Day 1(Monday) Croocked Lake River State Park,Brunswick, GA
Ok, so we meet at Ace Hardware; the biglers and their
friends Pat and Gary. We are heading up 19 to ST40 to I-95. We were on the road maybe 10 minutes when Bro
bigler sees this lady open her car door and a dog runs right in front of his
RV. No way to avoid it and hits the dog. Then there is no place to pull over to
speak with the lady! What a terrible way to start our trip.
We arrive at Crooked River State Park at 1:30 which is near
Brunswick, GA and the campground is almost empty so there is no problem getting
a nice big pull thru. So we set up camp except our largest slide out decides it
does not want to slide no matter what we try. So here we go again CALLING
JERRY. I bet he wants to change his telephone number. It seems there is this trap door where the
gears are. So Bro Bigler is under there with all these wrenches and finally the
slide moves.
It was sooooooo hot out that you could not stay outside so
we went inside and read and napped. Now that is a good vacation thing to do.
Later Carol and I took a walk around the park. We must have walked about a
mile!! Her husband fixed burgers on the grill and they were very yummy. She
talked everyone into a little nature walk and then we all played
Scatagories….ending with the eating of ice cream. So tomorrow we head out for
north Georgia.
Day 2 (Tuesday) Petersburg COE, Augusta GA
We left around 8:30 after a group prayer. Traveling thru
Georgia which is much larger than I realized….seeing places I have not seen. We
take mostly US highways. We stopped at Wal-Mart parking lot for lunch. After
leaving Wal-Mart Bro Bigler almost hit a deer!!! It ran in front of him and
then it turned around and went back past him again!!! That was the fastest deer
I have ever seen.
We arrived safely at Thurman Lake Campground. It was our turn to fix dinner so I fixed my
sour cream chicken with sliced potatoes.
Everyone really liked it!! It was a hit. We played Peru do (Liars Dice)
Our campsite was right on the lake; very pretty. We had a huge thunder and lightning storm about midnight. It was beautiful on the lake.
Day 3 (Wednesday) Bandit's Roost COE, Wilkesboro, NC
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| had to add lots of leveling stuff |
We all got to go to the dump station before hitting the
road. That was an experience! Ours didn’t quite drain correctly! I think we
need a new hose. We had lunch today in
the rest area parking lot…The driving has been very hard on Bob because they
are little narrow windy mountain roads….driving thru N. Carolina. We did end up at a Camper store and bought an
anew hose and a new pigtail. We didn’t
get to our campsite till 4pm. Our
campsite is a pull thru but it is quite a steep grade. We have lots of wood
under the wheels but we are still very uphill!! Oh, well…it is only for one
night. Pat and Gary fixed meatloaf for tonight .It was very yummy. We played SCUM and I was King the first 3
hands!!!
And the last hand Bob S was scum
and Bob B was assistant scum!!Girls rule……
Beautiful sunsets; I love sunsets
Day 4 (Thursday) Goose Point COE, Bassett, VA
Heading out for Bassett, VA…More narrow, windy, mountain
roads! Bob B decided he just HAD to stop
and get gas because it was only $2.33 gal but it was so small there The Perrine’s
and us had to park outside. We were so close to the road that when this 18
wheeler came by it really shook us.lt was just a little scary. When Bro B goes
to pull out he hits a big truck but he only hits these huge tires with the
bumper of the car he is pulling. however he had to pull so far over he went off
the road and there was his huge hole/trough? He couldn’t go forward and he can’t
back up with the hauled car back there…meanwhile he plus us are holding up all
kinds of traffic. So he is pulled completely across a street blocking traffic.
He has to go back and disconnect the car and the tow bar. Anyway we got
everything fixed….the car bumper was only scratched with big rubber marks. He
was lucky he only hit the tires!
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| What happened Bob B??? |
We kept going up and down and up and down and round and
round our poor truck. Bob finally had to start using the tow package the Jake!
But he doesn’t like using it downhill which uses the engine to brake us. It
makes a really loud noise. We drive the only three hour this day…..however Bro
B misses the turn and points for us to turn…we never saw a camp sign and the
one sign we did see said 4.75 ends!
