Dec 19, 2020 - Cherrystone Family Campground

Well, day 1 went off pretty well. Traffic has been light, it's cold but the heater is working well. We managed to get on the road just after 9 and arrived just about 3. We ran over to The Shanty in Cape Charles for something to eat while properly social distancing and then back for an early to bed. Tomorrow we'll be on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel so naturally he forecast is for rain.

Dec 6, 2020 - Richmond, Virginia

Traveling today was sunny. Very nice to get some sun! Still cold, though. It is supposed to freeze overnight so we will have to bring in the water line. Tomorrow we are supposed to get freezing rain in the morning. We are watching the hourly weather on weather.com and are worried about traveling. If necessary we can stay here an extra night and adjust our overnight reservations, eliminating the day of rest on Wednesday. The morning dawned dry and cold, about 30 degrees. Too cold to leave the water hose out overnight but not so cold that we...

Nov 7, 2020 - Sandbridge Beach

Sorry for posting this a bit late! We actually ran out of power for a bit. But here it is. The day after my last post in Virginia Beach, we headed 30 minutes south to Sandbridge beach because my mom said it was "the shit." As in she really loved it there. So of course we had to go. Sandbridge is a lot different than Virginia Beach. It's a small residential town instead of a city, for one, with tons of totally free, no time limit parking! I was so excited because before, we only had two hours to be at the beach, plus the van was constantly...

Nov 6, 2020 - Virginia Beach

My parents told me I had to go to Virginia Beach, so here I am. We got here after the sun was down yesterday. There's a bunch of free two hour parking just behind all the hotels that line the beach, so we parked there. We weren't really sure what we were doing. We stepped out into humid, cool air as skateboarders went zipping by. I wasn't sure what kind of a city we were in and if it was safe, but we had been stuck in stopped traffic for the past hour and I had to pee so, so bad. I thought maybe the boardwalk would have a bathroom. We took...

Oct 29, 2020 - Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum

Raining fairly hard this morning. Had a 2-hour webinar I watched in my room before checking out shortly before 11. Just a short drive over to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum. I figure since I’ve visited all of the “official” presidential museums, I should begin work on the “unofficial” ones! The museum was in a large old house next to the home in which Wilson was born. The museum and library are run by a foundation so of course they don’t have the resources to fund as elaborate exhibits as the ones operated by the National Archives...

Oct 28, 2020 - Shenandoah National Park - Skyline Drive (Day 2)

Overcast again today but there wasn’t any fog, so that’s a win. As indicated yesterday, started out at Big Meadows this morning around 10. Hiked the Lewis Falls Trail (3.3 miles) first. The trail was a steady downhill hike from the amphitheater parking lot. The view was from the top of the falls. Return trip took a connector trail that was a steady uphill slog that was steeper than coming down but then once I hit the AT, although there was still some uphill, it was more of a hike along the ridge line. Drove through the lodge/cabin area...

Oct 27, 2020 - Shenandoah National Park - Skyline Drive

On the road about 8:45. Until I got into the park and settle in it was 11:30. The mile markers are the opposite of the interstate system, i.e. they run north to south so the Front Royal entrance starts at 0. First stop was Dickey Ridge Visitors Center where I picked up the stamp for my National Parks Passport book and a window sticker. Hiked the Fox Hollow Trail (1.2 miles) across from the visitors’ center. Stopped at a couple of overlooks. It was overcast so the view was a bit hazy farther out. Then about mile 15 the fog began to roll in...

Oct 23, 2020 - Recap

I missed hiking while I was gone, and looked forward to returning to hike during peak leaf season in Virginia. I am certainly enjoying some leaf color but have yet to go on a hike. I've walked here - 2 miles the first day, 3 yesterday, and 4 today, but only on roads and without a pack. Tuesday, which was my first day home, I slept until 10:30 and only woke then thanks to my alarm clock. I had a much needed haircut and enjoyed going in the convertible. I don't think I did anything else? Ummm... maybe I unloaded my gear from the...

Oct 13, 2020 - James River State Park (6/18 - 6/21/20)

We are in Red Oak #7. It is a really beautiful site. With all the rain the river is very high and running crazy. We definitely won't be able to do any fishing. The river is even up into some of the picnic and kayak launching areas. Our friends, David and Sam Edwards, are up for the weekend. We had them over for a spaghetti dinner. On Friday we drove over to the cabin to see what needed to be cleaned up before we could park the RV. The old trees had been cut and pushed out of the way, but it was a really big mess. We had to burn a lot of...

Oct 13, 2020 - The Promontory (6/22 - 8/8/20)

Finally got back to the Promontory. It was a bit of work to get the parking site ready. We stayed down in the RV because we were putting a refrigerator in the cabin. We bought the fridge from our good friend, Joe Pennypacker. He had taken it out of his old trailer. It took several days to create a spot for it because we installed into what was the closet. It is flush with the wall so it doesn't take up any space in the living area. It worked perfectly!! Now we can have cold foods and ice without having to keep them in an ice chest!! This is...

Oct 13, 2020 - Parkview Mobile Home RV Park (6/16 - 6/17/20)

We were headed to our cabin, but the spot where we park the RV had a partially downed dead pine tree. So we stopped in Appomattox The first 1/3 of the drive was just overcast and the last 2/3 it rained, sometimes pouring. We also got behind a traffic jam in Charlotte, NC. Those are not ideal driving conditions anytime, but especially when you are driving a 36' and towing a Jeep. All in all it was a long day. We were only going to stay one night, but it rained all night so we decided to stay another night. With all the rain and the Jeep not...

Oct 13, 2020 - Claytor Lake State Park (8/9/20)

We were in Site D26. We haven't stayed here before, but this is a beautiful park and we will stay here again! Driving into the park and campground, we saw several deer just on the side of the road. There were also fawns eating and chasing around. It was so cool! For dinner we drove into Dublin and got Bojangles chicken. The weather was nice so we ate out on the picnic table, something we haven't done in a while. Great time and look forward to coming back. Our next stop will be in West Virginia.