​By week’s end, we were looking out at falling snow, wondering how this might impact our departure the next day. It did delay us a few hours, as we chipped the ice from the windshield and shoveled it from the driveway and sidewalks before heading out for Virginia.  

Virginia
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​Nine hours after we began our 6 hour drive to Virginia, we finally pulled into our cabin at Pocahontas State Park. And we didn’t leave all of the cold weather behind us when we got to Virginia. After decorating the Cabin for Christmas, we finished up our Christmas shopping and had a little time to explore some nearby parks that we had meant to visit.  

So, on a cold Monday morning, we drove an hour west to Bear Creek Lake State Park near Cumberland VA. This park has 3 campground loops and a lake with a swim beach and boats for rent in season. The campground is closed in preparation for a year-long renovation, but we wandered through to see what sites might be of interest in a future stay.  ​

Our next stop was Powhatan State Park 45 minutes northeast of Bear Creek Lake. This park was created from the acreage given to the state by a school that originally covered more than a thousand acres along the James River in this rural county. We explored it a bit before the cold inspired us to retreat back to the car for a trip back to the cabin and a warm fire. ​

Back to Jacksonville

We joined the rest of the East Coast travelers on I95 on the weekend after Christmas heading south toward Florida. As night fell on Saturday, we stopped just before Google Maps said there would be miles of snarled traffic in southern SC. The next day, we managed to avoid most of the backups until the heavens opened up as we made our way past Savannah. After pulling off for the worst of it, we drove through weather most of the way back, pulling into Jacksonville midday on Sunday.  ​

​We spent New Year’s Eve catching up on some work in the RV until we receive a knock on the door. The church signs which graced the entrance and exit were coming down to be replaced soon by a new one. Mike and Sandy had managed to pull down all of one and much of another. Could we help a little with the cleanup? Instead, we recruited Joe’s help and managed to finish removing the 2nd sign in short order. And we were rewarded for our efforts by an invitation to an impromptu New Year’s Eve get-together with Elsie and Nelson. We didn’t make it to midnight, but we enjoyed the visit and the good food.
As the year ended, we took a look back at our travels, our projects, and our times together with family and friends.  The results are in the video below.

Parting Shot
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​Having traveled through snow, rain and some very cold temperatures, we were greeted with a few days of warm weather upon our return. This hibiscus glistened after the rain that followed us home. 

This season, Fred and Pat took on the task of working out what was wrong with “Lazarus”, the oft-resurrected electric golf cart and a gas Club Car that had defied several mechanics’ attentions over the past few years. As the time was nearing for us to travel north for the holidays, they were able to get Lazarus to move a few feet, but that was all. And although the Club Car was in better shape, just about to turn over, it was still not able to run. 

So, with the Trustees support, the decision was made to purchase a “new-to-us” golf cart. Fred took delivery on it just before heading out of town. He also waved goodbye to the Club Car as it went to a local dealer to get it checked out before we put any more into it ourselves. So, the church had a working golf cart that hopefully would stay that way for an entire year. Only time would tell. ​​

​Upon our return, we topped off the fuel in the EZGo and spent time more time with Jose ensuing he was comfortable with it. And the cart’s arrival was just in time. Since the church was the location for a huge event offering Christmas gifts to the refugee community being served by Beyond 90 and First 90 on the 2nd Saturday of December. The event took place all over the campus, so there were things to be picked up, moved around and hauled away all over the place. Dave and Jose made the rounds with the golf cart, making the efforts so much easier. 

Thanksgiving Gathering​

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving found us at the Budget car rental counter picking up our car for a quick drive north to Jarratt. After a mixup with our car was resolved, we headed north for a thankfully uneventful drive to Bonnie and Troy’s house. We had a great day enjoying some family time (well getting trounced in Monopoly by Taylor, but it was still fun), and eating some delicious food. Our return trip on Friday had us waking up near an outlet mall, where we had to stop at the tool outlet. Our big find was a bin of $5 Ryobi tools and accessories, where we scored some excellent deals. 

