Fitbit

To continue our saga of my unique ability to buy stuff of poor quality that doesn't work:

Tuesday, April 24, 2018.  Tuesday was a rain day for Luray, VA where we were staying at the local KOA.  I put on my Altra HR fitbit, took the trash to the trash bins, and returned to the trailer.  I probably left the fitbit on for maybe 30 minutes max.  Here's the stats I got for that approximately 30 minutes of wearing the fitbit on Tuesday:

Activity:  17 minutes
Distance: 9.33 miles
Steps:  30,211
Badges earned: Classics (25,000 steps in one day); Trail Shoe (30,000 steps in one day)

Let's see ya beat that!

(And "no", you can't erase the erroneous data.  All you can do is restart the Altra HR.  The fitbit forum recommends that you restart it three times.  Doesn't matter what your complaint is.  You restart the fitbit at least three times.  Oh, and they always wish you "Good Luck".  I guess that's "Good Luck" in case you're stupid enough to buy another fitbit hoping it works better.)






#fitbit

Weekly Update

Just an update as we're on our way to Lagrange, IN to have the trailer repaired.  We're fine.  This part of the country is wet - so wet that we're pretty much parking in mud holes each night.  Tonight we're in Woodside Lake Park just outside Streetsboro, OH.  Nice park from the road.  Once on the property it looks like a permanent residence trailer park where the people live in the trailers because that's all they can afford.  Nice folks running the place, and you can see the large effort they're putting into it trying to keep it up.  They're fighting the mud.  Unfortunately, they may be losing the battle.

New for us:  We're doing this trip with an EZ Pass transponder.  I've dragged my feet on this for years, but this year's trip via the Elkhart area to Wyoming with a quick return east to Ohio planned for September before returning to Lagrange, IN in late September/early October for more trailer repairs meant we'd spend a lot of time on the turnpikes.  The transponder appears to have worked today as all the gates opened for us.  I just can't confirm as no transactions are showing on our EZ Pass account.  I guess it takes a few days for the trips to show up.

As for the trailer: it's health deteriorates daily.  The repair list is long and gets longer almost each day we travel.   Repairs too numerous to list or worry readers with here, but it's not a positive testimonial on the quality & durability of today's RVs. We're pretty much breaking something new every other day that we travel.  Today, the door-side suspension broke...again.  We now have more stuff broken than the repair shop has time to repair.  And we still have I-80 or I-90 to Wyoming to go!  One more day of travel plus a 20 minute ride to the shop to get to Lagrange.  Keeping our fingers crossed that it'll go OK!  We'll see what Cross RV can get done.  We never count Paul & Kay out.  It's amazing what they can accomplish.

So that's our week.  Thanks for dropping by and don't forget to check the two previous blog posts on our walks in Luray, VA and Shenandoah NP.   Later, David










#DRV #RVIA #Heartland #Lippert

White Oak Canyon Upper Falls

It's been 15 years or more since we hiked White Oak Canyon Trail down to the Upper Falls.  We'd read about all the trees down in Shenandoah Nat'l Park and it shows.  One trail worker noted that probably 2,000-3,000 trees had fallen from the recent storms in March.  Based on what we saw along Limberlost Trail and our hike today, that estimate may be low.

Cloudy day made for just so-so pictures.  Thought it'd be good to post them, anyway.  The pics do show just how bad the March storms were.  Hope you enjoy them!    David

Luray-Hawksbill Greenway

Ran across this little gem of a paved trail in Luray.  It's a 2-mile, one-way, paved walk & bike trail along Hawksbill Creek in Luray.  Makes a great little walk through town.  Best parking is at the commuter lot near US 340 & US 211 By-pass.  Worth a stop if you're in the area.  Enjoy the pictures!  David

Luray, VA

Been a while since we've actually come & stayed in Luray.  Generally when we're in this area, we go to Big Meadows in Shenandoah NP.  As sites in Big Meadows are currently first-come-first-serve, we couldn't ensure a site physically long enough for us to fit would be available.  Plus it's still cold.  Just better all around to just stay in the valley.

This is our first time to stay in the KOA in Luray.  It's also known as the Country Wave campground.  Usually we've stayed in the Jellystone.  After reading reviews and recalling what others had said about this campground, we decided to try it out.  Narrow road to it and narrow entrance aside, it's a great place to stay.  Kids would probably prefer the Jellystone, though.  Big rigs are in here.

