Left Chesapeake Bay CG and Then Kept So Busy at Home!

On Wednesday we were up at 6:30 and left the CG by 7:45. 

I ate my breakfast sitting on the steps of Waldo looking at
the River!

What a view we had from the door of Waldo!

The drive home went very well, stopping for gas 1X and then stopping at a Subway for lunch.  We were back to our apt. by 2.  It was an extremely hot and humid day!  Once we pulled into the driveway, the real work began.  We spent lots of time unloading and putting everything where it belonged!!  I also did 3 loads of wash.  What a crazy, busy time!

Thursday, while eating our breakfast on our balcony, we were sad to see a tree company come to remove the 30 foot pine trees that bordered the back of our apartment building.  We loved the privacy they provided, but the landlord did not like the "weed patch" that surrounded them.  So, he wanted to have them removed and plant grass.  We left to return Waldo to his storage space in Ephrata and told them we would not need the space after Sept. (We will be in Florida starting in October and then store Waldo there when we come home for Thanksgiving and Chrisstmas. Then we went to our small storage area to see what was there and gave notice that we would not need that space after the end of September.  We are "downsizing" again.  Then we took our bikes to a shop located on a farm out in the country to have them tuned up before heading to Avalon and then to Florida.  

What a pleasant surprise when we returned.  The trees were gone, but the new view was spectacular.  No one lives on the property behind us, but it looks like a place from the wild west complete with a fishpond and cute outbuildings.  Hard to believe it is in the middle of a small town!  I think it was a good "life lesson".  You never know what is "around the bend".  

What a View!!!!

Sam and Kathy Frankhouser's daughter, Kristen, is only 33 and in the intensive care unit of LGH with pancreantitis.  We headed to the hospital to sit in the waiting room with Kathy and Sam, but they had left there about 15 minutes before we arrived.  We were going to go to their home to support them, but they were exhausted.  So we headed back home. Fortunately on Friday, Kristen was better and on Saturday they moved her to intermediate care.

Friday after Curves, Jamie, Bria and Cali came by and we walked to Lititz Springs Park so the girls could play and feed the ducks.  We enjoyed a great lunch at Tomato Pie Cafe - Bria and Cali are so good and act so grown-up when they are at a restaurant. Then back to the park for more playing before going to a specialty shop called "Candyology".  Brings back so many memories when you see all the candy we enjoyed as children.  They also had a room with items from the movie "Frozen".  We had such a good time. 

Aren't they adorable!

 Friday evening we met our small life group from Church at the Blue Bird Inn near Cornwall.   After a delicious meal, we went to The Jigger Shoppe at Mt. Gretna, where they serve unbelievable ice cream creations.  What a fun evening!

Saturday Ken and I took about a 4 mile walk around Lititz, stopping at the Farmer's Market and then at Dozie Dough for a raisin, apple fritter and some Chai.  So much fun!  Then we went to pick up our bikes, stopping by the storage area to drop them off and bring somethings to the apartment.  All went well.

That evening we meet our card club group at Scooters for a delicious dinner and then back to Hagy's house to play cards.  We only got home at 12:15, too late for these old folks.  

Today, Sunday we went to church, took a walk, and then spent 4 hours visiting my parents and playing 5 games of pinochle.  The women actually won 2 out of 5 games, much better than our 5 game lose the last time we got together.  We actually spent the evening at home!  

We have eaten out more in the last 3 days then we often eat out in several weeks.  It has been crazy! Tomorrow we will go to visit Lanie and her family and bring Waldo home on our way back.  We will be leaving on Thursday for Sea Pines CG near Avalon NJ.  Looking so forward to that trip!

A Beautiful, Fun-Filled Last Day at Chesapeake Bay Resort

Wow, we have had such a terrific time at this CG and are sad to be leaving!  The weather has been terrific and we have meet so many wonderful fellow campers.

I talked to Lanie after Samantha left for her 2nd day of Kindergarten.  Sam was excited to go and had drawn 2 pictures for her teacher when she woke this morning.  I think Lanie was as tired and emotionally drained as Sam - it's hard having your 1st child go to school!!!