​Parting Shot

On our way to a birthday party one Saturday night, we passed an incredible Christmas display at a home along our route. There was even a path to walk through the lights. It was, not surprisingly, a very popular stop.  We had a wonderful time celebrating Sandy's 70th birthday and enjoying their hospitality.

We finished another Cabin Work Week project this fall, the 7th project and a very different one from previous years. We were revisiting all of the sites, meaning we had volunteers spread throughout all of the sites over the course of the 2 weeks. We also achieved another milestone in our volunteering. ​

Another Year / Another Good Team​

This was our first year revisiting all of the group cabin sites that our project teams had tackled over the last 6 years of Cabin Work Week projects. We started in our first site, Appamattuck, and worked our way around to each of the 6 sites – each team working at different paces. Our roofing team was the only one that started elsewhere – in 3rd Branch – where they were tackling a roof that was leaking.  

​Over the 2 project weeks, the different teams repaired screens and built new frames, built new shutters, replaced siding, re-roofed buildings, and stained 19 decks. It was a smaller team, especially the first week, but with enough skill and experience that they were able to accomplish a lot.  

In the post-week, which is our clean-up week, we were down to 4 or 5 people, but that proved to be enough. We had only a few small tasks to complete, mostly staining a deck on the newly renovated Bridal Cabin. And the rest of the team knew what needed to be done and simply executed – sorting and stowing supplies, cleaning the cabins of any of our debris and ensuring all sites were closed up tight for the winter. Even with the smaller team, we managed to finish mid-week, so that we were able to head out by Friday, feeling good about all that had been accomplished. 

The video will give you the highlights of this year's efforts.​

Recognition​

Over the past year, we both achieved a volunteer milestone, having each recorded 3,000 hours of volunteering in Viriginia State Parks. This milestone was recognized at the Volunteer Appreciation event and we each will be honored with a bench acknowledging our service. Since Dave achieved the milestone first, his bench was already in place near the CCC field where the company’s barracks once stood and which now is frequented by cross-country runners. 

Running and Jumping​

As Troy and Taylor’s athletic seasons were coming to a close, we made it to their last events of the season. Troy runs cross-country, and we met up with him and his team at a meet in Franklin, Virginia on a blustery afternoon. It was fun to see him compete along with his teammates. He bested his own time, and another teammate won the race.  

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On our next ride, we were joined by Joe and decided to ride east from the park about 12 miles. This was largely rural, with scattered historic markers along the way. It was another great ride until the very end. Cathy made a mistake with her ebike throttle and was thrown off the back of her bike. Let’s just say that’s a mistake she won’t make again.  ​
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Cabin Work
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​Arriving later this year than in the past, we made quick work of assessing the work to be done on the cabins. This would be our first time revisiting all of the cabin sites, checking for damage and work left undone in our first project’s visit to the sites. We made an inventory of the work to be done, and placed orders for supplies the teams would need.  

By the time of our preparation week just before the project, we had a plan, supplies were being delivered, and we had a team to move them to the sites to stage for the workers arriving the next week. In addition, we had pressure-washed the decks on 2 of our sites to enable them to be stained if time-permitted. Luckily, the weather cooperated and we had willing volunteers who were able to finish staining the decks at our first site before the week was out. ​

Parting Shot
​We met up with Barry for dinner one day while he was touring the area, and had a good visit. 

Family Time
​Arriving at the beginning of the rainiest 3 days we had seen in quite a while, Adam and Droz pulled in early to ensure they were ahead of the weather. Between rain storms, we enjoyed introducing them to Twin Lakes, but mostly it was just about getting to spend time together. Our storage locker is a little emptier as well, since our son was interested in some of our camping and backpacking gear. 
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​But we had just one more problem. Ebikes are heavier than regular bikes and even though we chose bikes that were among the lightest, we discovered our bike rack wasn’t up to the task. While it could hold 100lbs of weight in total, each individual bracket could hold only 35lbs. Our new bikes were close to 50 lbs. That meant we needed a new bike rack that was designed both for the RV and ebikes. We found one in Swagman’s eSpec bike rack. It slipped into the receiver on the back of the RV and our bikes ride securely within it. We do have to turn the handlebars of one of the bikes to keep it from colliding with the RV. But it was a pretty simple rack to assemble and to mount the bikes on.   

