The Nurse Resort (Charlotte’s), Gettysburg and the trek…to Cape Cod!

Arriving Romney, West Virginia

 I was informed that we were going to be attending ‘Treason Bingo” in Winchester, VA that evening. So I arrive in time to hang out for a bit, introduce Lambert to Tilly, Roxie and Max, then change and set out for Winchester with Cindy (Charlotte’s mom) to meet Charlotte and other Brits for Treason Bingo at The Cider House. Everyone was very fun, the area was so cute! AND I WON A PRIZE!!

My accommodations were amazing at The Nurse Resort. My own 2 story apartment! With regular visitors (Cindy, Jaylen & Stephen) that lovingly allowed Lambert to lay on the couch and watch TV or play video games with them! Collin (the dad) BBQ’d every night, we prepared salads, fruit, bought desserts, had cocktails, swam in the pool and played cards every evening. A new card game, 5 Crowns. It was so much fun and very relaxing.

Lambert is still not AT ALL interested in water. Roxie came in the pool, to show him how it’s done. He just thought she was crazy!!! When Jaylen and Madison were in the pool he ran around it like crazy, thinking they needed to be saved. I did pick him up with the thought of just putting him in and seeing how it went. Unfortunately, there was a step down I missed and he was able to jump out of my hands, so I didn’t try that again. Someday maybe the dog (with the very webbed feet) will take to the water! We almost got him in on a floaty….

Van Issues….

Collin and Stephen both helped me to discern the panel problem. Collin took it apart and checked the connections. Looks like it needs to be replaced. Stephen works on phone boards, so he dug a little deeper and told me I did need to replace the board, it’s fried. They helped me find the part number and I googled it to order a new one, $600. YIKES! Oh well, something more on my to do list.

Off again, another National Park!

After three luxurious evenings I headed for Shenandoah National Park. It was very close and I wished I hadn’t booked a reservation elsewhere, but onto a park that I thought was near Harpers Ferry, but it was not! The park was fine. Though there were a few campers that let me know they were TRUMP supporters, American flag suits, bellies and all. More than I needed to see!! There was a cute little creek and I walked out a bit above my ankles, and had to pull Lambert in! I need to get this dog some swimming lessons!!

Van Issues continued….

I made an appt at an RV repair to double check that the panel was done. Hopefully they can order a replacement. There were a few in the area of the same company, so I was hoping this would work out. Yep, the panel is bad. But the company’s (PleasureWay) service department is closed for two weeks, annual holiday. Nice that they do this, not nice that I need them now. The panel is proprietary.HMMMM I have a contact at PW after the whole battery debacle so I email him. He confirms, but says I can order it from the manufacturer. PHEW. I do that. I have it shipped in Portland ME where I will be staying in a hotel. PERFECT (FYI – when the RV place called me back, they quoted me $1200 + shipping. It is one connection and 4 screws. Thank GOD I could get it myself.)

Oh side note – I went to the wrong RV location the first time. I went to one in Virginia and my appointment was in Pennsylvania. Thankfully it was only 35 minutes away. Again, weird how close these states are from each other. I have driven through three states in a couple of hours multiple times now. Weird!

Gettysburg

So on to Gettysburg. When I was 21 I took a trip with my parents to the east coast and I thought we went to Gettysburg but I didn’t remember all the history. I asked my mom and she confirmed that yes, we went there, but added, we were with dad. So we probably blew right through it! HAHA. It was really interesting. I don’t recall learning all this history, ever, even in school! I did an auto tour that had a map and an app and we spent a few hours driving around and learning about the battles. Not that I am a war buff, by any means, but it was really interesting.

While I was out I received a message from the RV park letting me know there was a flash flood warning in effect. OH GREAT, here we go again! I am reminded again how thankful I am for our lovely mild weather in the PNW! I was about to head back anyway, so made it to the park and the rains passed over us, nothing to worry about! Except all the HARLEYS. Wow, are they loud! And there are so many of them at the park.

What to do now?

I still have a week before I pick up Maddy to celebrate her 30th birthday! I know I want to go to Cape Cod, so I figure out how to wander my way there and be in Boston at a hotel (YAY!) on the 17th. Max told me before I left that his biggest concern was the weather. So to respect his concerns I try to navigate a path that diverts me from any weird weather!

I run some errands and head to Armstrong Valley Winery in Halifax PA. I loved the thought of Halifax because of a show I watched (a British show, nothing to do with PA) Last Tango in Halifax. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a watch! The winery was beautiful and the wine was okay. I did my tasting, chatted with the server and had a nice time. Now onto the Poconos! How fun. This was not in my plans.

The Poconos and Catskills!

And maybe it shouldn’t have been, or I should have done some research and not just trotted off with nothing in mind, but I did. I googled cute towns, parks etc. Thinking we could find a place to walk and relax and eat lunch. UMMM NO! I kept trying and trying and finally had to pull over to find a place to spend the night. OMG, when will I learn (hint – never). I found a place, Panther Lake. I have been driving most of the day and I am only two hours away from where I started! Off to the Catskills area and a HH.

The HH, Old Factory Brewing Company was great. They had the best playlist! The bartender also recommended a little town park nearby where Lambert and I could walk and he could enjoy some off leash time too! The food was fabulous, cauliflower ‘wings’ for me and a kids burger (no bun) for Lambert! I asked the bartender if they had any beers in a can and he said they were just trying it out so he gave me three to go, for FREE! Bonus!!

The next day we hiked a bit in the Catskills and found one lovely walk that went down to an area that used to be an ice house on the Hudson. I had never heard about ice houses. Apparently when the river froze they would go and get blocks of ice and store them in these huge ice houses and then deliver the ice to people in the summer. (That I had heard before.) It was a very dangerous undertaking and the landing we walked on the Hudson had some of the original foundation of an ice house and it was massive.

On my way to the Cape!

I have one more night before my reservations at Cape Cod, Falmouth, so we begin on our way. We are heading to Bellingham – HAHA, Bellingham MA, Circle CG. It was a decent campground, trees, privacy, and some scary dogs on our walk, so we changed routes. But the funniest thing was the fire pit. It had Pokemon cards in it, with the wrapper too. So obviously the kids that bought the cards didn’t want those. I had some things to send to Max, so I gathered them up and added them to the package!! On to the Cape in the morning!

Observations

• Still so MANY churches, graveyards and cemeteries
  • Add to it FUNERAL HOMES, in small, small towns….?????
• Waffle Houses
  • Fun Fact from Colin..The Waffle House Index. Have you heard of it?  Since WH is open 24 hrs 365 FEMA actually uses WH’s closing and reopening as a metric re. storms and disaster severities. CRAZY!! (Still don’t want to eat there, but that’s cool.)