Guns, God and wineries, not in that order;)
Bluestone Vineyard-Virginia
…and rain, it seems to be following us! Argh!!! After three days we heard temperatures were going to take a plunge so we opted for a RV park, Harrisburg East Campround, in Pennsylvania for two nights until the cold passed and we could do some laundry and rest from three days of driving. Friendly, clean easy in and easy out, it was an essential laundry and sewer dump stop and generator repair in the heart of the city, next to the interstate. Our trusty Honda had run then suddenly coughed a few times and stopped back in New York. We called around to a few spots seeing if someone could look at it on short notice, I was not holding my breath but a nice lady said “Sure, bring it in, if it’s something simple we can have a look” that was a lovely surprise! Shout out to Kerry’s Lawn and Garden, we didn’t even go to the location we had talked to, there are two, we didn’t know. The folks at the Northern office were just as kind. Turned out we had water in the gas, a bad load of gas no doubt, they cleaned it up and we were on our way! Delightful people! 5 star review! We are truly grateful to people who can help out someone driving through!
We finally drove out of the clouds the nest day and had a few hours of sun in the afternoon at the Bluestone Vineyard, it was delightful! We took a stroll through the vineyard and along the hedgerow, found a few flowers and much to Groot’s delight, wild catnip!
Parking was wonderful beside the grapevines with a view up the hill towards the tasting room. We paid a visit after settling in and taking the furry ones for a walk and sampled some wines. They had a water pump with real well water, sigh, so nice after a few days of chlorinated water, can’t drink that stuff, we could fill up our 3 gallon water container:)
Love these spots. I am truly not a fan of the normal RV park. My heart leans towards State and National Parks, birds and critters and room to move and breathe. Harvest Hosts has been the next best thing to the parks for me! Are there hook-ups, no, but we are pretty much self-sufficient for a few days at least:)
I sleep at night, no highway/freeway roar, no noise at all actually. Perfect. You are limited to a night at these spots unless the host invites you to stay longer.
We woke up to rain the next morning and moved on through some cloud and drizzle as we headed SW through Virginia on the Interstate 81. Our next stop, Whitebarrel Winery in Christiansburg suggested we get their early as they filled for Friday night live music and wine tasting. Scenic drive in off the 81 past horse farms and fields, some low branches bent our air vent back, again, not an uncommon occurrence for some of the out-of-the-way places we choose, nothing a trip onto the roof and bending it back couldn’t fix;) It was pouring rain when we arrived. Lovely lady in the tasting room motioned me where to park, and we went about getting set up and then went for wine and lunch:)
The lady, Maggie I believe her name was, deserved a medal. She juggled 8 plus animated clients, doing wine tastings, did up the charcuterie platters in-between as well as telling us where to park. Give that woman a raise! Lovely spot, we parked in front of the garage where they make the wine, a large A class arrived later and took the other remaining spot. Thanks Whitebarrel, the wines were lovely, your discounts were more than generous including a free tasting! We will sing your and Maggie’s praises!
The morning was clear and cold! -4° celcius, chilly! We drove through with the sun, all the way to Tennessee! We’d stayed at this RV park before, Two Rivers Landings RV resort, (a pool makes you a resort BTW:) on the Broad River in Sevierville, Tennessee. We had an appointment in Knoxville on Monday at RV’s for less to replace the awning motor and microwave that were under warranty and thought we’d weather out the cold front with full hook-ups. It is a very touristy area, Dollywood being the big draw I think. That is Dolly Parton, of the country music fame theme park for those of you who did not know, she has her own Disneyland;)
It is a lovely spot, not too noisy down by the river. The spots facing the river are saved for A-classes, sadly, but this time of year it was half empty and the cats enjoyed a nice walk along the shore doing their sniffy thing. This is an odd part of the country, billboards market not only God, but Moonshine, personal injury lawyers and the dangers of “lust” as well as machine gun rentals;)
Not sure if I can ever get used to this but it is what it is. Tennessee:)
We tried a BBQ joint we’d visited last year, not very good, sadly but found a Mexican market with a small restaurant and had lunch there the following day in Gatlinburg. Real gorditas and chiles relleños! Quite the surprise!
In the morning we headed over to RV’s for Less North of Knoxville in the rain. They replaced the awning motor and the microwave I had sent there after a few calls back and forth to the Good Sam Warranty department we eventually got everything straightened out, authorized and done…by then it was fairly late and they invited us to spend the night, they have electric and water hook-ups so we graciously accepted after sitting waiting in the car for 5 hours while the repairs took place. We spent an hour or so talking hot rods and the in’s and out’s of the area with Ken and Butch, it was quite enlightning;) and maybe a bit scary…just a bit. I didn’t hand out an Astrogypsies card:) This has got to be the most over the top Christian paraphernalia spot I have ever seen, when you swear, you “Lose a little bit of Jesus” our salesman Ken claimed. That explains my complete loss of religion I guess;) I have never seen so many God stickers and placards in my entire life, it is a wonder we did not spontaneously combust in their presence. They were helpful, kind people but I would not have wanted to stop in wearing a burka. The alien fish on the back of the trailer was enough to send us to hell I’m sure;)
We will be back this way. So far the going has been great and the stops at the Harvest Hosts a new direction for us. Enjoying it, tomorrow we move on, time to head to the West as we’ve come as far South as we needed to get things done.
Saludos amigos and stay tuned! Alabama here we come-there are way more billboards as well;)
View of the French Broad River-Tennessee
So happy you missed the big dump of snow we got on Friday! 20cm and it looks like it is here to stay!!! It is going to be another long miserable winter, so I am looking forward to your sunny stories.