National Public Lands Day and more​

Our efforts for the park shifted to preparing for National Public Lands Day on the last Saturday of September. The park had a great turnout of mostly college students, who had a lot of enthusiasm for the different tasks we asked them to do. While a group picked up litter in the campground, several more picked up debris on the trails after the recent storms. And another group installed trail blaze posts along the road. After lunch, a smaller group took pride in assembling a new park bench. The volunteers felt good about their efforts and the park was the better for them. 

We had an opportunity to attend a Friends of Twin Lakes meeting, which led to more discussions about their need for a website. We developed a prototype and gave an overview of the process of maintaining it so they could consider how to proceed. It seemed to be well-received.

Parting Shots​

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Twin Lakes. It is a beautiful park, with a welcoming staff. It is also a storied park, since it encompasses what was once the only park open to blacks in Virginia for several decades. Prince Edward State Park for Negroes was hugely popular from its opening in 1950 until it was combined with its whites-only neighbor to become Twin Lakes State Park. The park honors its history with interpretive displays throughout the park.

Even at our most efficient, it would take about 3 hours to clear and blaze a mile of trail. And by the end of that mile, we would more than likely have hiked over 3 miles. Walking down the trail, looking back and then returning to clear whatever obscured the blaze from either direction. For the most part, we managed to avoid the poison ivy and thorn bushes, with one notable exception. There was a short distance that the Poplar Pass trail followed the main park road. Obscuring the view between blazes was a large patch of thorny vines. Apparently the DOT maintains this stretch of road and has an arm that would mow down the thicket, but while they had mowed the day before, they hadn’t used the weed attachment to clear the wider path. So, lacking any better tools than our loppers and sawz-all, we hacked our way through it. Cathy literally had the scars to prove it when we were done. When we were on our way back to the campground at the end of the day, the DOT mower drove by with the weed arm attachment raised up beside it. Timing is everything.
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By the end of the last trail after several days of work, we were in much better shape in spite of ourselves.  

In addition to all those documents, there are a lot of slides in our storage. We wanted to digitize many of these memories, and found the Kodak Slide n Scan seemed to be the best option for doing just that. Cathy began to scan some of these boxes of slides, which had the effect of recovering those memories from decades earlier. There are still many boxes to go, but the process works well. ​
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Sightseeing​

At Twin Lakes, we are a short distance from Appomattux where Lee surrendered to Grant to bring an end to the Civil War. There are battlefield parks in every direction, marking Lee’s chaotic retreat from Richmond, following his rail supply lines west. One such battlefield is the nearby Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park, which we visited one Saturday morning. There is an historic house and a museum in the Visitor Center describing the 6 days of Lee’s retreat that found some of his troops facing the Union army at the Sailor’s Creek crossing.

​After it was abandoned as an active rail corridor, this has become a popular biking trail. While we have ridden the trail before, we took the opportunity this time to test some ebikes rented from the shop near the Farmville trail entrance. We made the round trip from Main St along the 5 miles to cross the High Bridge and back. It was a beautiful day, sunny and cool, and we made the 10 mile round trip in less than an hour. Testing the bike’s battery capacity, before returning, we drove up the residential streets to the top of a steep hill. We were sold on ebikes. 

​Even closer to home, in the small town of Crewe VA, there was a small railroad museum that had interesting displays and some rolling stock outside to explore. We made a short video of our visit there. 

