Where's Waldo Now? And What Do You Mean, We're Not On Your List?

So we left off in Fort Eustis, looking for a pool, right?  That was Wednesday.  (When you're retired, and move around a lot, you might know WHERE you are, but you don't always know what day it is!)

Thursday morning, bright and early, we got up, packed up, and headed west, to our next stop, Shenandoah Crossings Resort, in Gordonsville, VA.  We have camped here many times over the years, and it's been relatively pleasant, most times.  The sites are spacious, the grounds are beautiful, and there are pools and activities galore.  Plus, since it's one of our Coast to Coast member parks, it's only about $10 a night.  Can't beat that with a stick!  Of course, you have to pay cash for the taxes due and some of the activities have a cost associated with 'em, like crafts and horseback riding, they cost extra.  But, all the pools (indoor, outdoor, splash pads and hot tubs) are free, as is ping pong, mini golf, fishing, hiking, and people watching.

Heading up 64 West bound, little traffic, nice road.

Gets a little hillier and lanes narrow, the closer to the resort we get.

Soooo, we make our way around Richmond, VA, easy peasy.  We've done it before, so we know the way and we are between rush-hour and lunchtime, so traffic is relatively light.  We pull up to the gate (most of our Coast to Coast parks are gated, with 24 hour security) and stop to register.  Typically, there is a package waiting for us, with a map marked to our site, our gate keys, info sheets and WiFi codes.  Sometimes, they even include a menu to the on-site restaurant. Not this time.  Nope, nope, nope.  This time, we gave them our name and were told, "sorry, you're not on my list."  Whaaa??  Remember, we're 44 feet long, towing a car and take 50 amps!  Plus, I had an email confirmation that said I was all paid up for a week, so how could it be that we weren't on his list?  Noooo, there's no other name it could be under, and here's our confirmation.  A few phone calls later, and we were told to drive up to the lodge and see the front desk clerk.  Ummmm....the lodge is located on a small cul-de-sac.  If there are any cars parked in the circle, there's barely enough room for another car to pass, and, remember, we are 44 feet long and towing a car!  We cannot turn around in a cul-de-sac! We explained that to the security guard who seemed to agree, so he made another call to the front desk, and they assigned us a site in the pull-through area.  

You'd think we were happy then, right? Well, we were, especially as we rounded the corner and were greeted by the sweet family crossing the street.

And all the sites really are spacious.  But, you see, the foliage has grown up quite a bit over the 10 years since installation, and the streets are wide, but not too wide, and there are light poles at each site.  And fences and foliage between.  With a little careful navigation (light poles & foliage, remember?), we got into our assigned site.  And promptly looked for an exit strategy.  You see, that's just as important as getting IN to the site!  We determined that if anyone came into the site in front of us, we were, to put it simply, screwed.  No amount of jockeying or maneuvering was going to get us out safely, without damage to our rig, the neighbor's rig and/or possibly the land- and hard-scaping.  So we disconnected the car & drove back up to the lodge to register and see about getting another site.  We had the foresight to look at a few others prior to going up there, hoping to get one that was, in OUR opinion, suitable for entry AND exit.  Luckily, one of the ones we had selected was available for our length of stay, and arrangements were made for us to occupy site 424 instead of 420.  So, we get back to the camper and begin to assess the situation.  We were IN the old site, our tow dolly was still attached.  Remember, 44 feet, and we don't bend in the middle.  We knew, when we ordered this puppy, that there were going to be some tight turns, and some places we weren't going to fit or be able to go.  We didn't realize that we were going to have to BACK INTO a pull-through site ever!  But, we managed, thank you very much to The Very Talented Driver, and some careful guidance of the Navigator.  Thankfully, banging on the side of the bus, flat-handed is a good way to get The Driver's attention, and avoid collision with the trash bins.

See, we fit.  Just barely, but we fit.  AND, we can safely exit, right into the street, without hitting anything or anyone.

This is the view out our front window.  See that small wooden structure, straight ahead?  That's a private hot tub.  Could have been ours, for $50 bucks a night!

So, Saturday, we headed out to Kim's house, to visit her for a bit before she had to take Annabelle off to basketball.  We always love the scenery here, and we enjoy just riding the roads, remember my favorite barn (picture here)?  Lots of pretty scenery and interesting architecture, as well as historical sites and markers.

