I set my GPS on “Shortest Distance” when I located an interesting
campsite listing and headed north out of Tennessee and into Virginia. What an
incredible, intensely beautiful area! This setting generally keeps me off
Interstates as they are frequently the shortest time, but not the shortest
distance. It also sends me down the business routes through downtown and Main
Street instead of around the bypasses. Usually that’s great. There have been a
few towns where Main Street was barely wide enough to get the trailer down, but
only because there were cars parked along both sides. In general, I get to see
some beautiful areas. Especially out in the country.
The folks at New River Campground near Blacksburg gave me
directions from the freeway, of course, but I was coming in from the South and
just followed the GPS. Scared the crap out of me. I was directed onto a gravel
road that kept getting narrower. I was no more than on it when the GPS changed
its tune and started saying “At first opportunity make a U-turn.” The map
showed the road I was on ending. There simply wasn’t a place wide enough to turn
around with a pretty steep cliff to my right down into the river. I just kept
driving. In about a mile or so, the map changed to show more road, the road
widened and became paved, and I found the campground. Thanks for the scare,
Maggie!
I was going to take another day getting to Broadway,
Virginia for Memorial Day, but there just wasn’t a convenient stopping place,
so Thursday afternoon I pulled into Bennie’s Beach Resort and let the family
know I was in town. It’s a pretty windy spot due to the openness and folks
wanted to know where the beach was when I posted a picture of my campsite. It
took me a while to find it, but it was right down there past the rusted pickup
and the deer stand. Nephew Rony stopped by and told me to come over for dinner
Friday. Niece Lizz and Darren came by as well and I figured to go there the
next night.
There’s a lot of relatives in this clan and it was a blast
to meet several that I’d never met, especially the youngest generation. I also
loved the fact that campfires in the back yard were the norm in the evening. I
ended up with a lot of smoky clothes be the end of the weekend!
Rony and Lecia served
enough food and enough people to make this a great gathering and it was
wonderful to spend time with great-nephew and great-niece Luke and Stephanie
and their kids. Then Keith showed up with his daughter, Chanel. Every time I
see Keith I’m bowled over by how much he looks like my dad. And, of course, we
are all very proud of Chanel, who came straight from her last day of school and
is now a high school graduate. This is nephew Keith and his nephew Luke.
Saturday, I took the opportunity to drive a portion of the
Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. Luke told me about a hike to
take and I attempted it, but there were portions of the trail that were steep
enough to make me pant and feel a little weak. Guess I’m a little out of shape
for mountain hiking and I’m determined to improve that so I can go back and
finish the hike. The viewpoints from Skyline Drive were incredible, though.
I headed to niece
Lizz’s house for dinner that evening. What a surprise to find niece Kenlyn
there! Talk about kids who look like their parents! Kenlyn looks so much like
her mother Judy did that I was amazed. Sadly, we lost my sister Judy last year.
All the kids are still really sad about that. Kenlyn couldn’t stay, but last
time I was in this area I missed her completely, so this was great.
I also got to spend time with Lizz’s daughter Angel and her
boyfriend Austin. What great kids! And when great-nephew Bob showed up with his
wife Bree and baby Benson, we had a laid-back and relaxed evening with some of
the best cole slaw I’ve ever had. That Lizz sure can cook!
On Sunday evening, we headed just across the border into
West Virginia to visit nephew Steve and his wife, Candy. For me, having even a
sip of Steve’s moonshine is enough to knock me on my butt. But we had a great
time, once again just sitting around a campfire in the evening and swapping
stories and memories.
Memorial Day, Lizz, Angel, Austin, Bob, Bree, and Benson
picked me up for a hike in the mountains. This was a little less steep of a
hike than my attempt on Saturday, and we were out for a couple hours just
enjoying the great outdoors. We finally got up to this stairstep falls where
the kids spent time playing and splashing each other. They are so cute!
I swung back to Rony’s that evening for a bit of barbecue
before I pulled out on Tuesday morning to head out of the mountains and into
the wilds surrounding Washington, DC.
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