Every Day is An Adventure

Although it might look like we’ve been at this RV thing for a while, it was only the first week in May when Mike officially retired. It’s only been a few weeks since I quit work, too. The campground we’re currently at in South Carolina — Ebenezer Park in York County — is the first time we’ve been able to enjoy real retirement mode. It’s been awesome.

This past Thursday was such a surreal day for me. One of those days where you wake up in the morning feeling completely normal, but you go to bed thinking, “Um, what really happened today?” The kind of day where enough seemingly coincidental, serendipitous interactions occur throughout the day that, by day’s end, you can’t help but wonder which aspect of Fate has been pulling your strings again.

I even ended up on the local news! How weird is that? Remember, I am usually a taker of photos/videos, not the subject.

A beautiful day for the beach, frog-shaped cloud and all.

I’d already planned on taking my raft to the beach for a nice long float. I had an idea how to solve a problem I’d encountered the day before. Even on a lake without waves (like in an ocean), floating still requires work because the wind moves you around.

I had to get some stuff done first (paperwork, ugh!) and find a mailbox to post some letters. And I wanted to ride my bike around the campground. There are about 70 sites here at the campground. About half of them seem to be in the shade, unlike our site which is pretty small, but close to the lake.

When I set off, to mail my stuff and tour the campground, I told Mike my plan. He’s ridden around the campground and knew about how long it should take.

The sites in the wooded section are much nicer than they are in our part of the campground. Many are larger and there are lots of trees for shade. One pull-through site in particular (#58) was huge. There was a guy setting up/or breaking down his campsite. I originally stopped to take a picture of his site, but we ended up chatting instead. As it turns out, he and his wife had just arrived. She was inside (I assume) getting the camper situated while he was doing the outside stuff.

I told him how much I loved his big, shaded site and told him about our small one, which was tight, but close to the lake. “I’ll trade sites with you,” he said. They had just bought some sore of boat that he explained as being sorta like a kayak but with a catamaran-type hull, and a trailer or wheels or something so, if you’re close to the water, you can just walk it over and launch it by hand. Those of you who’ve ever used a busy public boat launch will understand the benefit of that.

I knew Mike would never want to switch sites mid-trip, so I told the guy (Jim) I’d make him a deal. If he’d let me test-drive the boat, he could keep it at our site, closer to the lake. I could see the wheels working as he considered the option. I told him our site number and invited him to stop by later and have a look.

Then I continued on my way and saw this cool, little trailer that looked homemade, but wasn’t. I had to stop and ask that guy (Wayne) about his rig. He called it a hunter’s shack, which makes complete sense. Northerners have things like that for ice fishing, why can’t Southerners, who’s lakes never freeze, have portable huts for hunting. His wife (Johnnie) showed up before I left. We all could have chatted for hours.

Figuring Mike would be wondering where the Hell I’d gone, I finally had to peel myself away from those nice folks and go on my way. Mike was busy when I got back, watching TV or doing something on the computer, I forget which. He had been wondering what took so long. I started telling him about meeting the man with the boat and the other guy with the cool little trailer, but he was clearly not interested. So I just said something like, “Okay, if a man named Jim shows up with his boat while I am at the beach, just show him where that tree is so he knows where to put his boat.”

I did have to explain that one! LOL. Then off I went to the beach, anxious to test my idea to overcome the drifting problem with my raft.

I had just gotten myself situated on one of the lounges when a nice young lady showed up and asked me if I was going to be there for awhile. When I said yes, she told me she was a reporter doing a news story about recent renovations to the park and asked if she could interview me. “Sure, why not,” I said, and off she scurried to get her stuff.

In the meantime, two older grandmas were passing by in a golf cart (those things are very popular at campgrounds). I got their attention and said, “Hey get your grandkids out of the water. This lady is doing interviews about the park. You can all be on TV.” They looked horrified. “The last thing I would do is get my kids out of the water to be on the news,” I heard one saying as they drove quickly away.

I told the reporter about it when she came back. Where I come from, people love being on TV. It’s the whole “fifteen minutes of fame” thing. Apparently, people in South Carolina feel differently. She and her associates were having a hard time finding people to speak with.

She and I chatted as she got her equipment set up. It took extra long because somehow, her wires had gotten all tangled. I told her I had that effect on wires. She laughed. “In fact,” I said, “Can I take a picture of you and your tangled wires to show my Hubby. He’ll get a kick out of that.” Plus, I was thinking, he was never going to believe the whole reporter interviewing me for the news thing.

