A NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS.
Day 1 – We left at 11:15 this morning, starting up Trip #6. We have big smiles on our faces now. Grin…….It was 47 degrees, windy & cloudy. The kitties knew where they were right away and didn’t seem to mind the drive; they just cuddled up all together and went to sleep on the bed. Our plan was to keep the drives down most days as much as possible. It’s easier on all of us that way.
180 miles, (3:55), 37848-38028
Hello everyone!
We were extremely busy, as usual, upon the end of Trip #5. This is an update as to what happened during our time at home before beginning the next RV adventure. People often ask us, “Are you glad to be home?” Here’s why we have trouble answering that question:
We arrived home the afternoon of April 9th & spent the rest of that day unpacking the RV, doing laundry, getting the house back up & running, etc. It’s always a bit of an adjustment for all of us & lots of work. The girls did well & it was no time at all before they were running around like maniacs or nestling together in the warm, clean laundry.
This trip unexpectedly was interrupted less than six weeks into our trip south for the winter. We initially left home in New York on December 19, 2018. It was 18 degrees, clear & cold that morning. We returned home earlier than planned, arriving home on January 27, 2019. I had an issue with my left knee which caused us to go home early, not knowing at that time whether we’d be able to continue this trip. We had gotten as far as Edisto Island, South Carolina before turning around and coming home. The first part of the journey lasted one month, one week, and two days.
HOMEWARD BOUND. END OF TRIP #5.
We had intended to finish the Blog and post upon arriving home, but as usual, we didn’t get to it. It is now April 27 & we’ve just begun our next adventure. This is the last day of the previous trip, followed by soon, a recap of that trip & the time spent between Trip #5 and Trip #6.
Day 88 – Well, we are going home today. This is both good & bad in our minds. We have found that when you’ve been gone for awhile, you never know what you’ll find when you get home. Will the mice have taken over the house, or did the wasps find a way in from the roof? Did the boiler work, did any pipes burst, did a tree come down during a storm, will the driveway be plowed or has there been a big snowstorm recently, or if not a snowstorm is the driveway so muddy that we can’t get in? What will be broken when we “un-winterize” and begin to use things again? On the other hand, we LOVE our house and our neighborhood. We have friends we haven’t seen in months. It’s nice to have so much space to move around after months in a 30-foot RV. And spring is arriving – so many flowering trees & bushes. The Hudson Valley can be absolutely gorgeous. It is with mixed emotions that we set out on today’s journey.
108 miles, (2:35), 37740-37848
DELAWARE WATER GAP.
Day 87 – It rained last night and was 54 degrees this morning around 7 a.m. We departed at 10 a.m. It was partly cloudy. Most of today’s trip was on I-80. We had decided to try for a campsite at the Worthington State Forest Campground, located just across the PA border in New Jersey along the Delaware River.
136 miles, (2:40), 37604-37740
WHAT?! THIS CAMPGROUND ISN’T OPEN EITHER?!
Day 86 – We went to bed early last night and were up by 7 a.m. this morning. It was 46 degrees & cold in the RV (no electric heat) and the girls didn’t have their electric heating pads to sleep on. They were a little grouchy and then they found we were traveling today, yet again. Meow, meow, meow.
218 miles, (4:55), 37386−37604
MISTY MOUNTAIN MORNING.
Day 85 – Still no internet or phone this morning. That means we’ll just write up the blog as we go & post it when we can get a signal. We’ll still be in the mountains tonight but at a different Park. Maybe they’ll have some kind of signal there. We were up by 7:25 a.m. & it was cloudy & foggy, 48 degrees. Our journey today should take us mostly north and east a little through the rest of WV & into the bottom of the western, mountainous section of Maryland. Most of the drive will be on Route 219 which was the road we took yesterday off I-64. It was curvy & hilly but it was very scenic. Also, most of the drive will still be within the Monongahela National Forest, a really, really large chunk of land! The girls were not thrilled to be traveling again. They do prefer to settle in for days at one campsite. We do, too.
156 miles, (4:45), 37230−37386
WEST VIRGINIA, MOUNTAIN MAMA, TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS.
Day 84 – Last night was the first time we’d ever spent the night in our RV in West Virginia. Therefore, we could put another sticker on our map of states where we’d camped overnight. We were up around 7 a.m.; it was raining and had been half the night. This was a great campground & we’d stay longer if we weren’t needing to get home. We departed Chief Logan State Park at 10:10 a.m., taking a few pictures on the way out. It was 54 degrees with just a drizzle of rain.
160 miles, (4:45), 37070−37230
COAL MINING COUNTRY.
Day 83 – We’d been looking forward to listening to the rushing stream during the night, but it was noisy at the campground. We shut the windows & slept quite well, in fact we slept later than we’d intended. At 8:15 a.m. it was 44 degrees, sunny. For the time being, the campground was quiet.
144 miles, (3:45), 36923-37070
BACK ON THE ROAD & INTO NEW TERRITORY.
Day 82 – Today we’re driving a little ways south and then east. Once beyond Louisville, we’ll be on roads where we’ve never traveled before. We love going to new places. We were up around 7:30 a.m. It was sunny out with no wind & 40 degrees. The girls were not happy to leave. They’d settled in so nicely here.
143 miles, (2:45), 36780-36923