Weekly Update

Our own rainbow

Well, another week has passed, and we're doing fine.  Donna still completing all her doc visits & visiting with friends.  She's found a new bistro in Spotsylvania and visits as often as she can for Chai tea.  She & Beth made a run to Quantico MCS for supplies today.  We got the truck and trailer a new coat of wax for winter, too.

I manage to stay occupied at the campground.  I try to get an hour's worth of walking around the KOA each day.  Let's me meet new people and get some good "dog" time in.  But the ol' bureaucrat in me still keeps coming out.

One of Donna's doc's office doesn't file insurance claims, so we have to do it.  The claim form asks for a "Subscriber ID Number" and a "Patient ID".  Interestingly, neither of those "numbers" is listed among the five "numbers" listed on our insurance ID cards.  Checking our insurance account online provides no information to help.  Calling the insurance company (using the phone number provided on the insurance company's claim form) rewards you with an automated list of options none of which are to help the insured file a claim (which the claim form specifically asks the insured to do if there are questions while completing the claim form).  Pressing "0" puts the software in a do-loop.  Apparently, putting the insurance company's appropriate insurance ID numbers on the insured's ID Card so the insured can complete the insurance company's specific claim form is beyond the capability of our health insurance company.  I now have a much better appreciation for why doc offices don't like to file claims.  We'll end up doing what Donna said to do in the first place:  make a copy of our insurance ID card and send it in along with the claim.

There.  That's off my chest.  Later, David

New coats of wax on the truck & trailer

Fredericksburg Update

Doc appointments continue.  So far, so good.  Donna's been reconnecting with everyone. We've eaten out way too much, and we've abused Beth & Frank as a hotel and shipping & receiving warehouse.  We'll probably continue to do that! Tomorrow the truck gets detailed.  Saturday we get the trailer hand washed & waxed.   That should take care of all mechanical servicing requirements until we get down to Atlanta.

One thing that has changed is we're walking more of the Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield (Bloody Angle) trails than the Fredericksburg Battlefield trails we've walked in previous visits.  It's a nice change of pace and a nice place to ride bikes.   Not as much traffic in that area, too.

One last item of note:  We've got a real nice American Eagle 45 foot motorhome setting next to us.  Haven't been able to talk to the gentleman staying in it, yet, but he's getting lots of visits from people and he & his dog are getting out for walks (unfortunately I see him just as they're getting back from walks or whatever travels they've made).  Don't know what model year the motorhome is, but it looks new.  My interest is that he's in probably one of the worst sites this KOA has to offer.  His best view is to the back, but he has a solid rear cap so he can't take advantage of that.  His main windows are on the opposite side of us, so he's looking directly at the block wall of the activity room.  The site isn't long enough to fit his motorhome and his "toad" (a chevy Tahoe).  He's doing us a favor by blocking the street night light from one of our bedroom windows, though.  I just don't know why anyone with that type of an expensive unit would pick that spot.

Now you may wonder or at least are confused as to why I write so much about that motorhome.  Well, when Donna and I first started thinking that being a full time RVer might make a good retirement lifestyle, the "dream" RV was an American Dream (a lower cost version of an American Eagle).  And as I look at the one sitting next to us, it's clear that having a big box trailer with a corvette riding inside following an American Dream would have made a really nice full time RV rig!  Just like our Mobile Suites, it wouldn't have fit in Yosemite Valley, either, but...

Later, David

Prospect Hill, Lee's Drive, Fredericksburg Battlefield

Doc appointments

Not a lot of news this week.  Back at Fredericksburg for our annual doc visits.  Sorry - no pics of that!  So far, so good.  Prepping for my colonoscopy (tomorrow).  More info than you probably want there.  However, the Ensure Clear (non-dark) tastes pretty good.  Not worth going through a colonoscopy for, though.  Not nearly as good as a hot Ben's Pretzel, either.  But it is a small, bright spot in what I consider a dreadful experience.

Rainy week for most of us on the east coast.  We did get into the 80s before the weather system came in.

