SV Orion - Annapolis, MD - David & Cathy's Journey - Logs

Late December - Holiday Travels

12/31/2021

After leaving Hilton Head, we made our way north to Virginia to spend a week at Pocahontas State Park. However, we took a step up from our previous visits, by staying in their newly-constructed cabins overlooking the lake. We were able to host some family for the holidays and visit with some friends and family on our way. But by the 28th, we were back in Florida making ready for our project at Faith to start on January 3rd.

Visiting George and Gail on our trip north

Traveling North

Our first stop after leaving Hilton Head was to visit George and Gail , some friends from our sailing days who now live near Wilmington NC. After a nice lunch, we sat down to a dog-eat-dog game of Marbles and Jokers that ended in a squeaker victory for the men. (Guess the ladies shouldn’t have been so nice to them.) We headed out late afternoon to make more progress north. We had an appointment to see Alexis and Serenity the next morning in Roanoke Rapids.

Alexis and Serenity

The girls are growing up, and it was great to see them and catch up a little on their activities since we had last been together. After saying goodbye, we made our way to Pocahontas for our week staying in the park’s newest and nicest cabins.

The view from our cabin at Pocahontas

Pocahontas In Style

The new cabins at Pocahontas are the park’s best-kept secret. Only opened in July, they sit on a point overlooking the lake and one could easily forget about the world outside relaxing in one of their rocking chairs. But the inside is equally inviting. Whether it be sitting by the fireplace, or cooking in the well-appointed kitchen, we spent a week there in the lap of luxury.

Bonnie, Troy and the kids enjoying Christmas Eve at the cabin

After 15 years of living on sailboats or in our RV, we were finally able to host a Christmas dinner, inviting Bonnie’s family for Christmas Eve. (Troy noted that this was the first time he had come to “our house” for a holiday meal, since we had moved out of the house in Reston within months of first meeting him.) The weather cooperated with cool, dry days that made longer walks down to Swift Creek or exploring the park’s newest hiking trail a pleasant part of the day’s activities. We spent Christmas day on the road. First a visit with Droz, then another meal at Bonnie and Troy's, getting back just before our next visitor. Arriving Christmas night, Carolyn spent a day with us, followed the next day by Grace and John. We expanded our tours of the park beyond the CCC cabins, watched a bald eagle fly by as we enjoyed the view from the porch and tried in vain to finish a jigsaw puzzle before our visit was over.

Paspahegh Cabin showing off its new siding

We used our time in the park to do a little cabin project work, reviewing the supplies after all of Joe’s work for the season had completed, and seeing the Paspahegh site after his siding repairs. That site needs only shutter and screen work to be complete, which left us feeling great about all the work that had been accomplished this year.

And then South again

Saying goodbye to Cathy’s sisters and brother-in-law, we headed south out of Virginia on Monday the 27th. Unfortunately, so did just about everyone else on the eastern seaboard. For a trip that Google claimed would take about 8 hours, we managed spend almost twice that. We made it to Florence, SC for the first night, and finally pulled into Jacksonville around 4pm the next day, glad that we only had to listen to I95 traffic, not sit in it any more.

There were already Nomads in the campground when we arrived, and more followed shortly after us. By week’s end, as the fireworks were going up, we had a pretty full campground, and were preparing to start the new year with a lengthy list of tasks that needed attention at Faith and its mission partners.

2 Comments

Early December - Decking the Halls

12/16/2021

1 Comment

A holiday light display from Deck the Chairs

We arrived in Jacksonville on a Tuesday, and by Wednesday, we were tinkering with locks and collecting a list of items needing attention at Faith that would become the basis for the projects in the new year. Pat and Fred picked up where they had left off in the Mission Rooms and the woodshop. But we would be here only a couple of weeks before heading north again for some holiday travels.

Parked at Faith

Back at Faith
Walking around Faith in the week after our return, we reacquainted ourselves with the projects left undone and those that had come up in our absence. We met with Pastor Barry and Pastor Jacob to understand the work that each of them had in mind. With assistance, we turned these details into a task list and prioritized them, identifying which would be within the scope of the Nomads projects in January and February.

Some of the newer residents at Faith. Only a few of the familiar ones are still around.

When not working on lists, we reviewed the supplies on hand against the highest priorities to determine what would be needed before work began. Cathy did some maintenance on the pressure-washer to ensure it was operational, and we reached out to the team to ensure we knew when they were coming and where they would park.

Fred contemplates a recent find of the team cleaning out Wesley's closet.

In between, we both helped Pat and Fred as they made progress on cleaning out the woodshop and building the 2 bathroom vanities for the Mission rooms. And, we cleared up some lock issues for the church’s tenants who rent the gym. Exactly 2 weeks after our arrival, we had packed up and were headed out again. But the RV was staying put for this trip.

