Ashland, VA

Hello,

Monday was our get to know the area finding out where the stores are and making an 5pm appointment for Rudy (3 week booster shots).  Things went well, we found the RV service center and found the part we needed to fix the toilet, but we are both ready to get out and do some touring.. We did a little driving around the area, trying to orient ourselves with the area and found the vet office, for Rudy's appointment.  I called dad at 4:00 and the next thing I know it's 4:30 and time to go....sorry dad, but I had to run.  We get to the vet's and the place is huge, a dog bathing area, a swimming pool for you and your dog to use.....seriously!!  We got done there, back home and out for a little walk, then Rudy into his kennel while Brad and I headed out to dinner.  The front desk recommended a place called O'Banks, so we tried it out...not bad.  They had a $4.00 burger special with home made sweet potato chips, delicious....and the burger was so large I couldn't eat the roll, and Brad of course had 'Shepard's Pie',  which he enjoyed as well.  Back home and we hide inside from the  heat and humidity.....just too darn oppressive to be outside. 

Tuesday we get up and head out.  Rudy is safely (and cool) inside his kennel, while Brad and I go out to face the heat.  First stop breakfast at 'Aunt Sarah's' then off to downtown Richmond to find the National Historic sites and battlefields.   We ended up at the 'Historic Tredegar Iron Works' site and the 'Richmond National Battlefield Park Visitor Center', both located on the same grounds.  We actually spent 3-4 hours there and really wanted to head over the James River on a walking bridge to 'Belle Island', but we were out of time, hot and ready to get back home to the AC (so sad). 

 

Today was a work and repair day.  Sheets laundered, done first thing this am, sweeper run.....check, B-day card signed and addressed....check, rebate filled out.....check, scrub the removed cover from the toilet....check.  Now for the fun stuff.  Down with the bedroom blind, and out with the toilet.  It takes about 2-3 hours, but Brad got the toilet out and tore apart, then back together again with the new gaskets installed.  I managed to get the blind tore apart and restrung.  Once the toilet is back in, get cleaned up from that then it's time to put the blind back together and rehung.  Next, front AC vent fixed.....check, water filter changed....check, Lease updated and printed.....check, anything else can wait until tomorrow.  We finish, shower and finally sit down about 5:30....yea, but what is that we hear....thunder, here comes the storm.  So much for chicken on the grill, lets just see what we have to make inside, not much, but we make due.  The storm didn't amount to much, but it kept us inside for the night.  We did head out about 9:30 for a stroll and noticed the temperature dropped about 15-20 degrees.....wow. 

Later,
Diane and Brad

 

Williamsburg to Ashland, VA

Hi, I'm Back,

Well let's see, Wednesday we went to lunch then did some shopping.....PetCo, Lowe's, Wal-Mart and finally Harris Teeter Grocery Store.  I must admit, Brad did really good, no fussing about all the stops and even was nice when I made him stop at Wal-Mart (I did pinch him to make sure he was still alive).   Back home to check on Rudy, with steaks, mushrooms and garlic bread for dinner....not a bad day. 



Waterman Museum



Thursday we had to get out, we are both going stir crazy.  We decided to head into Yorktown, since neither of us had ever been there.  There was a nice river-front restaurant we ate at, a bit expensive for lunch but the food was good, Tile fish over noodles with a vodka/tomato sauce and Blue-Plate crab special.  We walked through town and were thinking about going to old-town Yorktown, when the rain hit, so off to the Waterman Museum we went.  A very small museum, but interesting, and they were building a ship replica out back that was neat to see.  We walked through town a bit more in the drizzle, then decided to call it a day.  Back home, salads for dinner....still kind of full from lunch.  Nice evening hanging at camp.

