Time with Friends

This is Jimmy and Sandy Joyce, friends who, like us, winter in Elite Resorts at Citrus Valley, Clermont, Fl. Unlike us, they have a beautiful "sticks and bricks " home, which is in Martinsville, VA.  As part of our summer travels, we stopped in Martinsville, for a longer stay than intended. We have had two opportunities to share with them.  First, we were invited to their home for dinner. Yesterday, one of the most weatherly perfect days I can remember, we went to Smith Mountain Lake for lunch.

It is hard to see what is happening here, but the 3 people with their backs to us are watching a carp feeding frenzy at Smith Mountain Lake. Never before have I seen fish gather to be fed as we witnessed here. Someone on the dock was feeding them popcorn, and the fish gathered en masse. It was quite a sight.

After lunch, we went to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA. This was an unexpected moving experience. Neither Sandy nor Jimmy had seen it, so together we experienced it for the first time. The Memorial is in Bedford because that town/county suffered the most severe per capita loss of the nation that June 6, 1944. The sculptures were incredible, done by Jim Brothers.  Sandy and I were most touched by the many wreaths that remained from the recent 75th commemoration of the greatest combined military effort of all time, an event which culminated in the defeat of Hitler and victory in Europe.

A Unique City Center

We are continuing to enjoy our respite here in Martinsville, VA. At least I am. I have developed a somewhat irregular schedule.  Following my quiet time each morning, I usually do the Daily Puzzle of the two computer games I am playing, Word Stacks and Uncrossed. I am mostly into Word Stacks now, and finished 1st out of 50 in a tournament last weekend. After the daily games, I will probably work on a sermon or bible study for next season at our home base. So far I think I have outlined 3 sermons and at least 3 bible studies. Then I will either read or do more Word Stacks puzzles. In the evening I will do what I didn't do in the afternoon, read or more puzzles. We don't have good TV reception here, so I have had to find alternatives.

Yesterday we went to Roanoke, just north of Martinsville about 50 miles. There we found the most wonderful city center. It is a square of buildings with the most wonderful shops, restaurants and breweries.  We ate lunch at 3 Notch'd Brewery. Neither one of us had beer. Ed had a red wine and I had a delicious Cherry Limeade. The food, unfortunately, was mediocre at best. We made a bad choice among many options. But some of the other shops we explored were great! We went to a place called Chocolatepaper.  I am a paper person and a chocolate person, so how could I resist? There was also a wonderful Kitchen store called Ladles and Linens. My memory isn't good, i am reading receipts. 

Respite

The last 2 weeks have been draining and frought with fear. Our coach completely died after sitting more than 4 days without power in a Freightliner lot in Kenova, WV.  I wondered if the coach would ever be the same, or if i could change the negative feelings about it that i currently had. After they got the coach into travel mode, but still dead on the inside, we headed for Greensboro, NC for help with some unknown electrical problem between key fob and ignition. We were refused entrance and service for at least 3 weeks at that Freightliner. By that time, we had at least restored lights, toilet and dash cam. Even while sitting outside the Freightliner, we contacted Newmar. Thanks to a customer service rep. named Erica, we got our fridge and microwave on. It seemed we were back to full power, until I found out that the wall outlets were not operative. The GFCI had been tripped. I corrected that problem, which I had probably caused the day before, and we are fully functional.

The two weeks within which this all happened were emotionally charged. I am not a screamer, but I came close several times. I did lose some cognitive ability, unable to think about or do things which normally come easily. My husband Ed several times told me to stop whining. I thought I had a right to whine, but it wasn't really whining.  I was just so close to tears, and trying to prevent them as I spoke, it sounded like whining.

The main evidence of my emotional state was produced when Ed asked me to get a Sunday paper. When I looked at the date on the papers in the rack, I saw that it was May 19. I was truly shocked! It was my daughter Sandra ' s birthday, and I hadn't had a clue! I have never missed the birthday of one of my children. I may not always know the year, but month and day I don't forget. I apologized to Sandra, without offering any excuse. We are friends on FB, so I assumed she had been following our travails.

