Toured the Colonial Beach Area

Yesterday we had a very relaxing morning!  After Ken and I took a 2 mile walk, the 6 of us sat around chatting and planning our day before we started breakfast.  What a feast it was!!!!!  Delicious cinnamon raisin French Toast, bacon, and lots of fresh fruit.  After clean-up, we headed to a local hardware store to buy some mesquito repellant.  With the overcast weather and all the flooding they had in this area several weeks ago, the striped mesquitos are enjoying the area.  We have been able to be out and not be bothered too much, but as far as I am concerned, they could leave!!!!

We drove into Colonial Beach, about 8 miles from the CG.  Because of Hurricane Irene and being later in the season, it was rather deserted.  The beach really suffered a lot of erosion.  We did get to walk the "boardwalk" and have a drink at an outside bar sitting in the sand and overlooking the Potomac. 

From there we headed to Oak Crest winery for some wine tasting, for the best experience we ever had at a wine tasting.  The lady was so friendly and knowledgeable and she had the 6 of us sit at a table where she conducted our wine tasting.  We really enjoyed their port wines and all of the Hershey Kisses they offered us while we were there.  The setting was beautiful too!  An all around good experience.

We were back to the CG around 5 and the men started the fire.  Our supper was incredible - Ribs from Costco that were "to die for", baked potatoes, and fresh salads from our now famous and standard for our camping trips, salad bar!  We even had some brownies.  We are living high!!!!

At 9:30 we decided to repeat our 2 mile walk in the circle road in front of the CG.  The road really doesn't go anywhere, just in a circle but along the Potomac.  Very lovely walk.  Only 3 of us took the hike, but we definitely needed our trusty flashlights.

To bed by 10:30, but it really was a fun day.  Hoping for some sunshine, but not looking too promising until about Thursday!  Fortunately, it is not raining, so we have still been able to be outdoors.

Great Time with Deb and Barry!

We were so excited when Barry and Deb arrived at our house on Monday.  We had met them in 2009 when we stayed on Pine Island in Florida and then reconnected last year in Pine Island again.  Last year when we "moved" to the Venice area they came to our campground for a day to visit and explore the area.  Then we went to their campground at Tarpoon Springs and enjoyed that area with them for a day.  So, we were thrilled when they decided to make the drive to PA to spend a few days with us.

We spent a lot of time just chatting, but also went to numerous places around the county.  Walked the linear trail here in Ephrata and ate at the Tomato Cafe in Lititz.  

My mother was our private tour guide from 9 to 2 on Tuesday for a drive around Lancaster County.   She relayed so much information about the Amish lifestyle to us including courtship, marriage, funerals, family life, etc. She did such an exceptional job. We ate at Dienners, a small restaurant on Route 30 that offers a delicious buffet at such a reasonable price. Spent that evening at our house playing ladder golf and then 5 Crowns.

Wednesday we started the day by meeting our friends, Sam and Kathy for breakfast so we could introduce them to Barry and Deb.  We are all campers.  What a fun time! 

Then we took Deb and Barry to Hershey to tour Chocolate World, checked out the Hotel Hershey and Hershey Gardens, and then ate on the deck at the Quentin Hotel. Very good food.

Hotel Hershey

 Hotel Hershey Lobby

 

Hershey Park from the Hotel

Then on to Mt. Gretna to walk all around that quaint area. Ended the day with ice cream at Sonic and then another game of 5 Crowns. I think Barry may have actually enjoyed playing cards!

Ken' s family rented this cottage for a week several summers just to have a family getaway.  They only lived about 4 miles away!







They left at 9:00 this morning, Thursday, to head back to their home near Ontario.  We were sad to see them leave.  We had such a good time.  We plan to meet up again this winter in Florida and maybe sometime next year head to Canada to camp with them in their area.

Friendship is so special!!!!



Destination - Colonial Beach VA

Yesterday, Saturday, Doloris and Fred arrived at our house at 7:15 and they followed us with their rig for the drive to Colonial Beach.  We stopped right before the Maryland border on Route 83 to have breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  Definitely not a favorite of mine, but they sure are RV friendly for parking.  With the 5th wheel, sometimes our choice for stops is rather limited.  Only 1 more stop for something to drink. 