We only had an hour or so with her, before it was time for her to get ready, but we had Bailey with us, so we were free for the afternoon.  What to do, what to do?  Oh, yeah, the United Methodist Church, up in Stanardsville was holding their annual Strawberry Festival today!  We've attended that for years, and always enjoyed it, so off we went!  

We were gonna get a hamburger each, then each get a dessert,  but changed our mind when we saw the food prices.  Sure, it's a fund raiser for the church, but, gosh darn, $6 bucks for a burger and drink was pretty steep in our opinion.  We scooted over to the shortcake table, and it was a good thing we did!  By the time we got up to the table, they had one pint of jam and 3 shortcakes left!  No plain berries, no more full pies.  Just 1 pint of jam (and not nearly as pretty as any of yours, Barbara!) and 3 shortcakes. We bought 2 of the shortcakes with Cool Whip and proceeded to gobble them down in short order.  Oh my, they were GOOOOOD!

After a bit, we checked out some of the cool cars, but it was hot, and we had places to go.  Like, Chuck & Stu's, for one.  Chuck & Stu have been friends now for about 25 years or so, dating back to when The Driver worked at VA Employment Commission, and they run a lovely cottage industry called The Cottages at Chesley Creek Farm,  It is, literally, a cottage industry, as they have built and rent out 5 cozy and romantic cabins up on their mountain in Dyke, VA, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  

The actual ride up the mountain is fun.  Unless someone is coming in the opposite direction.  Then it's complicated.  And, yes, this is a state-maintained road.  And we found out, it was graded just 2 days prior to us driving it.  This is the same place where I found out, just last year, that our car is NOT 4 wheel drive.  ??  How could I not know that?  We've had this car 5 years now (4, at the time!).  And, how could we have purchased a car without 4 wheel drive?  We ALWAYS get 4 wheel drive.  Except this time, I suppose.  <shakes head>

Here's a short video clip of part of the trip up Brokenback Mountain Road:

Click (here) if that video link doesn't show up for you.

Nice guys, nice visit.  We played fetch with John Henry a bit (he's pretty insistent on that) then it was time to go.  We still had to drive back to the camper, shower, fix & eat dinner, clean up, and head out to the dance.  We had learned of tonight's dance from new friends we met at the Virginia State Convention.  They were a whole lotta fun to dance with and we learned we're not the only ones whose minds wander a bit if the choreography is stale.  They taught us Mirror Dancing (where everything right is left, and girls do the boys' parts) and we did a lot of DBD (dance by discussion) with 'em.  We talked about line dancing/individual squares, which is dancing your part of whatever is called, but individually, and you're dancing with 7 others, but they're all in your mind.  THAT was thought up by the MIT dudes & dudettes.  Yeah, we didn't do that.  But, we found out that their club was putting on this dance with a caller out of Ohio, and we knew we'd be free, so we made plans to go. (howdy, Ashby, Ben, Keith & Brenda!) We arrived just in time to miss the first DBD tip, but as soon as they all saw us, they waved and welcomed us into the fold.  What a great night of dancing it turned out to be!  They didn't mind any of our shenanigans; they even suggested a few of their own.  We danced archy-style (backwards, girls are boys, all the time), rotated an 8th each time we arrived back home, girls with girls, boys with boys, cut-throughs and patty-cake square throughs.  After about the 2nd tip, the caller realized that his pilot square was not necessarily going to all be where he thought he'd put us, so he quit watching and starting looking at his feet and his lyrics more.  Teehee...  the one time he WAS watching, Ben & I had cut through the square instead of promenading all around the outside, so he called it again, putting us right back where we'd started.  We knew we were busted!  <blush>  It was sure a whole lotta fun, and we'll make sure we look for these couples at the National Convention, at the end of the month.  We have to be sure to wear our matching flamingo shirts, so they can find us easily!  

OK, brownies are beginning to smell done, and since I haven't yet figured out how to properly set the time while baking on my new microwave, maybe I should go check on them.  Yes, I'm sure if I read the manual, it would become self-explanatory.  At least maybe it would be more understandable.  Maybe.  Manuals and I don't have a good relationship, historically speaking.  OK, now they smell really done, must go!

Ta-ta for now!