Oh Shenandoah - #41

 

Virginia is a very green state with boundless mountain views. Traveling from one end to another, we  steadfastly were escorted by the very lush Blue Ridge Mountains. We never tired of their beauty.

I had arranged for two stops in Virginia, approximately 200 miles apart.  The first was in the Shenandoah National Park area; we arrived last Wednesday and stayed until yesterday morning, Saturday, October 9th.  Besides the incredible campsite we enjoyed for three days, we drove (48 miles) the southern portion of Skyline Drive in the National Park. It was so lovely! We stopped at most of the scenic overlooks to take pictures and just express awe. I was also very excited to purchase our "Lifetime Senior National Parks Pass". We will be using it again within the next couple of weeks at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.   Here are a few favorite photos from our drive.

Back at the campground, I spent one of the days doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and Charlie repaired a few minor deficiencies.  Just like in a sticks and bricks home, there is always maintenance that needs to be done - on the truck, on the travel trailer.  We still need to go food shopping, get rid of trash daily, clean the litter box (also daily). So although this may seem like a "vacation" - a word no longer part of my vocabulary since we retired - we are just living our lives in our little home on wheels; our backyard just keeps on changing!

   

Making Onion Soup                                   Sometimes We Sleep In                                                                               

So Saturday (yesterday) morning we arrived in Fort Chiswell, VA.  It's an area very close to the NC border and about 175 miles northeast of Asheville.  Asheville is a stop I am considering for our return trip next April. (I haven't planned the return yet). We are staying two nights at Fort Chiswell RV Park.

At first glance, this park doesn't look like much, but what a pleasant surprise! Beautiful bathhouse (the best so far), nice laundry facility. The park butts right up against a vast farm with a variety of sheep, lambs, cows - all grazing on the green hillside within our view. Walking a little further down, I discovered a waterway, meandering through the side of the park. Sometimes first impressions aren't always accurate. 

Sunday,(today), we visited the Fort Chiswell Animal Park. This came highly recommended by reviews and only 2 miles down the road; looked like a great way to spend some time….well - what a fun place this was! We climbed onto the "safari" bus and drove through 45 acres of free roaming animals. The exciting part was how friendly the animals were and we could feed them!! Our photos speak for themselves!

We leave tomorrow for our next stop -  Pigeon Forge, TN! Dollywood here we come! 

The Rain, The Park And Other Things - #40

THE RAIN:  You know when you make a comment about how much worse things could be and then the worse happens? That was our drive through the Pocono Mountains on our way to Kutztown, PA. Charlie commented how pretty the scenery was but too bad the sun wasn't shining; I responded how I like a little rain; looking through the wet truck windows the landscape appears a little blurry like an impressionist painting. Then I added "It would be so much worse driving through these winding mountain roads in a downpour" - and as the last word hung in the air before it reached Charlie's ear - it started to pour.  

It was a slightly stressful drive in and out of heavy rain, but as we got closer to Pine Hill RV Park, the weather began to clear and the sky opened up to a really pleasant afternoon. That was our golden ring.

I diligently follow the weather for each leg of our trip; it's constantly changing.  Rain is forecasted for most of this week, however, we've seemed to luck out so far - not encountering as much as expected.  Today is Thursday, October 7th; we have already left Kutztown and arrived yesterday afternoon at the Shenandoah National Park area.  To date, we have completed approximately 1/4 of the way to our ultimate destination.  

THE PARK: It is very rare that we don't find something positive about each campground. They are all different; the levels of amenities, care and cleanliness also move back and forth on the scale but are really never too far off, either side, from the middle.

In Kutztown, PA, we were welcomed to Pine Hill RV Park by a huge and still fragrant display of pink petunias. The scenery in the area was spectacular; farmland abound!  

This morning, at the Shenandoah KOA, I sit on our "deck", complete with gas grill, patio furniture and fire pit, enjoying my coffee and writing. We are enjoying this premium site and a bit of  "glamping"; the cost was premium to match! 

OTHER THINGS: We visited Crystal Cave while in Kutztown (say that three times fast). This was a very nice, compact tour of beautiful rock formations inside the cavern. (We've been to Carlsbad which is much, much larger) 

Kutztown is in the middle of the Amish country; we visited a small Mennonite run market. I purchased locally produced Dutch egg noodles, apple butter, home made peanut butter and some other goodies.

And now for an admission - or should I say omission.

Let me premise this by saying - everyone knows I am a master packer. Very organized, detail oriented, I never forget anything. I pack all of Charlies' and my clothes.  The first couple of days of the trip we boondocked and generally don't use the shower; we have wet wipes we use to freshen up and honestly, we wear the same clothes for a couple of days. (this is camping, my friends) However, I did want to change my underwear. But hmmm..... it wasn't where I usually kept it; I figured it must be some other place. I would take a good look through everything once we got to our first campground with full hookups (which is when I reorganized all the cabinets and closets). Well, apparently, after all my lists and perfect organization, I forgot to pack underwear for myself! But wait - that's not the funny part. I have an old sheet I keep in the truck. I use this to cover myself when Minnie the cat sits on my lap when we travel (so I don't get totally covered with cat fur - I also have a lint roller in the truck too) 

When I shook the sheet out to refold - out popped a pair of underwear! Must have gotten caught in the elastic corner when I did laundry. The underwear gods must have felt sorry for me. Well, now I have two pair until we I get to the store! LOL!