We’re Going to Disney

When you think of Disney, it’s probably theme parks and movies. However, we were headed to a lesser-known Disney property at Hilton Head Island for a few days of downtime. Disney Hilton Head is located on the “sound” side of the island. With views overlooking the marsh, the property was beautiful and peaceful. By shuttle bus, we had access to the resort’s Beach House. The unseasonably warm weather made for a comfortable walk on the beach when we went over to explore.

With a full kitchen and access to a nice grill, we cooked most of our meals, any missing ingredients easily available a short walk away at Kroger. We sampled some fare at the nearby bakery and at one of Disney’s on-site food stands, appropriately named Tide Me Over. While the pools and the ocean didn’t tempt us this trip, we enjoyed walks in the area and along the beach. We even played a few rounds of horseshoes. (Cathy needs a LOT more practice.)

Dave's horseshoes are red. 'Nough said.

By Friday, we had to leave our comfortable home away from home and head further north. But we will probably be back.

Parting Shots

A trip to Jacksonville Beach one night gave us a chance to tour their Deck the Chairs display, a festival of light and music on a park near the beach.

1 Comment

Late November - Packing Up and Heading South

11/30/2021

1 Comment

With the end of a successful 2021 Cabin Work Week, we had a week to clean up the cabin sites before it was time to leave Pocahontas for points south. But our first jump was a short one, since we accepted an invitation to spend Thanksgiving with Bonnie and Troy and the kids. From there, we took 2 days to drive to Jacksonville, arriving on Tuesday, about 30 minutes before Pat and Fred. The temperatures had warmed up, and we began to settle in for the season.

Joe and Fred remove rotten siding from Paspahegh Cabin 4

Clean-Up Week

Our clean-up team was small, but very effective at sorting, packing up, and moving supplies from the work sites to the storage site. With the additional tools that had been purchased, we needed more shelves to make the best use of the storage rooms, so Joe , Roger and Fred spent an afternoon building them. Marguerite tapped Dave Davis, another member of the clean-up crew to help her finish installing hardware cloth and screen in the upper vents at Paspahegh. By week’s end, all but 2 of the 13 vents had been addressed. And there was a small amount of painting, staining and caulking required to finalize the site as well.

Joe finishes Cabin 4's siding repair

With the supplies stowed, Joe and Fred turned their attention to siding and sill repairs. They were making significant progress before we left, and their work continued for a couple of weeks after we pulled out. As Cathy made the final pass through the cabins, she was greeted by a snake that was seeking a warm spot to spend the winter. It was his bad luck, since his entrance was sealed closed. Guess he’ll have to look elsewhere.

By Thursday afternoon, our work at the site was done, just in time for a surprise visit from Pat and Fred.

And, of course, we had already begun working on Cabin Work Week 2022.

Shaking Off the Cobwebs

After sitting for 3 months, we had some work to do to get moving again. Besides packing up and stowing supplies, the truck needed an oil change and tires rotated. We were using more propane heat as the temperatures plummeted, so topping off the propane tank seemed like a good idea as well. Dave checked the trailer tire pressures and inflated them as needed.

We did have one new device that we were able to test for the first time as we hitched up again. Dave positioned a “Backseat Baby camera” behind the backseat headrest to give him a display of the hitch and hitch pin. It allowed him to better align the truck and trailer for hooking up. Not what the camera was marketed for, but it worked well.

Fred pulls out of Pocahontas

Family and Friends

It was March of 2020 when we last saw Pat and Fred. They pulled out from Faith, heading north for home in NH. We didn’t know that it would take 20 months to see each other again. We enjoyed catching up, giving them a tour of the cabins, and enjoying the park during their stay. They headed out on Sunday, but this time we were pretty sure it wouldn’t be long before we saw each other again.

The next day, we headed out for a week with Bonnie and Troy and the kids. We were able to park at their house, and plug in, which was valuable as the temperatures in southern Virginia were getting pretty cold. In exchange for their hospitality, we helped them install some fence posts (24, not that we were counting). Thanksgiving Day brought a feast that included a turkey cooked on the grill that was delicious. And we had so many leftovers, we ate them for the rest of the week.

By Monday, it was time for everyone in the Hawkins clan to head back to work and school, so we headed out as well. Our way station for the night was the Cartersville Country Winery in Timmonsville SC. After a bit of miscommunication upon our arrival, we managed to work out where we needed to park, and were once again grateful for the full hookups, which gave us the ability to empty tanks, take hot showers and run the heat to fend out the cold. Waking to a hard frost the next morning, we knew that we were headed in the right direction. By the time we arrived at Faith, the temperatures were up to the 60’s and the forecasted highs were rising. It must be Florida.

