#470 Bike Virginia 2018

Bike Virginia 2018 was a little different from past rides in that we didn’t actually sign up for the ride.  Steve scouted out locations and decided to reserve a camp site at Claytor Lake State Park, which was the home for the ride’s last three days.  The plan was to bring our own food and see if we could ride the Bike Virginia routes.  Some would say we were cheating the system and the ride itself.  My thought was that they are public roads and we didn’t plan to stop at any of the official rest stops.  I was willing to give it a shot this one time. 

Our plan worked out for the best because it rained almost every day and our total mileage was under 15 miles.  Way to save some money!  Here’s a breakdown of my trip. 

Day 1/Saturday.  I drove to Breaks Interstate Park and spent the night.  I’d heard about the park from friends who used to live in Virginia.  It’s a bi-state park that’s partly in southeastern Kentucky and mostly in southwestern Virginia, in the Jefferson National Forest.  Within the park is a five-mile gorge billed as the “Grand Canyon of the South.” 

After setting up camp, I hiked a couple of the short trails (Overlook Trail and Ridge Trail) and saw The Notches.  What are those?  All along the trail, you see tunnels in the rocks.  Another tip from my Virginia friends. 

One of the notches

This trip was my first experience camping alone and making my own meals.  I did my homework, researching recipes and how to pack food.  I pre-cut all my vegetables.  I brought chicken breasts and pre-made brown rice/quinoa dishes.  Also brought eggs, fruit, peanut butter and jelly, nuts, bottled water, and the requisite utensils and supplies.  I was proud of myself, and my first meal turned out great!  The campsite had good showers, noisy neighbors and yippy dogs. 

Day 2/Sunday.  The next morning, I drove on to Claytor Lake and found Steve and Deanna, who had already set up our campsite.  Want a great camping experience?  Stick with them.  They have a pop-up tent, an outdoor camping rug, a grill, camping cookware, and gas fire pit.  You name it, they have it. 

Steve cooking dinner.  Yes, he is wearing shorts.  

I’m not a big Wal Mart shopper at home, but we’ve made a habit of frequenting a local Wal Mart on our bike trips.  Leaky tent?  Let’s go to Wal Mart.  (I’m still using that tent from 2014).  Need some snacks?  Wal Mart.  This time they wanted to buy some food to cook.  Dinner was fajitas and a Wal Mart cherry pie for dessert.  We even managed to get in a quick swim in Claytor Lake. 

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the man blowing up his inflatable chicken at the lake.  It's not as dirty as it looks!  

Day 3/Monday.  Rainy day.  Ate a hearty hobo breakfast (cook hash browns, green onions, and cut-up link sausage in foil pouches, then add an egg and spinach to each pouch until the egg is cooked).  Afterward, we sat around under the pop-up tent and decided to go for a hike in the light on-and-off-again rain. 

Hobo breakfast.  Mmmmmm

After lunch the rain stopped but it was still a bit overcast so we kayaked on the lake.  Our camping neighbor JoAnn joined us.  We rented double kayaks so I shared mine with her.  That’s one of the things I love about these rides – meeting great people.  She was super nice and we had a lot of laughs.  She’s had a rough few years (losing her long-time boyfriend to cancer four years ago).  We had a lot of laughs trading dating stories.  At one point, she thanked me/us for inviting her along and said, “I needed this.”  Laughter can do wonders for the spirit.  I’m glad I could help in a small way.  Not only was she a fun person, but somewhat of an inspiration.  She’s 64, retired, doing six bike rides this year (well, last year), AND is hiking the Grand Canyon.  I want to be her someday!  I also love her because she thought I was in my late 20s.  Now, I’m not delusional enough to believe her, but it’s still nice.  I made her laugh and she made my day. 

Deanna and Steve

JoAnn and me

The rain came back later in the day, and continued through the evening.  We sat around the fire pit and had leftover fajitas and pie for dinner. 

Day 4/Tuesday.  It rained all night and we decided biking was a wash.  We drove to Radford, Virginia (not much going on there) and continued on to Christiansburg for lunch at The Farmhouse.  Did a little shopping at Wal Mart (of course!), TJ Maxx and Dick’s Sporting Goods.  It was better than sitting under the tent all afternoon. 

We had a short yoga/stretching session back at the park, and even ventured into the tent area of Bike Virginia.  All three of us participated in a demo of Bemer, a wellness product that is supposed to help your circulation. 

Back at our camp, we enjoyed a dinner of brats, vegetables and garlic bread, and finished off the cherry pie.  Another evening of sitting around the gas fire pit. 

Day 5/Wednesday.  The sun came out!  But the forecast still included rain, so we decided to do the short route of 11 miles, throwing in some extra miles of our own.  Wow – a whopping 11 miles!  An all-time low for any bike ride.  We should have just gone for a longer route, rain be damned. 

Bike Virginia was a wash-out, and over, so we packed up camp, had lunch by the lake, and drove on to our next stop – Hungry Mother State Park.  Yes, that is the real name.  Set up camp and went on a six-mile hike around the lake.  There is a nice beach area and some great trails. 

Steve’s friend Gary drove from North Carolina to visit and stay overnight.  He’s a big hiker and set up his hammock between two trees.  I tried it out for a minute – not bad.  I’m not sure how my back would handle hanging like that all night though. 