Shakira untangling her wire.

The reporter’s names is Shakira Speaks. I asked he if that was her real name and she said it was. “You were meant to be in TV news!” I said. “I know, right?” Was her reply. She and I definitely clicked. It’s not always easy for me to find like-minded individuals in this world.

As the interview came to a close — I’d talked her ear off — I told her about my raft idea. I’d borrowed my husband’s bucket and brought some string. The plan was to fill the bucket with rocks, take it out into the water, tie a string to it and the raft, and use it for an anchor.

She stayed around long enough to see if my anchor worked. I think her curiosity got the best of her. If you click the link below and watch the news story, you’ll see me floating, safely anchored, at the end. The thumbs-up at the end was to let Shakira know my anchor had worked.

Ebenezer Park open in York County after $4.6 million in renovations

I must have floated around for at least an hour, just staring at the blue sky and puffy white clouds. It was funny seeing people’s faces as I walked out of the water with my bucket. One lady asked, as she watched me dump the rocks, what the rocks were for. “An anchor,” I told her. She chuckled and we chatted a bit then I went to my chair and sat for a while to dry off.

There was a woman with six kids nearby. She was flitting from kid to kid taking pictures of them at the beach. When she noticed me watching I asked her if she’d like me to take a picture of her and her kids. “Oh my God, they are not all mine,” she said, and told me who they all belonged to, followed by, “You gonna be here for a bit? I would love a picture. No one ever asks that. I’m always the one taking the pictures.”

As I ate the snacks I’d taken to the beach, I thought again about Jim and his boat, wondering if he’d showed up with his boat while I was away. I watched and listened to the people on the beach as I enjoyed my snacks. The sky was starting to look like afternoon thunderstorms gathering, which is normal in the heat and humidity of the South. The woman with the kids must have been watching me, because she started summoning her horde as I packed up. She gave me her phone and I started shooting a video as she herded everyone into place. When they were ready, I stopped the video and took a few pics.

I told her about the video, saying I thought she’d get a chuckle out of watching it. “It looked like you were herding cats,” I said as I returned her phone to her. She laughed, thanked me, and then we parted ways.

As I headed back to our campsite, I thought again about Jim and his boat, figuring I would see it chained to the tree. When it wasn’t there, I assumed he just chalked me up as being a crazy woman. I took Belle for a quick walk and was headed back to the camper when Jim showed up in his truck. This time, his wife, Debbie, was with him.

I showed them the site and they both agreed it was a great idea. That’s how we ended up with this at our campsite:

Jim and Debbie’s Sea Eagle watercraft.

I was away on Friday when they took the boat out. Saturday, I was still away visiting my nephew in Norfolk, but it wasn’t a great boat day in South Carolina. Today, Sunday, they went to watch their adult son play soccer nearby. Maybe this afternoon will be a good day for the water.

I already know their vessel is too big for us since Mike has absolutely no interest in the water, but it was fun to see it in person. I’ve seen Sea Eagle brochures in the past, bit have never actually see one in real life. Now I can say I have.

In the meantime, today is our last full day at this campground. There’s a raft and a bucket waiting to be put to use in the lake.

Longest Camping Trip Yet

We’ve been easing our way into the whole camping thing. When we picked up the RV in Kentucky, we stayed in a campground for one night on the way home. Then, back in September, we spent two nights at Merry Meadows in Maryland, just south of the Pennsylvania state line. Last week, we spent three nights at Pocahontas State Park in Central Virginia.

We would have stayed longer if we could have gotten reservations over the weekend. Fall, however, is a very popular time to camp. For good reason. The weather was perfect. The days were sunny and pleasantly warm and the nights were cool enough to be able to actually enjoy a campfire.

I finally got to ride along in the coach.

We don’t have a car that can be towed along yet. That will come soon. We are hoping to get a cute little convertible that will include a tow kit so we can hook it directly to the back of the coach using a tow bar. Hubby says a car towed along in that fashion is commonly referred to as a “toad.”

Pilot and furry copilot.

Belle is 13 now. I’m happy that she is still with us and able to also enjoy our new adventures.

Entering Pocahontas State Park

Belle actually likes riding in the coach. She has mixed feelings on car travel in general.

