Maaaby not quite almost intrepid...Retirement trip Day 1

Well, I said I bought this camper to see the country. So far, I've thoroughly enjoyed sampling the plethora of beautiful state parks in North Carolina and surrounding states. So much is available so close. Why would I ever want to wander farther?? I've been asking myself that. Especially tonight. I have also been asking "What have I gotten myself into?!?" Since I bought LibraryAnn, I've been talking about taking an extended trip when I retired. I'm retired now. Time to fish or cut bait I told myself a couple of months back and started planning. I decided to start with a "short" trip. Of about 2400 miles by the time I get home. Carefully booked in short stints. Reservations paid for. I write this at the end of Day 1, excited and a little scared all at the same time.

So far so good. I'm at Creekside Campground in Edinburg, VA. They call it creekside for a reason. I am actually in a little nicer site than I booked. Like home, they've had so much rain here, some of the camp sites flooded, so I'm still by the creek and beside the bath house, but on a little higher ground.

While I haven't been to this charming town before, this part of Virginia is not unfamiliar. I have an MS from Virginia Tech and have frequently taken I-81 up to central New York to visit dear friends. The Shenandoah valley is spectacularly beautiful. It is not hard to understand how soldiers during the Civil War sang longing songs of home for this place. I had to catch a few pictures at a stop light but it looks like there is much more to explore, including the intriguing sound of a Historic Edinburg Mill.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to unhook and explore. I have a long stint tomorrow up to central New York. I expect heavy traffic as I approach the increasingly urban Eastern Seaboard. Ruthie travels this was frequently to visit family and has given me some route advice to avoid the worst of it.

Come Tuesday night, I should be in Portland, ME and Wednesday mid day, I will pick up Ben at the airport. He will be finishing the trip with me.

I haven't gotten to enjoy the night noises at home this summer. It's been too hot to open windows at night and I traded bedrooms with Jessie and am now in the front of the house until she completes her move closer to her job. So I'm soaking up the sounds of the creek tonight and tree frogs so loud I may need to close the windows. And I do enjoy a little solitude. But the last time I took a trip like this with time alone and far from home, I went to a weaving class in the Southwest. I was so homesick for Greg by the time I got home, I married him (that really was a joke, tho a little on the true side). So maybe I'm not so almost intrepid. Or maybe I am. I guess that's the point--to find out.

As a nod to my train-loving son, Ben, whom I look forward to seeing Wednesday, and miss just a little bit now, the camp ground is decorated with old tools, including these two old toy trains. Love ya, Ben, You, too, Jessie. Sleep tight.