This road is unbelievable…it is straight up most of the way
and no place to turn around. I kept thinking if he is wrong and this is not the
campground we are gonna be in big trouble!
Thank God at the very end is Goose Point campground. We drive down and
down our pull thru is on the water and it is beautiful here. So we set up camp
again and the lot is so narrow we can’t put our big slide all the way out
…HOWEVER our big slide decides it doesn’t want to move again so bob gets under
a and plays with the gears again……..gets it to move again.
After lunch they decide to go into Wal-Mart…40 miles away!
They have this little, tiny car…I opt to stay here…Reading and napping sounds
good to me.
We have dinner at the pavilion on the water……it is
beautiful. We had a great meal. Carol made chicken casserole. Her husband says
she can’t use the oven because he is afraid it will mess up their AC so she
used Pats “Half-timer” Supposedly it cooks in “half the time”….pretty cool. Bob
had bought fresh corn on the cob and it was excellent…I also made waldorf
salad. Pat made a green jello salad. Carol had tried to make scalloped potatoes
last night to go with the meatloaf but it would never cook so she made soup
with it and it was very tasty. We taught them the game of Shake Out and then
tried to teach them RAGE but everyone was really tired!!!
Some people went swimming
Day 5-7 (Friday) We stayed 3 days; Gerald Freeman COE, Sutton WV
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| New River Gorge Bridge |
Today we drive to Sutton, WV and we get to stay for three
days!! Hooray. However the drive today
was so scary I wanted to go home! We traveled the worst road ever……it kept
getting skinnier and skinnier.. I really thought it would go to cow trail and
it was up and up and up and 100 s turns! The trees were beating up on our
camper. We finally made it to an interstate which we stayed on for about 5
minutes then we drove on US Highways…..they are just fine. We stopped at the
Visitor Center which a National park was called New River Gorge. We are staying about an hour away and plan to
come back tomorrow and spend the day so we picked up literature, watched a
movie, and viewed the New River Gorge and the bridge and saw the falls. I
bought a book of National Parks and each time you visit you can stamp it or buy
a sticker for it. I thought it would be fun since we are just starting our
journey with our 5th wheel.
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| Endless Wall Hike |
We didn’t check in until almost 5pm…These sites are very
close and open and the campground I s pretty filled up….Bob had to back in and
had three people try to help him which was two too many. It took quite a long
time and we really tore up the neighbor’s site plus we broke a really big limb
off a tree but it didn’t hurt t our trailer….hooray.
I was so stressed and tired we all agreed to just fix dinner
on our own. We had grilled cheese and tomato soup….Read a book and went to
bed!!!
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| Thurmon Train Depot |
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| Its a very long drop |
Day 6 (Sat)
I woke up at 6am..made tuna for our lunch and cooked bacon,
eggs and toast… We left at 8am for The National
Park.. The only vehicle we all fit in is our truck. We decided to hike
the “Endless Wall Trail”
It follows the river which is over 1000 ft below. Some of
the lookouts we really scary …but Bob got some really good photos. We walked two and a half miles and sent the
guys to go pick up the truck and come rescue us. Next we decided to take a driving tour (we
had a cd to help us) to the bottom and
eat lunch there…well the road was horrible and our truck is sooooooooo big. I
was a mess the whole time…. We went over
two really narrow bridges and there was a tree down and all three guys had to
get out and hold the tree back while I drove the truck thru. The someone, we won’t
say who decided we needed to go see the town of Thurmond and someone else I won’t
say who put in the wrong coordinates! And this was the worst road of all of
them!!!It was near impossible for two cars to pass!! Of course we kept meeting
cars!!It was not fun for me. Then come to find out we ended up in Nuttalburg
which is a ghost town. Then we did go to Thurmond and the road wasn’t too bad
but the bridge was under construction and only one side was open so you just
hoped no one tried to come thru on the other side! We checked out the old train
station..It was pretty interesting.
We all decided to eat at Applebee’s. My shrimp
was pretty good….Bob B didn’t like his.
Gary only ordered French onion soup…Guess we were all ready to be home.
