In my last post I hinted that we had a change of plans and boy, did we ever. We had just left Steven’s parents winging their way to Boston Logan for their flight back to Dublin and we were going to take off and get some more miles behind us. But before we did, we walked over to a familiar RV parked at the Elks Lodge to knock on the door and say hi.
It was Paul & Nina of Wheeling It. We met Nina in 2014 in Oregon, but Paul was traveling at the time. This time, we met Paul, but missed Nina, as she was the one traveling. We had a quick chat before getting back on the road – the last thing we wanted to do was get caught up in Boston commuter traffic. Still, it was great to finally meet Paul!
We managed to get out of town before the roads got crowded and headed to Danbury, Connecticut where were planned to overnight at the Visitors Center. It was here we made the decision to change directions.
Last spring as we were on our way to New Jersey, we bypassed Washington DC in favor of a fall visit. We took a wild guess at the dates we might arrive, then fired off an email request to Senator Marco Rubio for tickets to tour the White House. We had received our tickets just a couple of weeks prior.
But as the day came to point Scoopy toward our nation’s capitol, we found ourselves lacking interest. Well, more to the point, we were lacking energy and the desire to take on yet another big city. We’re kind of citied-out.
We decided instead to head to southwestern Pennsylvania and make a return visit to Hickory Hollow RV Park, which we had visited in the spring. We found it then to be such a relaxing place in the beautiful countryside, we felt it would perfectly suit our needs to sit a spell. With that decision made, we rerouted to include an overnight at what we found to be the most awesome Cabela’s we’ve ever visited. The inside displays were elaborate and the views from outside were amazing. They should charge for these views!
Good morning from Camp Cabela’s!
As luck would have it, Kelly & Bill were only about ten miles from Hickory Hollow celebrating their daughter’s wedding. That was a whirlwind for them, but once the festivities died down and the bride and groom were off on a mini-honeymoon, we joined the family for dinner and got caught up with all the goings on in our separate lives. Still basking in the glow of a successful and beautiful celebration, our evening was a fun family affair that included Kelly’s parents Joe and Barbara.
Having a grand old time with Bill and Kelly and her parents.
While in Hickory Hollow, Steven set out with his camera to capture the beauty of the surrounding countryside.
Once departing Hickory Hollow our ultimate destination was Campbellsville, KY. Some of you may recall that is the location of SDF1, the Amazon Fulfillment Center where we worked last year. Yep, we had decided to once again participate as Pickers during Amazon’s 2017 Peak Season! Bill and Kelly would also be working, so we traveled there together.
Having spent three weeks traveling together on our way to Alaska, we already know we do well together. This time, I had a specific route in mind and an overnight in West Virginia, and I asked if they were game. Yep, they were! Kelly didn’t even look at a map, but just followed along behind Bill in her Honda.
A rare view of Scoopy on the road taken by Kelly, following Bill in her Honda.
We had to take a bit of a twisty, hilly route out of the countryside to get to the I-68. From there we traveled to Cabela’s in Charleston, West Virginia. The goal, of course, was our sticker. We needed an overnight here in order to officially count West Virginia, so that’s what we did! The following day we traveled to Kentucky where we arrived at Heartland RV Park in Campbellsville across the street from Amazon.
Have we mentioned that we love Cabela’s? Kelly poses by the sign and, of course, we had to do a selfie!
Before we threw ourselves into 10-hour days, we visited the Woodford Distillery. We figured at the end of a long day we were gonna need some whisky.
Lordy, we were right!
We had a fun tour at the Woodford Distillery. Our favorite part was the tasting, of course!
UP NEXT: A Return to the Amazon
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How fun to catch up with Paul! Those countryside photos look like rich oil paintings – beautiful. We did just one night in West Virginia to count it too :-)) About the same time last year! I wish we had toured the WH when we were in D.C. before last November – now I think we'll wait awhile 🙁
What a fun trip! Woodford Reserve is on our list of places to visit. 🙂
Cabela's is one of our "go-to" overnight spots when we are near one. Besides having a nice place to stay during the night, it is always fun to walk the stores and spend a little money.
Mom, who is far from being a sportsman, LOVES Cabela's and has often said what a wonderful, inexpensive way to entertain kids. Of course, the drawback is that parents then spend that saved entertainment money on a new toy for themselves.��
We look forward to returning to do the Bourbon Trail as tourists and not Amazon workers. We have enjoyed the distilleries we've visited so far, but none more so than Maker's Mark.
Surely West Virginia has more to offer than an overnight. Maybe one of these days we'll find out. 🙂 And DC will be on our list, possibly in 2019!
We always go inside and look around, but I can't say we've ever spent any money there. Not for the lack of trying, though. 🙂
I think your Mom is right! It is such an entertaining place!
Wow great to have you back posting . I had called them all to find out when , where and what had happened with you ( you know FBI ,CIA ,NSA,AARP,SPCA, AND NHRA ) As the song says if they knew they weren't saying . I hope your up to another Amazon that sounds like a lot of hard work , well to much for this old guy . So if you don't post again before the holiday I hope you have a great one . Vern in Boise
Well, sorry about No News! Did you send a pigeon? Send a fax? Write it on a post-it pad? Send a signal up in smoke? Tap it out in Morse Code?
LOL, that's one of my favorite songs! I love Lonestar, I am a Texan after all. 🙂 We'll get back to posting more often, we've got some exciting stuff coming up as well as a full travel schedule in 2018! So, stay tuned! So good to hear from you!
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year . Vern , Boise
Thank you, Vern! We had a lovely Christmas holiday at the ranch, with two of our three kiddos and various members of my family. We hope you had a wonderful holiday as well and a Happy New Year. Thanks for thinking of us!