Misty Mountain Camp Resort

Monday 10/12/09 - Today we drove from Candy Hill Campground in Winchester, VA to our new campground at Misty Mountain Camp Resort, Waynesboro, VA. We arrived around 1:00 PM and got everything set up.

Tuesday 10/13/09 - We took a drive around Crozet, VA. It is a very small town, but was very enjoyable to drive through. There are areas of obvious disrepair, but there are also areas of very new upscale subdivisions.

After viewing Crozet we drove HWY 240 to Charlottelville, VA and drove around the town. We drove by the University of Virginia. It is a very large campus that is incorporated into the city. It would be very difficuly to shut this campus down during any hostile actions like those that occured at Virginia Tech.

We also drove over to Seminole Square. We thought this would be another small town, but it was just another shopping area.

On our way back to our RV park we decided to drive various roads around the area to view the homes. Many are older, with some being in need of repairs, and even some being abandoned. Just down the road was very upscale farms, orchards, vinyards, and modern neighborhoods. One even had a golf course incorporated into the area.

After returning to our RV we checked the Weather Channel and decided to drive up Skyline Drive from Waynesboro, VA to Front Royal, VA since the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday was 60% and 50% chance of rain respectively. We left our RV Park at about 3:00 PM and returned at around 9:00 PM. We enjoyed the dirve ememsly. The trees were in the process of changing colors, but many were still green. The colors were not as intense as we expected them to be. I guess we are a week or two early for the vibrant colors. Even so the drive was still very enjoyable. We did find some areas of moderate color change. We decided the color change was more visible on the Eastern side of the ridges, and the further north we drove the better the color change. On our drive we spotted one 4 PT. Buck eating alongside the road. We even turned around and went back by him twice to take pictures. He just kept eating. Obvioulsy he had found something he was enjoying and he was not going to let us disturb him. Please note the picture attached. We also saw several sitings of does eating along the road. They all seemed perfectly accustomed to having cars drive by. Dianne stated they seemed to be completely unafraid and feel safe. We also saw three turkeys along the side of the road, but they were to fast for us to get a picture.

Wednesday 10/14/09 - Relaxing day spent around the RV Camp site updating blog, and taking care of various chores that needed to be done.

Thursday 10/15/09 - Today we visited Luray Caverns. They were magnificient. If you ever find yourself in the area of Luray, VA we highly recommend you visit Luray Caverns. It is approximately a 1.5 mile walk underground with a low pt of approximately 180 feet below ground. The staglagtite, stlagmite, and flow rock formations are truly amazing. The underground lake is truly breathtaking, and the organ that plays on the rock formations is truly beautiful. (Picture attached). The Fried Egg formation is very unique. It reqlly does look like fried eggs. Note the picture attached.

Friday 10/16/9 - Today we move from Misty Mountain Camp Resort, Waynesboro, VA to Westmoreland State Park, Montorss, VA which is just 15 to 29 minutes from Galon & Maggies's place at Warsaw, VA. We will be here for two weeks.

I am having difficulties getting internet connection so thge blogs may be delayed while we are here in VA. I will postonce a week if I can, but if not I will post when I can get to a connection.

Our Time In Michigan & West Virginia

We arrived in MI on Friday 10/02/09. Once we got the RV set up we called Dianne's brother to get directions to his house, and went over to visit with Bob and Ellen for a while. We returned to the RV that night around 8:00 PM.

Saturday 10/03/09 we went to see the Michigan (Wolverines) vs. Michigan State (Spartans) in their annual grudge match with Bob, Ellen, thier son Donald and his son Jacob. The game was very good with Michigan State dominating the first three quarters. It rained off and on all day and we were in and out of our ponchos. At about half way through the fourth quarter with the score being 20 to 6 in favor of Michigan State Dianne and I started down to the bus since it takes me a while to walk that distance. As we were leaving we heard the crowd roar and knew something had happened, but not exactly what. After the game we found out that Michigan had scored to make it 20-13. Michigan State was unable to move the ball and was forced to kick and Michigan received the ball with about 2:53 seconds left. They were able to move the ball and scored with :02 seconds left to tie the game and go to overtime. Michigan got the ball first at the MSU 25 yard line, and was able to move the ball , but was intercepted in the end zone to stop the drive. MSU then started on the MICH 25 yard line and was able to score a touchdown to win the game.

