We spent some time with Bobbie and Bill, Carol's sister and brother-in-law. The kids got to play with Aunt Bobbie a couple of days. They came out to the campsite for dinner one night.
We also went to Cockeysville to visit Peggy Bealefield, a friend from our "Doll Show" days. Great time all around. The kids really loved Peggy's three Chihuahuas, Betty, Taggy and Patches. Peggy treated us at the Nautilus Diner in Timonium. I didn't plan that - there was one of her and four of us - but I learned YEARS ago not to argue with Peggy. I had been there with her before so I was prepared for the size of the portions. They were a repeat of the Carnegie Deli. Peggy asked the waitress to just put the tossed salad that came with her dinner in a to go box to start with because she knew she wouldn't have room for it. Carol ordered the pork chop dinner. The three large, thick chops were served on a serving platter sized plate and that's all that was on the plate. 'Cause that's all there was room for. All the sides came in separate dishes. She ate one and we took two home. I took home at least a dozen scallops that were sweet as butter. The desserts looked so good that we took two of them home, too.
Now we had a decision to make - it's Friday, July 17th. We are due in Lewisburg, WV on Monday, July 20th. It's about an hour and a half out of our way to go home to Salem for the weekend. The reason we would do that would be to pickup the Honda and have our motorcycle at the motorcycle rally. But we knew there wouldn't be much time for riding and we would have to find someone to watch the kids.
So we decided to go camping instead.
Really.
In the past 5 weeks of traveling and living in the Airstream, we haven't really been "camping." We've always stayed at a campground, except for the first night in a WalMart parking lot and when we were guests of Mike and Donna. But it was just a place to park while we went to do the things we were in that area to do.
Since we were coming to the end of our time with the kids, we decided to skip going home.
We drove from Frederick, MD to the campground on US 340 instead of taking I-81. Slow really is better.
About the time the kids got hungry, we saw it was 10 miles to Luray Caverns. Thank God, Again, for the Airstream. We parked and fixed ourselves a yummy lunch right in the trailer. We walked from the "RV" parking through a little rain shower to the entrance which - surprise, surprise, is right next to the gift shop. And the exit is THROUGH the gift shop. Everybody is learning from Disney. As I was buying the tickets we realized we'd forgotten the camera. And it was still raining. I'm really glad. The people with cameras were a real pain as all the polite people stopped and waited as they composed their perfect shot. Over and Over and Over. More important, I don't think they enjoyed the tour as much as we did just walking and looking. So click on the link above and enjoy! There is a small antique carriage/car museum on the grounds that was very interesting, too.
We found Stoney Creek Resort in the Shenandoah Valley near Stuart's Draft, VA. If you click on the link, you'll see a beautiful lake, basic mini-golf course, big pool and lots of trees. Since it was a weekend, bingo and a karaoke night were available, too.
I told them I would not be at the Karaoke because of a sign they refused to take down for the evening. It said, "No alcoholic beverages in the community building." I told them, "I would never sing outside of church without the benefit of alcohol. And until I started playing at nursing homes last year, I didn't think I'd ever played to a sober audience."
But we had a great time in the pool, playing golf, and building a campfire to make S'mores.
And for the FIRST TIME on our trip, the water was warm enough to tempt
Carol.
This teepee was available to rent. But it didn't have airconditioning. Which we were sure we'd need - in Va, in July.
But we never turned ours on. It dropped down into the mid 50's at night. The second night I got up in the middle of the night and closed the windows.
This is a "stitched" panoramic picture. Actually 4 pictures that a neat program I found on the web puts together automatically. A bit "fish eyed" (the dam I'm standing on it straight, not curved) but it gives you a great view of the lake and campground.
Next stop, the National Rally of the Christian Motorcyclists Association.
Life is so good !
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