THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511120139
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ROANOKE LENGTH: Short : 27 lines
The Blue Ridge Parkway marked its 60th anniversary and 600 millionth visitor with a shower of gifts on a surprised couple from Hawaii.
Domar and Sara Knudson of Honolulu, traveling the nation's backroads to his new Navy duty station in Charleston, S.C., were cruising down the parkway when they stopped at Roanoke's tourist information center.
``It was pure happenstance,'' said Knudson, a 25-year-old second class petty officer, explaining how he followed the parkway to Roanoke. ``I don't like the expressways.''
Knudson works as an electrician aboard nuclear submarines.
Sara Knudson, 22, said local tourism officials came to their motel room after they had signed in at the visitor center and tapped Domar to be the parkway's statistically symbolic visitor No. 600,000,000. by CNB