August Road Trip: West Virginia...

It was just a short trip from Mt. Airy to West Virginia. I hadn't seen Michael in nearly a year and was really looking forward to it. He lives in Bluefield, WV which is a forty-five minute drive from Pipestem but there is no place closer that can accommodate our RV. We drove to Bluefield over the weekend but during weekdays we met half way in Princeton, the first night at Texas Steakhouse and Saloon and, on our last night, at Berhshire's Frozen Custard for ice cream and a root beer float. I really enjoyed meeting Michael's girlfriend Crystal. Becca, Katie and Jackson told me she's nice and they're right! She's very nice and a great cook! I like her.

Sunset...seen from Berkshire's Frozen Custard

We went to Bob Evans and had for breakfast for dinner Saturday night but on Sunday Crystal cooked dinner for us...country style ribs, cheesy potatoes, zucchini and squash, corn, garlic knots and rolls. Oh and cheesecake for dessert (OK, that wasn't homemade, but it was still good). Dinner was delicious and I got her secret for tender ribs!

They are working on updating the kitchen in Michael's house. Lots of great plans. Michael is a great go-it-yourself guy. Will be fun to see the results next visit.

We usually stay at Pipestem Resort State Park when we visit Michael but they were booked in August. Michael found another RV park for us just up the road called Pipestem RV Park. It's not new, but was recently taken over by a family and they are working hard to rebuild it. They are very nice and have apparently made a lot of improvements but there is still work to be done. The first site we were assigned, a nice pull-thru with a large grassy area turned out to be a problem when we plugged in our Progressive Surge Protector. It showed an error of an open ground. We wandered around the place and found another site that our surge protector liked. It was a back in, but quite long and easy to back into so we got settled. they advertise cable but we couldn't find a hook up. turns out someone ran it over with a lawnmower and cut the cable. They worked long and hard trying to get us cable but without success. Since the state park doesn't have cable it was not a big deal for us. We did appreciate their efforts. There is a hard turn getting down to the campsites but it's manageable. The park has promise, the people are nice and the rates are reasonable so overall it was okay.

I hated saying good bye but I did and we headed back to Wilmington...

August Road Trip: Mayberry RFD...

After our week in Greensboro we moved on to Mt. Airy...known to some as Mayberry...home town of Andy Griffith and the town upon which Mayberry was modeled. Although I've lived near there for half my life, I'd never visited so it was time! We stayed (where else?) at the Mayberry Campground. It's right off the highway and just a few miles from downtown. We had a very long pull-thru site, gravel with a decent size grass area...full hook-ups including cable and a Passport America rate.

The campground is situated on the land of the family of Eng and Chang Bunker...the original Siamese twins. Theirs is an interesting story. We visited the Siamese Twins Exhibit but it was disappointing. I learned more about them by reresearching articles online.

We visited the Andy Griffith Museum, saw the well know statue of Andy and Opie, saw Floyd's Barbershop, Wally's Service Station and the Mayberry Courthouse, the Snappy Lunch (though we didn't get there in time for lunch), ate dinner at Barney's Cafe...the bill was less than $20...and had pie at Miss Angel's Heavenly Pies...and believe me you can gain weight just walking in and taking a deep breath. We also had dinner one night at a place called The Copper Pot...nothing special, a burger for Jack and chicken for me...but the bill came to about $18! Can't beat that. It was about the same at Barney's Cafe. We passed on the Squad Car Tour...thought $35 was a bit much in our opinion.. It was a fun trip back to the fifties.

So, after all these years I finally visited Mayberry. Next stop West Virginia and a visit with Michael.

Finally Home...

We made it home to Wilmington! Can't believe it's been nine months since we left. Even my short April visit seems like it was long ago.

We checked in to our "home" at the Wilmington KOA on Friday July 8th in 95 degree weather. Becca was in Myrtle Beach visiting with her Dad and brother Michael until Sunday so we had two days to catch up on housework and laundry.

Sunday evening we went to Becca's for dinner...Brooklyn Pizza take-out. The kids were so happy to see us and I was so happy to see them...it really is great to be back, even with the horrible heat. We also met our new grandpuppy Scout. He's an adorable Schnoodle. We're excited, we can have the pleasure of a puppy without too much responsibility. Life is good.

On Monday Ken and Ciera arrived from Greensboro for the week and Matthew arrived Tuesday. It was so good to see them. They spent a lot of time at the beach of course; Jack and I begged off with heat indexes of 100+ degrees...we just can't handle the heat as well as we did when we were younger...but we still got together every day.

All the kids have grown. Jackson is just about my chin level, Katie is past chin level and Ciera is at nose level. They'll all be passing me in the next year or two! Matthew is 25. Really? Really...though it just doesn't seem possible. He has a live-in girlfriend, Teresa...sounds like it might be serious to me! She is beautiful in her photos and we're looking forward to meeting her when we visit Greensboro next month.

