First Camping Trip

Monday June 9th

It's our first camping trip of the year, and we are headed with the Bishops to a campground at the western base of Skyline Drive. 

On Tuesday afternoon we went to Mountain Run, a creek with a waterfall in the Shenandoah National Forest.  It was promoted as a hiking trail but we could not find it.  From the  parking lot, there was a short stroll  to a pool on the creek.  The only trail we noticed headed up the mountain to Skyline Drive but it was not along the creek.

Wednesday we spent the day driving on Skyline Drive.  It was a beautiful day and the Mountain Laurels were in full bloom.  None of us had been there in recent years so it was a real treat to see the sights along the Drive again.  

Thursday we went to Edith Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at James Madison University. We spent several hours strolling around the trails in the Garden. It seemed we were in the period between the Spring and Summer flowers, but it was still a beautiful spot.

Alas, on Friday it was time to pack up and head for home.  We had a great time with the Bishops and look forward to another camping trip with them.  Our only hope is that Bill was not too befuddled because their campsite had Full Hookups.

 

Spring 2025

 Spring 2025

Due to medical issues, I never got around to writing on entry in this blog until today (6/16)!

In February we celebrated Gretchen’s birthday with Jenny, who prepared a wonderful meal!

We hosted our annual Valentine's Day meal with friends!

And then I was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer!  Derek and Katie played a major role in arranging for me to be treated at the Duke Cancer Center AND providing a place for us to stay during my treatments.  Thank you so much! Thank you Kelley for coming to see me in the hospital. Thank you Gretchen for caring for me through this entire ordeal! Love to all of you for your outstanding support!

Sally came to visit and check on my healing when we returned to Lynchburg.  The timing was right to celebrate her birthday! We went to the Peaks of Otter during her stay and walked around the lake on a beautiful spring day!

 

The last day of May, CVGS celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding.  The event was attended by a large number of students, parents and faculty.  I loved seeing the people from my time at the Governor's School!

I'll end this entry by saying I am healing well from my surgery.  Each week I note something that reflects an improvement in the healing process.  Today, I'm back to a normal routine, walking everyday and feeling fine.  It will be the end of this year until  I'm totally healed!  And then I'll be able to ride my bike again!

Christmas

  Friday 12/20

Sally came to our house yesterday and today we are headed to SC! We checked into the condo and went to the Hills for dinner.

On Saturday, Kelley needed to do some course work, so we got to spend the day with Maggie. We went to the Marsh Walk and had a great lunch! Then we strolled around the landing.  There was a large market set up by the pier with vendors selling selling their goods; many of which would make great Christmas presents!

Later, the girls went to the Hammock Shops Village and to the grocery store. Kelley joined us for dinner.

An ornament for Maggie’s collection!

Sunday morning we went to church with Kelley and Maggie. In the afternoon, we played games and had an early supper before heading to Brookgreen Gardens.  It’s our tradition to go and see their magnificent Christmas Light Show.  It’s Kelley’s present to us!  Thank you so much Kelley!

Lighting of the 130,000 lights on the 85 foot tree!!!

Monday

We stopped to say goodbye to Kelley and Maggie.  It was super spending time with you guys! Then we set out for NC.  We arrived midafternoon when Audrey and Henry were making their traditional Christmas breakfast dish.

In the evening we went to Derek's for a wonderful dinner! His second of the season! It's been great to meet his family and spend time with them!  On Christmas morning, there were presents! We love, really love our annual present from Katie...DPAC tickets!

Audrey and Henry left early afternoon to spend the rest of the day with David and Laura. We had a wonderful celebration.  Thanks so much Katie and Derek for hosting us!  We're are so happy that Sally could join us for the festivities this year.  We hope it becomes a tradition!

Looking forward to a wonderful 2025!

Thanksgiving

 Tuesday November 26th

Sally arrived at our house today and we’ll be heading to Hillsborough tomorrow!  So happy Sally will be with us for the holidays! 

Wednesday we left early so we could get to see Henry and Audrey before they went to their Dad’s house for Thanksgiving.  Of course we walked in the park to get ice cream at Whit’s!  In the evening, we met Katie’s new partner Derek.  It was great to get to spend time with him. He is really nice! They seem to get along really well and are having a lot of fun!

