Eagle has landed

The eagle has landed. Ralph lost his fight against ALS (Lou Gehrig's) disease on February 15 2010. This blog will be taken down in the near future. It's been fun relating our experiences. Wishing everyone happy trails.

Lovely Luray, VA

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is a place we visit too infrequently, and wonder why we stayed away so long. We arrived Thursday afternoon, August 13, after a pleasant drive through Culpeper, Sperryville, and on to Luray along US Route 211. The twists and turns added some adventure to the trip as we never were sure what would be in the road around the next turn. Our destination was the "Luray RV Resort Country Waye".

The Halsteads and Tolsons arrived ahead of us and were waiting to help us park when we arrived. They had arranged a perfect spot for us in the campground. In moments, they had hooked up our utilities and we were set up. Bill Ferebee insisted that we would need our window screens and he and Chuck installed them.Bill was right; we would have sweltered without those screens. Friends like these are so special. There is no way we can adequately express our appreciation for what they continue to do for us.

The campground is excellent! Our coaches are arrayed around one end a rectangular field. The gravel parking spots are large, flat, and the views spectacular with mountains in the near and far distance. The skies are clear blue with a smattering of clouds on the horizon; perfect days. There is a small swimming pool and the grounds are manicured well. The pavilion is ideal for our needs with both a covered and an open section. It is a safe guess that the Old Dominion Cardinals will return here.

Our daughter Karen joined us Thursday evening for the weekend. She is a big help to us, and we enjoy having her with us. Dinner Thursday evening was in Luray at the Artisans Grill. Ten of us went for dinner. Mem had made reservations, and we had an enjoyable evening eating well in a 1933 art deco building on the corner of Broad and Main Streets in downtown Luray.

Friday morning we again journeyed into downtown for breakfast at Uncle Buck's Family Restaurant. Large home-style breakfasts are the house specialty. True to their reviews, we were well served with excellent food and exceptional service.

Friday was hot and humid. Karen joined the Halsteads and Tolsons for a trip to Luray Caverns. It was cooler underground. We took Karen's car and traveled a portion of the Skyline Drive south from the US 211 entrance. We had fun stopping at many of the overlooks to see the valleys below and the mountains in the distance. It was a relaxing drive offering spectacular views. Naturally, we neither took the camera nor the binoculars with us. When will we learn?

Happy Hour that evening was followed by potluck "heavy hors d'oeuvres". This was a first-rate substitute for dinner. The ladies of ODC amaze us at their culinary skills. We feasted! The evening cooled nicely after sunset, and visiting continued in the pavilion. Several of the more energetic members moved off to Wii equipped TVs to test their bowling and golf skills.

Our Trip Captains prepared Saturday breakfast in the pavilion at 9:00 AM consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, juice, and biscuits. Who could want more? It was fabulous! After the meal, Mem Halstead presided at the ODC Chapter meeting. She ably took care of business in the absence of the chapter president and vice president. Saturday was like Friday; hot and humid making outdoor activities difficult, and people headed indoors.

Afternoon activities: watching the PGA golf tournament on TV, napping, reading, or updating blogs. Some folks headed out to local venues hiking or seeing the sights. We had our one operating AC at full power, and it was still warm inside.

Dinner Saturday night was a blast! "Scrambled Dogs" and homemade slaw followed by ice cream sundaes. Now there's a meal! Janice introduced the ODCers to Scrambled Dogs with a brief review of events that led her to bring this delicacy from Columbus, GA to Virginia. She told of the ingredients and how they should be mixed. Several facial expressions suggested an uneasiness with this menu. Bravely and boldly, everyone queued up to the serving line to blend their dish of bun, dog, chili, pickle relish, cheap yellow mustard, onion, Texas Pete and oyster crackers. At the table, each person scrambled their mix until it was unrecognizable. A feast!

Few people asked for second servings, yet everyone cleaned their plates. One dog was enough; two dogs might bark all night. The ice cream cooled the fire and calmed any barking dogs. No one went away hungry.