At Elijah's
Becca. Gail, Katie, Ciera. Matthew, Ken. Jack, Jackson, Davis

We had a great visit. Hit some the usual dinner spots. The Fish House and Elijah's and a new addition, Buffalo Wild Wings...it's a new favorite of Ken and Ciera's. We also enjoyed a couple of cook-outs at Becca's.

The Boys at Buffalo Wild Wings

It was a great visit and we're looking forward to seeing them and Glen and Joanna again in August.

Greensboro...Almost Home

We crossed the state line into North Carolina.  Finally Home! I'll have to get a better photo of the sign next time.

We always stop in Greensboro on our way home. It's 200 miles from Wilmington and right off I-40, perfect for our last day of travel. More importantly, my brothers Glen and Ken live there and it gives us a chance to visit! It was also my home for nearly 25 years...the longest I've ever lived anywhere...so it's like visiting home for me.

We've always stayed at the only RV park in town, Greensboro Campground. It was a KOA twenty-some years ago but has just been Greensboro Campground for a long time. Imagine my surprise to find it is once again a KOA! We like KOAs and stay at them occasionally. Oftentimes they are a bit more expensive, but occasionally they are a better deal for a particular area. Whether we stay depends on a number of things, including what we are getting for the higher rate. Of course, when they are the only game in town it's an easy decision (lol). I was not thrilled to discover that, although the rate increased at Greensboro, the park remains the same as before and still doesn't have cable! They've only been a KOA a few months...we'll see if there are any improvements coming. Either way, it's still the only park in town.

We were only going to be there for a couple of days this time and, since Ken would be in Wilmington on vacation the next week, we spent the time visiting with Glen and Joanna. We'll make a longer visit on our way back to WV next month.

The day we arrived was Jack's birthday, the last of his sixtieth decade! It was also 95+ degrees...they were having a heat wave. After getting the RV set up, cooling down, and resting a bit, we went to meet Glen and Joanna for a birthday dinner at Jack's favorite place, Darryl's. We find a reason every time we visit to have dinner there...it's become a tradition! We didn't make it to Elizabeth's Pizza this time but...next month.

While we were there, Jack made his requisite trip to Camping World for some odds and ends and got his hair cut, Glen cleaned up both our computers (thanks!) and we had went out for Mexican food for the first time since California. Kiosco was good, though incredibly noisy the day we were there, but nothing will ever measure up to San Antonio and Las Cruces for me. I'm ruined!

It was great, as usual, to see Glen and Joanna and we're looking forward to seeing them again next month!

Onward to Wilmington...

Traveling Home...

Once we left Shipshewana it felt to me as though we were REALLY on our way home. Our first stop was a slight detour into Michigan where we spent a couple of days in Grass Lake at the Hideaway RV Park. It's a quiet, peaceful place run by very nice people. Just the place for recharging our batteries. Grass, trees, a small lake with paddle boats (free to guests) and a washer/dryer in the office, $1 each, available on the Honor System. We have our own washer/dryer but I like the idea of the honor system...it seems so friendly.

Batteries recharged, we moved on to Ohio. We've visited Amish country in both Lancaster, PA and Shipshewana, IN and I was told by several people that if I like Amish country I should go to Holmes County, Ohio...so it's been on my list for a while.

We stayed at Berlin RV Park. It's a nice, well-kept park just a couple of miles outside Berlin. My only complaint is that there's no shade and all sites face West and the hot afternoon sun, on the plus side they're mostly all pull-thru and all have a view. Berlin has cute shops and some nice restaurants but current major highway construction made getting around difficult. Unlike in Shipshewana, we didn't encounter Amish people in town very much, but we did in the outlying areas.

We tried the Boyd and Wurthmann Restaurant which had been recommended to us by a couple we met in Shipshewana. The food was good but be aware it is cash only. The largest place in town is Berlin Farmstead...the have a nice reasonably priced Amish buffet. I'm becoming a connoisseur of Broasted Chicken! Down near the town of Charm is a Swiss/Austrian restaurant, Chalet in the Valley. The spaghetti with Swiss cheese was surprisingly good and the Alpine Macaroni (made with garlic, onions, butter, and cream) was awesome! It's also the only restaurant open on Sunday.
 

There are areas we didn't see because the construction kept us from venturing as far out as we might have, but we did enjoy what we saw. This will go on the places to return to list but I have a suspicion that Shipshewana will remain my favorite.

After five nights in Berlin (the rate gets cheaper the more nights you stay!) we had a short driving day to Marietta, Ohio for a quick overnight at Ashland RV Park. Not far off the highway, it offers long grassy sites with full hook ups right by the Ohio river for only $25 a night. A good deal in my book.