Donna's out visiting all her friends and working with one at a local hospital.  I've been scanning all the business channels watching the commodity & stock markets fall.  Much more interesting when you understand that you know just about as much as any talking head on these programs.  However, when you can catch a program where they let these professional investors come on and talk for a half-hour or more & they come with data, I find it really enjoyable.  Yep, I'm one of those weirdos.  

Wish me luck as I try not to eat the food in the frig.  Later, David

A Quick Stop at Big Meadows, Shenandoah Nat'l Park

Fall colors along Lumberlost trail.

After the rain kinda, sorta, maybe, mostly quit, we continued on down to Shenandoah Nat'l Park with overnight stops at Streetsboro, OH & Bedford, PA.   Shenandoah was our weekend get-aways when we lived in Virginia, and it was great to go back.  Even nicer to go back with a 5.5 KW generator on board!  And that auto-level feature comes in real handy when you're in a campground where "level" is just a concept!

Beth came over to spend a couple of nights with us, and we got a really nice surprise visit from Howard (the 2nd), Howard (the 4th), Robin & Jessica.  We even got in an extremely close bear encounter on Lumberlost trail (in the old hemlock tree area).  Young bear which seemed to see us as no issue, but it was close.  It kinda went down like this:

Beth: There's a bear.
Me:  Really?
Beth:  Yep - right there?
Me:  WOW! (as I turn around) That is a bear.  It looks just like the stuffed ones you can buy.

So I try to get a picture.  As I get the camera up to my face, it decides it's prudent to walk off the trail.  So sorry, no picture.  I never thought we'd see a bear there with all the activity in the area at Lumberlost & White Oak Canyon trails.  Unlike our quick wolf encounter, at least Donna got to see this bear.

Always good to see what's changed.  The trees are really filling in at the old hemlock area of the Lumberlost trail.  The park is putting up new information boards throughout the park.  The menus at the Big Meadows Wayside & Lodge have slimmed down.  The blackberry cobbler is still great, but it doesn't looked homemade any more.  (I call it the "institutional look" pastry.)   Skyland, to us, had a better menu selection.  And they've updated their lobby at Skyland, too.  Now there's a table area ( in the lobby) dedicated to computer use with built in power outlets.  Good cell phone service (Luray, VA tower) at both the Big Meadows & Skyland lodges.  Fudge is still great, too!

But our time was short as we bumped up against the Columbus Day weekend.  We've moved on down to the Fredericksburg KOA today.  Doc appointments start tomorrow.  So we're gettin' busy fast.

Later, David

Colors along Loop A in Big Meadows Campground

Headed East

We made it into Shipshewana last Friday, got our mandatory cookie from Boundary Waters Cafe in Sturgis, Ben's Pretzels in Shipshewana, and got the trailer ready for service at Paul & Kay Cross's Indiana Interstate Enterprises.  Paul & Kay got us in & and out on Tuesday where most of the work was literally rebuilding the brackets on the kitchen slide that had bend or broken.  Turns out the problem with the frig was a bad ground.  Paul rewired the switch Steve Schrock had installed so the frig exhaust fans would run automatically or we could turn them on manually if we felt the need to do so.  Oh, and we have a working washer/dryer combo unit, again!  Stayed overnight at the shop & got an early move on Wednesday to Angola, IN to wait out the worst of the rain and plan our trip down to Fredericksburg.  

We plan to move tomorrow (Saturday) with stops in Streetsboro, OH; Bedford, PA; and we lucked out and got a campsite mid-week at Big Meadows in Shenandoah Natl Park before we head in to Fredericksburg KOA.  Looks like we'll be moving in the rain despite my best attempts to not do so.  (Rule-of-thumb:  he who moves in the rain isn't the person who washes his RV.)  So that prompted a call to Jeff at Central Virginia Detailing to arranged for wash & wax for both truck and trailer.  Since we don't plan on having Purvis service our truck (never ever again if at all possible), we should have enough time to get the truck detailed during this stop at Fredericksburg.

So that's our plan.  If it all goes well, we'll be out of contact Monday-Wednesday next week.  Later, David