Eastward, Whoa! Day 52 and 53: Last day with Jane and Larry and moving Westward.

 Tuesday, July 27

We spent our last day (this trip) with Jane and Larry; hiding from the heat and humidity in their home.  We watched the Summer Olympics, enjoyed another sumptuous dinner and planned future trips.

There was one short trip to an ice cream shop:

And Boomer, their lovable Lab, showed us how he alerts Jane to upcoming dinner time for him:

For the record, he was only off by less than 5 minutes.

Wednesday, July 28 and I turn westward towards home....

I drove the VRRV with the Sammy in tow and headed towards Orleans, VA to visit college friends from my ROTC days.  

Martha, meanwhile, was kindly delivered to the airport in Richmond by Jane and Larry, our consummate hosts and friends.

Dang Google maps routed me via the back way route to Lee and Lyn's place so there was several miles of graveled one lane roads to negotiate but I got there just fine 

Lee proudly flies the flag of the Conch Republic

Lyn and Indy, Lee's East German Shepperd

I had some difficulty dealing with Indy at first, in spite of Lyn's efforts to convince him that I was a friend.  So while I waited for Lee to return from work, I went for a ride to explore the area.  No pic opportunities seen but we'll see later on.

Soon after I returned, Lee got home and formally told Indy that I was OK.  It was remarkable the change that came over Indy!  I was now an accepted member of the pack, and no more barking at me!  Everyone was now happy.

I was feed a nice dinner by Lyn and we spent the evening catching up and watching the Olympics.  

Eastward, Ho! Days 49-51: Lazy Weekend and visiting Colonial Williamsburg

 Saturday, July 24

Highlight of the day was Martha picking up her new phone from a local Verizon store.  She went from an iPhone 6 to an 11!  Happy Birthday ( a few days early) dear!

speaking of Deer

Sunday, July 25

Larry H. smoked some pork ribs throughout the day while we relaxed some more.  I did some cleanup of my riding gear, especially the gloves which had sat for days in the tank bag, soaking wet.  Frankly, they stank.

Larry's smoked ribs however, were ambrosia!

In the evening, we attended a neighborhood get together hosted by Larry's neighbors Loren and Barb.  We met a nice bunch of folks and though the weather was mostly hot and humid, an enjoyable time.

Monday, July 26

Today we visited Colonial Williamsburg large complex of colonial houses (most of them reproductions I think); through which life back in the mid 1700s was depicted.  The period shown through displays and re-enactors was during the time the colonies were still loyal subjects of King George III.  

You can hire a carriage to take you for a short ride near the Governor's Palace

Larry, Jane and Martha in front of the

Governor's Palace

Martha conversing with re-enactor in period costume

Re-enactor portraying George Washington

He seemed a bit standoffish but perhaps that's how the real

George Washington behaved?

Re-enactor portraying Marquis de Lafayette

a much more chatty fellow

Government House

Site of first meeting of Revolutionary Congress

On the grounds of William and Mary College (the nation's second oldest college), Martha found the statue of Thomas Jefferson donated by the University of Virginia many many decades after Mr. Jefferson apparently defaulted on a loan from William and Mary College.  

James Monroe, 5th US President and alumni of William and Mary

Afternoon shot of the Governor's Palace

Back side of the Governor's Palace

The gathering black clouds caused us to move smartly back to the car and back to Jane and Larry's home before the heavens opened up!  Severe thunderstorms crackled overhead as I type this; but we were dry and safe.

Eastward, Ho! Day 43 and 44: Overnight stay near Dawson, WV and visiting Martha's friend in Charlottesville, VA

 Sunday, July 18

A driving day, not much to report except some fairly nice scenery in terms of West Virginia's forest shrouded hills and mountains.  Apparently 78% of the state is covered in forest and its so hilly, I doubt a lot of the hills are used for habitation.

photo by Martha

photo by Martha

West Virginia State Capitol Building, Charleston

We stayed for one night at the Hampton Summer Overnight RV Park.  Though it has overnight in the name, we could see that some folks had been there longer than that.  Our assigned spot was taken by someone else, and after a quick text to the manager, Martha got us the spot next to the site-jumper.

The travel trailer to the VRRV's left is the site-jumper.  Apparently, its not unusual for swine to move from assigned spots, according to the text from the manager.  No onsite personnel to enforce anything of course.  Of course, the guy made himself scarce soon after we started setting up.

I was very annoyed at this but a few shots of Moonshine calmed me down.  It was after all, a first world problem and karma will hopefully turn out to be a bitch for the swine.

In front of us, was a small shelter with a couple of cushioned seats for enjoying the view:

This is the view from the shelter, not too bad.

Monday, July 19

We left the campsite a bit after 10AM and drove without incident on US64 East towards Charlottesville, VA.  We crossed into Virginia and traffic seemed to pick up, go figure.

photo by Martha

Lunch was McDonald's while I got gas for the VRRV.

We got to the next campsite, the Misty Mountain Camp Resort on the west side of Charlottesville, VA area.  Martha has a friend/former co-worker who now lives nearby and went and visited with her and her family for dinner.

Martha and Tracy