Parting Shot

We decided to try smoking a couple of pork loins, which is not one of the more traditional meats that are put on a smoker, since it is a lean cut of meat. However, we were wowed by the results – moist, flavorful, even after reheating. We will definitely try more.​

Twin Bridge Campground – Chambersburg PA​

It was our first time visiting this private campground near Chambersburg, but we were impressed with its amenities and setting. For campers with kids, there was LOTS to do – from gem mining, to pedal karts to Gaga Ball, and more. 

​We also took a little time to explore Chambersburg’s history at the Chambersburg Historical Center. Located on the historic Lincoln Highway, and in the middle of 2 armies during the Civil War, the town has a storied past that was told in their small but informative center.  

​Our next day’s touring took us a few miles further south to the Virginia Museum of the Civil War at New Market. The Civil War visited the Shenandoah Valley with a vengeance as the war was ending. One of the battles that caught the imagination of the confederacy in the waning days of the war was the Battle of New Market. Its significance was less about the military victory, but the role played in the battle by the young cadets of nearby VMI. The museum includes a 45-minute movie about the battle and exhibits explaining the events leading up to it. Located on the battlefield site, there is a farmstead that was positioned between the 2 forces. When I-81 bisected the battlefield, a tunnel was built to allow visitors to transit to the other side safely. It is interesting in that it is lit by a skylight. 

​Heading north from Mt Jackson, we drove to Edinburg to tour the historic Edinburg Mill. The story of how it survived the Union army’s burning of the valley is part of the story told by the movie included in the tour of the Shenandoah Valley Heritage Museum housed there. There are exhibits on so many different aspects of life in the valley and a little that goes beyond. We were fascinated when we found, tucked away on the 3rd floor, antique Eastman Kodak ads, cameras, developer’s equipment and a chronology of its more significant company milestones, including the invention of the digital camera by our friend and co-worker, Steve Sasson. 

​A little further north was Seven Bends State Park, near the town of Woodstock. Named for the seven bends in the North Fork of the Shenandoah river where it sits, the park has trails along the river and opportunities for fishing and boating. After our Google navigation took us down a scary gravel road to a back entrance to the park, we made our way to the main entrance and took a hike along the river.  (We have since notified Google where the main entrance is located.)

​Of course, all of this touring makes one hungry. So, we found some good places to eat (more than just chips). Among our favorites were the fried chicken at the Southern Kitchen in New Market and the BBQ at Fat Boyz in Timbertown.

Family Time​

With a plan to visit Dave’s mom and sister, we moved the RV from northern Virginia to French Creek State Park in southeast PA and about an hour drive from Allentown PA. This was our first to return the park in 3 years, and we made sure to avoid some mistakes we made on that visit. This time, we made the approach from the east, instead of the narrow winding road coming into the west side of the park. And during that visit we had made notes of acceptable sites after a near disaster positioning the RV in the narrow site back in 2021. This time we had enough room to maneuver and set up.   

Our trips back and forth to French Creek gave us an opportunity to analyze our route for our next travel day when we would be heading west to Pinch Pond Campground near Manheim PA. We also passed by Longacre Creamery each day, which had ice cream that was just too good not to stop and sample each day.

​But we started looking at the weather forecast for the end of the week with concern. Several days of heavy rain were being forecast, with the worst conditions forecast for Friday, our planned departure date. Our conclusion was that we needed to leave a day early, on Thursday, for our next stop in central PA’s Lancaster County. Our decision seemed to be the right one. If we had waited until Friday, we would have had to drive through Debby’s wind and rain. Instead, we were already in place and just hunkered down and let the storm pass over. 

​On Sunday, we visited the Manheim Historical Association, which had opened up 2 of their historic log homes for tours. We arrived just after a speaker had begun a talk about Ham Radio, its history, the local operators, etc. Afterward, Dave spent time sharing our experiences using the ham radio during our travels on Orion and Orion Jr.  