1 Comment

Late October / Early November - Cabin Work Week 2021

11/14/2021

1 Comment

The project event that we have been working toward for months, Cabin Work Week 2021, has been completed and was very successful. We had an unusual “pre-week”, with a Lowe’s Red Vest volunteer day to help us position supplies and get a head start on the work. Also, since the Lowe’s funded part of the project ended on October 31st, we had to work through the statistics and reporting we needed so that we could meet their October 31st deadline, which was also the kick-off day for Cabin Work Week. The team did an amazing job, and we also had some surprise volunteers when Cathy’s sisters Chris and Carolyn joined us for 2 days.

Preparations complete – Cabin Work Week begins

It seems that every year Cabin Work Week gets better and better. 2021 was no exception. It was our most successful to date. Not only did we completely stabilize the Weyanock cabin group (our primary site), but significant progress was made in the Paspahegh cabin group, too. And we installed a new roof on a Chickahominy cabin (identified as having a leak late in the project last year).

The stabilization bar was raised with the use of composite roofing material that looks like cedar shakes, maintaining the historic look of the cabins while holding the promise of lasting longer in the park’s wooded environment. The triangular cabin vents at the peak of each roof were treated with a layer of hardware cloth to keep out the squirrels followed by a layer of screen to keep out the insects. Finally, all screens were given a knob so that they can be opened without coming into contact with the screen. All of these items were added to our normal carpentry, painting, roofing, screening, and special projects.

Here is this year’s video: Pocahontas State Park Group Cabin Stabilization Project 2021

Parting Shot

We both achieved a milestone this year that was acknowledged at the park’s Volunteer Appreciation Picnic midway through the project. We have each volunteered for 1000 hours (not counting our hosting duties). That earned us a spot on a plaque, which is nice. More importantly, it causes us to reflect on the accomplishments within those 1000 hours, the connections we’ve made in the park, and the ability to do something that will benefit others that come to the park after us

1 Comment

Early October - Falling Into Place

10/24/2021

2 Comments

Fall colors return to the park

We continued to put the finishing touches on the plans for Cabin Work Week throughout the month of October. With the leaves starting to change and the temperatures cooling, we are enjoying our time in the park even more, and having some fun spending time with family.

Joe create drip edge with the break

Cabin Work Week Final Prep

As October began, our numbers grew by one as Joe joined us to help prep the cabins for Cabin Work Week. With so much of the cabins painting done, he was able to focus his attention on siding repairs. Some of these repairs involve replacing the siding above a metal drip edge midway down the cabin side. Often the metal piece needs replacing and it has a custom shape. In the past, he has made these using his own ingenuity and some wood. However, the park made a break available to him that made the job much easier this year.

Dave introduce the project on our Impact Statement video for Lowe's

We continued to do administrative work when not painting boards or helping Joe. The participants need to be assigned campsites, the non-work activities need to be finalized, and we are starting to put together as much of our final report to Lowe’s as we can in advance. That includes an “Impact Statement” video, compressing into 1 minute the project’s benefits and Lowe’s contribution to that result. Take a look at the video we produced.

Virginia Master Naturalists Day of Service

We did have one more volunteer work day when we participated in the Virginia Master Naturalists Day of Service. Half a dozen volunteers came out to paint cabins one Sunday morning. We were a last minute substitute for another activity, but were grateful for the work they did for us. This group has supported us over several years, providing lunches each year during Cabin Work Week.

Failing bearings on our portable waste tank

RV Stuff

While staying at the park, we have a site with water and electric, but no sewer hook up. We avoid pulling out the RV each week by having the use of a portable waste tank. However, this 36 gallon tank is carrying a lot of weight as it is towed to the dump station. Recently, it became apparent that the rear wheels were not going to survive many (any?) more runs. The bearings were shot and the wheels wobbled badly, even starting to wear on the side of the tank. This could become a crisis quickly.

Amazingly, a call to Camco yielded a simple solution. New rear wheels were en route the next day, free of charge. Although we sent pictures of the damaged wheels, we didn’t have to prove our date of purchase or produce receipts. A couple of days later, the repair kit arrived. Once we managed to pop the end caps off, the rest of the re-assembly was easy, and we are less worried about a messy disaster looming around the corner.

Adam shares his music

Family Visits

We were treated to a week of visits from family. Adam arrived in his converted school bus for a couple of days camping in the park. We did some hiking and got to enjoy some time together during his visit. Bonnie, Troy and the kids arrived that weekend for their first camping trip in a couple of years. We had plenty of campfire time, ghost stories, hikes, good food and laughs. Lots of fun!

