beluga

beluga

Friday, November 1, 2019

West Virginia

We left  Hickory Hollow Campground in Pennsylvania on Wednesday morning.    Our last evening there we were finally able to sit outside for happy hour and enjoy the pastoral view of our sweet site.


Lewis particularly enjoyed getting to play with his brand new "fish" on the grassy slope while we enjoyed our gin.


We arrived at the Harpers Ferry (West Virginia)  KOA around 4 p.m.    We had the woods to ourselves!



By 5 p.m. we were on our way to our dinner reservation in nearby Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

The Press Room

One of the reasons for our stop in this part of the country is to catch up with a dear friend from long ago.   We hadn't seen Mary since Jesse's wedding, 4 years ago so it was definitely time.     Not timely, however, because her husband wasn't able to join us and we really missed him.      Dinner was wonderful, as usual at this place, and we had a good, long catch up.

still two pony tail girlfriends

The next day was Halloween so we planned on relaxing around at Beluga.   Lewis often has trouble with strangers when they are dressed normally so I didn't want to leave him home with the potential of bizarre and scary strangers lurking around outside.



  In addition,  the weather forecast was for heavy wind and rain with thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.    It was quite warm and we certainly had lots of rain and strong winds but, fortunately, the tornado watch did not produce any dangerous weather for us.   

Today dawned sunny and beautiful.   Cold and windy, but beautiful.   The second reason we wanted to stop here was to do a little gentle research about an old musket my mother accumulated during her antiquing years.    We believed it was made at the Harpers Ferry Armory in the 1820s so we thought we'd go into the National Historic Park and see what we could see.     First, though.....lunch!

We drove back to beautiful Shepherdstown to a little French restaurant we noticed when we were there meeting Mary for dinner on Wednesday.    Bistro 112 did not disappoint. 


What does it take to make Mr. David smile?   Maybe a sunny day, a glass of good white and a delicious Croque Madame?   You bet it made him smile.


We ate so much it was hard for him to squeeze out of Bistro 112's little tiny front door!   And...that IS a package of Royale cookies for the road.   burp

Later in the day we went down into the Historic Harpers Ferry area to look for the Armory.   It is gone.   We didn't spend too much time there because we'd been there/done that many times in our past.    It's a very pretty and historically important area at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.






  It turns out we weren't able to find out much about the musket other than it is a Model 1816 Flintlock musket, made in Harpers Ferry in 1825 and later modified for civilian use.    Ah well, it was a good excuse for wandering the quiet streets.   (Not that we ever need a reason to explore)


   Our sleepy, woodsy campground has turned into a zoo - It's Friday after all.     Our darling next door neighbors felt it necessary to unhook our sewer hose and throw it to the ground to make entry to their site easier.    The crisp fall air is heavy with wood smoke and bicycles are whizzing by with their little operators looking in every direction except the one they're headed.     Ugh.   On a happy note.... we're leaving in the morning, heading south.

Oh, and here's a picture for you Pam.....

Lewis is happy to take advantage of a free hand
   



11 comments:

  1. I was thinking what a great campground with the fall leaves and the empty sites. How disappointing that those darn family came out for the weekend. Love all the yard Lew had to play with his new fish. Good times. I lucked out getting three photos of my boy!! Thanks you:) Looks like a nice visit with your friend and some good eating, too.

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    1. I guess weekends here are busy no matter what time of year! Note to self - visit Harper's Ferry only on weekdays!

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  2. What ? how dare they? I hate those kind of neighbors!
    I wonder if those cookies will reach Kentucky :)
    This is my comment from your previous post for once again Im unable to post even if I chose Anonymous :(
    This is my 5th attempt to post, I lost the previous ones in the internet hole.
    I have always wanted to visit Falling Waters, it is on my mom's list of places to see, but it was always out of the way of our route. So Im glad you finally made it there too so we can see, even just the grounds. And I think the fall colors added to its beauty and enhance the scenery.
    Thank you for sharing your experience at the Flight 93 memorial. It must have been heart tugging and sobering. I think that limiting the final site of the heroes to family members is a well thought idea.- ML

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  3. I'm sorry that Blogger is causing you such trouble MonaLiza. I'm glad you're there nonetheless.
    Until very recently I was not able to comment on many blogs but all of a sudden - I can so I can't give you any advice!
    No, these cookies aren't earmarked for Kentucky, but I'm still looking for the perfect ones to share.
    The Frank Lloyd Wright homes have always been just enough out of our way enough that we never stopped so this time we decided to change that. We're glad we did!

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  4. Unhooked your sewer hose?? Really? Sounds like a weekend at a KOA alright.:( Loved your post of the Frank LLoyd Wright homes and Shanksville. We must go there. Safe travels.

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  5. Touching ANYTHING on someone else's rig is major party foul, but especially a sewer hose. Sorry Lewis was subjected to small wheeled people, we know how he feels about that.

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  6. If you really want to fix the neighbor problem, just leave the sewer hose unattached and dump your gray water on their site. (Even I'm not mean enough to suggest dumping black...) Ok, Ok, that's not a good idea, but it would be feel pretty good, right? Jerks.

    We've never explored that area of West Virginia, but it certainly looks quite pretty and that French restaurant looks wonderful. Glad the weather wasn't too terrible for you guys. Safe travels!

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    1. Jerks.... Great minds think alike though....black would be ok.

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  7. I love the ponytail girlfriends. And the photo of Dave squeezing out the door of Bistro 112 after that delicious lunch. And Lew playing with his fish. And your beautiful fall campsites! :-)
    I've seen some crazy things, but I cannot imagine someone unhooking your sewer hose! I think Laura's idea is brilliant, haha!!

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  8. I loved the ponytail picture of you and Mary! Young girls at heart. Sewer hose? Seriously? Yikes! Wasn't MonaLuza's comment sweet? I told you that story would become history!!! And Lew got a new fish!! Glad no tornados arrived. Stay safe out there.

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  9. Such a beautiful time of year. Too bad you couldn't find more about the musket. What an interesting piece to have though. The Bistro looks divine! Cute pony tail girls :-))

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