Ken cooked breakfast for us and we ate outside.  It was a positively gorgeous morning and the view of the river incredible!  By 9 we were on the pickleball courts and met some new players.  It was a fun time, but Ken and I are both feeling alittle tired.  We haven't had this much physical activity on a daily basis for a long time.  We were back to Waldo by 11 and started to clean-up both inside and out for our return home tomorrow.  Ken and I took time to rearrange the items in the basement storage bins and made some positive improvements.  I did the same inside!  We also put away all the outdoor "stuff" and then took time to eat lunch.  At 1:30 we headed to the pool to play pool volleyball.  Again, the people who play volleyball are so much fun and encouraging to those of us who do not play on a regular basis.  By 3:30 we were back to Waldo.  Ken took a short nap and I talked to my good friend, Jackie Hagy.  We had a nice chat catching up on what all of us have been doing this summer. Then it was time to vaccum, wash the floors, dust, and clean the bathroom.  I love how little time it takes to clean Waldo!  

Ken spent some time today looking at info for our trip to the southwest.  It is getting exciting.  After dinner, we headed back to the pickleball court to play a few games before leaving tomorrow.  Not sure why we felt compelled to do it, for we both feel like we need time to recoup from all this physical activity.  Playing twice in 1 day is alot and we did it yesterday too!  We were sad that Pete, Joyce, Bob and Carol did not come to play tonight.  We realized we would not be able to see them again before we left.

Ken and I enjoyed playing with Isaac, Ginny,  and Jamie.
Isaac is and will be a great player!  He is only 14!  (Note
my new paddle!)

New friends, Lance and Bonnie Willie.  He is a retired state
policeman from Delaware.  They have been full-timing for
3 years with their 8 year old son, Luke. who Bonnie home schools!

We were back to Waldo by 9:15, showered, and got ready for bed.  Tomorrow will be about a 5 1/2 hour travel day.  This camping adventure has been a great one and we will certainly return to this CG again.  After all, we didn't get to kayak.  Also we find it amazing - we never drove any miles in our CRV since we arrived.  We did ride with Fred and Doloriis to Beaver Dam Lake, stopping for lunch at Olivia's and getting a few groceries at Wal-Mart.  But that was our only time out of the CG! Amazing!!!!  Obviously, we had too much fun to leave!

Almost a "Fall Like Day"!

Ken and I were up by 7:30, ate breakfast, and got ready for Pickleball.    We also called 3 of our granddaughters to wish them a happy 1st day of school  Cali and Sam started kindergarten and Bria is in 2nd grade.  How quickly they grow up!!

I had some trouble running around the court today, for my hip is still giving me a problem.  It is soon time for that to feel better, but maybe I have to stop playing for a couple days if I want to see an improvement - NOT!  We played for about 2 1/2 hours, with sometime to sit out and rest between games.  I felt like I was improving for some of the games and then like a new player for several other ones.  Practice, practice, practice is what is required!  I guess we will have to pick CG's that have pickleball courts from now on!!!

We were back to Waldo by 12 and did somethings on our computers.  Then I got on the phone with Melissa and we made reservations at Myakka State Park in Florida for Oct. 22 to Oct. 27 and were able to get sites beside each other - WOW! Then we both made reservations for the Thousand Trails Orlando CG for Oct. 12 to the 22nd.  It is exciting to start making definite plans for the fall.  After lunch we talked to Jamie regarding our trip our west.  We have decided to drive home from Florida for Easter, leaving Waldo there, stay home about 1 week and then drive back, get Waldo and begin a trip to the southwest.  We will do the northwest portion of the USA in a future trip.  Hope to get all the way to California before returning home in mid to late July.  Both Ken and I felt that we want to be home some of the summer to camp with the granddaughters and have the traditional week's vacation with the family at Bethany Beach, DE.  We didn't feel right to miss such important events.  We are very happy with this change of plans.