We had an hour’s drive. We got off at the first Sutton exit and Bob got gas and
then three people tried to find the nearest lds chapel. Gary went into the
store and Bob b tried the Gps and finally called his daughter to get on the
computer. We chased down bad info for
about a half hour. Gary finally got in touch with a branch president and come to find out we were only 5 minutes
away…..so we drove there and checked it out then headed home and got lost…Pulled in about 7pm….We both needed showers and
we had no hot water…electric just wasn’t working the hot water heater so we
changed it over to gas!! Took our showers and we are headed for bed!!!WHAT A DAY….IM
GLAD ITS OVER…….
Day 7…..Sunday
We all got up and went to church today. They have a cute
little building. The people were really
friendly and nice all 19 of them! There was only 1 youth! A member of the stake
presidency was speaking. He was really
interesting. He had brought his two sons to speak also. We stayed for all three
meetings. My back was killing me; I think it was all that riding in the truck
yesterday.
I made my famous Shepard’s Pie. I had to make it with half
peas and half corn…some people requested. Anyway it was a hit….it went
fast. We had to have dessert inside it
was so hot and buggy. We just sat around and talked and talked. The best part
of the whole trip is the friendships.
Day 8…Monday again
July 1--Seven Points COE: Raystown, PA
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| Time to do laundry |
The Biglers left out real early. They had a business
transaction so they met us at the next camp ground. So Gary was our new leader.
We left just before eight. We traveled interstate and US highways mostly. We stopped at a Wal-Mart and just lucked out
that there was a laundry!! That took 2 hours. We pulled into Hesston PA about 3;
30pm. Bob backed right in…good job. It rained on and off almost all day but was
clear when we reached the camp ground. No lake but it is nearby. Another great
chicken dish. I fixed fresh broccoli and our place smelled yucky. We played a game called Jokers that the
Biglers had which was a variation of Sorry. Bob kept getting jokers and sending
Bob B to his start. We won!!! The weather has been in the 60/s most nights and
70’s during the day.
Day 9 Tuesday/Wed Gifford Pinchot State Pk, Wellsville, PA
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| Arent they cute |
We went to Lincoln Caverns this morning. They were very interesting however when you
are claustrophobic it is very difficult and we had a large group and there were
some very small places. It bothered me that we were 112 feet underground and
only one way out and that there was a possibility that the lights could fail
and we would be in total darkness. I had to keep moving to larger areas and
away from the group. I finally just went
outside.
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| Lincoln Caverns |
After the caverns we filled up with gas again. Wow, we are
just using tons of gas because of the mountains and we are towing so much
weight! Bob says we are selling when we get home. I don’t think he is having
very much fun. We stop at Wal-Mart to shop and then go to a Chinese buffet…back
on the road. We get on the Pennsylvania
Turnpike but we don’t see which direction the biglers drive and we go the wrong
way and Gary follows us. The next exit is 18 miles down the road! So Bob stops
half way down the ramp. they decide they are going to back up and turn around!!
Which is highly illegal and very dangerous? I am like coming unglued! I just
know we are going to jail. There is this turnpike authority lady on the phone
and I think she is calling the state Police! We have the road blocked. What a
nightmare. Somehow both vehicles are backed up and going the right
direction…Bob tells me the lady on the phone was helping them that she was
holding up traffic for us. I don’t know why she would help us when we are
breaking the law! Oh, well it’s over and done with!
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| Two tunnels |
We go through two tunnels under the mountain and I am
worried that we have propane gas tanks but I guess I am the only one
worried. It seems like it takes forever
to get there. We finally see the state park sign but we end up on the opposite
side of the lake. A state policeman is flagged down and he gives us an escort
to the campground. Hooray, we have
arrived. We have to fill our water tanks because there is no water at the
sites. I am just glad to be here!!
Wed, July 3 Day
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| Stickey Buns are out of this world |
We drive into Lancaster to do the Amish thing…. there is a
package deal for $40… movie, van tour with Jamie, home, school and buggy drive;
about 4 hours. It was very interesting. We were there about 8o years ago. It
seems very different. They use propane
gas and solar panels and inside plumbing. Their homes are very modern now. They
can have phones for work purposes. We have to wait for the buggy ride and when
I ask the man how many buggies he has he says what are you the IRS? He was very
rude. The horses are really blowing and hot. They say they change them out
every 3 hours.
