Hope Springs Eternal

Wednesday, August 22 (continued)

We woke up this morning to truck noises and a dawning hot day. Joe walked to the service entrance a few minutes after 7, and explained to the Ford service manager why there was a tan motorhome in his lot which had not been there the night before. Before long, a couple of tech guys came out to peer into the engine. To our delight, the engine (now of course quite cold) turned over with a little encouragement. The guys watched the temperature rise rapidly, added coolant, and watched while the temp continued to rise and lots of liquid ran onto the ground.

They weren't too impressed with the sound of the engine itself, but to Joe and I, it sounded normal! Which was a huge joy considering it sounded miserable and sluggish and very unhappy  the night before. The diagnosis of the Ford techs was that the water pump had broken, which was consistent with the symptoms. Before 10am, they had ordered a new pump to be delivered late today or tomorrow. They can't do any more diagnostics without that, because the engine immediately overheats.  Of course we are dearly hoping that this is the only problem and it will soon be solved; but we are trying to be cautiously optimistic and not get our hopes too high.

This left us with some decisions. We considered going to see Joe's brother and wait out the repairs at his place, but he is 3 hours away and Joe didn't feel like driving there and back again. So we decided to decamp to a hotel, and I spent some time in the service lounge (free wifi) finding a dog-friendly hotel with an indoor pool and hot tub. Then the service manager called Enterprise, and we rented a car to get around. By then it was noon, so we had lunch in Mo, and then packed bags of clothing (for 2 days), electronics, books, dog gear, and anything else we thought we might want. We also transferred the contents of our refrigerator to our cooler, and packed a bag with paper plates, flatware, plastic bags, etc. 

Since the hotel check-in wasn't until 3, we decided to find a park first, just to get out of the Ford parking lot, which was a very demoralizing place to be sitting. So in addition to the above, we threw two folding chairs, a picnic blanket, and our grill into the trunk of the rental car. Our idea was that maybe tonight or tomorrow we'd have a picnic in the park for dinner.

We left Bert Wolfe Ford at about 2, and using our Magellan, we located a largish park--Cato Park-- not far from us. So we drove there first. It was very pretty--high high up on the hill (the streets getting there were like San Francisco and I said to Joe, this would NOT be fun if we were driving Mo--narrow and steep!). At the top where we parked, we were still not at the top per se--we climbed a steep hill to a large pine tree where we could overlook the playground and the hills beyond. Then we just plunked ourselves on the ground and lay there in the grass, finally enjoying some green again, and the sound of cicadas, instead of black asphalt and truck noises.  

We just lay there feeling ourselves relaxing a little, until around 3pm. And then we programmed in the hotel address and came through Charleston--down the mountain past huge elegant old homes (obviously the expensive and historic district!), over the Kanawha River, and back up the mountain on the other side.

We are now ensconced in a very nice room at a very nice hotel with two gorgeous pools and a hot tub, an exercise room, free breakfast, and is really altogether lovely. It even has an outdoor picnic area! We decided to book it for two nights, so that if it takes all day for them to deal with Mo tomorrow, we have a place to hang out and be comfortable while we wait.  Our only problem is trying to convince Roxy to stop barking every time she hears someone leave (the exit is right near our room) or walk past us in the corridors. If she behaves, we will hopefully be very comfortable here tomorrow, while we wait for whatever news is coming.

Greetings from Bert Wolfe Ford, Charleston WV

Wednesday, August 22 (I think)

Well.... we are not where we thought we'd be. But we could be in worse places, I suppose.

Yesterday started in a lovely way--Joe, Roxy and I hiked down to Blackwater Falls. It is a beautiful waterfall in a beautiful valley. Nothing but dark trees everywhere. We all loved the trek down 214 stairs, and back up again. As  I said.... lovely.

Then we took off on our drive south. Our destination was the New River Gorge Bridge and vicinity. It is an area which draws a lot of folks to the water sports (canoeing, white-water rafting, etc) and the views of and from the bridge, which is very high and elegant looking. By this time of day, when I realized it was a 3 hour drive, I thought we'd spend the night in a nearby state park or wildlife preserve, and then this morning we'd do something on the river--most likely take a jet-boat trip.
 

The first segment of the 3 hours took us over a windy mountain road which was fun for Joe to drive. We went through some picturesque small towns (there are quite a few old towns in these mountains) and passed the Kingsford Charcoal factory. Then we picked up a 4-lane divided highway, and stopped at a Visitor Center to have lunch and upload Monday's blog. 

