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Thursday, May 23, 2013

Chippokes Plantation State Park - Surry, VA

We have finally embarked on our RV adventure -- it seems like it was a long time coming.  Bought the R-pod in January and never took it anywhere until the day we left on this trip.  Not too smart but the weather and our schedules just didn't cooperate with the concept of a "shakedown cruise".  So we are spending our first three nights out in Chippokes Plantation State Park in Virginia -- a very beautiful spot  --and are learning the systems.
.  The weather has been great - mostly warm and sunny, with a few brief showers thrown in.  We set up camp on Tuesday afternoon and put up the "R-dome" - a screened in room that doubles our living space -- very much needed as Poppy takes up most of the floor space inside!


I made pasta puttanesca for dinner on Tuesday night.  Thought that was a good choice since it only takes two pots and is quick and easy (it's named after the Italian word for prostitute, "puttan", because they could make it quickly between clients).  Here is my total cooking space:

On Wednesday we took the free ferry (only about 5 miles from the campground) across the James River to Jamestown.  We took Poppy with us and did a walking tour of the site of the oldest continuous British settlement in North America.  The tower of this church was built in 1690 but the rest of the building is a re-creation.  The tarp is covering an archaeological dig.
After seeing what we could see of Jamestown with a large dog in tow (i.e. couldn't go inside the museums), we drove up the Colonial Parkway to Yorktown and did a driving tour of the battlefield there.  Once again, a fascinating look at history.  We had gone from where the British began their colonization of America to where it ended, 174 years later.  The driving tour had a CD you put in your car radio which narrated what had happened at each of the stops on the tour. Bob is inspecting a mortar located behind the siege line where the colonial troops surrounded the British.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Getting close to leaving

We're leaving on our big trip Tuesday, May 21st.  Have been really busy -- I am a list person and for this trip, I have a notebook full of lists:  "To Do", "To Buy", "To Bring", etc.  It seems like we will get it all done though.  Slept in the r-pod Tuesday night for the first time.  The bed was comfortable and Poppy settled in, though she seemed pretty nervous at first.  When we leave on Tuesday, we'll go to a state campground in Jamestown, VA and spend three nights there, getting to know the RV and all its systems.  Then we'll head up to Justin's for a Memorial Day staycation with all the family - can't wait!
We are bringing our new canoe as well as our bikes.  Took Poppy to West Marine today for a "fitting" for a life jacket.  Bob wants to take her in the canoe with us.  I'm not too sure about that!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Learning how to blog

I'm just learning how to use "Blogger" hoping to chronicle our trip across the US (and maybe Canada) this year.  We will be traveling in our Nissan Frontier, towing our 2011 Forest River R-pod trailer.  It's only 19 feet long, so space is tight in it, especially since we are bringing Poppy, our 100 lb. black lab.  Bob removed the back seat from the truck and built a larger platform for Poppy.  We'll see how it goes! :)  Pictures to follow!