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| Taking a water break |
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| Very informative tour |
We wait for about 30minutes; we ride for about 30 minutes. We
have an older Amish man as our driver. It was interesting and fun.
We eat dinner at Dieners buffet. It was really
good..especially the desserts!......We are now on our way to Hersey Penn for
our chocolate tour. This place is a very big tourist trap. The only thing free
is this Disney-like ride that shows you some of the steps and they give you a
small piece of chocolate. Then there are lots of things you can buy including
lots of candy. I buy some kisses for Richard and GiselaPat and Howie. They
don’t even have good prices…. |
| A Scooter bike |
Day 11 Thurs, July 4--Tompkins coe, Lawrenceville, Pa
We are headed for Lawrenceville Pa
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| Happy 4th of July |
We fixed steaks on the grill and played some kind of bean
bag game. After dinner I had to excuse myself ..I have not been feeling well. I
felt like I was burning up and achy all over. So the guys gave me a blessing. No games tonight!!
Day 10 /11,July 5 Friday Sampson Lk State Pk, Romulus, NY
On the road again! Headed for NY. Our camp is in the Finger
Lakes .I am feeling better today. We are
at an old air force base called Lake Sampson. We are between Lake Seneca and
Lake Cayuga. The land here is very low and mushy. Even when we use the 4wheel
drive the tires spin in the mud. We had to park in the grass to get closer to
the electric hook up. The truck got stuck but when we unhooked he got it out……I
am really afraid when we try to hook up again what will happen.
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| Hill Cumorah |
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| Visitor Center |
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| Yup they got soaked in the Grove |
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| had to have ice cream |
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| Palmyra Temple |
Day 11, Sat.
We went to the Palmyra Temple. It is very beautiful but
very, very small. You don’t go to the chapel first you just go to the endowment
room. We did change rooms. The celestial room was very small but beautiful. We
left there and went to lunch…Subway. Then Bob and I went and put two loads of
laundry in. We both read the sign wrong and we thought the machines were broke
and kept moving the clothes and putting more money in. It was so embarrassing
when a girl said you have to put 10 quarters in NOT 5 quarters!! So we lost
lots of money because we can’t read!! Bob took them to the Sacred Grove then he
came back and we finished up and then picked them up. Then we went for ice
cream at Grill and chill..The ice cream was awesome. 3 huge scoops was $3.00. I
had a chocolate mint milkshake! yummy….. Then we went to the LDS Print
Shop. Excellen t tour. We saw an old
printing machine and they explained how it worked .l They have an original
printing of the book of Mormon. We didn’t get home till almost eight oclock.
Day 12, Sun. Leaving our Friends; heading for NY families
I knew it would be a problem. I could hardly sleep all
night!! We did luck out that Bob was actually able to get the truck hooked onto
the 5th wheel!! Which was a blessing because if we could not get
them hooked we weren’t going anywhere….But the truck just sat and spun digging
great big holes….so Bro Bigler was going to pull us out with his rv but he only
had a short chain. Gary found a truck
with a winch on it so they knocked on the guys door at 7AM. He got up and came
on over. They started the winch and like nothing happened the it moved like an
inch and then another inch and very slowly it kept moving meanwhile Bob is in
the truck and the wheels keep spinning and digging bigger holes. We finally got
all the way to the road. What a mess we made getting it out!!!Bob offered the
man some money but he said no thanks; this way fun!!
We drove the long way to Binghamton….we did not want to take
any small roads. We took interstates. We called Richard when we got to Sidney
and he lead us to RJ’s house. His property is high and dry! We were so happy to
unhook “the monster”. Bob says we are selling it when we get home! So we parked
it there and will pick it up when we head back.
We had a great time with our friends the Biglers and the Perrine’s
but the 5th wheel was not fun. I would love the have a drive RV like
they had. The Perrine’s are going to sell theirs and it is beautiful??????????
