Hey Dogwood! We had a ball; arrived on Monday, May 16, and left on Thursday, May 19. Jean and I hosted and fellow Rally-goers were David and Marla McFarlane, Gary and Barbara Ham, Richard Good, Jim and Susan Buelow, Wilt and Barbara Greenwood, & Mary Lou Dudziack. A big welcome to the new folks in our group - Dave and Marla McFarlane, Gary and Barbara Ham, and Richard Good. Their photos are posted below.
Monday night we had a great meal at the Devil’s Backbone Restaurant – it never did rain as predicted. That evening, we had a good time at the campground around the fire, talking about life and getting to know our new members.
Tuesday morning after brunch several of us headed out to the Bold Rock Cidery. Wilt and Barbara went trail exploring in their Jeep. We reconvened that night, at the campground, for dinner of baby-back ribs, corn bread, baked beans, coleslaw, and applesauce.
Wednesday morning started out with another good brunch, and that afternoon we took a guided tour of the Swannanoa Palace atop Afton Mountain. Our tour guide spent time at Swannanoa as a child, and now is one of the owners, so she had a great deal of information to share with us about the mansion. The mansion itself has seen better days, but the owners are in the process of slowly renovating it. Dinner that night was at Blue Mountain Brewery with, again, excellent food. But the surprise that evening was a birthday party we had for Susan Buelow and Barbara Greenwood. Jean and I asked our daughter to pick up the cake the previous day in Waynesboro at the Martin’s Grocery, and our son-in-law delivered it to us on his way to work Wednesday morning. Happy birthday to Susan and Barbara!
Thursday morning was coffee and doughnuts; and then pack up and head out. The campground has about 30 RV sites with full hookups, but there are over 50 campsites for dry or tent camping. There is a nice clean shower house, and all of this is connected to the brewery via paved, shaded trails. The weatherman was really good to us the whole time; Devil’s Backbone is a nice campground, and we are considering a return visit, maybe starting on a Sunday next time.
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| Dogwood Rally at Devil's Backbone - May 2022 |
Ed and Jean Herbert
1 comment:
Greetings All,
Marla and I thank each and everyone of you for the warm and spirited welcome we received. We had an enjoyable time especially around the “campfire” each evening. The food was wonderful and the restaurants were great. We look forward to an active membership with the Dogwood Chapter.. although we will miss the next few rallies, we marked our calendar for the Urbana Oyster Festival and the Christmas Rally at Ashland.
I’ll close with two newbie experiences from our DB trip.
When we arrived we initially could not unlock our trailer. At first I thought it was the Latch-it combination lock. After trying to get it open for 30 minutes, I called Latch-it and chatted with a customer service rep. Although she was very friendly, her suggestions did not help. She suggested I call a locksmith and Latch-it would pay the fee and replace the lock. Considering the closest locksmith was in Lynchburg, I made one last attempt with my trusty screwdriver and pliers. After minimal prying I could see the lock and then heard something working itself loose. The pliers removed the loose screw (how appropriate) and the door finally opened. The plate around the deadbolt had worked itself loose and was jamming the door. New checklist items: Keep the emergency lock code in the Expedition and use Loctite! Kudos to Latch.it customer service.
Upon leaving the park, Marla, the navigator, had me turn left. After driving two miles and encountering steeper inclination and winding turns, I realized we were headed the wrong direction (duh). Where and how to turn around!?! We made it Al the way to Wintergreen(!), and with calibrated eyeballs and luck, I was able to turn our rig around at the entrance of the park and head for home with no further issues. Lessons learned: validate all directions and have more confidence the Expedition can tow a 7,000 lb trailer to more places than I imagined.
Thank all of you again; we had a wonderful time!
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