Ken "read" and took a short nap.  I just relaxed and played on the I-Pad.  Then we took a walk around part of the CG, stopping to talk to Pete and Joyce.  They are such great people.  We really enjoy their friends, Bob and Carol too!  All 4 are good pickleball players.  Ken and I decided to play one round of miniature golf and this time I won by a large margin.  Ken started to do some clean-up around the campsite while I made dinner.  We talked to Jamie and then Bria and Cali to find out how they liked their 1st day of school.  They loved everything about it.  Jamie told us that Samantha, Lanie's daughter, said she liked school, but was very tired. She has all day kindergarten and thinks she will stay home tomorrow and just go the next day!  Lanie may have a challenge on her hands!

We played pickleball again this evening starting at 7:30. Isaac is a teenager camping across from us with his parents and grandmother.  He does cyber school and loves to play pickleball.   Tomorrow morning he has classes and will not be able to play.  So he asked the regular morning players if they would play this evening, and we all said yes.   He is such a polite southern boy who says the worst part about being home schooled is not having friends or participating in sports. To add to that, his family is on the road camping a large portion of the year, so having friends is even more difficult. We played under the lights till 9 and then headed back to Waldo.  We probably won't be able to walk tomorrow morning!

Martin's Left for Home!

What a beautiful weather day!  It was in the mid to upper 70's with a nice breeze and partial sunshine.  I actually thought it felt a bit cool at times!  What unbelievable weather for August!

Ken left Waldo at 6:30 to take a 1 1/4 hour walk around the CG.  I am still having some trouble with the muscle I pulled in my thigh/hip area, so I decided not to walk.  Actually, I was tired too!!!

Ken sunrise photo from the dock area beside our campsite!

He found this path for walking at the back of the campground!

Someone in the CG loves flamingos!

I was up and ready for the day when Ken returned at 7:45.  Martins were busy outside getting packed for their trip back home.  Ken and I ate breakfast outside and then chatted with Fred and Doloris.  We wished them a safe trip home and thanked them for a wonderful 4 days before heading to a church service here at the CG.  

We always have such a good time together!

Fred and Doloris were not ready to go home!!!!

By the time church was over, Martins had left.  We were sad to see them go and they were sad that their time here ended so quickly.  Ken and I changed and headed to the Pickleball courts.  Ken wanted to try so additional paddles that Pickleball Mike had For Sale and we were looking forward to playing some more games.  We are getting addicted to this sport!!  We played many games with our new camping friends and some folks we had never met before.  I felt comfortable with my new paddle, but unfortunately my game didn't improve as much or as quickly as I had hoped.  Maybe it isn't just the paddle!!!!!!  Ken found one he really liked, so now we both have our 1st decent pickleball paddles!  We left the courts around 12:45 tired, but happy!

This is Pickleball Mike!

Pickleball Mike and our new camping friend, Joyce!

This is today's pickleball  players!

After lunch Ken decided to "read" (take a nap) and I sat at the picnic table making jewelry.  I have a craft show in three weeks and need more inventory.  Ken offered to make our salads for dinner since I was working to "make us some money".  He also spent time reading some information on places we should be sure to see when we head out West in 2015.  Ken made salmon and a pork chop on the grill and after cleaning up we played 2 rounds of miniature golf on the course here in the CG.  It was just renovated this year and it is a fun little course.  Ken won the 1st 18 holes by 3 strokes, but I won the next round by 2.  Still made Ken the overall winner.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

What a great setting for making jewelry!

The 18 hole CG miniature golf course.  Challenging
and lots of fun!

The end of the day photo from the dock by our campsite.

We were back to Waldo by 8:15 and we discussed our fall camping plans for Florida.  It was so good to talk to Melissa Gregory, our camping friends from Tennessee, to try to coordinate our Florida camping schedules for October and November.  Ken and I are so excited to spend time camping with Chuck and Melissa again this year.  We talked about several possibilities, but will probably finalize most of the schedule after the Hershey RV Show.  Ken and I also talked about plans our snowbirding season for the winter of 2015.  We tentatively picked the weeks we will be in Florida, but again will wait until the Hershey Show to choose the actual campgrounds.

Ken was in bed reading by 9:45 while I showered and did some work on my computer.   

A Kayak Adventure!