On Cathy’s birthday, we had a rolling birthday party, sharing cake with friends in the park as their schedules allowed on a busy Sunday.

Parting Shot

This guy literally fell on Troy’s head. Not sure what he is, but the colors are brilliant.

2 Comments

Late September - Ramping Up

9/30/2021

1 Comment

Volunteers from Cabin Work Day in Sept

As the temperatures dropped, our volunteer counts started to rise. We had 2 wildly successful volunteer events, and we are making good progress on the cabin sites. However, staying ahead of the volunteers keeps us busy. But not too busy to spend some time with kids and grandkids.

Work Days
On National Public Lands Day, we had 30 volunteers scraping, priming, staining and painting at the Paspahegh Cabin group. The volunteers made progress on all of the buildings in the group. Just 3 days later, a Lowe’s employee team arrived for the first of 2 planned Red Vest Days. With a dozen employees from the nearby store and 5 other volunteers, we made progress on Weyanock, this year’s primary cabin group site.

Installing a new vent screen in a cabin

The Red Vest Day teams tackled a number of tasks. One team partnered with a long-time volunteer to replace the screens in the upper gable vents that have been compromised by squirrels over time. After removing the original screen (most of which were original – made of copper), the team installed hardware cloth to better defend against the crafty squirrels and then framed it so that the original screen (or a replacement if necessary) could be put in place. The screen was then trimmed with molding strips that volunteers have been making over the last few months. When this work is combined with the repairs to the shutters and screens during Cabin Work Week, the squirrels will have to find another place to live this winter. Sorry, guys.

Priiming screen molding.

The rest of the volunteers were deployed across the cabins to scrape, prime and paint. We had some volunteers willing to do high ladder work, which allowed one to finish the lodge siding near the top of the chimney that had eluded Mary and Angie last fall and another to the paint the last 2 remaining peaks, saving Joe from having to tend to them on his return. As several volunteers made their way around the sides of the remaining cabins, we had a couple make steady progress on our screen molding. With over 1000 pieces needed to be primed and painted, this is something that is pretty much an endless task, but bit by bit we are building a stockpile.

Dave recruits the Lowe's employees for Cabin Work Week.

We have a 2nd Red Vest Day scheduled for late October in the week before the Cabin Work Week begins. There will likely be lots more people to help us position supplies and finish preparing Weyanock for the start of the project. If the first day is any indication, it should be a big success.

Hauling a ladder in the golf cart

While these workdays are an important part of our time here at Pocahontas, we still have our focus on the Cabin Work Week at the beginning of November. Various medical issues have caused several late cancellations that keep us actively recruiting to fill the open slots. And Cathy spent time building our final supply order that Lowe’s will be delivering just before the next Red Vest Day.

Adam drills a hole for his shore power.

Family Time

A couple of visits to Adam’s allowed Dave and he to finish some electrical projects – installing a shore power inlet and connecting his 2nd solar panel to the controller. This required drilling a sizable hole in the side of the bus. Dave let Adam do that.

Troy tries to light his mini-grill

With cooler temps, we were willing to have grandson Troy build a fire, which he did both in our fire pit and his “mini-grill” that he made out of a can. We preferred toasting our marshmallows on the big fire though. They cooked a bit faster.

1 Comment

Early September - Making the Most of The Time Between

9/15/2021

2 Comments

Our morning commute

Labor Day has come and gone, but summer’s not over yet. We had our last Cabin Work Day in late August, but the next doesn’t come until the last Saturday in September. We have some big volunteer events coming in late September and all of the supplies for Cabin Work Week have to be ordered by the end of the month. We are between events, between seasons, and our work is all about preparation. Cabin Work Week is only 6 weeks away.

Primed boards are stacking up

More of the Same

If it seems that we’re doing the same thing over and over, it’s only because we are. We wake up most mornings and head to the cabin sites. Either to the Well House, where our wood is stored or to this year’s work sites. We have a lot of wood purchased last year that has dried enough to prime and paint. So, we’ve started painting a variety of board sizes to give the carpenter’s a head start when they arrive. In the process, we discovered that much of the wood purchased this year was not drying since it was stacked without any spacers to let air in. So, we made dozens more spacers and stacked and re-stacked wood to help ensure it will be ready by the time the project starts.

Back at Paspahegh, in anticipation of over 30 volunteers scheduled to arrive on Sept 26th, we powerwashed all of the benches and outbuildings that hadn’t been touched yet. If everyone shows up, we will need them to spread out, while still being engaged in a productive task. Having more buildings ready to scrape, prime, paint or stain will make this possible.