Admiring the coach.

 

Beautiful sky view.

 

Fall

Don’t you just love the colors in that leaf image (above)?

Hubby’s bicycle.

 

Reflective interestingness.

 

The street our site was on.

The campground was fabulous. The sites were nice and private. We were sandwiched between two other campers, but they were nicely screened from view by trees.

We had a lovely campsite.

In the above image, you can only sort of see our neighbor.

Our site from a different direction.

 

Campers, chillaxin’.

 

Chillaxin’ indoors.

 

Lake view.

We could not see the lake from our site. I captured that photo when we went on a bicycle ride.

Belle loves being outdoors with her people.

 

Another view of our street.

 

Stitching in the sunshine.

It won’t take me long at all to get used to retired life.

I LOVE campfire hotdogs.

 

We reserved our site in advance.

 

Artsy capture.

 

We checked in on Mike’s birthday.

All in all, it was a great trip. The park is located about 25 miles west of Richmond. It only took us about two hours to drive there, which was nice.

The park is a lot hillier than I expected, which is fine except when bicycling. I am quite out of shape, unfortunately, so didn’t enjoy riding as much as I could have. One day…

I’d love to go back to Pocahontas, but there are a lot more state parks to discover. I have no idea where we will go next, but hopefully we’ll get to stay longer.

Merry Meadows Revisited

We were in Maryland this past weekend for our first official camping trip. And Mike planned it all, which is kind of a big deal. I am usually the travel planner, but when he made a great trip suggestion a couple of weeks back, I told him to go for it and he did. We even had a couple of guests.

Mike, Mom, Belle, and Zephyr

Back when my father-in-law, Murph, was still living, the in-laws bought an RV and started camping. After a few years going to various campgrounds, they settled on a place in northern Baltimore County, Maryland. The campground was called Morris Meadows at the time, but it’s now known as Merry Meadows. It was closer to home and they could keep their RV parked on a permanent site. Mom even stayed there after Murph passed. In all, she was a camper there for over ten years! They were always very active residents, made a bunch of friends, and have very fond memories of their time as residents.

We arrived a bit later than anticipated on Friday as I wasn’t feeling well. When we finally got there and were checking in, Lois, one of the campground’s owners, was quite happy to see Mom’s name on the registration sheet.

I drove down to pick Mom up on Saturday morning. She even brought one of her photo albums along so she could visit with Lois later in the day to reminisce.

Mike and Mom (Take 1)
Mike and Mom (Take 2)
Mike and Mom (Take 3)

I think it’s safe to say that the weekend was a smashing success.

The weather was perfect for camping, too. Cool days and crisp, cold nights. There was even a little frost on the ground when I went out early Sunday morning.

Belle and Zephyr at the dog park.

It’s hard to see our friend, Zephyr, in that photo. He’s a miniature Australian Shepherd that belongs to a friend who is off visiting her Mom in Arizona.

Mom and Zephyr on couch.

I took a bunch of pics to share with y’all, but it’s hard to fit everything in when indoors in a somewhat-confined space. If you want to see larger versions, click on the image and then use your browser’s back button to return to the blog post.

From kitchen, looking toward front of coach.

 

From bedroom, looking toward front of coach.

 

From kitchen, looking into bedroom.

Not pictured are the half bath (to my right) and full bath (in rear-end of coach).

King-size bed, covered with the first bed quilt I ever made.

 

Main living area.

 

Sofa (seats 4) and kitchen.

 

Belle enjoying the fireplace (can use for heat or ambiance).

 

Belle’s favorite spot under dining table.

 

Me walking Zephyr and Belle.

 

Sunset on Saturday.

So there you have it. Overall, it was a great weekend. The campground was pretty full, but it’s a quiet, well-run place. We didn’t need to use the bathhouses since our RV has everything we need. And we got to test the systems we hadn’t used, like the shower, dishwasher, and heat.

We are both looking forward to more camping trips so we can continue familiarizing ourselves with our new camper. Most people call big rigs like this “coaches,” but I prefer camper. I think that’s mainly because we did lots of camping when I was a kid and that’s what we always called RVs.

I’m sure there will soon be a few more grand adventures to share. We need to familiarize ourselves with how this camper works, figure out what supplies we need, and get used to smaller-scale living. Retirement for Mike is not that far off.

First Ride of 2020

Petunia is a BBQ grill at The Apple House in Linden, Virginia.