Then we joined the interstate for what was to be about 30 miles. We stopped along the way to put air in one of our tires, which delayed us another 30+ minutes. And then we realized we'd passed our exit--we were about 24 miles past it, in fact. We were both so lost in our thoughts that we just never paid any attention.

Exit 34 was coming up (our intended exit was 59) and we were prepared to adjust our route, when suddenly we heard an unusual noise, smelled something burning, and then the engine temp gauge shot up to overheated. I yelled to Joe, "Turn off the engine!" and he did--we were already on the approach to the exit when it all happened. Joe said, "the engine just died" as we coasted down the ramp off the interstate and rolled--agonizingly slowly--along the access road, just making it off the road onto a short gravel shoulder before the momentum stopped.

The engine was steaming when Joe opened the hood, and there was radiator fluid all over everything. Joe couldn't find any leaks or burst hoses, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that something really bad had happened. We called Good Sam, our roadside assistance plan. It was about 5pm, I think... and 4 hours passed as the Good Sam lady looked for a campground to tow us to (unsuccessfully) and Joe spoke to their tech guy (thank God for cell phones). The tech guy was pessimistic as to the damage to the engine, and he and the lady working on our case decided to have us towed not locally--she was totally unable to find a campground anywhere nearby anyway--but down to Charleston, 34 miles further south. (As it turned out, therefore, it was very lucky we had passed our exit--we were that much closer to the only large city in the state!)  

A side note here: we were really in the middle of nowhere, in terms of population. The nearest towns were 6 miles away in either direction. There is a small parking lot right next to where we stopped, and there were a half-dozen cars in it when we arrived. It seemed like the locals used it as a park-and-ride to form carpools, or just to meet friends. As people came to pick up their cars, or drove past, at least 12 people stopped to see if they could help us.  One guy saw the engine overheating and came back (without asking) to give us some radiator coolant because "it looks like you might need this." And two different highway patrol people (not cops, but people who cruise up and down to see if anyone is in trouble) stopped to see if we were okay and find out if we needed anything, and to give us their number if we needed help. This is to compare with the time we were on the side of the road in Connecticut, actually ON the Interstate shoulder, for about 6 hours, and NOT ONE PERSON, civilian or cop, stopped to see if we needed help.


So at 10pm we ended up in the parking lot of Bert Wolfe's mega-car dealership--Ford, Toyota, Audi and Porsche. The tow truck dropped us at the far edge of the lot, outside the truck service area, and that is where we spent a very sad evening. We were pretty sure, given the fact that the engine refused to turn over and by the sound of it, that it was finally going to be beyond repair. We discussed what we would do if we had to leave Mo, how we'd get home, etc. We were both pretty heartbroken at the whole idea, but trying to deal with it. At about 11:30pm, finally we had nothing left to do but go to sleep and wait for morning. The service area opened at 7am, so we set our alarm for 6 so we would be up and dressed in time. I don't think either of us slept very well.

Warm Springs and Other Things

Monday, Aug. 20, 2012

We got another late start today but no worries; we drove through some windy back roads for about an hour to Berkeley Springs, WV. Berkeley Springs is of course named for the warm (not hot) springs which bubble up there. George Washington came there to soak, and the place was originally known as Bath. We found a curbside parking spot off the main street and ate lunch, before going to look at the springs and the spa buildings in the State Park which sits on the site. 

The town is cute—a little artsy, and very reminiscent of a smaller version of Hot Springs, Arkansas, which we visited in 2007.  There are two old buildings which contain public bathing facilities. One (built around 1915, if I recall correctly) includes massage facilities and separate pools for men and women. The older one, which has been in continuous use since 1815, has Roman Baths. These are fully tiled rooms with steps down into the water; the description and photo sounds precisely like a mikvah! These rooms are private, but lead to a larger pool which is available to families. Finally, there is a large outdoor pool with changing and shower facilities. The indoor pools were all open, but the pool is now closed except on weekends because schools started today. 

In between the two buildings is a waterway which channels the runoff from the springs past “George Washington’s Bathtub” (two people were soaking their feet in it) and a couple of larger pools, plus the “Gentleman’s Bath” area adjacent to the 1815 building. Upstairs above the Roman Baths is a museum giving a history of the town and the “healing waters”.

Although I had originally planned for us to “take the waters” this morning, our late start and the overcast weather made us decide to skip it, especially since the outside pool was closed. (We did taste it though, since there was a water fountain right by the pools.)  Instead we spent some time in the museum. 