On Thanksgiving, the five of us made a marvelous dinner at Katie’s…..but no one documented the event!  

Friday

Tonight we are going to DPAC to see Hadestown. Before they went show we ate at Lamal, a really good Mexican restaurant.   

Hadestown was a wonderful show, really different from other musicals we have seen!  We all loved it!  Mom and I always say tickets are the very best presents Katie!!

Saturday

Derek spent the day preparing a superb dinner for our families at his house.  It was great to meet his kids and get to know them. Marina is Audrey's age, Liam is Henry's age, and Caleb is a freshman in college.

After dinner it was time to don our shirts for the UVA/Tech game that Katie loves to watch with me!  The Hoos did not fair well again this year!

First pool game EVER!

Sunday

Well, it is time for us to head home. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  It was great spending time with Katie, Henry and Audrey; great meeting Derek and his family; and great having Sally with us!  Thanks for a great weekend Katie and Derek! Best wishes to the two of you!

Birthday Celebration

 Saturday 11/7

We’re going to Abingdon to celebrate the November birthdays of Gary, David and me!  Many thanks to Laurel for coordinating this activity with Emily and Gretchen.  We arrived late afternoon in time to walk around downtown before eating dinner at Jacks.

Next stop was the Abingdon Theater to see the play, Sherlock Homes.  The play was absolutely wonderful; an intriguing story and great actors! We all really enjoyed it! 

On Sunday morning, we drove west to Mendota to ride the Mendota Trail (12.5 mi) that runs east to Bristol.  We started here because a storm had dropped several trees across the trail and they had to hire a professional tree service to clear the area.  We could ride seven miles east from Mendota which resulted in a really nice 14 mile round trip.

In the evening, we had a superb dinner at the Three Sisters American Grill in the Martha Washington Inn. What a wonderful birthday celebration this has been with the Double Nickels! I hope it becomes an annual tradition!!

It was time to drive home Monday Morning.  We did stop at the Southwest Virginia Cultural Center before we left Abingdon.  It has been enlarged since Gretchen and my last visit.  It is a gallery for local artists, a concert venue in addition to providing travel information!

Maggie & Kelley

 Monday 10/7

Maggie and Kelley arrived this afternoon for their visit to the Burg during fall break!  It was fun chatting with them during happy hour and dinner.  So much to catch up on!  Tomorrow we will hike the Afton Tunnel Trail.

We stopped at Three Notch’d Cafe Kitchen on our way to Afton for lunch. The new owners are doing a good job!  When we got to the trail it was closed! It was flooded during the recent rainfalls and has to be inspected before they can reopen it! Oh well, next time Maggie!

So we thought about other trails in the area, and decided to hike the Rockfish Valley Trail.  It was a beautiful day to hike and we completed about 90% of the loop. At one spot the path was flowing water and we didn’t want to get our shoes soaked! The good thing was the stream along the trail was really flowing fast!

Wednesday we headed to Charlottesville. Our first stop was Carter Mountain Orchard so Maggie and Kelley could see the great view of the city.  Maggie was quite impressed with the steep road going up the mountain! She would not let me speed down the mountain! After lunch we headed to Monticello.

Monticello has really changed since we’ve been there!  A beautiful welcome center has been built at the base of the mountain where you park.  It includes a museum and store.  A bus takes you up the mountain to the house. We got to walk around the grounds before it was time for our tour. 

The tour was informative and Kelley posted an excellent Reel of photos she took inside on Facebook; including the two below!

Kelley and Maggie leave for home tomorrow morning.  It was so great spending time with you two! Thanks so much for making the trip!  We love you!!

Midwest Trip

 Tuesday September 3rd

We’re off heading to Huntington, WV for the night and then on to Richmond, IN Wednesday.

Thursday

Today we rode 20 miles of the Cardinal Greenway north from Richmond.  It was a long ride until we returned but we wanted to get a feel for the scenery along the trail.  We had planned to ride again tomorrow but the weather is not cooperating!  The trail is paved, well maintained and a joy to ride!

Friday

We found Thistlethwaite Falls. They are man made! An entrepreneur diverted the river over the rock ledge so he could build mills! Neat!

