Mountains add to the immeasurable beauty of Virginia and the bordering "Mountain state". About 6 years back, when one of our friends suggested a visit to the"wild and wonderful" West Virginia over a long weekend, a group of us joined together for an adventurous trip. It was just under a couple hours drive from Herndon-VA where we lived then. The breath-taking mountain views combined with boating activities, tranquil resort settings and the pleasant stay at the resort was one memorable experience but till then somehow I never really took the time to wonder about the spectacular Appalachian mountain range that spans several eastern US states.
Googling Appalachian mountain range, among several websites, somehow I was drawn to www.ILoveMountains.org and their meaningful work in creating awareness to control the damaging environmental and health effects of mountaintop removal coal mining.
Moving on to Chennai side of the story, a few magnificent hillocks within a 20-mile radius of where I used to live in Chennai is still fresh in memory. Atop the closest hillock is a 4-decade old temple. It was proposed by one of world's greatest sages during his visit in 1956 to that part of Chennai. That hill top temple used to be a favorite place in our neighborhood for some of us during my college days. There is one other nearby hill where we frequent those days. Atop this hill is one of the ancient temples and Celestial Abodes of Lord Vishnu. My better half comes from another part of Chennai very close to St. Thomas Mount. Atop this hillock is a Church with Mother Mary's shrine.