 



1954 Hudson Hornet

Friday Brad called to see if our part was in.....no record of the order.  The only promising thing was, they called us back in about 5 min. to let us know it had arrived, (sigh).  We decided to leave Rudy behind and headed to Newport News, using the Colonial Parkway, what a beautiful drive.  We stop about an hour later for lunch at this neat place called 'Pop's Drive In'.  We just had sandwiches, but they were very good and very big.  From there we headed in to Newport News to pick up the awning part, stopping at Lowe's and Fastenal trying to find the rivets needed to re-attach the awning.....no luck.  We decided to head home and see what we can find on the internet....but 64 is backed up for miles.  Back up the Colonial Parkway, trying to find a geocache on the way, no luck.  We get back on the base and Brad decided to take a side road and much to our surprise what do we find.....a 1954 Hudson Hornet, that's one car I know I have never seen before, pretty cool find.  We get back to the campground, which has filled up, only to find out there is a bon-fire and a band/singer guy there, along with a bouncy house that is set up right in front of our RV......ugh.  Oh well, a quick dinner and inside for us, poor Rudy is just all stressed out with all the people.  In small groups he does ok, but there are a lot of screaming/laughing kids and people just wanting to walk up to him.  He seems to do better meeting people out from the RV than when they impose on our space.  

 

Saturday we get up, have a quick breakfast and work at putting the awning back together.  For the most part it was pretty easy, but then you have to get the actual awning attached to the roller, finding two  tiny holes that are covered with cloth  is like looking for a needle in a hay stack.  We finally get finished about 1:00, showered and then off to the grocery store for supplies to last us a few days.  As we were leaving base we decided to check on the pool to see if that was open, and it was and the old campground is full.  Sometimes I wish we were back here, there are only a few sites and they are shaded with a nice view of the river.  We then head down to the pier and there sits this big ship tied up....this time we drive out, only to find the USNS Zeus, pretty awesome. 

 

 

Today we got up and slowly started moving.  We don't have to be out of here until 11:00 so it is10:55 when we leave.  We head over to the Exchange (which is about as big as our RV), fill up with gas and go to check the air in the tires.  There is a problem with that, we need 90 pounds and it only goes up to 70 on the air pressure pump....oh well, hook up the car on we are off.    We only have about 1.25 hour drive, but about 10 miles from 295 route 64 is a parking lot.  Lucky for us, we are at an exit that has a Pilot gas station right off of it.  We pull in, look at the maps, the electronic maps and the GPS and off we go again.  We do the last 10 miles to 295 on route 60 get on 295 and head to camp.  We actually pulled in about 1:15, so we aren't running too late.  The camp ground is very nice....other than being right off of 95....thank goodness for double pane windows.  We walked Rudy for a little and he did well, the only problem is, two people came over to the camp site to meet him and he just went crazy, but the people realized that walking into his space wasn't the smartest thing to do.  We had chicken for dinner and are now just hanging out in-side (still hot and humid out doors). 

 

Well thanks for the visit,

Diane and Brad

 

 

In Williamsburg

Saturday, we did some grocery shopping and went to Target for paper products and a few other things.  We didn't do much today, which seems to be the norm for us anymore.  I ended up cleaning the bathroom, scrubbing the shower, and just did the required general cleaning.  We had dinner here at the CG and then actually had a fire for the evening. 

 

Sunday is our big move, we have to move from site 45 to site 47.  There is somebody scheduled to come in on the site we are on and for some reason they won't move them, even though the CG is more empty than full.  Now there is someone in site 47 and move time is no later than 11:00.  At 11:30 they finally come back to camp and started packing up.  We are sitting here, just waiting, hoping the people scheduled to move in here, don't show up.  Our plan is just to pull out and then back up the two spots to our new site.  The people in 47 finally pull out, so Brad took the bikes, grill and out side stuff down, while I fired up the rig, brought in the slide and put up the jacks.  He pulled the RV out of our site and is starting to back up, when a RV comes around the corner.  He seems a little irritated with us and goes around Brad as he is backing into our new site, instead of waiting a minute.  What luck, he pulled into our old site, then Brad went down and carried out our fire wood.  If he would have been nicer, we might of left it there, but not now.  Everything is put back in place, so we headed off to the pier to check that out. We took Rudy along for some exercise but he has no fear of water or height as he kept scaring us by walking very close to the edge of the pier.  90 degrees and 85% humidity makes for a long walk.  The only good thing was a nice air blowing when you get to the end of the pier.  We get back to the car, have some water then head back to the RV.  Dinner and AC...what more can you ask for.