After the game we returned to Dianne's brothers for a while, then went to our RV park in Tecumseh, MI which was about 30 mintues away.

Sunday 10/04/09 - We went back over to Dianne's Brother Bob's house at around 1:00 PM Sunday. We then went to visit Bob's daughter Lindsey and her family for a while, then from there we went to his son Donald's for a short time. It was really great to see them since we have not been in Michigan for about 10 or 12 years or so. Many of their children's children we had not seen since they were born after our last visit. After our visits we returned to Bob and Ellens' and one of their other son's Colby came over and we visited with him and some of his children for a while. After Colby left we returned to our RV.

Monday 10/05/09 - Went to Camping World in Belleville, MI to have the oil changed in our RV. They were kind enough to work us in at 4:30 PM. While we were waiting for the oil change to take place Bob & Ellen stopped by to see us with their grandsons Liam and Nolan. Liam was asleep in the car so they did not wake him up. We visited for a while and they continued with their shopping. Once our RV oil was changed we returned to our campsite for the evening.

Tuesday 10/06/09 - Bob and Ellen took us to the Amish Community at Shipshewana. There we visited a huge flea market and found several things we just had to have. After shopping we went to an Amish Restaurant that Bob & Ellen recommended. The food was very good. We saw many of the carriages as pictured and were amazed at their simplicity of life.

Wednesday 10/07/09 - We spent time with Bob & Ellen, and went to lunch at Big Boys for hamburgers where Lindsey and her two boys Marcus and Caleb met us. Big Boys reminded us of of What-A-Burger. They were very good. Then we returned to Bob & Ellen's where we dined on Ellens specialty of Pork Chops and Cabbage. It was very tasty.

Thursday 10/08/09 - We visited the IKEA Home Furnishing Store with Bob, Ellen, Nolan and Liam where we had lunch in the store restaurant and then shopped. It was quite an experience. I have not eaten in a store restaurant since back in the 60's when GC Murphy's, and WT Grants had dining areas in their stores at Town & Country Plaza where I worked in the Delchamps grocery store. We enjoyed the dining and shopping experience, and even found a few things we just had to have. It is amazing what you can find to buy at flea markets and stores when you go shopping..

Friday 10/09/09 - We left Michigan to travel toward WV. to visit with Bob & Ellen's oldest son Michael and his family. We stopped in New Staunton, PA for the night at Fox Den Acres.

Saturday 10/09/09 - We arrived in Winchester, VA at around 1:00 PM. We called Michael and Evie to get directions to their house. They were in town just a few minutes away so they stopped by to visit for a few minutes and provide directions. We agreed to meet them at their house around 4:00 PM for an outing with their church. We went over to a church members house for a very fun time of Scare Crow Building (Michaels' family and Dianne & I worked together and won the competition!), eating, and a hay ride to finish off the evening. It was very enjoyable.

Sunday 10/10/09 - We went to church with Michael, Evie, Brendan, and Lance at Capon Bible Fellowship. We enjoyed the service very much. The music was contemporary praise songs, and the sermon was preached by Pastor Jack Whitacre. After church Evie showed us around the church while Michael attended a meeting. Then we went to their home for Bar-B-Q Chicken, Hashbrown Casserole, Green Beans, Rolls, and Butterscotch Pudding for dessert. We enjoyed it very much. We stayed around a while watching NASCAR and football. We left around 6:00 PM and returned to our RV park to begin preparations for departure for Misty Mountain Camp Resort at Waynesboro, VA.