 

3, 2, 1...Blast Off! - #39

 If you haven't had the opportunity to view - Countdown: Inspiration 4 Mission to Space (Netflix limited series documentary covering the first four American civilians launched into space) you are missing a wonderful, exciting - and yes, inspirational story.  As Charlie and I watched the final episode last evening on my "Ei"phone in our camper, I commented how similarly I felt to these "civilian astronauts" preparing for and setting off on their adventure. While I know there is no way to compare RVing to blasting off into space and circling the earth - an adventure is still an adventure and being able to live out a dream is indescribable. 

Our launch date was Friday, October 1st, 12 noon.  We were right on schedule! The first leg of our trip was very short - just over 80 miles to Foxwoods Casino where we boondocked for 2 nights. We can set up very quickly and spend the day walking through the casinos, Tanger Outlets and just relaxing. This also gives us an opportunity to to get adjusted - especially to sleeping. I always have a tough time sleeping the first night anywhere new; I just can't seem to sleep. Charlie also had difficulty and Minnie too couldn't seem to settle down.  Maybe it was the excitement! So after a relatively sleepless night,  we got up early Saturday morning,  headed down to the casino for coffee and a little gambling.  The closest I got to winning was sitting next to a lucky lady who won $6,000+ on a slot machine! I spent a couple of hours back at the camper on the internet and phone, making reservations for the next two weeks.  This was a little challenging due to the upcoming Columbus Day holiday weekend, but we were able to secure several great campgrounds in the locations we wanted. Then, I had a craving for a burger and we returned to the casino for a late lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Donating more money to casino after we ate, we headed back to our trailer to rest for the balance of the afternoon/evening. We were really tired and I had my fingers crossed we would get some decent sleep Saturday night. 

  

Sunday morning, October 3rd, we were packed up and ready to move out by 9 a.m. Our destination for today was Tri-State RV Park in Matamoras - 184 miles. We have stayed at this park previously; this time was just a 24 hour overnight stop (no site seeing planned) on our way to Kutztown, PA, just under 100 miles from here. When you've allowed yourself a month to get from point A to point B, you can really take your time to stop and smell the roses!

I spent my time at Tri-State  totally organizing and reorganizing all our personal aids and clothing in the closets and cabinets to make things easier to access. I also got in some walking and exercise. I made hot dogs and vegetarian beans with sauerkraut for dinner. Yum!  It always feels like a luxury when you have power, water and sewerage and cable TV - after roughing it for a couple of days! 

Unfortunately, rain is in the forecast for the next several days, but we have some interesting indoor activities we might take in at our next stop. Everywhere we go from Matamoras on - is new to us. We will be leaving within the hour. 

Getting Ready For The Big Trip #38

It is only an incredible 10 days until we leave for our big trip to Texas!   Although we still have lots to do, I am confident it will all go well. We have already accomplished a lot, doing things gradually; I know there will be a big push at the end. I have my list!

In the morning when I'm having my coffee, I have been working on mapping out our trip. It has gone from scribbling notes on paper, looking up distances on google maps, searching for campground options and places to overnight on Campendium; ultimately accumulating the info on a spreadsheet with our daily travel goals and camping destinations, distances, costs, etc... We do plan to be somewhat flexible; I don't plan to book any campsites until we are on the road which is risky but I do have an idea of where we are going and where we might stay. I have planned 14 legs to our journey; only a couple of days will be around 200 miles of driving; the rest under 200 per day and many well less than that. Most of our stops will be 2-3 days to explore different locations and to relax. It will definitely be an adventure! UPDATE: I have started to book the first couple of campgrounds to get a feel for the reservation difficultly.  I know the week prior to and after Columbus Day weekend will be our biggest issue.

I have already packed our trailer with winter jackets and accessories and clothes for cooler weather which is stored under our bed compartment; I recently packed part of our current season clothing into our wardrobes. There will be some cold temps in Bandera but mostly during the night; days will be around 60; we'll see how it goes...

There are some things I use at home I also want to bring - like my swiffer, immersion mixer, hand mixer - but there isn't much more I really need. We found room under our jackknife sofa to store Charlie's keyboard.  He'll be bringing a lot of his "toys". For some items we've been considering purchasing, we'll probably just wait and get them in Bandera, if it turns out we really need them.

At home, I've been finishing up some maintenance projects I've had on my list.  I repainted to freshen up the doors to Charlie's shed, resealed the sandbox to match the swing set I had already resealed last month and now I've started the deck. UPDATE - Completed the deck! That is my last house project. Brooke asked me to prepare a list of things that need to be done to maintain the house.  Honestly, this is harder to do than you'd think; you always have to be looking at everything to maintain - but I will attempt to make a list for her.

I also need to wash and wax the truck; we have already cleaned the trailer with the exception of the awning which I hope to get to next week. UPDATE - Awning cleaned! The truck will need a good  interior cleaning as well and I am trying to organize the cab to store necessities - water, tissues, hand sanitizer, masks, stuff for the cat, and anything else we may need regularly during travel.

Charlie has checked the air pressure on the trailer's tires, the truck went in for a final maintenance check with our mechanic.

We met up with friends Ellen and Yori in CT a couple of weeks ago- Sunday through Tuesday. We had a lot of fun visiting the Mystic Aquarium and hitting both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.  It was a pleasant break from the mode of getting ready through the month of September.

This is an exciting and just a little anxiety filled time. Time is counting down and before we know it - we will be on the road! That will be my next post!