Blackwater Falls, Brain Farts, and an Amazon Miracle

This week, Mrs. Weeble and I are headed to Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia.

As much as I love Shenandoah National Park, I wanted to take Mrs. Weeble somewhere different. While looking at campgrounds, I was also keeping an eye on the calendar. Around here, late June weather can be a complete wildcard. It might be pleasantly cool, or it might feel like someone opened the gates to the surface of the sun.

Because of that, I wanted a campground with electric hookups. Let’s be honest. Sleeping in an RV without air conditioning when it’s 90 degrees and humid is not camping. It’s voluntary suffering.

My search eventually led me to the wilds of West Virginia. In all my years of camping, I’ve never actually camped there before, so this will be a new adventure for both of us.

That’s when I had what can only be described as a brain fart.

Since I’m off on Friday for the holiday, I decided we would stay Thursday through Sunday. Easy enough.

Except somehow I only reserved Thursday and Friday nights.

When I realized my mistake and went back online to add Saturday, our campsite was already booked. In fact, I couldn’t get just Saturday night anywhere.

After a little creative reservation juggling, we ended up booking a different site and adding an extra night.

So instead of camping for three nights, we’re camping for four.

I’m not exactly sure how I managed to turn a mistake into more camping, but I’m counting that as a win.

Continue reading “Blackwater Falls Adventure New Roads, Great Views and RV Life”

Big Boxes, Bigger Plans, and the Case of the Glowing Tail Lights

When we finally pulled into the driveway, the first thing I saw was a box.

Not just a box.

A big box.

A very big box.

It was the storage box I had ordered for the Weeblemobile to give us more exterior storage. This was a good thing because once you start traveling in an RV, you quickly learn that storage is like coffee, toilet paper, and patience.

You can never have too much.

Before I could fully process the arrival of the big box, our next-door neighbor saw us and asked how the trip went.

Mrs. Weeble told her about the trip and, naturally, about our visit to Buc-ee’s. She explained how good the Buc-ee’s nuggets were and then gave her a bag to try.

Continue reading “Big Boxes, Bigger Plans, and the Case of the Glowing Tail Lights”

Mrs. Weeble and I were woken up by the pups at their usual 6:30 a.m.

Or maybe it was the rain.

Okay, it was both.

The rain was coming down pretty hard. As Mrs. Weeble’s grandmother would say, it was coming down like a cow peeing on a flat rock.

That is one of those sayings that paints a picture whether you want it to or not.

Rain or no rain, the pups had business to conduct, and apparently that business could not wait for better weather. Of course, their leads were all the way outside, safely away from the RV door, because why would anything be convenient at 6:30 in the morning during a downpour?

I went to put my shoes on.

They were not where I normally leave them.

Continue reading “A Rainy Morning, Wet Shoes, Buc-ee’s, and the I-81 Experience”

Another Weeble Rule Is Born

As I have said before, some things happen to all RVers sooner or later.

This week, we had another one of those moments.

Actually, it was more like one of those moments that looked at us, cracked its knuckles, and said, “You thought you were getting good at this, didn’t you?”

All RVs have sensors in their holding tanks. Most of the time, they work pretty well. After my previous initiation involving the stinky slinky, I had made a firm decision that we were not going to have another problem in that department.

No sir.

Not this guy.

I was now an experienced RV sanitation professional.

At least in my own mind.

Continue reading “RV Camping Lessons at Loft Mountain: Gray Tanks, Dogs, and Mother’s Day”

The Great Buc-ee’s Expedition

The next morning, after a lot of careful thought and serious breakfast-table discussion, we decided to take a ride toward the Blue Ridge Parkway.

That was the official plan.

Of course, around the Weeble household, “the official plan” is usually just a rough draft before something more interesting happens.

Continue reading “The Great Buc-ee’s Expedition RV Road Trip”

Typical Thursday, Weeble Style

It was a typical Thursday morning around the Weeble household.

Well, typical for us anyway.

The Weeblemobile had been packed up Wednesday night, which meant all we had left to do was eat breakfast, toss in the last few odds and ends, round up the dogs, and head out for my final week of bowling.

That sounds simple enough, but anytime dogs, luggage, food, and an RV are involved, “simple” is really just a hopeful suggestion.

Continue reading “Typical Thursday, Weeble Style at Loft Mountain”

Clouds, Cub Scouts, and Captain Weeble’s Internet Excuse

We took a drive along Skyline Drive toward the southern end of Shenandoah National Park, partly for the scenery and partly because we wanted to check out the campsite we had booked for Mother’s Day weekend.

The plan was simple. We would stop at all the overlooks on the west side of the road on the way down, then hit all the overlooks on the east side on the way back.

At least, that was the plan.

Continue reading “Clouds, Cub Scouts, and Captain Weeble’s Internet Excuse”

What Could Go Wrong? A Campground Story (Spoiler: It Did)

By Captain Weeble

When I ended last week’s blog, I was firmly in oh boy, this could go sideways fast mode… mostly because of the sudden arrival of about 60 high school students.

We found out from one of the chaperones that the kids had gone on a hike. Not just any hike—Old Rag Mountain. For those who haven’t had the pleasure, Old Rag is a light little stroll… if your idea of “light” is a 9.4-mile loop with rock scrambles and a solid 6–8 hours of effort.

Bill and I did Old Rag many years ago. It was a great hike… and I can confidently say I would not be signing up for it today unless there was a helicopter involved.

Continue reading “What Could Go Wrong? A Campground Story (Spoiler: It Did)”

First RV Trip to Big Meadows: Weeble One Liftoff

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3… main engine start… 2…1… We have liftoff of Weeble One.

As I write this, we’re sitting in Big Meadows Campground, and I’m the only one awake. The dogs are settled in and sleeping, and Mrs. Weeble is back in the bunk, out cold.

Peaceful… for now.

Continue reading “Weeble One Takes Off: Our First RV Adventure to Big Meadows”

This week has been all about getting ready for next week’s trip. In other words, we’ve been doing that special kind of planning where you try to think of everything you might need, forget at least two things anyway, and hope comfort wins out in the end.

One of the big questions this week was the bed. I’ve already slept on the RV mattress, and while I can sleep on it, I wouldn’t exactly describe it as luxurious. We had talked about buying a new mattress, but decided to hold off until Mrs. Weeble had a chance to try it for herself. In the meantime, I figured a mattress topper might be the safer and cheaper experiment.

So naturally, I went to Amazon and found a firm topper that looked promising. I ordered it, and it was supposed to arrive in two days, which gave us plenty of time before our trip to Big Meadows. Then, right on schedule, I got the email nobody wants to see: delivery delayed. Now, instead of arriving with time to spare, it was supposed to show up on the Monday before we leave on Thursday.

I’ve done this dance with Amazon before. In fact, I’ve still got one order out there in the great beyond that never showed up at all. So let’s just say my confidence level was not sky-high.

Continue reading “Big Meadows Trip Prep: RV Comfort, Dogs, and Starlink”