 

Awning

Monday is laundry day.  I managed to get three loads done.  Brad in the mean time is checking the computer for information on the door awning.  Well, it's now or never, it took about 2 hours but the door awning is now sitting on the picnic table and tore apart and the broken part identified.  The problem now is, we can't find a replacement on the internet.  What they say we need, doesn't look at all like the piece we took out.  Oh well, time for dinner, we'll work on that tomorrow. 

 

Missing Door Awning

Tuesday we had breakfast and then headed out to look for a RV parts center.  We head towards Newport News, and stopped at a place called  Cheddar's for lunch, nice place and the food was very good.  Now off to Dixie's RV Supercenter.  Brad headed in and within a half hour, they found the part, got on the phone and ordered it for us.  They believe it should be in Thursday, Friday at the latest then we just have to figure out how to put the awning back on the RV.  We head back, stopping at the World Market, then the Fresh Market, picked up a few things and headed back home.  How can doing so few things take 4 hours.  It's 4:00 until we get home, chicken tenders and a salad for dinner.  Brad starts the grill about 5:30, just a the rain started, and finished the tenders in an absolute down pour.  I have to say that man takes good care of me.   I got to stay inside with Rudy, getting the lettuce and salad things ready.  We did end up putting the Tenders in the Microwave for a for a minute, just too make sure they were finished.  Laundry's all done, dishes finished, the rain has quit, so now for a walk with Rudy.

Later Brad and Diane 

 

 

 

 

Williamsburg, VA for a Visit

Hi, I'm Back,

Back to Tuesday 6-11, we did manage to get the geocache open...yea.  I think we are up to 6 now.  We got the shopping done and headed back home, still so stinking' hot you can't hardly stand to be outside.  The only good thing is we get the evening shade on the patio side of the RV.  We had our Ribs for dinner, cleaned up a little and then off to bed.

 

Danny and Avery

Wednesday we get up and slowly packed for our move.  I think we finally pulled out of the CG about 10:30, heading up 95.  I actually drove, from the CG, up to a truck stop in VA for gas, then we finally stopped at a rest stop and Brad took over the driving.  I really am the better navigator, since he doesn't play with the electronics as much as I do.  We are getting off 64, just getting to the Naval Weapons Station, Chatham Annex CG, when my phone rings.  Tom is calling to see if we wanted to go over for dinner.  I called him back when we get to the CG, let him know that we'll be over and we finish getting set up, I swear it was 90 degrees and 100% humidity.  We get done and about 4:30 head out on our long 20 min. drive to visit.  What a great time, Tom, Bev, Danny, Lori and their 2 kids, Parker and Avery.  It was a great visit, although a rather hot and humid visit.  We hung out until about 8:30, then headed back to tend to Rudy and headed to bed about 11:00. 

 

Thursday the email arrived, our microwave is in, so we have breakfast and head out.  First stop, PetSmart to get Rudy a harness, then off to Home Depot for the microwave.  We had a couple of other stops on our trip and didn't get home until about 3:00.  First things, first, we get the home and start to work on putting in the microwave.  Now I will be the first to admit, taking it out was much easier than it is to put it back in place.  First off, how the heck to you get 20 inch screws to line up........very carefully.  :-)  We are just finishing up the microwave when the wind actually started to rock the RV a little.  Now remember all the shades are drawn, 97 degrees and sunny, so with the AC running, we are just trying to keep things closed up.  I put up a blind and the sky is absolutely black, and there are people running to the bathrooms (cinder block buildings).  Brad runs out, puts up the window awnings, back inside and we watch the storm arrive.  We did bring in the slides and now people are driving up from the back of the CG heading for the bathrooms....should we move or stay put.  Well Rudy is sleeping on the sofa, so Brad sits down beside him and I watch from the front seat of the RV.  Twigs, branches are flying by, the electric goes out, but the storm is over in about 10 min.   We go out to inspect the damage, a couple of trees broke off and lots of branches and twigs down, but everyone is ok.  No electric, so everybody is outside with fires burning and the grills going, making dinner and actually enjoying the camping experience.  About 10:30 we lost cable reception, so off to bed by 11:00, at least the temperature as dropped and it is bearable with the windows open.