Benches before and after powerwashing

Supplies are starting to come in

When not working at the sites, we are planning for the project. Our Lowe’s contacts in the local store scheduled 2 “Red Vest” days which will bring their employees to the site as volunteers. This requires coordination between the store, the park, and the Lowe’s 100 Hometowns organizers. In addition, we are making still more screen trim pieces, since some of the work on that day will be to install screen and hardware cloth in the cabin vents to prevent large and small critters from getting inside.

And we are going about the business of spending the Lowe’s grant by placing another wood order, purchasing composite roofing shingles, and purchasing and staging supplies for the upcoming events.

We’ve been recruiting volunteers to work as well as those to help with lunches, and other support activities. Recruiting volunteers is a critical part of what we do, and is made a little more difficult this year as some key volunteers have had to back out recently due to family and health issues However, it’s all part of ensuring a successful project year.

Taylor and Troy

Family and Friends

Whether a visit to the campsite or a trip down to Jarratt, we have delighted in spending time with the kids and grandkids. Almost every weekend we are able to get in some family time. And we snagged a surprise visit from Bob and Shirley, friends from Jacksonville, who were making their way south after a summer of far-flung travel. We shared some evening meals and tempted them with the prospect of returning for a Cabin week by giving them a tour. We give lots of tours. Marguerite and Mike, a couple who have been with Cabin Work Week from the beginning, stopped by with dinner one night, allowing us time to catch up before the flurry of work begins.

Troy's wreath

Parting Shot

Fall is coming and, with it, cooler temperatures and fall colors. It’s a lovely time to be in the park. Our grandson, Troy, is making and selling wreaths. I couldn’t resist this one.

2 Comments

Late August - Turning Up the Heat

8/31/2021

1 Comment

Dave's shirt gives a hint to heat and humidity one morning in the park

While we successfully avoided most of the summer heat during our travels this up north, we were not spared its full force upon our arrival in southern Virginia. Two weeks of temps in the 90’s and “feels-like” temps in the 100’s caused us to seek shade (or better yet A/C) whenever we could. And, of course, the reason we were back in the park this early was because we needed to turn up the heat on the work on the CCC Group Cabin project to take full advantage of our Lowes 100 Hometowns grant. We had a lot to do, and we were ready to dive in.

Dave and Fred check out a cabin porch at 2nd Branch

Making the Most of Lowes Grant

The Lowe’s grant allows us to turn our attention from fundraising to the actual work on the project. However, the work covered by the grant must be completed by Oct 31, the day before the Cabin Work Week event begins. So, our pre-Cabin Work Week activities have been ramped up as we are using the grant to prepare two cabin sites and obtain the necessary supplies for a productive 2 weeks this fall. Our attention has been split between recruiting volunteers, promoting and holding Cabin Work Days, assessing the work needed, researching materials, ordering supplies, and responding to the administrative requests for the Lowe’s grant.

Dave and a volunteer on Cabin Work Day

We lose almost no opportunity to promote the project and recruit volunteers. Whether it be a chat with a camper during our evening walk, responding to inquiries forwarded from the volunteer office or chance encounters in the park, the conversation starts with “how long are you here” and frequently ends with an exchange of contacts. Every few conversations results in a volunteer sign-up. We’ve posted flyers throughout the park, and participated in 2 Cabin Work Days as well where Dave answered questions and gave tours as requested to encourage return visits. And that is working as well. In the meantime, the cabins are getting scraped, primed and painted, the decks are getting stained and screen trim is getting painted. This will all make it easier to focus on the many repairs that take place during Cabin Work Week.

Jim inspects one of the cabins at Paspahegh

Shortly after our return, Jim and Jamie came for the day to review the cabins for leaking roofs and other repairs. Our review was made easier by the heavy rain that came through the day before. We identified 3 roofs that were leaking, and we gained the park’s approval of using a new composite material that will resist the moss that forms on roofs that see little sunlight. A week later, Fred joined us to walk through the last 2 untouched cabin sites – 2nd and 3rd Branch at Swift Creek – to review their state and document the needs to repair them.

With the assessments done, we took advantage of some hot afternoons to retreat to our computers and turn this information into orders for wood, paint and other supplies. We met the local Lowe’s store contacts, taking them on a tour of the site, answering questions about our first supply order, and scheduling 2 “Red Vest” days that will bring Lowe’s employees to volunteer at this year’s work site.

