West Virginia, Here We Come

It never cooled off enough last night to even shut off the fans (it's usually cool enough about 5 AM when I make a trip to the bathroom, for me to shut them off...).  Knowing it was going to be a hot -- and humid -- day, I got up at 6:30 and started putting the lounge chairs in their carrying cases and putting them away in the car. By the time I got all the chairs and the little table put away, I was dripping wet and it was only a bit after seven! We finished up all of the putting away and cleaning up and draining tanks, etc. that it took since we had been at Rainbow Acres for a week and a day and were on the road a little after 11:30 AM.

Sally, our GPS unit voice, took us down a whole series of two-lane roads through the treed country-side --

Until we got to Interstate 95. It was only moderately busy as we merged into the traffic, but the closer we got to the Washington DC area, the busier it got until it was pretty much bumper to bumper. Except for one area of road construction, traffic mostly moved  along fairly rapidly.

As we drove through the north central portion of Virginia, the land seemed to be more open with lots of pastureland --

The hills beyond the valleys we were driving through were almost a smokey blue --

And in the distance you could see the Blue Ridge Mountains (actually just more hills...!) --

We went by a whole bunch of wineries and then actually saw a field of grapes (that I almost missed getting a picture of!) --

As we drove towards the confluence of the Potomac and Shanandoah Rivers where Harper's Ferry is located, we began seeing rocky cuts along the road that I think may be limestone?

And finally, a Welcome to West Virginia sign! Harper's Ferry is just across the border inside West Virginia. I understand the Harper's Ferry National Historic Park actually lies in three states, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland!

The Harper's Ferry Road is about six miles of narrow two-lane, very curvy, no-passing road with 35 to 40 mile an hour speed limits. Evidently one young punk got tired of following us (there were no passing lanes or even turn-outs). When we got to the corner of Campground Road where you turn into the KOA, they pulled up alongside and as they sped past, they threw a water balloon at the window. Of course, there was a loud splat. As I had no idea what it was they had thrown, it scared the you-know-what out of me! Fortunately there was no damage done...

After we had registered at the office and paid our bill, the KOA guide wanted us to ride in his golf cart to see the site we had been assigned (30 amp and H2O only as we're just staying three nights) before we moved Auntie Violet there. It was awfully narrow and we probably wouldn't have been able to put out all of our slides or the awning. He called the office and got us another site -- a much better one with 50 amp and sewer as well. And then he came back and said there would be no charge for the upgrade! Now, that's customer service!

Thunder was rumbling all around as we were setting up. It started to rain and just as we finished and went inside, it started to pour. Evidently, there are Severe Thunderstorm warnings all the way up to Philadelphia and New York. We had about a half hour of the storm before it moved on.

Just Thinking...

What a difference a day makes! Last evening when we were walking around the campground, it was incredibly noisy and busy. There were golf carts going in every direction and kids on bicycles racing up and down. There were lots of parties and the "good ol' boys" were having a great time.

This evening it is very quiet and still. Many of the rigs who came in for the long weekend with young families packed up and left early this afternoon. A good share of the more permanent RVs are dark tonight and there are no longer cars parked by them, so I am assuming they have gone back to their regular homes as well.

We have started thinking about our next couple of stops. We normally aren't too much for planning or making reservations a long way ahead. We will often call the day before, or even the day of, a stop to see if there is a space for us. But, it doesn't seem to work as well to do that here on the East Coast. We've also been trying to plan things so that we can add all of the New England state stickers to our map. Our goal is to have been in all of the 48 continental US states by the time we return to Washington State later this summer.

We've made reservations to spend a few days at the Harper's Ferry KOA in West Virginia, then move on to eastern Pennsylvania for a week's stay. We were attracted Homestead Campground in Green Lane, Pennsylvania because of the campground's information that you could take a train from near-by into historic Philadelphia. Sounds like it costs $1 to park at the train station all day and another dollar for Seniors to ride the train. I like the sounds of that.

Back in another life, I was fortunate to have had a Fellowship with the Public Health Service in Washington DC that enabled me to spend a month in the city. Forry was able to spend a portion of the time with me and we did a great deal of exploring on the weekends. We were also in DC several times during my years with the National Rural Health Association, so we are not really feeling like we want to spend any of our time there.

We do want to explore the New England states. We have good friends who have retired to a farm in Maine that we are anxious to see. I am also very much looking forward to seeing Niagara Falls. It does seem that even if we spend a week or more in a state, we barely get a taste of it. There are so many things to see in this wonderful country of ours!