee |
Great Smokey Mountains
National Park |
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