Greetings from Asheville, NC

  We are in Asheville, NC today Saturday 9/28. We arrived yesterday, Friday 9/27 about 4 PM after spending three days at the KOA Staunton/ Walnut Hills in Virginia. We left at 9:14 AM- our earliest departure time yet! We took interstate 81 south to I-26 east which took us through the eastern part of Tennessee. It was a spectacular drive. The view rivals that of the Skyline Drive. Gorgeous green mountains that went to an elevation of over 3300 feet and lush emerald valleys. The roadway was flawless until we entered North Carolina where it became more Pennsylvania like.
  We checked in at French Broad River Campground and we are right on the bank of the river. It is the most rustic campground we have stayed at so far. Nothing fancy here. Once again we met some nice people next to us who were leaving today. Everyone else appears to be full time residents. We will be here for a week so we can finally get our mail sent to us. It has been over two weeks since we left PA so getting mail will be like getting a present. You don't know what you're going to get until you see what you got. Since we are on this beautiful river I will have to try my angling skills. The proprietor said it holds smallmouth; I love smallmouth because they hit hard and once you find them they are plentiful.

 

These are pix from my phone. I don't think I can insert ones from my camera. Maybe I will try a lower resolution. I will be taking pictures with both so I can let you all see the sights.

Miles this leg: 338.8

Total miles: 1055.3

 

 

 

Shenandoah National Park

  Hello all, it has been a week since my last post. Once again I am at the mercy of wifi, or lack thereof, wherever we are at. I am seriously going to consider Verizon's Jetpack to ensure we can get online anytime, anywhere there is a cell signal. If anyone has any comments on that service please leave a post.
  We finally left Pennsylvania on Monday September 23 and made it to Front Royal, VA about 4 PM so the adventure has actually begun in earnest. It was 268 miles from Harmony, PA to Front Royal, VA. We only stayed the one night at the closest campground to the entrance to the Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. It was a wretched place but for one night it served the purpose.
  We began our journey about 10 AM on Tuesday September 24. We hooked up the trailer and headed to The Skyline Drive. It is the thoroughfare through the park and it meanders 109 miles north to south. Construction of the park was completed in 1935 by the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, during the heights of the Great Depression at cost of $50,000 a mile. There are 75 breathtaking scenic overlooks throughout the park and we stopped at many of them. The views are amazing. Elevation at the highest overlook is 3595 feet with the Shenandoah Vally below and the Massanutten Mountians to the west. Sadly pollution obscures the view even on the clearest of days of which today was. The sunshine was brilliant with not a wisp of a breeze but you could see a haze that makes it look like you are in the clouds. The temperature a warm sixty degrees.
  The speed limit is 35 mph so driving nonstop would take about three hours and we didn't leave the park until about 5 PM so we were there seven hours minus a detour to get fuel. There is one area to get gas in the park but not diesel. We had half a tank at mile marker 30 so I decided to leave the park at the Thornton Gap Entrance station to go get fuel in Luray. There are only two ways to get in or out of the park besides the northern and southern entrances so you have to make sure you are fueled up.
  We returned to the park and drove through the Mary's Rock tunnel where we stopped for a photo op. The clearance is 12'7" and there was  fellow who didn't think I was going to make it through. He asked how high my trailer was and I told him I didn't know. He was reading the plaque describing the construction of the tunnel and I asked him what the plaque read. I said whatever that says I am under that. He laughed and we went on to have a nice conversation about several topics.
  The tranquility and cleanliness of the park is amazing as well as the scenery of course. We didn't venture off the roadway but there are numerous places to pick up hiking trails to see wildlife in their natural surroundings. We stopped at two of the several gift shops for a souvenir or two and got right back on the road. Even though we were towing the trailer it was a calm and fairly easy drive. We saw a lot of motorcycles so it must be a popular ride for you bikers out there. The road is so smooth and well kept.
  Eventually we came to the southern entrance/ exit and we had to find a campground. One word about Shenandoah NP: you will not have any type of cell signal until you are well down the mountain. We didn't have any reservations for a place to stay so we had to hightail it to the interstate where we saw a sign for a KOA. We pulled in and here we are: in Staunton, VA for a few days until we decide where our next destination is.
  For those of you wondering about the cat: she is a mess in the truck. She is very cantankerous and screams until she tires herself out sometimes three or four hours later. Anyone know where to get kitty Valiums?
  Ps: I took a bunch of pictures with my new camera but for some reason I can't upload them to the blog. Hopefully I can figure it out because that is why I bought it.
Miles this leg: 432.5
Total miles: 716.5
 

First leg of the journey

  Well, I am finally able to put in a new post. Our current campground, Indian Brave, does not have wifi so I must hunt down a spot with free access. Today it is the Barnes & Noble in Cranberry Township about half an hour north of Pittsburgh and about six miles from the campground. We arrived at our new destination on Monday at 5 PM after departing Sill's Campground at 10:50 AM for the first leg of our journey.