For this trip we brought Beth with us.  Figured she could use the change in scenery.  Yesterday's arrival had us here mid-afternoon with sunny, 60 degree weather (as you can see by these pictures).  Today it's cloudy, windy, 53.  Probably good that we're not up at Big Meadows.

We made a trip up to Skyland today.  We walked the Limber Lost Trail, had lunch at Skyland, added to our wardrobe...you know the drill.  Typical visit to Shenandoah.  Cold up there, today, though.  37 when we left.  Yep, glad we're in the valley!

So that's it for this week.  More trips into Shenandoah are planned.  There's also a Hawksbill Greenway (paved path) in Luray that we need to check out.  From the map it looks like it'd be a short bicycle path - maybe 4 miles at most.  We'll find out.  Anyway, thanks for dropping by and checking up on us.  We should be on our way to the Elkhart area this time next week. David

F'burg, VA Week 2

We've survived the cold weather & snow flurries over the weekend plus made a trip to Annapolis to visit Elizabeth.  We continue to complete our friends, doc & dentist visits.  Got our dry cleaning done and the truck detailed.  So far, so good!  Suppose to get to 80 tomorrow!

On a sad note, we lost a longtime friend this week - Gordon.  When we first arrived in the Dale City, Stafford, Fredericksburg area way back in the early 1980s, Donna met Beth (of Frank & Beth fame).  Somehow that friendship took off.  We'd eventually meet Paul & Tricia and Paul's daughters in addition to the rest of Beth's brothers: Mark, Ken & David (and their families).  As we had room in our house and Beth didn't, we took the over flow from Beth's family's visits and became good friends with her parents: Connie & Gordon.  Somehow, Connie & Gordon consider us family - probably because of Donna.  As a matter of historical fact, they considered us so much of family that when we went to visit Connie & Gordon for the first time, Connie had put Donna's and my picture on the fireplace mantle with the rest of their family.

Years have passed since that first visit, and lots has happened to both families.  Connie passed before we retired.  And late Monday night, Gordy said his last "Cheerio".  Gordy had a long life, and one he seemed to really enjoy.  And while it's a sad time for the family,  it's easy to want to just celebrate his life and the impact he had on everyone.  Our sympathies & prayers are with the Taylor family as they grieve for their "Gordy".

That's it for this week.  If all goes well, we plan to be in Luray, VA this time next week.  We haven't visited Shenandoah Natl Park in quite a while.  We're going to get our "Shenandoah fix", as Donna would say.  Thanks for dropping in and checking on us!  David

Fredericksburg, VA

Back in the 'burg for a couple of weeks.  Donna's already out visiting friends, docs, and dentists.  I get to visit dentists next week.  Cooler than usual, and the pollen is less than usual.  Apparently, we've once again driven too far north too fast.  Wintry mix expected for Saturday, so we're here a little too early.

So far, everyone we've seen is doing well.  We've both been shopping plus we're taking full advantage of the Frank & Beth package receiving service.

I've finally broken down and gotten an E-Z Pass for the truck.  This year's planned trip out to Jackson, WY, two trailer service sessions in Indiana, a Folks-on Spokes (Gulf Shores) rally in Ohio, back to Virginia for doc & dentist before a return trip to Gulf Shores for the upcoming winter means we'll be traveling eastern turnpikes a lot this year.  Hopefully, this little gadget will make it a little more convenient.  Possibly cheaper.

The KOA continues to make improvements.  They've finally gotten a decent cable package.  The WiFi seems to be working well for the smart phone.  The KOA has also paved it's entrance, and that's a big, big plus!  Verizon signal is the best we've every had here - 2 bars!  Our MiFi still seems to do a lot of self rebooting while here, though. 

For those of you who don't read our "About Me" section next to the blog, we're volunteering at the Jackson National Fish Hatchery near Jackson, WY this summer.  We've followed Randy & Shirley's summers out there, and we've finally gotten a chance to go.  This will be the first time for Donna & I to visit the Grand Tetons.

We're excited about it - except for the trip along I-80.  I was dreading the trip along I-80 until I was playing with the Google Maps app.  It recommended an alternate route up along I-90.  We're familiar with  I-90 and many of the sites & campgrounds along it.  That route would add maybe 1-2 days to our trip and as it appears we may have more time for the trip out west (depending on how long it takes to get the trailer repaired this spring), we're leaning to go out that way.  We'll know more after the trailer's spring service is completed.

So that's our status for this week.  Thanks for dropping in & checking on us.  Until next week, David