I started this blog in early 2008. My purpose, at the time, was to have an easier way to document our then-upcoming vacation to Alaska. By “easier” I mean as  compared to manually building/maintaining a group of web pages, like I did to document the building of the WV Place. (Sadly, we no longer own the WV Place.)

Slowly, over time, other people found my blog. Many of those folks also have blogs. I started interacting with some of them on a regular basis and, as a result, established some online friendships. I have even met several of them in person, which is awesome.

Many of the people who found my blog did so because of the motorcycle and/or travel-related info I used to share frequently. Motorcycling is the common tie that bound us initially. As we got to know each other more and more, more ties were established. Even as I posted less and less frequently, people still seemed to follow, i.e., care about what was or was not going on in my life. That surprised me. Especially since I’ve gotten awful about keeping up with everyone else.

Like me, many of my motoblog buddies seem to have lost interest in blogging. (Using social media [Facebook, Instagram, etc.] is so much quicker and easier!) I’m pretty sure all of them are still riding motorcycles and/or traveling.

I still maintain the links to my Motoblog Buddies’ blogs. I thought about deleting those that are no longer active, but decided against doing that. They, too, might find their way back to blogging one day. I suspect all of our lives will be very, very different once we get past the coronavirus crisis.

If any of you MOTOBLOG BUDDIES read this and want me to delete your link, let me know. Otherwise, your link will stay:

CurvyRoads (Lynne): last post 28 June 2019. Very active on Instagram. Facebook, too, so she has said, but I shut down my Facebook account m id-2019.

Find Me on the Road (Sonja): still active

Fuzzygalore (Rachael): still active, but not posting as regularly

Life on Two Wheels (David): still active

Machida Meanderings (Bridget [Richard’s wife]): more-recent addition; active

Princess Scooterpie (Darlene): last post 30 March 2019. Active on Instagram.

Richard’s Page (Richard): still active

Scooter in the Sticks (Steve): still active

Travels with ScooterBob (Various): Bob passed away, suddenly, in late 2014. He had been the catalyst that brought many Moto-bloggers together, so a group of us did a tribute/around the world tour in Bob’s honor, which is now documented on what was once Bob’s blog.

Trobairitz’ Tablet (Brandy): last post 31 December 2018

Troubadour’s Treks (Bradley): last post 28 April 2019

Two Wheels to There (Ry): last post 29 January 2017. Active on Instagram.

Slowly, my blog has evolved. It is now less-focused on travels and more-focused on me. Over the years, I have enjoyed going back and using the blog as a reference. That’s how Hubby and I “remembered” when we visited certain places, did certain things, etc. I have missed being able to do that since I have been blogging less frequently.

I’ve re-started posting a few times over the years. This is the FINAL re-start. Really. If I am not able to manage posting regularly, I’m just going to let that urge to blog rest in peace. Because this should be fun. If I am not enjoying it, doing it doesn’t make sense.

So, you’ll be seeing the new, relaxed version of me from here on.

I kicked this week off with a motorcycle ride. It was a completely spontaneous. As it turns out, it was also very well-timed. While I was out riding, the governor of Virginia announced that this state is now on lockdown, too.

This may be the last ride for a while. Here are a few pics I captured while out.

My first stop was the State Arboretum of Virginia (on US-50 near Boyce). It’s a place I have been meaning to visit for years. We passed it countless times over the years on our way to and from the WV place. So, I FINALLY visited. It was pretty, but there were too many people there for my liking. So I rode through, but did not stop.

From there, I headed to Bentonville at the Shenandoah River State Park. My route took me right past Dinosaur Land in White Post, so I HAD to stop.

My bike with two dinosaurs.

 

Pursuit!

I did not realize when I took that picture that it looks like that dinosaur is trying to eat my bike!

I almost wiped out half a block from home. I forgot the back tire was new.

I did get to visit the state park, but will share pics in a separate post. The state park is only a short drive (15 minutes?) from Shenandoah National Park. So, after I left the state park, I decided to traverse the northern section of Skyline Drive.

Just outside Front Royal off US-340.

 

Me

 

View of the Shenandoah Valley from a Skyline Drive overlook.

 

Such a pretty, clear day! (looking east, I think)

 

Skyline Drive (my favorite shot of the day)

I love that we are so close to Shenandoah National Park.