The 2 log homes sat side by side and had been moved to this spot from nearby locations in town. They were examples of mid- to late-eighteenth century homes, which were furnished with period pieces or reproductions to give the feel of the life of these early settlers. We were greeted in each house by a guide who explained how these families would have lived. ​

​And, of course there is the food in this part of the country. We made our annual pilgrimage to Shady Maple for the “world’s largest smorgasbord”, and also had some more Amish food at Dienner’s Family Restaurant. On our way back from a couple of hikes on the Lebanon Valley Trail in Mt. Gretna, we rewarded ourselves for all that exercise with a sundae from The Jigger Shop. Not sure if that’s exactly the right reward. . .
  

Parting Shot​

We found this covered bridge down a country road, but decided its weight limits weren’t going to allow us to cross safely. Since there was no parking around the bridge, it was a little challenging to turn around, but Cathy got the picture at least. 

All of our moving experience this past winter came in handy when we arrived at our daughter’s house to clear out her attic of our “stuff”. After 18 years, it was time. We enjoyed time visiting with her family when we were not hauling, sorting, packing or storing it all. And we passed through Pocahontas on our way further north, taking some time to relax a bit after our busy week. ​

Too Much Stuff​

Working in an attic in southern Virginia in July was not something we were looking forward to. But Mother Nature gave us a break when the highs descended from the upper 90’s to the 80s. Starting early, we worked our way through the piles of stuff. It was all very familiar. Trash. Donations. Consignment. Keep. The volume of stuff slowly went down. By Monday, we had the truck loaded up for our first run to the Samaritan Thrift Store in Emporia. On Tuesday, we picked up a trailer from U-Haul and filled it and the truck with all that would fit of the stuff we were going to keep – for the time being. This was not something we accomplished on our own. We had support from the entire family, but we were especially grateful for the kids’ help. Without complaint, Troy and Taylor supplied much-needed labor to move the seemingly endless numbers of boxes and many pieces of furniture. ​

Traveling to Richmond, where our storage unit was located, Troy and Taylor joined us to supply much-needed labor. With their help, we loaded our 10x10 unit with our first and biggest load. We celebrated by taking them out to eat and back to school shopping afterward. Arriving back exhausted, but feeling good about all we had accomplished, we were ready to relax for the evening. Until we looked at the next morning’s forecast. Rain, and lots of it. And it was going to start this evening. So, we scraped together our last bit of energy to move the last of the items out of the attic into the trailer in the afternoon. Bonnie and the kids were troopers and helped us finish up. Managing to get the last items into the trailer before the rain arrived. We made the trip by ourselves the next morning, grateful for our decision to load up the day before as drove north in the rain. But our challenge was less about the weather or even the effort to move the stuff and more about getting it all to fit.  ​

​​But we did manage to get it all in. So, the attic (and a few other closets) were now empty of our stuff, but our storage unit was very full. We had plans for reducing it even further, but that was going to take more time. Arriving in Pocahontas on a Sunday, we developed a plan for each day. We bought a shredder and a printer with enhanced scanning ability. This will allow us to digitize records that we may want to keep and shred everything else. Both are going to get a lot of use. We then found another consignment store in Richmond that was interested in several more boxes of items. We donated more items to Goodwill, and some tools to Cabin Work Week at Pocahontas. We donated a mirror to help furnish the Nurse’s Cabin at Pocahontas that will soon be put into service as a bridal changing area near the Powhatan dining hall. This is something the Cabin Work Week volunteers have put a lot of effort into making a reality.  

​As for the rest of the contents, it will take time, but we plan to keep up a steady pace to whittle it down to what we actually want to keep.  

Family Time
​So, we made time to just enjoy the family while not working on the move. We played games, and watched movies. Dave tried with a little success to get our turntable working to play our old albums, which piqued the interest of our grandson. Pulling out boxes of memorabilia simply labeled “Bonnie”, we spent an evening laughing over the things in the box and sharing memories. We had our first experience at a Korean BBQ and discovered a Richmond institution called the Sugar Shack, which serves up unique and delicious donuts.   

​And we watched with fascination as the entire family worked to service and then prepare a recent addition – an antique tractor – to be painted. The final coats were applied after we left, but the transformation was dramatic.