Just as we went outside, it began to rain. We decided to duck into the antique store across the street. The store turned out to be one of those multi-dealer places, with loads and loads of stuff, and we waited out the rainstorm in there. We even found a few things to buy (a couple of gifts, and a Tweety Bird glass for me!)

The rain had let up by the time we finished browsing, so we went back to Mo and headed south to Blackwater Falls State Park. The drive took us through a lot of small towns, and a lot of areas with no phone service. We drove over Saddle Mountain, which turned out to be the birthplace of Nancy Hanks, Abraham Lincoln’s mother. At 2840 feet high, it was small by last year’s standards, but it was quite a windy road and Joe enjoyed driving it. (His favorite part of today, however, was when the GPS took us onto a road so small that it wasn’t on my maps, and which twisted and turned for about 20 minutes until we emerged back onto the main road.)

We arrived at Blackwater Falls at about 7pm, and are camped in a mostly empty campground. It is very pretty and we are looking forward to visiting the falls tomorrow before continuing on our way. When I will upload this blog, however, is a question mark, since there’s no wifi here, and I have no idea when we will encounter any. (Added: we found wifi at the Visitor Center in Elkins, WV, where we stopped for lunch on Tuesday.)

Harpers Ferry, WV

Sunday, August 19, 2012

We have had a nice and slow first vacation day. We got 10 hours of sleep, which was much needed, and took our time in the morning. Joe got up on the hood of Mo and put Eternabond tape onto all the front seams on the cab overhead, hoping to keep the rain out in the future. I spent the same time cleaning up the inside of the RV and we were both very happy with the results of our labors.  Then, after going to the tourist info booth right outside the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park to pick up brochures, we went into the park. 

By then it was lunch time, so we decided to eat. But just as we finished lunch, it started to rain—HARD! We were so happy that we had closed up a lot of the potential leak sites earlier in the day! The nice thing was, we hadn’t left Mo yet, so we just shrugged and relaxed…. Which turned into naps. The rain stopped around 2, and we left to explore.

We took a shuttle to the top of the nearby hill called Bolivar Heights. The Union troops surrendered to Stonewall Jackson there in 1862, but the hill subsequently changed hands 8 times during the Civil War. The view was nice, although a little foggy (and surprisingly cool) because of the recent rain storm. It had a view of the Potomac down near Harpers Ferry just below the place where the Shenandoah River joined it. The trestle bridge is the same one we drove across yesterday.

(photo of bridge from Bolivar)

After a nice chat with the ranger while we waited for the shuttle, we went down to the town, right at the point of confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. There are a lot of preserved buildings in the “old town”, with some new stores farther up the hill. We wandered through the streets, then crossed the footbridge over the Potomac (and thus walking back to the state of Maryland along a very small snippet of the Appalachian Trail, which crosses this bridge.) The rivers at that point are beautiful but this time of year, not very deep—we saw tubers and swimmers, the latter standing on rocks in the middle of the Potomac just below the point of confluence of the rivers.  We didn’t really envy them, though—it was quite cool today, and not really swimming weather in our opinions.

(Confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers--the Shenandoah can be seen joining the Potomac from the center right of the photo. The Potomac continues flowing to the left of the photo.)

 (View of the Potomac. We walked across the railroad bridge on the left to Maryland. The Appalachian Trail continues around the base of the mountain along the river and north, to Maine.)

 

 On the Maryland side, we walked along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath for a little bit. Then we walked back to West Virginia and, after spending a little more time in the town, took the shuttle back to Mo. We decided to do some grocery shopping before returning to the campground, so we travelled about 5 miles down the road toward the next town. We found a Walmart, where we stocked up on groceries and a couple of other items. In the parking lot was a big trailer with a black smoker on the back and a big BBQ sign. Being that we were in West Virginia, at a Walmart, it seemed like the next logical thing in that sequence was BBQ from a truck! So that was what we had for dinner. Joe says it was the best BBQ he’s had in years (I must confess, all BBQ beef sandwiches taste exactly the same to me—I guess I’m not a connoisseur of the stuff!) 

We moved campsites tonight, and although the Wifi is strong, we are not connecting with the Internet for some reason. So I'll have to upload this tomorrow. This is an interesting campground--there is a Civil War trench ("earthworks") a few feet behind Mo, and signs around the campground noting several battles and the site of artillery locations. I wonder how they know so much about exactly where these cannons were placed? It's a very pretty campground, but just a little too crowded--although tonight is much less hectic than last night was, far fewer kids and dogs and lots of empty sites now that it is Sunday.