Primed boards drying at Swift Creek well house

And, of course, we actually did some work ourselves. In our absence, a load of wood had arrived. Much of this needs to be primed and painted, preferably before Cabin Work Week, so that the carpenters will be ready to go day one. Also, we need an almost endless supply of screen molding, so we continued to make more by ripping scrap wood, then priming and painting it. Perhaps the most “skilled” work, we accomplished was to make a frame for the Lowes 100 Hometowns sign that was to be posted near the park entrance. After a miserable attempt to hang it without a frame, we constructed one that made a more respectable display to honor the contribution we’d been given.

RV Stuff
We had little time to do RV projects, but one problem forced us to pay attention. Our Watchdog power monitor / surge protector started alerting to a high voltage problem and would turn the power off to protect our rig. We discovered that we could turn off our A/C and minimize the disruptions, but this was not a solution that was easy to live with. After several checks confirmed it wasn’t our problem and wasn’t the Dominion Energy power coming in, we were about to change sites when the problem went away. Assuming it was a nearby camper that had recently left, we decided to stay put for the next few days until the end of the month, when we would be moving sites anyway. However, just a day later, the problem reappeared and we quickly decided that moving was our only recourse. Later assessments determined a problem with a breaker that needed to be replaced.
With the impromptu move, we settled into the site where we will stay until the project is over. We were both pleased at how quickly we were able to get in and settled. Maybe all that traveling improved our docking skills a bit.

Troy, Taylor and Bonnie share a light moment

Family Time

One of the perks of being in southern Virginia is the proximity to family. We eagerly accepted an invitation to visit Bonnie and Troy for an afternoon barbecue, in exchange for some small chores around the yard. And Adam and Droz joined us for supper one evening at the park, where we enjoyed some time catching up, showed them around the cabins, and ended by listening to Adam’s guitar-playing.

Work Amid the Trees

Thanks to the work of the CCC, shade is abundant at Pocahontas. On our hottest Cabin Work Day of the summer, attendance suffered from the day’s forecast, but the workers who did show universally commented that the heat was not as brutal as they feared thanks to our green covering. Unfortunately, sometimes tree limbs (and trees) fall. To our surprise, this one fell on the road near us on a calm, sunny day. It makes you keep looking up, especially on windy days.

Thankfully, the heat that greeted us on arrival would not last indefinitely. As Ida’s remnants moved north toward us, the forecast finally contained some relief and fall seemed a possibility at last.

1 Comment

Early August - Ohio to Kentucky to VA

8/17/2021

2 Comments

As our summer wanderings were coming to an end, we made our way south through Ohio and into Kentucky, crisscrossing the Ohio River in the process. Our journeys weren’t always on a straight line, but the general direction was south.

Trail map of the southern end of Caesar Creek State Park near Dayton and Cincinnati OH

Caesar Creek State Park

Floods. Our travels into SW Ohio followed the Little Miami River to the Ohio. And the repeated theme as we toured local historical sites was the devastating flooding as rivers overflowed their banks. Caesar Creek State Park was a more recent link in a chain of remediation projects by the Army COE to control these mighty waters. The park is centered on a dam completed in 1978 that transformed Caesar Creek into Caesar Creek Lake. This provided the recreation area that included our campground (holding over 250 sites), hiking trails, boat launches and an excellent Visitor Center museum.

Memphis Belle at the National Museum of the Air Force

Caesar Creek is a short drive from Dayton OH, an area rich in aviation history starting with the Wright Brothers and continuing with Wright-Patterson AFB, which is home to the National Museum of the USAF. This mammoth museum easily takes multiple days to see. We squeezed it into two long days. (You can tour it with us in this video.) From early gliders to the Space Shuttle, if it was flown by the Air Force, you are likely to see it here. There is a beautiful memorial park just outside the entrance as well. The museum is free, but if you want to experience flight, there are several simulator rides and a large screen movie that could offer that opportunity. We were happy staying on the ground for our visit.

Cathy and Dave hiking to Horseshoe Falls

As the week wore on, the temperatures started to rise, so we tried to get our exploring done early. We took a hike to the park’s Horseshoe Falls, which seemed to be seriously underwhelming due to the lack of recent rainfall. The hike took us over a swing bridge and by a pioneer village, created by salvaged structures that would have been washed away by the lake once the dam was put in place. The Visitor Center did an excellent job telling the story of the area from the ancient inhabitants to the present day, including hands-on exhibits, a movie and an overlook of the lake and the dam.

Our leftovers after eating our fill from our meal at 1572 BBQ Roadhouse.

Since we travel on our stomachs, we kept looking for special treats wherever we stay. And, after driving by miles and miles of corn for weeks, we finally were able to buy some fresh-picked corn at a nearby farm (along with some fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies the daughter was selling). It tasted so good. We also found some of the best BBQ we have had at the nearby 1572 BBQ Roadhouse on the grounds of the Renaissance Faire. One of the most unexpectedly good samples was the sliced turkey. We bought a sampler meal for 2 that fed us for 2 days. Yumm.