Our traditional "gotta go" Sunday breakfast was augmented by eggs, sausage, and left overs from Saturday. Again, we had a good meal, as we conversed about what a great weekend we had enjoyed. By late morning rigs had been packed and readied for travel. Most would be home by early afternoon.

Karen was a huge help to us again as we disconnected the rig and prepared for the trip home. Chuck Tolson, Larry Halstead, Bill Freed, and Bill Ferebee were right there to take down as they had helped us put up. Greg Smith took care of the ODC sign and was close by whenever needed. We are so thankful for these and other friends who helped us throughout the weekend. We could not have been there without their help.

This was a wonderful weekend in so many ways. Sadly, it will be our last motor home trip. We have know since last year that our time to travel and to camp would be limited by our physical abilities. We have decided that it is now more than we can do. We will sell the motor home with sadness, but without regret.

We have had an exciting, invigorating, and thoroughly enjoyable adventure motor homing for nearly five years. We have wonderful memories of places seen and people met. Mostly, it is about people who have become friends and with whom we have shared good times and bad times. We owe them much, and we will miss being with them terribly. While we will not be camping, we will try our best to keep in contact with our camping friends.

This blog has been a lot of fun sharing our travel and camping experiences. We had hoped and planned to continue our RV adventure for several more years, but it is not to be. Although our eagles' wings have been clipped, we are not grounded. We hope to travel often, and we will use this blog to keep in touch. Until next time.

What Happened to July?

Mem Halstead called me several days ago asking why this blog had not been updated since our camping at Rockahock in June. I asked, "Are you sure?" Upon investigation, I did update a blog in July, but not this one. It was the Old Dominion Cardinals blog; our camping Good Sam chapter. So for those that do not read the ODC blog, here is a run down on July at Grey's Point Camp in Topping, VA.

We enjoyed having Amy, Tyler and Amanda with us for the weekend. We rarely have five sleeping spaces filled. An air mattress on the floor works fine for 12-year old Tyler. Amy and Amanda share the fold out queen sofa bed. Bedtime was always an event. The children went to sleep in the bedroom and then moved to their sleeping spaces. In the morning they had mixed memories of the night before. This park is ideal for young children with a super water park for their enjoyment.

“Small” can be beautiful. Our nine ODC rigs, a small group, gathered at Grey’s Point Camp July 17 for a weekend camp out. A rain storm Friday night flooded many of the camp sites, but our group was on high ground and stayed relative dry. Saturday’s weather was nearly perfect. The pool was packed, golf carts buzzed the roadways, dogs were walked, and some folks ventured into neighboring communities for adventure and shopping. Most enjoyed participating in small group conversations under a shade awning while activities whizzed around us. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves very much, especially those who sat around the campfire Saturday night.

Luray RV Resort is the site of our August camp out. This will be another small gathering where folks get to visit one another and enjoy a camping experience. Many members will be on-the-road and/or vacationing elsewhere that weekend.

We look forward to seeing several members who were traveling in July, and who will be back in August.

Rockahock in June

Our monthly Good Sam outing for June was at Rockahock Campground in Lanexa, VA almost mid way between Richmond and Williamsburg. We had been here before with the Dogwoods, but it seemed different this time.

We planned to arrive on Thursday June 18. Imagine our shock when we went to the RV storage area Thursday morning to find the driver's side-window shattered. We suspect vandalism, but cannot be sure. We had been to the coach on Monday, and all was well.

We called Fawn Lake security. An officer came, photographed the damage and filled out a report. Because the window is double-paned, tempered glass, we felt we could continue our trip. All was well until we picked up speed on I-95 south. The shattered glass on the outside pane began breaking loose. Several trucks following had a glass shower. Before long, no vehicles were following in our lane. The inside glass pane held firm throughout the trip.

Rockahock CG is not user friendly. Signage is non-existent until arriving at the front gate. Getting to the office to register is a maze. We encountered numerous obstacles in our path. Many of our friends were already at the campground, and they welcomed us grandly. Larry H. parked us, then he and several others helped us unhook the car and hook up the coach.

Rain came in buckets at night. By morning, we were looking at water throughout the campground. Settles and Ferebees were surrounded and the road in front of our site was flooded. Days were sunny and warm, so the rain was no problem. The puddles drew swarms of mosquitoes, which drove us inside early in the evenings.

Friday we welcomed the rest of our group to the outing. We had 14 rigs for the weekend, which is about 61% of our active membership. The Welfords, Freeds, and Meserles hosted the camp out and did a wonderful job. We had omelets Saturday morning, grilled chicken Saturday night, and scrambled eggs Sunday morning. No one went hungry. Between meals folks visited, fished, shopped, rode bikes, walked, swam in the pool, etc. It was a great relaxing and fun time.

Being with good friends is ninety percent of camping. The group got the weekend off to a great start with happy hour and then dinner at a restaurant at the campground. The restaurant was disappointing. We had been there before, and it was terrific. We do not know if it had new owners, but the menu, ambiance, service and food preparation were all sub-par. We enjoyed being together for dinner, but we would not recommend the restaurant.

We were excited to welcome our daughter Karen to camp with us. She arrived Friday and stayed through Sunday. This was her first time "camping" with the motor home. She has been with us in Florida, but it is not the same. On Sunday she had first hand experience unhooking the coach, emptying the tanks, and hooking up the car. She seemed to enjoy herself, and she said she would do it again another time.

Leaving Sunday was not a problem. Traffic was heavy on I-95, but it moved well. We took our time and reached Route 3 in time to stop for a late lunch at Spotsy Mall. The parking is easy and Logan's has good food. Karen joined us, and we enjoyed a good meal together.

Our next outing is in July, unless we take the coach to Georgia before then. We have to repair the window, the bedroom AC, and the mount for the washer/dryer. That will take some time. We plan to have our grandchildren with us at the July camp out. That will be a totally different dynamic.

Good Sam Spring Samboree II

Saturday was a terrific day! Rain held off until early Sunday morning. Activities included, door prizes, a Flea Market, a parade, a group dinner, a meeting and entertainment. There were vendors throughout the campground, and a lot of folks just visited others.

The Flea Market gave chapters an opportunity to raise money. Our chapter sold hamburgers and bottled water and used paperback books. It all resulted in about a $200 increase to our treasury which we will later donate to a charity. These activities give many people a chance to participate, meet other people and have a good time.

The parade was our first. In previous years we had been on the sidelines. This year Janice walked with about a dozen other chapter members in beach attire. The Ferebees let Ralph drive their mini golf cart in the parade. The cart is candy apple red, it was decorated, and had a boom box playing CDs by The Beach Boys. The theme was "Beach Party" and all sorts of costumes decorated the parade route. Many of our chapter participants were armed with water guns and made sure the spectators along the road were well soaked. By the time we reached the judges at the reviewing stand our water gunners were in great form and expended their tanks dousing the judges. And so, any parade award we might have received was washed away.

Aside from the parade, Ferebees mini golf cart had an additional mission this weekend. We had seen this cart, called "Cricket", last month at Virginia Beach. Janice had called the manufacturer to check on dimensions, prices, and availability. One major question was, would it fit inside our Subaru. We asked Bill Ferebee if he would try to put it in; he did, and it fit. Janice is ready to order one for us.

After we had recovered from the parade, we set up an area between our coaches for Happy Hour and dinner. A spaghetti dinner was provided by ODC members, and we could not have eaten better. No one left hungry.

The evening meeting began at seven and was followed by entertainment at eight. Saturday was a very full day of fun. The sound of rain on the roof Saturday night and Sunday morning was welcome and helped us sleep soundly into Sunday.

Clouds and showers dominated Sunday. Most of the Samboree attendees left Sunday, but we stayed until Monday. The Methenys and Burdettes stayed also. We all went to dinner at a local restaurant Sunday night and welcomed bright sunshine for our departure Monday morning.