Friday we get up, still no electric, but one by one the RVs start their generators. making coffee would be my guess.  Brad made breakfast on the grill, we get showered and back to the pet store.  The harness we got yesterday is a little too big, so we took Rudy with us so they could help us get the right size this time. As we left the base we noticed the storm had tore sections of roof off four buildings, we were really lucky.   On our way we stopped at Burger King, waited about 40 min. for food.....lots of people still without electric and a lot of the restaurants are closed and the grocery stores refrigerator sections are sealed off.  We were going to head over to see Tom and Bev, but they called and are headed to Wal-Mart.  Back home.....still no electric.  About 4:00 we headed over for a visit, then hot dogs and beans for dinner.  It was a nice visit, Danny and family left and went to visit friends of theirs, so it was just the 4 of us.  We hung out 'til about 8:00, then headed home to take care of Rudy.  As we entered the base we noticed  all the lights are on(yea we have electric).


Thanks for the visit,
Diane and Brad



 

via Roanoke Rapids, NC

Good morning all,

I did forget to mention on the last blog, that when we got home from training Friday night, the microwave wasn't working, kept blowing the breaker.  Saturday we got up, ran an extension cord out to the post, and it blew that circuit as well.  We had a really bad thunderstorm Friday afternoon and the neighbor said lightening hit real close, and we noticed that there was a big scorch mark on the inside of the microwave.  Well it took us about 3 hours of reading and .5 hours of work, but the microwave is now sitting on the picnic table, no microwave, no oven, yea for the grill and stove top.  We go to the office to see how to dispose of the microwave and they told us the storm knocked out the sewer pump, phone system and did some other damage to the CG, I guess we were lucky after all. 

 

Sunday we get up and head over to Roanoke Rapids, NC.  They called for rain all day, but all we had was a very hot, sunny, day.  We didn't get on the road until 11:00 and arrived at the CG about 4:30....long drive for us.  Rudy did will, but ended up getting sick, just as we pulled in.  I think I fed him too many treats on the ride, I'll know better from now on  We get set up and did a lot of walking  Rudy,  we have a quick dinner and off to bed, Brad about 10:00, me about 11:00. 

Miss my microwave

 

Monday we get up to a rainy day.  We had thunder storm after thunder storm.  We were lazy today, breakfast and lunch here at home and going for walks(for the dog) in between the rain showers.  I did get on the internet, found our microwave at a Home Depot and ordered it on line to be picked up at the store in Williamsburg, VA, when we get there.  No store had them in stock, but this was the cheapest, and even gave me a $50.00 discount for the order.  About 2:00 we couldn't stand it any more, I got cleaned up and about 4:30 we headed out.  We found a Mexican Restaurant (had good reviews) for dinner, and we weren't disappointed.  We stopped for milk, creamer and bread then headed back home to see how Rudy made out.  When Brad got out of the car he was quiet, but as soon as I opened my car door, I heard him bark....how did he know we were back.  We put the stuff in the refrigerator, then off for our dutiful walk.  Back in, feed the dog, and a couple more walks, in between rain, actually downpours..  Why is it when you have such a lazy day, you are more tired that when you keep busy?  We head out for our last walk about 9:30, then off to bed with Brad, Rudy about 10:45 and I about 11:00.

 

Friends?

Today Brad did the normal morning walk, but when they got back, Rudy decided today he was going to jump into bed and get me up.  He was leaping around on the bed and I was laughing so hard at him that there was no going back to sleep, so I headed out to the living room with one eye open.  Rudy must be getting used to us, he is just full of himself, stealing Brad's socks and hiding them under the kitchen table(his new favorite place).  We go for another walk, looking for a geocache hidden here at the CG.....We found it, but it has a lock on it and we can't figure out how to open it, we'll have to try again a little later.  Back to the RV, breakfast, showers and now we are getting ready to hit Wal-Mart for a few supplies.  I think I'll even be able to talk Brad into lunch while we are out.  I am marinating ribs for dinner, so we will come back and just hang out.  Tomorrow we are heading up to Williamsburg, VA. to visit with Tom, Bev and Danny and family who camping there.  We are going to stay at one of the military CG, about 10 miles away, but it will be nice to visit with them for a while. 

 

I'll be back,

Thanks for the visit,

Diane and Brad

 

 

 

Wow

Well here it is Friday night and I am finally back.

Monday we got up, hung out at the CG and at 1:30, left for Rudy's Vet. appointment at the Willowrun Veterinary Hospital.  They did a nice job with Rudy, told us he is about 8 months old and maybe a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix, with maybe one or two other breeds mixed in there......anyway he's cute.  We got him all his shots 'ouch', heart worm medicine and what ever tests were needed.  We got back home, hung out with Rudy while he recovered and discussed our move tomorrow (heading back to Gaffney for our Diesel training). 

 

Tuesday we got up and started packing...inside all packed when Brad hit the button to bring in the door awning.  About half way in, there is a loud noise and the awning snaps back out.  Oh no, now what?  It will not work.  Check the manuals, no information so onto the computer.  I found a site that discussed the Dometic/Oasis door awnings.  Click on that and now what.....slammed by a computer virus.  I can see it hitting my computer and for the first 20-30 times the computer scan kept up, but then it lost.  We have the FBI warning virus one more time.....on to the phone to call Dometic for a fix or work around.  It's just about noon until Brad gets the awning off and the arms for the awning in, taped and tied down.  I've had enough, Rudy into his little kennel, we went to lunch, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart and the grocery store.  No move today, so the phone calls and arrangements get made and we are parked until tomorrow.  We do good, have dinner at home, get everything packed, hoping to be on the road about 9:00 am since we aren't sure how Rudy will do. 

 

Wednesday we get up, put the few things away that are left out, eat breakfast and feed Rudy, and then walk him and walk him and walk him some more.  It is now 9:30 and he still hasn't done his business, so we decide to pack it in anyway.....long drive ahead.  We get out of the CG about 10:00, stopped for gas about a mile away and finally got on the road at 10:20.  It is about 80 miles to the first rest area, about noon until we stop. We walk Rudy and then I fixed our normal lunch, cheese and crackers.  We put him back in his kennel, and eat lunch while we roll.  We only stopped one more time on the our trip, finally arrived at the KOA in Gaffney about 4:00,  get set up and I finally get the computer virus out of the computer, running about 3 different cleaners, YEA. We have dinner, hang out and then figured out we have to be up at 5:30 and out of here by 7:40.....ugh, not our normal schedule. 

 

Thursday, Brad is up at 5:30 and out with Rudy, I roll out of bed about 6:00 and try to wake up.  Into the shower and get ready to catch the bus to class.  I go to the office about 7:25, bus is to be there at 7:30 and I see no body.  I ended up talking with the CG owner and then about 7:34 Brad picks me up and we head over to the service center for training.  We ended up not starting for over an hour because there were 2 people missing and then it is kind of hap hazard, but we are finally moving along.  We move along until noon, lunch shows up (subs from Firehouse) and Brad heads out to let Rudy out.  He slides in just as we are beginning after lunch and then we are there until 4:40, leaving us 40 min. to go take care of Rudy and get back by 5:20.  We get back and one of the top guys from Freightliner is talking with the crowd.  Nice guy and very informational.  We finally get out of there at 7:30 back home and walk, walk, walk.  Poor Rudy has been stuck in his house for more hours than we thought he should be, and at this point, doesn't even want to go back into the RV.  We get back in, Brad goes to bed around 10:00, me about 11:00 and Rudy actually went into his kennel with no problem.

 

Today, alarm rings at 5:30, hit snooze, Brad up about 5:40, me I lasted in bed until 6:15, hit the shower and get ready.  We hit the road about 7:40...accident on route I85, but we have been here long enough between the last trip and this one so we take the side roads and miss the 8 mile traffic jam.  Class is a little jammed today, hitting things hard and fast.  We hit things hard, but then our hot lunch showed up at 11:00.  Brad hurried up and ate then ran over to campground to let Rudy out and got back just as we were starting again.  After that we hurried, hurried and hurried some more, but finally made it through everything and got out of there about 7:00 PM.  OMG that poor dog has been in the kennel for 7 hours.....boy was he glad to see us.  We walked for about 45 min, came in to eat dinner, then walked some more.  We are back inside, Brad heads to bed about 9:30 and here it is 11:00 and I am finally finishing up the Blog.  I heading out for a cigarette and then off to bed, but at least Rudy seems happy. 

 

Thanks for you visit,

Diane and Brad 

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy Week

What a crazy week.

Service Area CG

We got out of here Tuesday morning about 9:00 and finally pulled into the Freightliner Service area about 3:30.  The ride was pretty uneventful, other than some traffic backup on 85, about 20 miles from our final destination.  We got there, filled up our water tank, parked the rig, and got checked in.  They say they'll be here at 8:00 AM to go over the work order and get the RV.  Which means we have to be up at the crack of dawn.

Strawberry covered Pancake

Wednesday we got up 5:30/6:00 AM.  We are showered, cleaned up, slides in and over at the sewer dump site by 7:30.  We re-park, and at 8:10 our service representative was at the door.  They take the RV and send us to the customer service waiting area.  By 9:00 they came out and got Brad then took him back so he could look at the RV while it was up on a lift.  They went over a few things, and surprisingly, things didn't look too bad.  OK, back out with me and off to breakfast.  The receptionist told us about this place called 'Strawberry Hill, USA' and WOW, what a great place. The strawberry pancake was a side that came with Brad's order of eggs and sausage.  Breakfast was fantastic and then there is a farm you can walk around and across the street is their fruit stand.  I think we were there about 2.5 hours and then headed off to visit the 'Cowpens Battlefield'.   We go to the visitor center then did the drive around the park.  I think it was the first Revolutionary Battlefield either of us has ever visited.  At about 1:30, so we are heading back to Freightliner, stopped at a gas station for iced tea, and the phone rings.  The CG in Smithfield had caught one of the stray dogs, now what do we do?  We head back to Freightliner, settle up the bill, and discuss the dog.  Short discussion, we changed our training from Mon/Tues to Thurs/Fri. then we called the Smithfield CG and plan on heading back to Smithfield Thursday in the AM.

Say hi to
'Rudy

We got ready and were on the road about 9:30am.  We pulled in about 3:00, check on the little guy, then got the RV set up, off to get some frontline.  We then walk up to the office to get the dog, and bring him back to the RV.  They left us borrow their cage for the night and the rest of the can of dog food they had for him.  Very scared little guy, but with a little patience we think he'll be great. 


Friday we get up, Rudy slept in the cage, and didn't really make any noise....yea.  We had breakfast here at home, then I got cleaned up and headed out for supplies.  We need lots of dog things, and my cupboards are bare.  First to Wal-Mart, then Petco and finally Tractor supply, where they actually had a better selection of dog supplies.  I finished that shopping then off to the grocery store.  Back to the RV, unpack the car and put everything away.  We spend a lot of our time sitting outside with Rudy.  It's kind of odd for us not to be doing anything, just sitting around letting the dog get used to us...and us used to him.

Saturday another lazy day at camp.  The CG is full, with lots of dogs and noises.  Rudy is a bit jumpy, but enjoys meeting other dogs.  They have seen Rudy's buddy at a house down the road, so we decided to take him to see if we can find her.  No luck, we couldn't even find the house as it was described to us.  Off for a ride through town looking for an Urgent Care (Brad's ears are sore), then head back to the RV.....oh no, the dog got sick.  Back to the RV, clean up the car and back to dog sitting again.  He really has become quite the celebrity here at the CG, everybody knows him and is worried about his side kick.  Chicken on the grill for dinner and more walks around camp.  Off to bed about 10:00 with Rudy in his cage....good boy.

We got up today, breakfast, then out with the sweeper.  Rudy and Brad were sitting outside when I started to clean, and Rudy did not like that noise at all.  Brad then got cleaned up and headed off to the Dr.'s office, I did another load of laundry and am working on the Blog.  A slight problem at the Dr.'s office, no record of the Blue Cross info, so he had to pay cash....ouch.  Brad is now eating lunch and I'm getting ready to shower, I'll be back to let you all know how we are making out with Rudy, hopefully the car rides will be better.....we can't have him getting sick all the time.

Thanks for the visit to our site,
Diane and Brad