Dains Traveling Days: Issue #18 -- Maine to Texas (Part 1) - October

So, what's new with the Dains, and where are we now! It's been a while since we last communicated. I'm sure you're all wondering if we are still out here. Yes, we are. Fall is upon us, the leaves are changing and it's time to hit the road again.

October 15th is the end of the season at Timberland Acres RV Park. As our neighbors begin winterizing, packing up and preparing to head South for the winter, we too must head out. Because we live in our RV 24/7 there is no winterizing for us. We just pack up and go!

As the leaves change color and the park slowly empties, sadness sets in, but only because it will be about seven months before we return to our summer time home.

This year we will be spending most of our winter in the Great State of Texas. But we do have a few stops along the way. Our first stop, which was only an overnighter, was at Cabela's East Hartford, Connecticut. This is always a good stopping location for overnight. There are several spaces at the backside of the store, so you don't bother anyone if you need to run your generator during the evening.

Our next stop is Hershey, Pennsylvania for a four day stay. If you haven't visited Hershey, we highly recommend a visit.

There's a lot of history to this little town, and not just candy! Most people think of chocolate when you see the name, however, his start was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he established the Lancaster Caramel Company, which was a success.

Milton Hershey's dream was to create fine chocolates.
He opened the famous Hershey company in 1905. In 1907 he opened Hershey Park so his employees would have a place for picnicking and boating with their families.

In 1930 he established the Hershey Country Club. Milton Hershey gave his employees the ability to purchase their own homes. His goal was to create a town/community his employees could enjoy on their time off with their families and a work environment they were proud of.
Hershey not only assisted his employee in buying their homes, he also built neighborhood parks, theaters and schools.
Today the town of Hershey is still lovely and most of Milton Hershey's gifts to the community are still in existence. To learn more of Milton Hershey and the town's history, please click the link: Hershey Pennsylvania History .

One of David's favorite stops, or outings, would be a good Train museum.

The The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is one well worth your time to visit. We are always amazed, every time we visit a train museum, by how much history they are able to capture and preserve.

Our stop in Pennsylvania was quite enjoyable and one that we plan to revisit in future years!

Virginia is known to be "For Lovers"

Time to move on. Our next stop was Lynchburg, Virginia. We stayed at a Thousand Trails RV Resort. The resort, as it's referred to, as with most of their other resorts, could use a little tender loving care in the way of maintenance. This park does not have any 50 amp sites, which is okay unless you're visiting during the summer time. On the positive side it's in a wooded area with a pond and a nice walking trail.

Our stop here was short so we needed to plan small outings. Our first was to visit the Town of Bedford. Bedford is right at the foot of the Peaks of Otter, in the heart of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Bedford dates back to the 1700's and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery.

Town of Bedford.

If you're one that enjoys antique shopping or in my case, window shopping, Bedford is a good place to check out.

Some of you may not know that I attended high school in Roanoke, Va. I wasn't going to visit that area on this trip. I haven't visited the area since I graduated in 1972. But, I wanted to see if I could find the house I lived in and the two places I worked during my high school years. So off to Roanoke we went. The high school, William Fleming Sr. High School, wasn't hard to find. While there, we checked out the football field and a little of the campus. Some of my fondest memories are attending the football games. I think I attended every home game, as well as several road games. I wasn't a cheerleader, and I wasn't in the band. Instead I ran track, jumped hurdles, and was a member of the Girls Gymnastics Team. It's hard to believe that was so long ago, as I don't feel that old!

Finding the high school was easy, but I wasn't sure I could remember the street name where we lived. After finding the Burger King I worked at, and remembering I was able to walk to work, we were able to back track the area and locate the home I lived in. BONUS: We also found the Assisted Care Facility, Hermitage Roanoke, I worked at, which happened to be across the street from my old home.

All in all, a nice trip down memory lane!

Hermitage Roanoke

Home on Linwood Road

It's time to hit the road again. Next stop, Tennessee. Our goal was to visit Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry.

Our stay was another of Thousand Trails campgrounds, Natchez Trace RV Campground. After a delay of an hour or more due to an 11' bridge clearance (We're 12' 9"), and no cell service to call the ranger station, we were directed back to the low bridge area, and told that if you drive to the left of the underpass, the county has dug an area 5' lower into the dirt, so that RV's and trailers can clear the overpass.

Another 1,000', or so, and you arrive at the campground.

I do have to say the drive along the Natchez Trace Pkwy is lovely.

Once we arrived at the campground, and checked in, we were directed to a site along the lake. This happens to be an upgraded area and there are only 8 full hookup sites. Once we setup, we drove around the campground and found we were quite lucky to get the site on the water. The bulk of sites are in a wooded area and only a few sites have 50 amp and sewer connections.

Lake view from our rig.

So far, this was our favorite campsite! NO, not David on the beach, the lovely view of the lake.

We planned ahead and made reservations for the Grand Ole Opry, Saturday, October 28th. This day they were celebrating the 80th birthday of Whisperin' Bill Anderson. Everything about the Grand Ole Opry was everything we expected it to be, a really great show. In addition to Bill Anderson, we enjoyed John Conlee, Mo Pitney, Connie Smith, Ricky Scaggs, Mike Snider, Steve Wariner, Mark Wills, Don Schlitz, Riders In The Sky, Jeannie Seely, The Whites, and the Opry Square Dancers. Mike Terry, from SiriusXM Radio's "Willie's Roadhouse," was the MC.

There's a lot to see in Nashville, so plan to stay at least a week.

You never know when or where you may run into friends, RV friends, on the road. Much to our surprise our friends, Gerry & Denise Wranischar (Texans), happened to be in Nashville during our stay. They too had reservations at the same campground and arrived on Friday, November 3rd. Knowing they were to arrive that day, I prepared a cabbage-sausage stew in the slow cooker, and even made cornbread. It's always nice to be able to share supper with friends!

Supper time is also a good time to meet new friends, Jackie & Mike also arrived that Friday and shared supper with us all.

Denise told us about a Winery she wanted to visit, Amber Falls Winery & Cellars. The winery is in Hampshire, TN. So the four of us hopped into Gerry's truck, and off we went. Amber Falls is a charming, family owned vineyard. We had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners, Judy Zaunbrecher. Judy took a lot of time with us and was very informative about their wines. You can't go to a winery without tasting the wines. You're allowed to taste up to six different wines, that range from bold dry reds to light semi-sweet whites, to fruit and dessert wines. One of the bold wines is their Cajun Red. We not only enjoyed all six choices, we also left with our own stock.

In addition to the daily operation of the winery, they also have other amenities, one being the Cajunfest. The Cajunfest is held on Saturday of Memorial Weekend, and is an annual event. If you enjoy unusual blends, then their Cajun Wine might be for you.

Thank you Judy for your warm welcome!

David found
a new Sweet (Peach) Tea!

That's about all for this issue. As you can see in the title, this is only Part One. In Part Two we will tell you about our trip to Paris!

David's Buddy Stops: