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.