Since we had a late night, we only got up around 8:15.  Ken made us breakfast and then we ate outdoors at the picnic table at Martin's 5th wheel.  It was a relaxing time.  After some "chatting time", we packed a few snacks, drinks and then the 4 of us rode in their truck to Beaver Dam Lake, about 30 minutes from the CG.  It was rather cloudy with brief times of sunshine.  Most of the time, it looked threatening.  

Beaver Dam Lake is a 635 acre fresh water lake and you can rent small fishing boats, canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats.  Some of the cheapest boat rentals we have ever seen - we rented tandem kayaks for 2 hours for $10.00.  Ken and I decided to rent one when we discovered it would cost us $3.00 to launch our inflatable, so $7.00 was so worth it to not have to get ours ready, then deflate it, and dry it.  But, I will say that our kayak is much more comfortable - love the seats!  We got to see turtles, a blue heron, an osprey, and just when Ken said his paddle would be complete if he could see an eagle, he spotted one perched on a tree.  We had a great 2 hour kayak trip!

This really is a beautiful lake!

Fred and Doloris enjoyed kayaking!

I loved it too, but do appreciate the back rest on our
inflatable kayak seats!

We saw numerous turtles!

Osprey

Nice to hear and see the Canada geese!

This eagle made Ken's trip special!

Then we drove into downtown Gloucester to look for a place to have a late lunch. Gloucester is quaint, small town and we found quite a "treasure" - Olivia's Eatery! The food was fabulous (mostly homemade), nice atmosphere, a very friendly waitress, and very reasonable prices.  It is a place we would highly recommend and would love to return to.  So worth the stop!

This is Olivia's, a cute restaurant in Gloucester!

Doloris had an oyster sandwich with the best sweet potato
fries, Ken had broiled seafood, Fred the Olivia's special -
a casserole type fish dish with cheese, spinach, and a special
sauce, and I enjoyed the quesadillas.  Everything
was delicious!

We loved our special lunch!

We were back to the CG around 4:30 and sat outside enjoying the river view.  Just when we were going to play miniature golf here at the CG it started to rain.  A steady light rain lasted several hours.  So we headed inside Waldo to play Skip-Bo.  The women were victorious - YES!!!!  Then we walked to the CG store to enjoy some ice cream.  At this CG a "kiddie cone" is more then enough.  They are very generous with the portions!

Back to Waldo for a game of Hasenpfeffer (I finally learned to spell the card game we play!).  Again the women won - we ending our time together STRONGLY!  Martins left around 9:30 because they are planning to be on the road for home by 9.  Can't believe it is time for them to leave already.  We have had so much fun together!

Another Active Day!

Ken and I were up by 7:30 to eat breakfast and get ready to go to play pickleball. We took a 20 minute walk before playing so I could "limber up my knee".  It bothered me during the night but was fine for playing today. There were 10 or 12 players there and we had another delightful time.  There are so many wonderful people at this CG and we are getting to know some of them quite well thru pickleball and pool volleyball.  

We went back to Pete and Joyce's 5th wheel to get more information on the TT Membership they want to sell so they can purchase an upgraded one.  So when we got back to Waldo, we made a call to TT Customer Service to get them to tell us exactly what Pete and Joyce's membership offered.  After some discussion, Ken and I decided the Zone Passes are probably the best option for us at this time.  We have had a Zone Pass for 3 year and it has worked out so well for us!

Then we spent time outside talking with Fred and Doloris, eating lunch together, and then going to the pool to play pool volleyball from 1:30 to 3.  What a silly, fun time and we got to meet more fellow campers.  This is quite a place!!!  While playing at the pool, I pulled a muscle or stretch something at my right hip - wow, this getting old is not for wimps!!!!!  Soon the only sport I will be able to play is shuffleboard and then I'll probably pull a muscle when I extend the stick!!!!!  What is going on??????

The 4 of us changed and then got together to play some ladder golf.  As soon as we started the game it started with some light rain.  It was over in no time, but by then we had started a game of Skip-Bo which the men won by a HUGE margin! They must be cheating - no other explanation!!!!!

