Today's Lesson: Don't Take 45,000 lb Coaches Off-Road

   Grey skies and occasional rain continue here at Outlander River Camp on the Shenandoah in Page Valley. There's a low spot just outside our front door which makes taking the dogs out for potty breaks not a whole lot of fun after a rainy spell.  I've been keeping Travis on his leash when we go for walks. He's used to running free here and we usually take long walks down along the river but I've been finding ticks crawling on him (and one on me) after our morning games of fetch. I even found one on Winnie after a brief outing. I know people who've had long lasting issues as a result of tick bites. I may be a little paranoid, but we're gonna restrict our grassy area activities for the next few days.

      Winnie had an 'accident' on the bedspread last night before going in her bed for the night. The washer and dryer in the coach don't have a large enough capacity to handle a blanket so I popped it in a commercial-size washer at the local laundromat before going to the gym this afternoon. It's been quite a while since I've been in a laundromat. I thought it only cost like $.75 to do a load of wash. Nope... $3.00!

   Speaking of gyms...

   Since it was raining yesterday I decided to check out a local gym I've been curious about since we first started coming out here. The PMH Fitness and Wellness Center, located near downtown Luray, has an unassuming facade and shares an interior wall with the grocery store in which Suzanne and I found a package labeled "Miscellaneous Meat" during a camping excursion last Summer. My expectations were low but I was pleasantly surprised to see a clean, spacious, well equipped facility. They even have towels! I left Gold's Gym in Herndon a year or so ago when Allie moved in and talked me into joining the nicer, better equipped (and more expensive) Worldgate Sport & Health. One thing I like about Worldgate as compared with Gold's is their limitless supply of towels. It takes three to get me through my workout.

   "How much for a day pass?"

   "Five dollars."

 I was surprised. My gym charges $20 for a day pass.

   "I'm here for a week. How much for a week pass?"

   "Fifteen dollars"

 I got my wallet out and handed the guy a $20 bill. I'm guessing he didn't have a five to give me for change...

   "Hmm... you said this is your first time here?"

   "Yep."

   "And you're here for a week?"

   "Uh huh"

   "You can work out for the week for free."

   PMH Fitness and Wellness Center, my new favorite gym in the Shenandoah Valley...

   A guy came into the park tonight in a big Entegra motorhome. He accidentally bypassed the turn for the pull-thru sites, circled around past the front of our coach and attempted to make the turn down the pull-thru aisle from the opposite direction. The turn into the pull-thru aisle is possible only while entering the park - not while exiting. What he should have done was driven out to the large parking area in front of the office, made a 3 point U-turn and re-entered the park. Instead, he made a wide turn from the wrong direction straying well off the gravel road and onto rain-soaked grass burying the front wheels to the bumper. Bonehead move. I walked over to see if I could be of any help  and suggested we put blocks under the front jacks and lift the front end up far enough to get blocks under the tires - but he said, with his coach, the air has to be purged from the system before the jacks can be lowered. Since the chassis was already pretty much bottomed out, that wouldn't have been a good idea. The jacks in my coach can be lowered without purging the air. Anyway, a big-ass tow truck was summoned and within a few minutes he was out of the mud and heading for his site. Happy ending. I made chicken fajitas and went back out to take a picture.. but was too late.

   

Winnie being a good girl

   I've made reservations at two RV parks - one just outside of Gettysburg and another in Lancaster, PA where we will spend Memorial Day weekend. I called five other parks before finally finding an available spot in Lancaster. Memorial Day weekend is kind of a big deal in the camping community and reservations are made well in advance.

   We've had Outlander River Park pretty much to ourselves for the past couple of days but the weekenders are beginning to roll in. 

   Looks like more rain Friday and Saturday. Wonderful.

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