We hit the road out of Princeton, WV looking forward to seeing Dan this evening. But before we get to see him, we have to negotiate the mountains of WV. As we joined the interstate, which by the way was a toll road, we decided it would be best to top-up the fuel tank before going too far — one can never know how far the next fuel stop might actually be. We saw a highway sign indicating BP stations with diesel was at the next exit, great. Coming down the exit, the sign indicated two different stations, one west and one east toward Beckley. We chose east. Immediately we realized perhaps we had made the wrong choice. Extensive road work was in progress forcing us to detour and head toward downtown, not what we would like to be doing. Eventually, we saw a sign for a BP station, great! We made it in spite of ourselves. Jim pulled up to the pump only to find that they did NOT sell diesel fuel, rats! Well, at least the exit from the station would turn us around going back toward to interstate and that was good. Once we were back on the highway, signs for a Travel Center at the next exit appeared; great!
Consistent with the construction at the earlier exit, this exit also had construction. But at least we could see where it would lead us to fuel and that was all that mattered. Soon, our truck was full and we were back “on the road again.”
West Virginia is such a lovely place, but no place I would care to live. As we climbed up and down the inclines, here and there we could see lovely vistas of green valleys. As we passed townships, I was ever so thankful our New Bern sits on flat ground! I could not imagine negotiating the ups and downs every day as we went about our daily lives. Still, it was a lovely drive all things considered. Lots of commercial trucks on the road but for the most part, they were not a problem probably driven by the fact that there were lots of WV Highway Patrol cars beside the road and hiding in the bushes. Each time we passed one, we were thankful for our 65 mile an hour personal restriction.
Finally, the mountains ended and we entered into Ohio. We arrived at our new home away from home near 4 o’clock. Alton RV Campground is a no frills place but it is conveniently located to shopping and attractions. We pulled in and stopped at the office to check-in but found the manager was out of the office for a while. No matter, we knew that we would be in site 31 and we had a map, so off we went. After maneuvering around the close quarters, we arrived at our site. Most of the time, hook-ups are located on the driver’s side of the rig, however this site had it on the passenger side. So, poor Jim began the task of moving the rig around so it would point in the opposite direction putting the hook ups on the correct side. Alas, telephone poles and large decorative rocks made the task impossible. After several frustrating minutes, my brain remembered reading somewhere on the website that we needed to come into the park via the alley and then we would be able to pull through no problem, geez why did I not remember that before Jim lost his patience? Never mind, he pulled back out on the main road and came down the alley and viola! No problem.
You would think that from there it would have been a snap, but no. Other issues came up that took us a while to solve but eventually I was inside and getting things in order. First up, air conditioning! Soon we were cool and ready to take a long, leisurely shower. We had been texting with Dan and expected him to arrive around 5 or so, so we needed to get cleaned up as soon as possible.
How wonderful it has been to spend time with Dan. While it has only been eight months since we saw him; it felt longer. We had a nice visit and then headed for dinner. Dan wanted to try a place reported to have wonderful wings. Now, anyone who knows my Jim knows he loves chicken wings. Going out to a wing place was a no brainer. The look of the place was shall we say a bit rough. There were lots of motorcycles lined up in front and we entered through a back door. Inside it was a typical pub but very loud and “rustic”. No matter, as long as the wings are hot and good we can certainly blend in. The selection of wings was quite impressive. They have a monthly flavor that is used in everything from huge pretzels to the wings. This month’s flavor was Cheetos; I kid you not! I tried the pretzel and can report it was delicious if hand staining. Alas, we did not find the wings up to all the hype. It is the first time we have been out to eat wings when Jim did not finish his. As a matter of fact, neither did I nor Dad either. Well, as my friend Chui Peng would say, “don’t try, don’t know”. Now we know.
Back at the rig, we sat until late catching up and enjoying a cocktail or two. After Dan left for home, it was not long until lights out. A long good day.
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