Towing the new trailer with the GMC 2500 HD the 284 miles was a breeze! The diesel engine did not even break a sweat going up the mountains of Somerset. We had to make two stops: one for lunch (for me, Doreen, and the cat) and one for fuel.

This was the first long distance trip for the cat and wee didn't know what to expect. She was very vocal with her displeasure and after several miles Doreen suggested some classical music to soothe the savage breast. I figured why not, so I put symphony hall on the Sirius XM and the little fur ball calmed down! She was quiet until we hit the first tunnel on the turnpike when we lost the signal and she started to meow. She continued this for all four tunnels. We will put that station in the presets for future travels. I guess I will become a classical music aficionado until Asia is a seasoned traveler.

  After getting set up at our new campground I got comfortable to watch the Steeler game Monday night. As you can imagine I was quite disappointed. It seems all the years of drafting so far down in the order have caught up to them because they have many holes in their offense and defence.
  It is now Wednesday and I have talked to some old friends and family. Hopefully we can see some of the old gang before leaving next Monday. It is really getting colder at night and we must start heading south before we burn a small fortune in propane to heat the trailer at night. The day time has provided brilliant sunshine though, which is comfortable. Hopefully I can take advantage of it and get a quick nine holes in tomorrow with Mike Roach.
  Until next time, happy RVing.
Miles travelled to date: 284
Keith
 

Preparing to hit the road to see America

  The time is getting closer: the day we hit the road on our odyssey to see America is Monday September 16. The preparations are complete and we are ready to go. The events leading to this go back to the late 1990's when Doreen and I shared a common love of traveling. We told our financial planner that when the time came for retirement we wanted to travel America in an RV so here we are.
  Our life has been good and we lived the American dream: a nice house in the suburbs; two cars; vacations to Italy, Greece, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Florida. We have traded all that to become nomads now.
 We started by selling our home and just about everything in it. Basically a lifetimes worth of possessions had to be either sold, given to charity, or placed in storage. We decided that we were going to put our house on the market at the end of May and that I would retire at the end of September. That would give us plenty if time. Boy were we wrong. We told our realtors we were ready to place the house on the market and a few days later we had an offer! We now were looking at five weeks to get rid of everything. We eventually had three separate yard sales, about a dozen trips to the Goodwill store and several trips to a friends house who agreed to let us store items we wanted to keep. A family member also rented a UHaul and took the bedroom set, living room set, outdoor furniture, miscellaneous furntiure, and lastly my trusted and dependable beer meister. I will miss that the most.
  We did not realize the scope of our endeavor and it became all consuming. Every thing from can openers to fine china to sports memorabilia to all the furniture had to be disposed of. The process came down to the very last day as our nephew was picking up furniture an hour before closing on June 28 in the pouring rain.
  Now not only did we have to get rid of all our possessions but we had to figure out where we were going to stay once we were out of our house. Luckily we already owned a 2006 27' Starcraft travel trailer. We found Sill's Family Campground about twenty minutes from the house and we set the camper up about ten days before closing. This became our home after June 28. We have been making arrangements such as mail service, setting up delivery of Doreen's medication while on the road, equipping the truck with a scooter lift and handicap controls for Doreen, updating wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, renewing passports, puchasing a quality camera, and saying goodbye to family and friends.
  I must digress a little and and inform you that we also have a cat and that is a wrinkle by itself. She is a Bengal and Bengals are high energy. She likes to run, jump and climb. Well, that 27' Starcraft became real small after a couple of weeks and we knew we were going to need more space. We began looking at new trailers. We looked at Stoltzfus RV here in Adamstown, Tom Schaeffers on route 61, and Grumbine's RV in Harrisburg. We had a list of three possibilities at each dealer and after much consideration decided on a Forest River Surveyor Sport 32'5" at Stoltzfus RV. It has two opposing slides which gives us the space we wanted plus several other features that suit our needs.
  The Surveyor will be towed by my new GMC Sierra 2500 HD Turbo diesel with Allison transmission which I bought in April knowing that we would need towing power and durability to travel all across the USA. I can't wait to hook it up and hit the road. Nothing like the sound of that diesel and knowing you have 800 pounds of foot torque to keep you going.
  Until next time, happy RVing.
Keith