Week 55
Last week we explored the Shenandoah valley and this week we dipped our toe back in West Virginia then on to the northern Virginia wine country and celebrated with friends our return home and the end of our amazing radical sabbatical. Everything we did this week we tried to savor as it was our last full week on the road.
Day 381 Mon 04/23
This morning we woke up at the Little Fort Campground and tried to jump a neighbor camper van’s battery with no luck. A local forest ranger rolled through the campground, so we chatted with him for a bit and found out the background on the proposed Elizabeth Furnace campground fee increase…apparently in the 15 years he has managed this area there has not been an increase and the pit toilet cleaning alone has increased from $250 / cleaning to $325…$20 for showers and toilets is still a really good deal. We also found out that the rules for the dispersed campground across the road from the campground is that if they use the toilets and showers they have to pay the fee otherwise it is free. Before we left the campground this morning we hiked the short wagon trail to the Woodstock Tower…the trail used to be an old wagon trail over the mountain for mail…It was a short steep hike with an awesome view from an old fire watch tower. We met a couple of VDOT workers on their morning break checking out the view. We talked about the river and the fields of wild turnips and how when you have the birds eye view perspective you realize just how little you have really seen…I could totally relate…even though this year we have covered a lot of ground there is still so much we haven’t seen. Once we soaked in enough of the views we started our way down the open metal grate stair case and Cooper wasn’t having it. He was fine going up but had a hard time going down, but he made it with a little coaxing from John! After our hike we left the Little Fort Campground and drove through Fort Valley and over the Edenborough Gap to figure out a game plan for our next stop. John fixed some rivets in the Lowes parking lot and we enjoyed lunch at the Woodstock Garden Café. The food was tasty, and the lemon blueberry cake was a treat…what a great concept for a garden store where you have a café inside amongst all the plants and stuff for sale. Our next destination was the Wolf Gap Recreation Area for a free campsite and the Big Schloss hike in a few days. We had the campground to ourselves and was able to find the only campsite that fit the rig and was somewhat level. we laughed because the campsite was in Virginia but the bathrooms were in West Virginia.
Day 382 Tues 04/24
Today we hung out inside the RV all day because it rained, and it was chilly. I have read all my books so I resorted to solitaire….I was on a several day losing streak and I finally won!
Day 383 Wed 04/25
This morning the rain finally stopped, and we planned to hike up to Big Schloss, but it was still super foggy. By the time we got to the top we decided to wait for about an hour to see if the fog would clear. It was windy at the top and Cooper and I found a protected spot and hung out while John was sitting on the edge eagerly waiting for the sun to burn off the fog and low ceiling over the valley. Eventually it did, and the views were totally worth the wait! There was even a ladybug sitting on the rocks waiting with us that Cooper decided to meet. The hike back down was awesome too, it all looked so different without the fog! After our hike we drove to Walmart for the night in Winchester…there were tons of RVs in the parking lot tonight. Also, we must have picked up a stow away in the National Forest because I keep hearing scratching in the cabinet under Cooper’s bed…
Day 384 Thurs 04/26
This morning we left Walmart and checked out downtown Winchester. Apparently Patsy Cline grew up here and we found her childhood home. Later that afternoon we met our good friend Tamra and her husband Peter at Barrel Oak Winery and Brewery with the pups for a picnic and a years worth of stories to catch up on. This was also our Harvest host spot for the night too.
Day 385 Fri 04/27
A storm came through last night and this morning after the rain stopped we left Barrel Oak and drove to Tamra’s in-law’s horse farm in Haymarket. The farm dogs and Cooper met and had fun running in the field. Cooper also met the horses while Tamra went for a horse ride. In the afternoon we hiked at the battlefield with Lucy and Cooper. This was Peter’s old cross country running battle grounds, so he was telling us some of his stories. The trails were not particularly well marked so we eventually made it back to the car after an enjoyable hike through the rain soaked fields. Tonight Judy, Peter’s mom, made bucatini and eggplant parmesan (special for the vegetarians) with homemade bread and it was delicious! Luckily we had put in a few miles to earn our italian dinner.
Day 386 Sat 04/28
Today we had a welcome home party with some friends at Quattro Goombas Winery and Brewery down the road from the De Michele horse farm. Originally, we picked this location because it was also a Harvest Host spot, but they never even called us back after I left two messages, so we decided to stay at the farm again tonight. We had a great afternoon hanging out with friends from work, church, school…we are definitely looking forward to reconnecting to our community of friends. We opened and closed the winery and it was packed as usual, but we were able to enjoy the wine beer, pizza, good weather and good company before we totally get back to reality next week. Tonight, we enjoyed left over bucatini at the farm. After dinner we grabbed one of the farm house mouse traps to try to catch our new stowaway, and within 20 minutes of setting the trap with some organic peanut butter the mouse was caught.
Day 387 Sun 04/29
This morning we said our goodbyes and left the DeMichele farm and drove to Pohick Bay Regional Park for our last couple of days on the road before we move back into our condo. We enjoyed a relaxing day in the RV.
This week we are closing out our last full week of our yearlong radical sabbatical and are trying to squeeze out every last drop of freedom and staving off the Sunday scaries before going back to the 9-5…We are looking forward to connecting back into our community and sharing our experiences with others. This adventure has not been easy but it has definitely been worth it and we have learned a lot about ourselves, our relationship and what we truly value that I am looking forward to applying those lessons to our lives “back in reality”. One more sleep in our RV home then we move back into our condo in Alexandria next week. It will be quite the abrupt transition…
This map below indicates our route last week from Fort Valley, VA to Pohick Bay Regional Park
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