Our next stop should have been Bluefield, WV. Normally we stop there and see my son Michael on our way home but we were coming up on Fourth of July weekend and he spends the July 4th week in Myrtle Beach with his dad every year so it was not to be. Went through the East River Mountain Tunnel and into Virginia. We will make a separate trip back to WV in a month or two to visit Michael and meet his girlfriend Crystal.

Available campsites are few and far between around the 4th and Fort Chiswell RV Park in Virginia had a site available for the weekend so I snapped it up. The park is right off the highway and we had a nice long pull-thru with cable TV...our first TV since south Dakota! It's a quiet area and gave us was another chance to relax, grill some burgers and recharge these old batteries again. A good thing as we had a busy couple of weeks ahead of us.

Shipshewana...

Besides the Black Hills, another spot we wanted to return to is Shipshewana, Indiana. We spent ten days here last time and I found it beautiful and peaceful. This time we're stopping for four days, just to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a little Amish cooking.

We spent a night in Geneseo, Illinois on the way here, staying at the Geneseo Campground. When we stopped in June 2014 there were so few RVs in the park that we parked our monster truck in the site next to us...this June the campground was near full. It's a quiet campground on the Hennepin Canal with gravel pull-thrus, large shade trees and wide sites. We were glad to see how much their business has increased.

Although we don't usually unhook on an overnight we did this time since we needed a few groceries. The adage is never shop when you're hungry...so we didn't. Before hitting the grocery store we tried Culver's, a mid-western burger and shake chain. It's fast food but more like Steak n' Shake or Five Guys rather than McDonald's. The burgers are fresh cooked and good and your order is delivered to your table when it's ready. They arrived with two samples of their fresh-made custard ice cream.

The next morning we were on our way to Shipshewana and back to the Shipshewana South Campground. Still a nice campground though our site is not near the horses this time. There's lots to see in this area and we saw a good bit on our first visit...here are links to my posts Post 1, Post 2, Post 3 on the campground and some of the things we did in 2014.

Our visit was only a few days this time and we spent more time relaxing and less time sightseeing. We did take the opportunity to visit the Shipshewana Flea Market  (think rain kept us away last time). It's huge, something like 900 vendors. I think we could go every week all summer and still not see it all!

We tried Ben's Bakery which we liked better than the Rise and Shine that we visited last trip. The Peach Fritters are awesome! We also returned to the Blue Gate Restaurant and to 5 and 20 Country Kitchen.The server we like so well on our 2014 visit, Ida, still works there. We also squeezed in a visit to Yoder's Meat and Cheese and bought more steaks and burgers.

This is an area we'll enjoy coming back to again and again.

If You Build It, He Will Come...

Our next stop was Kieler, Wisconsin, a tiny town of 500 just across the Mississippi from Dubuque, Iowa.

The countryside is beautiful and I found a lovely campground called the Rustic Barn Campground and RV Park. My plan was to spend a few days there but I was only able to get a reservation for two nights so we made the best of it. It takes its name from the antique barn that houses the office. It's one of a few remaining old barns with no internal supports still standing. (Wasn't able to get a decent photo of the barn) There is also a beautiful antique chapel on the grounds with wooden pews and stained glass windows. The sites are gravel with grass in between, full hook-ups and shade trees. We had a long pull-thru which was not too wide but most of the sites are wide back-ins, some with patios. The sewers have just recently bee added and some are too high but they are in the process of fixing them. There are a number of permanent rigs and they are very well-kept.

We were starving when we arrived at the campground and Gooches Greenhouse Tavern was recommended. It's a small bar/restaurant with pretty good food and prices from another era. Jack had a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a soft drink and I had a fried chicken basket with sour cream and chive fries. I've never heard of sour cream and chive fries but they sounded good (they were). Our bill for the meal was $16!

Just west of Dubuque, Iowa lies a place I've always wanted to see...The Field of Dreams. I fell in love with that movie the first time I saw it and never tire of watching it.

Hmm, first Diamond Lil's in Deadwood and now the Field of Dreams...almost seems I have a Kevin Costner thing going on!


We drove out there and the road leading up to it is just as long as it looks at the end of the movie when you see cars lined up for miles. The house is lived in and can only be viewed from the outside. We were able to walk the field, walk the bases, sit in the bleachers and check out the corn. It's early in the season so the corn was only about knee high. We also visited the tiny gift shop. I'm not usually big on buying souvenirs but I bought a t-shirt...unheard of for me as I don't wear t-shirts. Jack bought me a program that has all kinds of interesting stories and photos of the field and the filming of the movie. He got a t-shirt too but that's not surprising as he often buys (and wears) t-shirts from places we've visited.

On the way back to our campground in Wisconsin, would you believe...Pizza Ranch in Dubuque! Love that peach dessert pizza!