Working our way south to a Wedding!

 September 20th,2016

Our next evening was at one of those campgrounds you wish never to return to. Between the difficulty of getting into the campsite, the unlevel ground, and the swarms of bugs ( the first we have encountered this year, even in Alaska) plus the constant yipping of little dogs ( so bad that if we went outside it would set them all in a tizzy) it was not a pleasant experience.  However, on the other hand, another time the bugs may not be in season, or the group of inconsiderate dog-owners may be somewhere else which would make this a much nicer place.

 When we were lead to our site by a staff member of Endless Caverns RV Resort  in New Market, Va by golf cart, she had us park in the wrong site. Oops!  We could quickly see that leaving in the morning was not going to be stress-free due to the trees,stone walls and ravine flanking our site, and the sharp turn of the road. We stayed where we were because we mentally were not up to dealing with it at that point.

100's of these begin to hurt

My on-going question of life: Why do people who own dogs think it is acceptable to let their dogs bark and bark? Don't they hear them? Do they actually think we don't mind? And, by the way, why do some dog owners think it OK not to pick up their stinky poop?  Do they think we like to spend an hour digging it out of the deep recesses of our hiking boots or sneakers, or scrubbing it out of our carpets? We camp to enjoy the quiet of nature not the ear-piercing bark of dogs!

By the time we got settled it was quite late, and we were not in the mood to go on a Cave Tour so we hid inside from the dogs and the bugs and watched the news and relaxed. Ahhh.... happy hour!

In the morning while leaving, I stood in the bushes guiding Norm and our attached car around the tight turns, while 1000 sharp burrs stuck into my new pants and legs. ( pants are new-legs are really old)




 Norm did a great job trusting my directions, and not denting the RV or falling in the ditch. After standing there pulling out a couple of hundred prickling barbs, I waddled into the motorhome to spend the next hour carefully pulling out the remaining barbs as we drove.


Sept 21 and 22nd

After leaving Endless Caverns behind, we headed south, again taking the roads less traveled.

We did manage to get a nice dinner in between the rains.  Lovely campsite.

Our next destination would be another Army Corps of Engineering campground call Rudds Creek in Boydton, Virginia where we would stay two nights. With 99 sites on or near the 50,000 acre lake that extended up the cove studded shoreline of the Roanoke River, this place had everything needed for a very nice time.  The sites here were not as luxurious as the last Corps of Engineering we stayed at, but after leveling the RV, the site was very nice as long as you avoided the poison ivy near the front door.

 The lake view was beautiful, and the ease of launching our kayaks right from the site was perfect.

Rudds Creek Campground is in the middle of absolutely NOTHING!

 Unfortunately, we had torrential rain the first day and night, then it sprinkled off and on the next day, There was absolutely nothing to do in the area so we stayed dry inside working on the internet and making plans for the rest of the trip home.  We did some "housework" and squeezed in a little walk between the showers, but went a little stir crazy. I finally went out to find a Dollar Store for a “Hallmark” card, which was the only business or store I could find.

The clothes dryer died a week back and set off the smoke detectors.  I had to be a little creative in order to have clean socks since there were no laundromats, and it's raining! This reminds me of our European RV trip where this was a frequent occurance.

September 23rd-25th

The following three days were dedicated to the reason why we are here in North Carolina – Norm’s nephew was getting married! Getting here was a little more stressful due to the Garmin sending us in circles through difficult construction sites.

 When we finally arrived at Tanglewood RV Campground in Lewiston, North Carolina we were pleasantly surprised after reading the reviews.  It was a gorgeous community park that encompassed a golf course, miles of biking and hiking trails, and a riding stable on impeccably groomed grounds.

 On line reviews stated the sites were nearly impossible to get level on so we were prepared for the worse. However the fact that I reserved 6 months ago paid off.  We had probably the only level site in the place.

 It was a very hot and humid 90 degrees when we arrived, and when we plugged in our surge protector into the post it read "High Voltage".  Oh, NO!  That could fry your rig!  We called the park and they quickly sent electricians out to check it.  When they found it to be normal, we then examined our surge protector more closely and found it to be full of water. With no other choice, we decided to complete our trip without surge protection and hope for the best.  We will have it replaced as soon as we return.

Norm's sister with her son and new daughter-in-law!

Norm cutting the rug with his nephew at the wedding.  Sorry, Steve, Norm forgot you just had extensive shoulder surgery!

Rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and during the final day we had Norm’s sister and the bride and groom to our campsite for dinner.  All in all it was a lovely few days.

No interstates for us! Some days we rarely saw another vehicle. ( Good thing, because we took up most of the road!)