We arrived at Harbor View CG, a Thousand Trail Park, around 1:00.  Several weeks ago they have 22" of rain in a relatively short time, and the CG resembled a lake.  It is still abit "soggy", but fine!  This is another example of a park that is in need of some TLC.  There are not a lot of sites, but the CG has many acres and is in a quiet area.  Seems to be a rather depressed area.  The CG is obviously older, as most of the sites are deep, but the cement pad and the hook-ups are so close together that it is hard to get in between them.  We had to put our tires on the cement to fit into the site.  (Most have been designed for smaller rigs way back when!!!)  We had some problems getting set-up, but eventually we were level and ready for the fun to begin.  Kathy and Sam got here about an hour after us.  So, the 6 of us are looking forward to a full week of fun.  (This is the first time Fred and Doloris will be camping for an entire week!  They are so excited!)

All of us took a walk outside of the park.  It was about a 2 mile circle of nice homes that back up to the Potomac River.  No traffic on that road, since is really goes "nowhere", but around!  The men made a campfire and we had an easy supper of hamburgs and baked beans.  Then we sat around the fire chatting and called it a night around 10. 

Let the good times roll!

Final Gathering at the Rally!

Wednesday evening we had a thunderstorm with plenty of lightning while we were at the Theme Party.  It poured!!!!!  Ken and I had walked to the dinner and were thankful to get a ride back to Willie!  It rained a lot of the night.  Everything was so wet!!!

Howard and Linda had a question and answer session from 8 to 9 and then we had a catered breakfast in the meeting hall on Thursday morning.  Then they expressed their appreciation for all of us being there and there were lots of tears and hugs as we said our goodbyes to all the new friends that we made especially George and Jean, Jim and Cindy, Bonnie and Richard, Neil and Nancy, Ray and Carol, Leesa and Gary, and Connie and Kurt and of course, Howard and Linda.  They are such special people who are so real and honest.  Their life on the road really is an open book.  They share everything, even their entire budget.  They are definitely living their dream and hope everyone else realizes it can be done - you just have to believe and take the "leap".

Jim and Cindy

Ray and Carol

Richard and Bonnie

Howard and Linda

Howard and Linda ended the Rally with the Rascal Flatts song "My Wish".  More tears shed! 

Ken and I spent from 11 to 5:30 at the RV Show at the Giant Center.  It was a very cloudy, cool and breezy day, but we had fun!  Actually met up with my sister, Cindy and her husband John.  They are excited about RVing in several years.  We also chatted with many of the folks we met at the Rally.  After touring dozens of rigs, we are very happy with our 5th wheel choice, an Open Range.  It really suits our style of RVing!

We started packing up Willie when we returned, but everything was still fairly wet.  Made an easy supper inside and then Bonnie and Richard came to visit.  We enjoyed our 2 hours together. 

Ken and I were on our way home by 8 AM today, Friday.  We would have enjoyed staying another day to visit with some of the folks, but I had a 10 AM Dr. appt. and we had to return home.

This was some of the best monies we have ever spent!  Howard and Linda do an amazing job and we would recommend that if you have the opportunity to attend their Rally, make it a priority.  You'll be glad you did!!!!!

Wednesday at the Rally! Our Last Full Day!!!

Couldn't believe this was the final full day of the Rally!  It has gone by so quickly!



Linda showing us the custom changes they made to their rig!



We began classes today at 8, because we had so much to cover.  Howard led the session on "Internet on the Road", followed by "Choosing Campgrounds/RV Parks, which can be more involved than you think.  Important to find ones that fit with your lifestyle!  Then to continue on our theme of full-timing we had a class on "Selecting a Home Base and Insurance Considerations", since all full-timers have to be a resident of some state.  Kyle Henson, a fellow rally attendee, did a session on Medicare Basics, which Ken stayed to listen to.  I headed back to Willie to get ready for the afternoon "tour of RV Rigs".  There were about 20 RV's open which was fun for those of us who have RV's and fun and informative for those folks who are planning to buy a new one or their 1st one. 