This was a wonderful Samboree and much improved over those experienced in recent years. Hopefully, the state organization can keep improving these get-togethers so that attendance will return to 300-400 rigs.

Our next outing is in June in Lanexa, VA. We'll be back to the blog then.

Good Sam Spring Samboree

We are again at Bethpage Camp Resort in Urbanna, VA for the Virginia State Spring Samboree. We were last here in May 2007. Last year we went to West Virginia's Samboree. You may recall that seven rigs from our group traveled to WVA, and the high light of the weekend was that five of seven had to be pulled out of the mud.

It would not be a Samboree without rain. The showers came Friday afternoon as people were gathering for dinner. This campground drains well and there is little danger of getting stuck. Rain ended early, but more rain is forecast for the weekend.

Several of us began the weekend here on Thursday. We will stay until Monday to get the most out of the weekend. We have friends of the Matheny's camping with us, and we hope they will join ODC and camp with us often.

Old Dominion Cardinals are supporting the new Virginia State Director as much as we can. We encouraged him to seek the office and promised to support him. We have seventeen rigs in our group attending the Samboree. Friday evening we served the dinner meal, cleaned up the dining area and set up refreshments at the opening ceremonies. Today, Saturday, we will have two fund raising activitiues: selling used books at the flea market and hamburgers for lunch.

Most Samboree activities take place today. With over 200 rigs here there are enough people to keep everyone interested. If the weather remains dry, we will all be out and about. It should be fun. We'll tell you about it later.

Virginia Beach in April

For the second consecutive year, the old Dominion Cardinals began the camping season with a weekend outing to Virginia Beach, VA. Holiday Trav-L-Park offers excellent facilities and a comfortable campground. We could not have had better weather. We had 15 of 23 rigs in our membership attend. It was a good time and much fun.

Our weekend began Thursday, April 23. We wanted to beat Friday traffic and extend our time camping, if we were to drive 150+ miles to get there. It was a good decision. Traffic was no problem until we were within the Norfolk city limits. The trip through the tunnel was tense, as always. Mem called to advise us to take Exit 21 rather than Exit 22. Birds Neck Road is still under construction, as it was last year. Avoiding that road was another good decision.

We were not the only early arrivals, and by 5:00 PM we had a lively group for happy hour. When the sun went down, the temperature followed. Jackets and sweaters were retrieved and the party continued. The remaining rigs arrived during the day and evening on Friday. Several found traffic slow and arduous, but no major problems were reported.

Bike riding was popular during the camp out, both motor-powered and pedal-powered. It was an easy bike ride to the beach, and the motorcyclists took an extended ride on Saturday to North Carolina. If one was not riding somewhere, walking and sitting were also enjoyable pastimes. The first camp out is a great time to catch up on what has been happening since we last saw each other. Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves whether exercising or visiting.

By Saturday, we decided to stay over until Monday. Traffic on Friday can be bad, but Sunday traffic is much worse, especially on I-95 north. Besides, it is nice to watch others packing up and leaving on Sunday while knowing you have one more day. Thursday through Monday seems to be the best schedule for ODC weekends.

We are very appreciative and grateful for the help we received from Bill, Chuck and Larry on Sunday. They spent time and energy hooking up analog-to-digital converter boxes to our two coach TVs. This no small task; we could not have done it without their help. Now we have great digital reception with the bat-wing antenna.

Five rigs stayed until Monday. We had a community meal Sunday evening, and on Monday we formed a convoy for the trip north. We left the campground around 10:00 AM and encountered a major traffic accident within a few miles, Fortunately, our "lead dog", Chuck, was quick to take us on a detour around the accident. The convoy disbanded in the vicinity of Exit 104 on I-95. Several of us stopped for fuel, others kept going.

Our last stop was at Logan's in Fredericksburg for a steak. Parking is easy, and the food is usually good; it was again. We still had to unload the coach and park it in storage. We were done by 5:30 PM, and we enjoyed the evening in our easy chairs. It is good to be home again...for a few weeks.