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