Little Farm on the River – Aurora Indiana

By week’s end, it was time to move on. We had a short trip across the Ohio River back into Indiana for a 3 night stay at a Passport America campground called Little Farm on the River. Unlike our Caesar Creek campsite, we had a pull-through with plenty of shade and full hook-ups. Given the soaring temperatures, we appreciated the shade, but not the low-branches. We were pleasantly surprised when the park’s maintenance man pruned them at our request. Great service.

We ventured out into the heat for a few small runs to the nearby towns. First to see William Henry Harrison’s tomb, which was just across the border in Ohio. As the first president from Ohio, there was a substantial monument at his family’s grave site. Our sampling of local fare had to include a bowl of Cincinnati Chili from Skyline Chili. So, despite the 90 degree heat, we sat in the park and ate a hot bowl of chili. It was very good, but to cool off, we decided to try some United Dairy Farmers ice cream, which brought the temperature down considerably.

Arriving in Kentucky, we added a new state to our travel map.

Whispering Hills RV Park – Georgetown KY
From Indiana, we crossed back over the Ohio River, skirted the western suburbs of Cincinnati and followed I75 into Kentucky, stopping just north of Lexington. We had chosen this destination to visit some of our Nomads friends who lived there. Since many of the spots in the Whispering Hills RV Park looked pretty tight and/or just gravel lots, we splurged and got a premium pull-thru site, complete with a 100 ft paved pad, full hook-ups, and a patio table and chairs. Between the heat and torrential rain, we never actually got a chance to sit in the patio chairs. You can’t have everything.

Herb, Peggy and Spotty after our tour of Lexington

Our primary reason for coming to this area was to visit with Herb and Peggy. One day, Herb offered to take us on a tour of the area, where he and Peggy have lived for years. We drove past horse farms (which were strangely lacking in horses for the most part), the University of Kentucky, Mary Todd Lincoln’s childhood home and more. We shared some lunch together before we were dropped off again at our campsite, saying goodbye in the pouring rain. Our hope is that Covid will give us a chance to see them again this winter in Jacksonville.

James E Pepper Distillery tour

While sampling the local fare, we enjoyed some BBQ from Babe’s, an over the top Buckeye brownie from Desserts by Rebecca, some homemade ice cream from Crank and Boom, and a signature local pizza from Joe Bologna’s. However, we couldn’t leave the area without touring and tasting some locally distilled bourbon. We found our opportunity at James E Pepper Distillery near downtown Lexington. This craft distillery resurrected a storied Lexington brand and its recipes that dated back to the American Revolution. Situated in a small portion of the original multi-acre site, James E Pepper Distilling is making some award-winning bourbon and rye whiskey. We had an excellent tour guide, whose knowledge of the history and the distilling process made for an entertaining hour. By sampling the “low wine” result of the first distillation to the “high wine” result of the 2nd distillation to the finished product, we gained an appreciation of the flavors introduced by each process.

Dave studies his (our) new drone

Flying High (sort of)
The bug bit back in May. After our son-in-law demonstrated his drone and how it could fly above the park and take some amazing pictures, Dave started doing research. A couple of months later, one arrived. However, the first one didn’t work so well ( and no it wasn’t just the operators). So, it wasn’t until our stay at Little Farm on the River that we had a working drone – a Holy Stone 175D. It is on the high end of the “toy” drones, but has a lot of features that the much more expensive DJI drones have.

Cathy takes the controls for a bit

Needing an open space far from airports to try it out, we weren’t able to put it to use until we arrived at Whispering Hills in Kentucky. We started small. Go straight up and try to land it where we started. You may laugh, but this wasn’t that easy. Next step was to trace a specific path around us and land at the starting point. So far, we aren’t climbing much about 12 ft or going much more than 50ft away, but we were making progress. Of course, we have a lot more to learn still. And there’s no risk we will interfere with any aircraft unless they are making a crash landing nearby.

View from our campsite at St. Albans park

Roadside Park at the Port of St. Albans, WV

You might be scratching your head at the “port of St. Albans” reference. But West Virginia does have a navigable river, the Kanawha River. And this roadside park is a hidden gem along I64 . It has 3 pull-through sites with 30A electric – and they are all free. Since there are few to no campground options past this point until well into Virginia, we were pinning our hopes on an available spot. Although we did have a backup plan to boondock across the street in the old K-mart parking lot. It looked like the temperatures would stay cool enough to enable this to happen.

