What We Saw

Yesterday  I told you about our bus/train ride with the senior citizens. Our goal was a waterfall that could only be reached by train. This was the purpose of our trip. When the train reached its destination, the conductor made this announcement: If you are unable to walk on your own, unassisted, then do not leave the train.
Excuse me? Did I hear him right? I very plainly asked the person in charge of the trip if we could push Mom in her wheelchair down to the falls and received an affirmative answer. There were many who chose to remain on the train, including Mom and Dad, of course. (Remember - the trip was for them.)

I was pretty excited by the time I saw this sign. Getting to this point involved carefully walking down a hillside. My hubby helped several women who were in danger of falling. There was no rail, only hanging tree limbs.

I didn't really know what to expect, but  my hubby was very disappointed in the size of the waterfall.

You must admit the scenery around it was gorgeous. We were there at the right time, that's for sure.

This is a cave we passed on our way down to the "lower falls".

This is another cave on the other side of the water.

The trees were in their glory.

Tomorrow I'll have one more post about the train trip. It had a surprising twist.

Fall Foliage on the Tracks

Our senior center offers bus trips to county residents. I saw one that I thought my parents would enjoy going on with us. The tickets were a bit pricey, so I told my folks this would be their Christmas present. (I know I'll end up buying them other gifts, but this is how we fool each other.)

My parents spent the night with us before our trip. I invited my daughter and granddaughter over for dinner. Cate just loves her great-grandma.

Cate provides predinner music for us.

The bus left Roanoke at 5:30. We then picked up some more seniors at the other senior center, before we hit the road for our trip to Elkins, WV.

This bus "kneels", which made it easier for Mom to get on it.

Getting on the train was another matter. For a senior citizens' trip, there were not any accommodations made. I would not recommend this trip.

See how narrow the aisle is. We couldn't push Mom in her wheelchair.

Then we had to walk through two cars to get to our car and seating. See the bag lunches waiting for us.

We let the rest of our group board first so we wouldn't hold them up. However, none of them thought to save the first table in the car for us, so we had to walk to the end of our car. (And to think that generation condemns young people for a lack of upbringing.) Even our "tour guides" didn't make any arrangements for us. (I had asked them before booking the tour if accommodations could be made for Mom.)

Despite my complaints, Mom loved the trip.

Sit back and enjoy the scenery. I'm sorry I don't have lunch for you.

Tomorrow I'll show you the falls we were taking the train to see. Please come back.