Fred started another campfire while we started to prep for dinner.  After another great dinner, the 4 of us headed to the Pickleball Courts to see "Pickleball Mike".  Many fellow campers we have meet during our travels have talked about him.  He lives near this campground and comes here most weekends to give instruction and sells paddles.  He allows you to try different ones till you find the one that works the best for you.  We learned a lot and had a fun time.  Fred got instruction too! We only got back to Waldo about 9.  

We all showered and then met at Fred and Doloris 5th wheel to play Haus.  The women were losing big time at the beginning, but the men ended up winning, but not by much!  We called it a day at 11:30.  What a fun day!

An Unexpected Nice Day!

Ken and I were up at 7:30, got ready, and ate breakfast, leaving at 9 to play pickleball.  Today there were about 10 of us and again, we had a great time. It was so hot and humid (around 86) and we sure did a lot of sweating!!!  Fred stopped by to take some photos of Ken and I "in action".  We maybe improving, but it is a slow process!  After 2 hours of hard play we were hot and tired and headed back to Waldo.  We consumed lots of water and some fruit before going on a walk with Fred and Doloris!

Fred took all these great action shots!

By then it was time for lunch and by 1 we were at the pool (the water felt so good) to play water volleyball.  Fred and Doloris joined in too!  There were about 14 of us who played and it is a type of volleyball I have never seen or played before.  You can just throw the ball over to serve and you can hit it as many times as it takes to get it over the net, it just can't touch the water and you can't catch it!  There is a learning curve to this game, because you feel like you have to back away after you hit or you feel like you should "volley".  That's just not how it is done!  We played til 3 and had a lot of fun.  

Showers felt great following all this exercise and Ken decided a nap was a good idea too!  I sat with my knee propped with ice on it.  I must have twisted it somehow playing pickleball.  Sure hope it feels better in the morning, for we are having too much fun playing pickleball to give it up for a day.

They had predicted a very cloudy day with scattered thunderstorms, but we woke to lots of sunshine with some clouds rolling in around 3:30.  There were a few light showers around dinner time, but really didn't affect anything.  Again we cooked over an open fire.  After dinner we treated ourselves to ice cream at the CG store.  Ken was the only one who had restraint tonight - no ice cream for him!!!!

Then the game playing begun with the men winning Skip-Bo right at the end and the same thing happenedd playing Haus!  Not sure what is going on!!!!!  Oh well, tomorrow is another day!  To our separate "homes" around 11:30.

Another view of the Piankatank River from our campsites!

What A Beautiful Day!

Ken and I were up by 7 and after getting ready and eating breakfast, we headed to the Pickleball Courts!  There were about 12 of us there to play and we had such a good time.  Actually met a couple who are seasonal campers at this CG and they live in the Brickyard in Ephrata only several miles from where we live - amazing!!!  We are the "new kids on the block" and everyone was so friendly and eager to help us learn to play better.  We were able to hold our own, but have lots of room for improvement!  We played for 2 hours and our bodies felt very stiff when we walked back to Waldo.  

Pickleball is so much fun.  These courts were built over
Memorial Day and are even lighted!

Since we arrived in the rain yesterday and it continued a lot of the day, we hadn't unpacked the car or any of our things for outside!  We spent the next hour making the outside of Waldo look like we belonged here.  After lunch we made some necessary phone calls to Lazydays in Florida and also made our 1st reservation for our trip to Florida in January - how exciting!  Fred and Doloris arrived at 1:40 - so good to see them.  Tom and Laura who were camping next to us were leaving today and because they knew our friends would be arriving, they said they would be happy to "hang around" for alittle so Fred and Doloris could have their campsite.  Tom and Laura had an appt. at noon to discuss upgrading their TT Membership.  We thought that would be about an hour meeting, but boy were we wrong.  Martins and us sat around talking waiting for them to return, but they never got back until 4.  We enjoyed meeting Tom and Laura who live in NJ and we hope to meet up with them at Sea Pines in Sept. After they left, Fred and Doloris set-up on their site, a very nice one beside us looking out to the river!

We only ate dinner around 7:45 - hamburgers and Ken's salmon burger made over the open fire, baked beans and salad.  We enjoyed sitting around the campfire and then took a walk to the end of the boating dock here at the CG.  So many stars and we even saw the Milky Way!  Martins made s'mores (Ken and I had unusual restraint!) and then we called it a day around 10:15. 

