Learning more about West Virginia 10-17-08

What a beautiful place. Larry and I have always just driven through West Virginia trying to get somewhere in a hurry and have never taken the time to explore. Our experiences there was staying in the truck travel plaza in the motorhome and also being towed back into Beckley once when the motorhome decided to be "sick". Well, with the help of Tolsons and Parsons we covered a lot of ground and I must say it was fun. The New River Gorge is a must see when you travel through there. We happened to hit it when the trees were in all the different colors and it was great. Having lived in Michigan for so many years and enjoying the color there in the fall it was like being back home again. We visited little towns along the river as well as the railroads, saw coal trains, visited a railroad museum in the town of Hinton, W. Va., had lunch sitting out on a deck right by the river.Once a year around the town of Fayetteville they have "The Bridge Festival". They actually close the bridge over US 19 and let people bungee jump or parachute off the bridge. No thank you. We stayed a day longer than planned still did not get to see all that was recommended so I guess we have to go again sometime. We missed the Coal Miners Exhibition and of course the Tamarack, which is suppose to be a major shopping place but the guys thought we did not need to shop anymore.
Now we are home until next Thursday when we go to the Maryland Samboree.

More from Renfro Valley, Kentucky 10/2008

I am thinking that I need to write a few things in the Blog before I forget. It has been very busy since we arrived on Wednesday. Of course we have met a lot of new people since this is our first Discovery Ralley. The members are from all over but believe it or not there are three couples from the Columbus, Georgia area. We have found out that we know some of the same people in the Bainbridge area .

Thursday we went to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum which was very interesting. After this we decided that it was time to EAT so off we went into Berea Ky. to find the Cracker Barrell. We had lupper, as Ralph and Janice call it which stands for lunch and supper. By the time we arrived back at the campground after our daily stop at Wal Mart for supplies it was Happy Hour. Out came MORE food so we had a little more to eat and then waddled to our coaches to get some rest to be ready for Friday.

Firday morning our host provided a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage and then some of the girls took in a couple of pottery studios and got lots of information and some purchased some nice pieces of pottery. I do not know how we ever found one of these places . It was really far back in a Holler as they say. Around 5 pm we all gathered for a wonderful dinner up at the entertainment center. It was family style and there was plenty of fried chicken, ham, mashed potates, corn, green beans, bread, cole slaw and "Nanna pudding". After dinner we attend the Tribute to Legends Show in the Old Barn. This was a very good show and I would put it right up there with what we saw in Branson.

Saturday morning after another huge breakfast of eggs, bisquits and gravy we had a business meeting and then off shopping again. The was a Arts and Craft Festival in Berea and of course we had to check that out.

Saturday evening some of the group went to "The Barn Dance" but we had tickets to see Loretta Lynn. Her show was very good and for her age of 73 she still has it. She had two of her daughters and a grandaughter performing also.

Sunday morning we said goodbye to everyone and started on our way back to Virginia. We traveled to Beckley West Virginia and are staying in the camping area of the Amory for the next two nights. There is a bridge over the New River Gorge that we are going to check out tomorrow. Once a year they have the bridge festival and it is this next weekend so we will miss the crowds, which the web sites says is around 200,000 people. They even bungie jump from this bridge.. No thank you.

Trip to Renfro Valley Kentucky October 6 2008

The Big A Bus is ready to go again. The Tolsons and Parsons arrived at Camp Halstead on Sunday afternoon 10/5 and after getting the rigs in their places for the overnight we visited a little and then Larry adjourned to the "barn" with all the fixings for our fish dinner. He and I had gone down to our pond on Friday and caught 15 large bluegills or bream as some people call them. We also cooked fried green tomatoes, french fries and hushpuppies. What a feast. Janice made a great coleslaw and Donna brought the BEST lemon bars. You always need something lemon with fish. After dinner everyone settled in for the night so we could get an early (9 am) start on Monday heading south. We drove to Bristol, Virginia and stayed in a small campground. Chuck had called and they were to keep 3 places for us but the owner got sick and when we arrived there was only one large site so we gave that one to Parsons and we doubled up on other lots with smaller rigs. It worked for one night.

Tuesday we had a very good breakfast at a local restaurant and then started out for Cumberland Gap. Chuck had mapped out this route and it was beautiful wiht some color lots of curves and narrow bridges but we did just fine. We stopped at an overlook telling about the history ofthat area of Southwest Virginia . On to Cumberland Gap Kentucy. We stopped at the visitors center and watched a couple of films about the locating of the Gap and the people that came through.

We took a drive in the car up to Pinnacle Point where you can see, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Later we arrive at the Wal Mart in Middlesboro Kentucky and set up for the night. Donna and I went in to the store to purchase our supplies for this week and while there I got a phone call from my cousin Alicia and her husband. Ed who were on their way home from a 6 weeks trip to Minnesota and other places and they came by and stayed the night with us in the Wal Mart. Small world.

We are now in Renfro Valley Kentucky with the Discovery International Club and will be taking in lots of music, museums and craft shows.