 Next we went to the Richmond Art Museum located in the high School; the only one in the USA in a high school. It is also free of charge so anyone can enjoy their art collection! It’s a private, upscale museum established in the early 1900s by wealthy industrialists who lived in Richmond. The art collection is amazing! RAM is truly one of those wonderful unexpected experiences you stumble across on trips!

Saturday 9/7

Galesburg (IL) is our destination today.  Tomorrow we will ride the Rock Island Trail into Peoria.   

We began our ride about 15 miles west of Peoria.  The trail was paved as we rode through the suburbs. Then it became a narrow path with high weeds on each side. Ten miles into the ride the trail dumped us on a pot hole filled street in a poor section of town.  We had it! We just made the decision to turn around and drop the idea of doing a YouTube video of this trail!l

On Monday we wanted to see downtown Peoria. The water front looks like a well done urban renewal project. But nothing was open on Monday!  Later, we did visit Galesburg near our campground.  They have preserved the entire downtown!  It was impressive.

Our campsite in Galesburg KOA

Tuesday 9/10

We drove to Green Bay. Our campground was on the Door Peninsula.  On Wednesday we explored the peninsula.  We drove up the Green Bay coast with its quaint vacation towns.

  Even in September, they were pretty busy!  Farms are found in the middle, and we found a very neat lighthouse on the Lake Michigan coast. They had a great tour!

Cana Island Light House built in 1869

89 feet high

Thursday we went into Green Bay, first to Packer Stadium!  It is mind boggling and shows what can be built with 395 million! We didn’t take the tour but we ate lunch there. 

Our next stop was the Green Bay Botanical Garden.  It is a beautiful spot with different types of gardens, an amphitheater, and an education center! We wished it was cooler; it was just too hot to stroll through the gardens at the pace we normally enjoy!

We did stop in a winery (rated in the top ten) in Algoma on our way back to the campground. We didn’t buy any bottles!   We’re glad we finally got to Green Bay.  It was an enjoyable visit!

Friday 9/13

Northern WI, here we come to ride the Heart of  Vilas County Bike Trail that connects a series of small towns! Our campground is on a small lake with mostly seasonal campers. 

We rode 39 miles of the trail from Sayner to Boulder Junction to Manitowish.  It is a beautiful, relaxing ride and a great plus for the small towns!

Manitowish City park.

We have never been to the areas in Wisconsin we’ve been on this trip…and we’re so glad we came! 

Monday 9/16

Can one drive from Boulder Junction, WI to Brainerd, MN entirely on secondary roads? The answer is yes, and the roads were great. Our campground is on a lake here as well.

We rode two days on the Paul Bunyan Trail between Brainerd and Jenkins covering about 25 miles of this famous trail. Weather prevented us from riding a third day.  We think the trail lived up to it’s reputation! 

 So, what’s up with the Blue Ox? 

Winter was so cold one year the snow turned blue!  Paul Bunyan was walking in the woods and saw a teeny baby ox. Paul warmed the ox and he dried out, but he remained as blue as the snow that stained him. Hence, Babe the Blue Ox!

Friday 9/20

On to Rochester to see Liz and Jeff and the family.  It will be a fun time! On Saturday, we went to Minneapolis to see the Arenz and Signorelli families!  Christine and Patrick hosted a fun afternoon at their house with great food and fellowship! It was great to see everyone!

Liz, Jeff, Katherine, Elizabeth, William, Christine and Patrick

Jeff, Liz, Sophia, Lisa, Luca, and Adriana

While we were in Rochester, we rode two days on the Root River trail, a nice paved trail through rolling hills and farmland! And we spent time with Liz and Jeff everyday! We loved being with you two! Thanks so much for your hospitality and the wonderful meals!

Thursday 9/26

We decided to forgo going to Lexington due to the hurricane. So we will spend three days driving a more northern route home! We definitely made some decisions on this trip. We will not drive across country again.  Our camping trips will be driving a few days to a destination and then staying weeks so we don’t have to set up and break camp a lot or unload and reload bikes a lot!  Easier on the old folks and hence, more enjoyable! 

Overall, this has been a great trip! We had no problems except a nail in the front truck tire which was fixed within 10 miles of where we discovered the low tire pressure! We loved the trails we rode and the WI and MN lake countries were beautiful!