We have a huge campsite with the fire ring being far from
our RV's and providing us with a great view of the
Piankatank River.

We even got this great photo of a heron!

This is another  shot from the back of our campsite - wow!!!

A relatively new dock right here at the CG!

The Lovebirds - Fred and Doloris.  Tuesday
was their 19 year wedding anniversary!!

Back on the Road!

Yesterday, Monday, was a crazy day!  We headed out at 7:30 to pick up Waldo at Tom Schaeffers RV Dealership near Leesport where we had some warranty work and a few others done while we were at the beach.  After some misunderstandings as far as the work they were supposed to do (some of it was our fault) we arrived back home around 11.  We started loading things into Waldo for our trip tomorrow.  After numerous trips and taking time for lunch, we headed to Costco for some needed groceries.  Then the loading and packing continued.  Maybe we should have given ourselves some extra days from our return from the beach until we leave again.  By bedtime, we were tired!

We got up at 3:15 and were on our way with the SRV in tow by 4:10 - it was rather dark (imagine that!!!).  We only made one stop, Denny's for breakfast, during our 5 1/2 hour trip to Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay CG in Gloucester, VA.  It was about 250 miles.  We did go around Baltimore and DC, but it was an uneventful trip (the best kind!) with very manageable traffic!  When we got there, it had started to rain and that continued on and off until about 5.  It was nice to get to the CG so early, 10 AM.  Our site overlooks the river and is so scenic.  All in all, it is a nice CG with 4 brand new pickleball courts and both large pools have been totally renovated - impressive!  The sites are fairly spacious and there is a lake and a boat launch available to the campers. They also redid the miniature golf course!

You can see the Piankatank River from our campsite.
This river feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.

This is the adult pool (18 years+) where they play volleyball
every afternoon!

The main pool - never saw 2 such large pools at a CG!

A lake in the middle of the CG!

What a setting for this permanent campsite!

After setting up, we had lunch and then decided to really relax - we took naps. Getting up at 4 didn't give us much rest last night!  Then we took 2 walks around the CG, only making dinner at 7:15.  We talked to Fred and Doloris, who will arrive tomorrow and then Ken and I discussed our camping plans for the fall and winter.  We are looking to spend time in Florida both times and thought it was time to come up with dates and which CG's we would like to go to.  I think we are getting closer to finalizing some plans.  We need to make some phone calls tomorrow before we can have definite dates for coming and going!!!!!

We are in this CG until next Wednesday and looking forward to playing pickleball, kayaking, miniature golfing, and sharing fun times with Fred and Doloris!  Life is Good!

Family Vacation is Over - Homeward Bound!

Everyone was up by 6:30 and 4 little girls came to our bedroom singing Happy Birthday to Grandma.  What a special moment!  They were so excited!  They asked me to go to the LR for a special surprise - Balloons!!!!  I loved sharing my 64th birthday with my family!  We were all packed, cars loaded, and everything back in its place in the Condo by the time the girls and their families left around 8.  Ken and I made a finish check to be sure nothing was left behind, returned the keys to the rental agency, and we were on our way home by 8:40.  We made several stops on our way home arriving at our apartment in Lititz at 1:30.  So nice to not have to hurry outside to mow and trim!

Happy Birthday to Grandma!

They were so happy and excited to sing to me!

The balloons were a nice surprise!

After unloading the car and unpacking everything, I decided to work on my computer while Ken took and nap.  He said I should choose what I would like to do this evening for my birthday.  So I called Fred and Doloris and asked if they would like to join us at The Deck in Ephrata around 5.  The 4 of us had such a good time sharing life and enjoying the "Crush" drinks and delicious food.  It was a gorgeous evening to eat outside.

We went back to their house to play our new game of Corn Hole (a gift for Ken and my b-days from Jamie and Dane) and then 1 game of Hause!  The men won Corn Hole but we won the game of cards on the last hand.  (We had been behind by about 15 points and they only needed 1 trick to win!)

It had been a long day and Ken and I were home and in bed by 10:15.  It was a great birthday with family and friends!