While still outside the Greensboro Freightliner lot, I called Indian Heritage RV Park to see if they could get us in early. We were not scheduled to be there until June 12, but with what we had been through, I needed a respite.

Indian Heritage RV Park, Martinsville, VA,  is one of the first RV parks we stayed at when we began  RVing  in 2016. The owner, A.C. Wilson, was very kind to us as we began this adventure. At that time we had problems with our toad, a Jeep, not our 12 year old motor home. The park has grown a great deal, but we have everything except cable or antenna TV.  It is a great place to recoup and prepare for the largest part of our trip, exploring the Northeast.

First Travail

Oh, the indignity!

As we got ready to leave the parking lot of Walmart, in Ashland, KY, Ed couldn't shift gears. We had a message that said "shift inhibit." We immediately  called Newmar, who hooked us up with Freightliner. Alex from Frtlnr gave us some direction that might have helped the problem. It didnt. So the coach had to be towed to a Freightliner dealer. Hooking up for towing was a very extensive process, but not as expensive as I might have thought. The kicker, however, is that if the local Frtlnr can't  solve the problem, the coach will have to be towed to Charleston. Since the gear pad reads "4", it is likely that Ed shut down in 4th gear, thus probably causing the problem. We have 5 weeks until our next scheduled stop, so we will see what happens. Right now, we are heading for a motel.

Derby Week Wrap Up.

I wrote yesterday, but we were in the dead zone of Frankfort and it didn't publish. Now, can I remember what I said?
The weather at Churchill Downs was miserable!! We supposedly had covered seats, but they were right on the edge of the end section, the end from which rain, wind and cold were coming. I thought I would never stop shivering! I love watching the horses run, but I really couldn't get excited! I had planned to make some exotic wagers on the Derby, but no enthusiasm to figure them out.
I did get to sit with a couple that we shared the dinner theater seats with, and I was happy about that. It was exciting to see the shuttle buses--both city and school buses-- line up outside the Downs. There must have been about 50 of them running continously all day. The lines to get on after the races were horrendous!
The result of the Derby was very interesting! It was fun to see responses go from ecstasy to devastation--and the reverse--in such a short time. I think we probably benefited from the disqualification.  We had bet on both horses to show, but made a higher wager on Maximum Security. It's all good.
Here, hopefully are some pics from the day.

 We both actually kept our hats on all day!

If you look to the right of the stadium, you will see a line of white. That is the line of shuttle buses, going up over the hill and beyond.

Good bye to Churchill Downs!

Derby Week Day 6

I have titled this Derby Week, but thought at one point I should call it horse week. We went to a Thoroughbred Training Center a nd the Kentucky Horse Park. We went to the Derby Museum and had breakfast on Millionaire ' s Row. But it hasn't been all about horses. Yesterday we went to the Louisville Slugger factory and the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Below are some pics from the week.

Today is Oaks day, what is called Louisville ' s Derby. Tomorrow is the big day, Derby, but rain is forecast for both days, all day. Once we get to our covered seats, it will be okay, but getting there could be a big problem. I have an idea about what horses to bet on, but not what my betting budget will be.

Have met some nice folks here, and while hectic, it has really been a special week. Here are some pics.

You can't really see it well, but this was a table full of mint juleps

and bottles of Maker's Mark that greeted us at the Claudia Sanders Dinner House (site of birthplace of KFC.)

One of the gorgeous white thorobreds that are at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. Tomorrow, there will be way more than one person in that shot!

Outside the Louisville Slugger Museum. That bat is massive!

Couldn't resist climbing into this chair at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Here we are at 6:45 lining up for breakfast before one of our long days.

On our bus approaching the Belle of Louisville for a dinner cruise. The food was good, but entertainment was lacking. Weather was very comfortable. We met a couple who were married on the date of the 100th Derby and will celebrate their 45th anniversary on the date of the 145th running. There are some very interesting stories here, very interesting people. 

As we approached the Belle, I heard people talking about the high water. That didn't really make an impression on me until I saw these park benches seat - deep in the Ohio river. These benches sit along the frontage of the dock .