From Virginia to Ohio's Amish Country

Virginia is one of the most beautiful states. The mountains and the hillsides combine to create endless vistas of gorgeous scenery. We come here in April for grandson Ronan's birthday. When we arrive, few buds have appeared on the trees; but by the time we leave 8 days later, the trees and flowers are blooming and beautiful.

We took a different route back west than we normally do after visiting the kids. We passed by some landmarks we used to see when we were making the trek from Indiana to Washington, D.C., several times a year when Jocelyn was in college at the American University. Sideling Hill is a formation discovered when they made a cut through the hill to create I-68 in Maryland. Further on west, we passed by a life-size replica of Noah's Ark. In 10 years' time there has been little progress. I'm beginning to think they just plan to leave it as is so that people can see the sheer size.

From Wheeling, WV, we took US250 to our campground at Tappan Lake, Terry felt the need to preserve for posterity one of the switchbacks Phaeton Place was forced to negotiate. That in addition to the mountain roads with steep inclines and sharp cliffs. But I was behind the wheel and we are a team, performing flawlessly throughout the challenge we faced.

We are now in Ohio's Amish Country camped at Scenic Hills Campground near Berlin, Ohio. If you come this way, this is such a great campground. I call it no frills. All sites are full hookup, with quite a few 50A sites. There is no comfort station, however, and no playground. We count that as a plus. Sites are fairly level, some with grass, some not. The owners are here sometimes. They come in to check things out, but I think later on they maintain more of a presence. You can self register. This is our second time here and it is very comfortable. There are only a few units here. The rates are $27/night with 3 nights for $70.

Yesterday we made the rounds of a couple wineries and I stocked up. Wonderful wines. I like sweet wines and found several. We also have been to a cheese house and got stocked up on cheese. Today we went out for a buffet lunch and it was very good. Most shops here are not open on Sunday, but we took Neal for a drive out in the country and snapped a few pix. Tomorrow we have certain places we are going to check out. It is not real crowded right now which is just how we like it.

Neal has been sick for a couple days. Not sure what is ailing him, but he is not eating well. I believe that we may have made him sick with some new treats we bought him. They were homemade and I think the spices may have upset his tummy. So he is off all special stuff and back on his regular food. He is not eating a lot, but enough, which is good. He seems to be doing better.

Till next time. . .

Dale