Day 6/Thursday.  After breakfast, we took a shorter hike before leaving the camp and driving home. 

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

This was an atypical Bike Virginia; a renegade Bike Virginia of sorts.  Any guilt I felt about not paying for the ride washed away with each day’s rain shower.  By the end of our trip, I was thanking my lucky stars I didn’t pay for the ride.  Who would have thought we’d hike more miles than we rode on a bike trip?  And you know what?  I still had a blast.  Sure, I would have liked to have ridden more miles.  But the hiking was a nice change and the main point of our bike trips are to spend time with each other, see the beautiful countryside and have lots of laughs.  Mission accomplished. 

It's always party time when we get together!

#469 Camp Land and Peter Pan

In the deep mid-winter, let’s close our eyes and think back to last summer when all was sunny and warm. 

My first stop is The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp.  This was my sixth year as a volunteer counselor (see Post Nos. 351, 382, 405, 428 and 440). 

Over my six years at camp, my thoughts  have ranged from, “I’m never doing this again.” to “I’ll do it one more year.” to “I’ll do it five years to get my tote bag.” 

When I’m away from camp, I think about how great the kids are and how fun it is.  The first couple days of camp, which consist of going through volunteer orientation and meeting the other counselors, are long, uncomfortable and a little stressful.  Once the kids arrive, all of that fades and the magic of camp takes over. 

My main reason for wanting to stop after five years was my vacation days.  There are a lot of other places I’d like to go and I figured five years was a good run and it was time for me to use those five to six days to do other things.  At the beginning of 2018 my workplace combined our sick and vacation days, giving us way more days to use.  One “problem” solved. 

Another thought was to stop going to Hole In The Wall after five years, and to try getting into a SeriousFun camp closer to my home.  It’s not cheap to fly to Connecticut, and there are two in the Midwest within driving distance – Flying Horse Farms in Gilead, Ohio and North Star Reach in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Sounds good in theory, but after five years, I know the ropes at Hole In The Wall.  I am familiar with the staff and the full-time counselors (who often repeat).  I’m at a place where I frequently see campers (and even volunteer counselors) from past years.  Yes, I could start over and eventually have that at a camp closer to home.  But Hole In The Wall is the original.  Like its founder, Paul Newman. 

Signs listing the distances to all the SeriousFun camps.

My new goal for camp is 10 years.  Until then I’ll take it one year at-a-time and re-evaluate.    

The Summer 2018 theme was Camp Land and Peter Pan.  These kids desperately need a week of feeling like Peter Pan.  Yes, they are kids, but they live with one foot in an adult world, thinking about hospitals, doctors, treatments, medication, and how they are different from other kids.  What a gift to be a part of Camp Land, a place that lets them put those adult thought aside and just be Peter Pan for a week.  They can stay up later, eat what they want (this still makes me cringe, but I go with the flow), and do things they are unable to do at home, like swimming and zip-lining.  They gain confidence, friends and that “raise a little hell” spirit.  And hopefully, that feeling will last long after they return home. 

I was hoping I would continue my streak and get a boy’s cabin for a third year in-a-row, but was back with the girls (age 12-13).  I did have a “scare” and initially was told I would stay in a cabin this year.  After unpacking, they told me they made a mistake and I was in Lu Lu’s Lodge.  Whew!  That streak stayed intact. 

I loved being in a girl’s cabin again and they were a great group.  Every year I feel like I’ve lucked out with an easy cabin.  No big issues.  Everyone got along.  They were a joy! 

Two of my girls made a lot of cupcakes in the Cooking Zone for the July 4 Carnivarty.  

At X-Pro, one of my campers and I watched the clouds while lying on our backs.

It was a scorcher of a week at camp – so hot that some of the outdoor activities were kept indoors (opening night campfire and Carnivarty). 

I “sacrificed” my July 4 to be at camp, and thought it would be cool to be there during the holiday.  It was fun (Carnivarty was that night) and they had a parade around Cabin Circle, but no fireworks.  There were some kids who had adverse reactions to loud noises, so ixnay on the ireworksfay. 

July 4 camp parade.

During my morning off I got up a little early to the volunteer tower.  The last time I did the tower it was my first year.  I heard they improved the tower so wanted to do it again.  After climbing the wall, I zip lined down.  An exhilarating way to start the day! 

New and improved tower.

Tow of my girls scaling the wall.  Way to go!  

Another camper on the zip line.  Weeeeeeee!  

On the ropes!  

The girls and counselors would pull one girl to one side and then after she said she was ready,
she'd be let loose to swing.  V cool!  

After that I drove a borrowed car to Watch Hill, Rhode Island.  I asked around camp for suggestions and that was one that kept popping up.  Its well known in the area that Taylor Swift has a house there.  I walked along the long, lovely beach and browsed the shops.  V pretty!  Watch Hill is a 90-minute drive each way, so that took up quite a bit of my time off (I had to be back to camp by 3 p.m. for the afternoon session).  I will have to do more extensive research to come up with a place a little closer so I can spend more time actually sightseeing/exploring and less time driving. 

Watch Hill beach

If you have never volunteered, I urge you to find something you enjoy, or a cause you believe in, and give it a try.  Getting outside of your comfort zone is scary, but totally worth it.  It helps to put the focus on who you are helping, and not on yourself. 

Here’s to my seventh year at camp!