Tomorrow we will continue our leisurely travels through West Virginia. First planned stop: Berkeley Springs State Park.

We're On Our Way!

I thought we might never get out this morning—even though Joe finished all his paperwork by about 10am, I was far behind him. I have no idea why everything took so long, but we didn’t leave town until 1:15pm, after struggling to put air in our tires, and filling the gas tank. But we finally DID get out, which is all that matters.

The ride to Harpers Ferry KOA, in West Virginia, was uneventful but long. It’s only about 230 miles from home, but for some reason it took us 6 hours to get here—we arrived just after 7pm.  The Pennsylvania vistas were gorgeous, however, and Maryland was very pretty too (we left the interstate at Harrisburg and the road was lovely.)  KOA stands, in this case, for Keep On Adding more leveling blocks—our site in the woods is quite uneven and we used every one of our 30 Lynx blocks before Mo was on an even keel.

Joe and I are both exhausted, after getting less than 5 hours sleep last night (I was up until 2 doing paperwork and he was at the office until almost 3) and driving. We are happy to be away, and will probably get a slow start in the morning because we would like to do some housekeeping. Having Mo at the mechanic for so long until just before we left meant I had no time to come in here and clean. On the other hand, the engine ran so smoothly, and we think our gas mileage improved.

I am thinking maybe we will look for some place to access either the Potomac or Shenandoah River tomorrow—we crossed them both to get here, and they are just gorgeous in this spot where they converge. We saw some folks coming up from the river in bathing suits after what was obviously a day on the water, and that looked so nice! Also, the long bridge which crosses the Potomac has a sidewalk, and there is a pullout right nearby. It was so beautiful coming over, and I’d love to walk it before we leave this area.

I have just been told I have 5 minutes until dinner—steak, salad, and pasta. YUM!!   So I will post this and start relaxing!

The Night Before We Leave

Aug. 17, 2012

It has been a busy day for both Joe and me. Mo came home yesterday and we are now trying to dry out the cab overhead while packing clothes into the closets in the back. The mechanic is very happy with the state of our vehicle, and I am afraid that it would keep running forever but the house will fall off from deterioration and sheer age. Nevertheless, we are looking forward to spending the next two weeks living in our little vacation home on wheels.

Our newest addition is a new "traveling laptop". Our rugged laptop which has accompanied us on so many miles has finally died, and the new one arrived just 3 days ago. So along with the usual "leaving home" stuff, I am loading software (or trying to) into the new computer, and getting used to the keyboard. This blog is going up from "Len", the new Lenovo. It is a bit disconcerting to have NO "favorites" bookmarked, NO programs installed, etc. I sure hope I can make friends with this machine quickly.  Also, Blogger has changed their dashboard and it all looks a little bit different. I hope that they are correct that it is more user friendly!

And so the evening winds down.... packing, paying bills, washing dishes, finishing paperwork, and all the other things we do before departure. Hoping to leave by 10am, and heading for Harpers Ferry, WV for the weekend. I sure hope I can get my itinerary notes into here, or we'll be flying blind. But I guess that will just be part of the adventure.

Vacation is coming!

Aug. 15, 2012

Well, we are looking to leave on our next adventure this Saturday, but as usual with the Deb-Joe-Roxy-Mo Team, all is not smooth sailing. Mo has been at the mechanic for a week, getting checked over. And there have been some fix-ups which have held back progress. Supposedly we will get Mo back tomorrow (Wednesday), which gives me, what? Two days to clean and pack?  Joe was doing lots of small repairs all winter, so I am guessing that there are a lot of small pieces of plastic and wire to be picked up before I can feel comfortable in there.

Plus there's the leaking issue--Joe started sealing up Mo's seams with Eternabond tape, but he hasn't had time to finish. Nothing like doing it all at the last minute, right?

Speaking of which, it is after midnight and I ought to be asleep. But I can't help being happy that I decided to post this brief blog--because I'd totally forgotten HOW to put up a blog. Plus Blogger has changed everything around, which means it all looks new. Maybe I'll have two minutes to play with this some more before the weekend.

Meanwhile, trip plans are more or less in place--we will be heading to West Virginia and Kentucky this time. I already have reservations for Saturday and Sunday nights in Harpers Ferry, WV. So.... let's just hope we really get out of here by then!