Before the Open Rig's, the ladies had the opportunity to learn how to braid the bottom edge of a t-shirt.  Fun and very simple.  Howard did a demonstration of his inflatable kayak made by Sea Eagle.  Ken and I both took a "test run".  Ken had asked Howard if he would do a demonstration of it on the small pond and many people had an interest.  We had been considering buying one for quite awhile.  We both thought it handled well and liked how easily it inflated and deflated.  Storage would be so easy!

We met at 6 for a delicious catered dinner with the theme of Red, White and Blue.  I had another chance to wear my special peace sunglasses.  (Amazing what you can buy at Dollar Tree for only $1.00!!!!)  Linda and Howard had a disc jockey for the evening and he had some fun activites and many folks enjoyed dancing.  Linda, Bonnie, and Jean seemed to have the most fun!!!!!  No visiting that evening - we were all too tired!!!!!

Ken following Linda's Lead!!

My famous $1.00 sunglasses!

Leesa has the Spirit!!

Linda loves to dance and sing.

More on The RV-Dreams Rally

We were so busy at the Rally that I got "behind" on my posting!  Just couldn't find the time to sit at the computer!!!

Tuesday was another informative and fun-filled day and more friends were made everytime we got together.  We all met at the meeting hall at 9 to begin our sessions.  Today's topics included "Buying an RV - Pros, Cons and Must Haves. We talked about the different types and the "must haves" for a full-timing rig.  Then we discussed "Weight and Tire Safety" and then Jack Enfield from Mor/Ryde talked about Suspension Systems.  (I left that one for Ken so I could go back to Willie to get my potluck dishes ready for that night.)  The afternoon session was "Boondocking'Solar" which I found interesting, but I am not too excited to RV without water and electric.  I can handle no sewer, but not having the other 2 could be a "stretch" for me!!!! 

That evening was a delicious potluck dinner with such a wide range of foods.  Then we played the RV-Dreams version of the popular television game show, Family Feud.   Howard and Linda had asked questions regarding RVing on their website and used the answers from 100's of RVers for the show.  It was so much fun.  Ken was the leader of his team, the Open Rangers, and they were the Champions!

Our Rally Day on Monday!

The Rally seminars and the 1st full day began on Monday.  Again, Ken had a short night's sleep - still so excited!!  We were at the seminar location by 8:45 for the beginning class at 9.  We are starting to know folks by name and it is a delight to be spending so much time with fellow campers who enjoy the same things and can share so much information including places they have been.  There are only about 8 couples who are fulltiming and several of them only began in the last 6 months or so.  Numerous attendees have very little camping experience and came here to gather information before they buy their rigs.  It is so much fun to see their enthusiasm.  (It was where we were not very long again - about 3 1/2 years).

The topics in the morning classes were "No Right Way to Full-time - Evaluating the Options, the "Emotional Aspects of the Full-timing Decision", and "What Does it Cost to Full-time".  Even if you have been camping for years, there is always new things to learn.  We had a short recess for lunch and then a 1 1/4 hour class on "Working on the Road".  We talked about workamping jobs.

We had free time from 3 to 6, so we were able to chat with some of our new friends, play some cards, and then each person took their own picnic meal to the meeting hall to enjoy supper together.  After dinner Howard showed a short silly video of "unique" RV's from days gone by and cartoons regarding camping experiences.  Then we shared gadgets or items in our RV's that attendees have "invented" or items we just wouldn't want to be without!  Linda shared her cast iron pie maker and I was able to add my recipe for cinnamon buns and snakes on sticks.  It was a fun evening.

Afterwards, Jean and George stopped by "Willie" to see photos from our trip to Acadia, since they plan to head there in a week or so.  We had a nice time visiting and sharing experiences.

Earlier today we received 2 free passes to the Hershey RV Show at the Giant Center.  Linda and Howard planned this Rally to coincide with the show.  What a great thing for those folks who are looking to buy an RV in the near future.  They will be so educated on what to look for when puchasing their 1st, 2nd or 3rd rig!