Summer Vacation Part 2- Virginia

I enjoyed Virginia a lot. I got to see Virginia Tech. it was a big and beautiful campus. I think Carlos would like going there. He likes physics and math but he doesn’t yet know what he wants to do. At V Tech lots of students major in engineering. Carlos probably will do mechanical engineering. I have liked visiting different schools. I learned that people sometimes mean to go to college to study a particular field, but may change their minds. It is part of life to make changes in what you are interested in.

The next day my family went to a small town called Damascus. We went there to mountain bike. I was scared. I did not know if I could ride a different bike than my own. I thought I might fall off the edge. I almost stopped the trip from happening. In my fear I became paralyzed. This happened while I was in the bathroom where the bike shop was. My parents had to drag me out. I could not move my feet. Then I had to get on the shuttle bus to get to the top of the mountain. My body rebelled. I started lunging at my dad. My dad fought back. Mom told him to get out of the way. Finally the shuttle driver sat with me. She was very kind. She told me that I will have fun. I poured out the rest of my distress by cradling up to mom and crying softly. When I stopped crying I felt better.

We took a long drive to the top of the mountain. I felt a lot better. I started to think I would be ok. When we got to the top, I felt nervous and excited. I loved the view. I could better see the trail and it did not look difficult. I got on my bike. I started down the trail. My dad, sister, and brother went ahead of mom and me but later I lead the way. It felt so exhilarating biking.

I saw streams with fresh water, green forests, flowers, and bridges over valleys and water. The air was refreshing under the cool shade of the forest. Riding down the mountain was not scary. It really was fun.  When we were done, we bought some souvenirs. I got a shirt and sticker. It was my favorite bike ride of my life.

The next day we went to the University of Virginia. It was another beautiful campus. Thomas Jefferson founded and designed the school. It wasn’t what my brother liked. Maybe it was the fact that the Ku Klux Klan was holding a rally at the town park nearby that turned him off. 

Our last stop in Virginia was Smithfield where hogs and hospitality is their specialty. The town looked cute. We went to a restaurant where they had barbeque. I had a very good hot dog. I liked Virginia and hope to visit again.

Stay tuned for the last part of my vacation in the outer banks.

Copyright 2017 Philip Reyes.  All rights reserved.