So, the good news was that there was one spot open when we arrived. In a lovely setting by the river, these are really lovely sites. However, the bad news was that the 30A outlet had no power. Deciding we could make do with a 15 amp extension cord for essentials like the TV and our computer outlets, we decided to stay put. However, as a courtesy, we called the town to ensure they knew about the problems with the power pole. Maybe the next camper would benefit from our having reported it.

Parked at St. Albans

To our surprise, not 15 minutes later, a city maintenance employee arrived to look at the problem. Discovering a bad breaker, he had one in his truck and was able to replace it before heading out 20 minutes later. So, we were able to use our AC again, making our stay much more comfortable. We took advantage of a Kroger across the street to stock up on groceries, and took a walk by the river in the evening.

Rain clouds forming on the horizon

As we planned our next day’s travel, we decided to make a sudden change in plans. Tropical Storm/Depression Fred’s path was becoming clearer and was now supposed to pass between us and Pocahontas the next night. If we stopped as we had planned in southwest Virginia, we would be packing up and traveling in some heavy rains the next day. And to make it worse, our chosen spot was in a grassy park next to a river. We’d been stuck that way once before and weren’t going to let it happen again. So, we got going early the next morning and made a long day’s travel to Pocahontas State Park. Our summer vacation is over, so it’s time to get to work.

Parting Shot

Herb has possession of an artifact that has been passed down through his family for generations from the Civil War. Originally stripped off a Union steamship in 1864, the pilot house eagle was "confiscated" by his relative, Joseph Norsworthy at that time and handed down until it was passed back to the local museum. This cast replica now sits in Herb’s den.

2 Comments

Late July - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and a few RV’s)

7/31/2021

2 Comments

A disassembled Model T in The Henry Ford Museum

Shortly after installing our new chairs, our time in Elkhart came to an end and we headed north to Dearborn, MI to spend a week touring The Henry Ford Museum, making our home at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. We finished the month by staying a few days at a small campground near Findlay in NW Ohio, almost literally in the middle of nowhere, but we still found new things to explore. And, on July 20th, we were finally given permission to announce that our Group Cabin project at Pocahontas had been selected as one of the Lowes 100 Hometown projects. This terrific honor comes with funding that can make a big difference, but it also made us aware that we needed to make tracks back to Pocahontas earlier than October. We have a lot of work to do to ensure we make the most of the grant. And if you're on the fence about whether to join us, hop off. We can surely use more volunteers.

A trip through the history of camping in RV's.

RV/MH Hall of Fame

With all of the RV manufacturers and suppliers located within such close proximity to Elkhart, it is no surprise that there would be a move to preserve the history of this industry nearby. Initially, we were willing to pass this attraction by, but were encouraged by others to take a look. On a rainy day shortly before we left Elkhart, we did just that. It was an interesting trip through time as the industry followed the nation’s increasing desire to travel through America’s wild places in increasing comfort. We created a short video to share it with you.

Taking a ride in a Model T "Utility Vehicle"

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

We took the less-traveled US 12 for most of our trip from Elkhart IN to Dearborn MI, our next destination. Passing through several scenic towns, we stumbled across Randy’s BBQ, which had some great brisket “burnt” ends that hit the spot. Our destination was the Wayne County Fairgrounds, one of the few options near Dearborn that would allow us to tour The Henry Ford Museum, and that had openings on the weekend. We were given one of the few shaded pull-thru spots, and we set up camp for the week of our visit.

The Henry Ford Museum is not just named for Henry Ford, it is literally his creation. He began collecting buildings and artifacts for Greenfield Village, an historic village that is at the heart of the museum’s property, almost 100 years ago. The Museum of American Innovation was actually constructed around one of the 9 huge generators that powered the Highland Park facility. We spent 5 different days touring the museum, the village and the nearby Ford Rouge River plant where F150s are made. It was a lot of fun and very interesting. They also had the best frozen custard we found in the area. (And you know we keep looking.) If you have some time, you can tour Greenfield Village with us and the Museum of American Innovation and Ford Rouge, each in their own video. Enjoy!

Sunset over Arrowhead Lake

Ohio – Arrowhead Lake Campground

From Michigan, we turned south to make our way gradually to Virginia. We still had several weeks before we needed to get back, so our progress would be slow. No need to spend too much time in Virginia’s summer heat and humidity. So, our next stop was only a couple of hours due south, still in Northwest Ohio in the middle of farm country. One of the gems we discovered during our stay was a local historic museum in Lima OH, called the Allen County Museum. This small town had assembled an extensive collection of its history – including one of the last steam locomotives manufactured in town – and had managed to display and interpret the collection in an engaging way. Explore along with us at the Allen County Museum in this video.

2 Comments

<<Previous

Archives