From there, I headed home via back roads through Little Washington (the first Washington) and Flint Hill. So much nicer than US-211, which Fodderstack Road and Crest Hill Road roughly parallel.

On Fodderstack Road between Washington and Flint Hill.

If you have spare time and are interested, open Google Maps (or click on View larger map below) and look at some street views along there. It’s idyllic for sure.

Finally, here’s a pic I’ve been meaning to capture and share. It’s a barn quilt that was recently installed at a produce stand on US-211, just east of Sperryville.

Barn Quilt!

And that’s it for the pics.

Stay safe and well everyone. The world is a better place with each and every one of you in it.

Going Places

It’s a bit early to say for sure, but I think 2020 is going to be an interesting one in terms of travel. Here’s what I know so far I terms of trips we have already planned.

In February, I’ll be going to Indiana to visit my daughter, Amy, and grand kids, Gaige and Joseph. While there, Amy and I, and maybe the boys, too, will be going to see Brianna play in a lacrosse game.

I haven’t told y’all yet that Brianna is now in college. Crazy, right?

Mike, Brianna, and Me in June 2019 on graduation day.

No trips are planned for April, but Hubby and I will be going to Belgium in May. We timed the trip to coincide with a big parade that only happens once every 10 years, the Bayard Steed Parade.

That should be quite a fun spectacle.

In October, I’ll be spending some time in Savannah, Georgia. Then Hubby and I head south to spend time in North Carolina near year’s end.

I need to get busy planning; I’ve got six free months to fill with trips. Or something else interesting.


Fat Frog

Changing Perspective

In years past, the end of December/beginning of January was a time to look back at posts I’d published throughout the year and revisit the big events of the prior twelve months. I did think about doing that this year, but only for about a split second. Because I didn’t share enough on the blog to make that worthwhile. If I had shared enough, the recap would have felt, well, awful.

It was not a good year, that’s for sure. But it wasn’t all bad. It was difficult and even painful at times, but I learned a lot. I made some new friends, and lost some old ones. There wasn’t much motorcycle travel to speak of, but we did enjoy a fabulous, two-week, 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii. And, later in the year, we took an impromptu road trip to Louisiana so I could cross the final three States — Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana — off my list of US states to be visited.

There was also a fun road with a friend in August that was memorable for many reasons, all of which were good.

For me, more than anything, 2019 was a year of transition. I am not the same person who started writing this blog in 2008, almost 12 years ago. I know a lot more about myself than I did then. I know a lot more about the people around me, too.

I’m really torn about whether I should even continue this blog, trash it and start fresh, or just kill the blog, get on with my life in different ways. Some of you who have been following me for awhile may benefit from the lessons I have learned. Some may decide I’ve gone crazy (I’m still trying to figure that one out myself!) and never come back. Maybe, the whole idea will just fizzle and go away.

Decisions, decisions…

Life is tough, that’s for sure, but things could always be worse. I am blessed in so many ways. Compared to other folks, I have nothing to complain about. Rather than try to chronologically re-hash everything that happened last year, I’m going to try a new approach. It’s an approach I’m trying hard to apply to life in general.

Take each day as it comes. Enjoy each day for what it is. Learn from my mistakes. Celebrate my successes. Share my journey, for better or worse, openly and honestly.

I think that’s one of the reasons this blog sort of lost it’s appeal to me. Over the years, it became a censored version of what went on in my life. I shared the high points, but ignored or glossed over the low ones.

This year, 2020, is a good time to start fresh. It may not be pretty. There will be ugliness. I’ll curse a lot more than I did here in the past. You’ll actually get to see the real me. For better or worse and all that jazz.

Me and Mike, captured on 1 January 2020.

I am not sure what this blog will become. It might just fizzle out and die. We shall see.

The most-important lesson I learned this past year is how to let shit go. Really. Guilt is a powerful thing. It has ruled my life in many ways. It took 52 years for me to realize that the burden of guilt is something I have put on myself.

Fuck guilt. In 2020, I am going to do what I need to do to take care of myself. To do that, I need to care less about what others think about me. I need to do what I know is right. Focus on what I believe is important. Embrace all of the lessons I have learned, good and bad, and move on.

We have each been put on this Earth for a reason. We each have our own path to take. We will all reach the end one day. It could be this year, or it could be many years from now. There really is no way to know. So we might as well just do whatever we need to do to enjoy our own journey.