Final Chapter for this trip

You didn't think you'd ever know the end of the story? Here it is finally.

We stayed two nights at Wilmington and left early (7:30!) to drive to Waverly, OH to go to church with our friends Paul and Barb. It's always a blessing to spend time with them. Barb fixed a delicious meal for us and we enjoyed both the food and the fellowship.

We left about 2:00 towards Mike and Diane's (son-in-law & daughter) in Mt. Zion, WV. The GPS said we'd arrive about 5:00. Someone has got to reprogram it for hills and curves! We arrived at 6:15 very thankful it was still daylight. They have a lovely home in a "holler" with a creek running through their property. Deer come into the back yard to eat and this year came close enough to munch on Diane's roses. Mike always says we can stay longer, but we don't want to wear out our welcome. We left Wed. morning and drove to their deli (Church Street Deli) in Spencer. They fixed us a wonderful lunch to go (complete with brownies) and we said our goodbyes before the lunch crowd descended.

I took my turn driving south of Charleston on I-77 for an hour. I negotiated the hills and curves including a 5% downhill grade using the downshifting that Gene has taught me. I was more than willing to turn the wheel back over to Gene at the next rest area. I prefer to learn in small increments as opposed to a long haul.

When we entered Virginia, the terrain changed to rolling hills with cattle and farmland. There was some fall color, but the prettiest was in WV. We continued through Virginia and into N. Carolina arriving at the Forest Lakes Thousand Trails. We had been there last year for one night and I was glad we could spend a little longer this time. The day after our arrival, Gene moved the rig to a site close to the water. He knows I love to sit & relax by water.

I had a wonderful surprise - Sharleen came walking over to the rig. I was so glad to see her as I hadn't had a chance to say goodbye at the rally. We sat and talked for awhile about our families and classes at the rally.

That evening we learned how to play Pegs & Jokers with Linda & Ray. I now have rules for several new games in my head. I'm sure I'll need a refresher course on all of them when I get to play them again.

Friday evening Sharleen, Gene & I met at the Lodge to listen to Mike Thomas play the guitar, keyboard and sing. He plays a wide variety of songs and we enjoyed him immensely.

Saturday we pulled out and started our homeward trek. We went over to Lexington, NC, the barbeque capital, ate barbeque, then took pictures of the pig statues that are all around town.

We continued south, spending the night in S. Carolina, close to Augusta, GA. Sunday morning we were up early and in the "go" mode. We stopped in Lyons, Ohoopee and Kingsland to visit with some of Gene's family and then into FL, arriving home about 9:30 pm.

It's always good to be home again and back in my comfy bed, but I would have liked to stay on the road a bit longer this time. There's always next year and we're already making plans to go the Gypsy Rally in Elkhart, IN.

As we are approaching the holiday season, I pray God's blessings for all of you and your families.

Happy Thanksgiving Merry Christmas Happy New Year

Gypsy Journal Eastern Gathering

Friday morning we drove back over to say good bye to Ruby and Sage, then headed south to Ohio. We arrived at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celine that afternoon.

Right across the drive was a group of Escapees (RV club http://www.escapees.com/ ). We met Rick and Terry right off and several others later. Saturday night they invited us to a local restaurant, SunnySide Inn, and then back to the fairgrounds to sit around the campfire. It was cool enough for it and I kept edging closer to the fire to stay comfortable. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening.

Sunday I volunteered to help with registration for the afternoon, so met a lot more folks. Nick & Terry Russell are the editors of the Gypsy Journal (http://www.gypsyjournal.net/) and put on two rallies a year - Western in Arizona, and Eastern in Ohio. They are the nicest, down to earth folks who want to encourage and educate people about the RV lifestyle.

We met with Sharleen & Mark, whom we had met last year at the rally, and Sharleen and I went to several of the same classes. It was great to see her and catch up on our travels.

The rest of the week was spent in attending classes and learning as much as our brains could hold. Although some of the classes were the same as last year, I still learned a lot. Repetition is a good thing. In the class "What Every RV'ing Woman Should Know", I was proud to be able to raise my hand in response to many of the questions, ie "Do you know how to dump the holding tanks?", "Can you drive your rig?". OK, that's an easy one for me - it's only 20' long.

Tuesday was Gene's birthday and I slipped a note to Terry R. so everyone could sing to him at the evening get together. He was very surprised. Wednesday evening we had a pizza party and Gene was busy setting up tables and chairs. After the party, Melissa & Larry, "One More Time" ( two very talented young people), sang a wide variety of songs. They did an impersonation of Sonny & Cher that knocked our socks off and Larry did a great Elvis.
Thursday evening they played dance music and Gene and I even danced a bit.

Friday was "say good bye" day. It's always sad to say good bye to old and new friends, but we know we'll quite possibly meet them again somewhere down the road.

On our way south, we stopped in Brock, OH, north of Greenville, where Annie Oakley and her husband Frank Butler are buried. I would have liked to visit the museum in Greenville, but we were on a bit of a tight schedule.

We stopped in South Charleston, OH for a visit with Gene's son, Robert, and Sue. Robert made an awesome homemade pizza (crust from scratch) and Sue gave me some delicious pickles she had put up from their garden.

We traveled down to the Wilmington Thousand Trails in southern Ohio and settled in for a couple days of rest.

This is another good stopping place. Until next time.

God's blessings and our prayers for all of you.

Pictures

Ruby, Gene and Sage at Grand Haven Lighthouse Grand Haven, Michigan

Top left - Gene at Meriwether Lewis Memorial on Natchez Trace Parkway

This butterfly at Callaway Gardens has a brillant blue color on the inside of it's wings. The large spot is called "Owl's eye". You really feel like it's looking at you.

More tomorrow.

God's blessings to all of you