Virginia is for Lovers....

"Virginia is for Lovers" ......that's got to be one of the most interesting state mottos since "Pure" Michigan.  

When we arrived at the Lowe's Tuesday evening we took a walk around the shopping center parking lot.  We discovered a Goodwill store on the other end of the lot.....at the time it was about 7:30 pm, and the store was closing at 8, so we decided we would revisit it after 8 am the next morning.  This store appeared to have a large clothing selection.  Well around 9 am we walked over to the store to see what we could see.  TLE says she could have spent hours there...as it was we were there about 90 minutes and both came away with some things we could use.

I came away with a new pair of cargo shorts....almost new for $3.50, a braided leather belt for $1, an almost new burgundy long sleeve t-shirt for $3.50, and a pair of black pants (for our job at the Indy 500) for $4.50....$12.50 for a new outfit....I think that beats Burlington Coat Factory.....:D  The last time I bought some cargo shorts was in Homa, LA at $18/pair for two pairs.  TLE's haul included 2 pairs of shorts and 2 sleeveless shirts, bringing our total shopping bill to $26.  Yes, your're right.....a few articles of worn out clothing will be leaving our coach at our next stop.

When we got back to the coach TLE made breakfast, then we readied the inside of the coach for departure.  We rolled out of the lovely Lowe's parking lot around 11:30 am.  Our goal for the day?  Ft. Chiswell, VA.  When I had initially checked the distance it came out to  99 miles, however, when I plugged it into the GPS it came out to 89 miles.....as it turned out that distance was just about right.

It was about 54 miles to the Virginia border, and the Virginia Welcome Center rest area.  The Interstate was mostly smooth surface, and gradual elevation gain and loss.  We arrived at the Virginia Welcome Center just shy of 1 pm, and spent some time walking around the paved trails.....trying to get in a half mile of walking.

Virginia Welcome Center

We had no idea when we merged back on to I-77 we would gain 1800 feet in elevation over the next 15 miles bringing us almost to 3,000....that was one of the longest 5-6% grades I have climbed since the Continental Divide back in Wyoming.  Ultimately we settled down to about 2,200' by the time we exited the Interstate at Fort Chiswell, VA.  Grinding uphill in 3rd gear at 40 mph wears on me....I'm constantly checking the engine, oil, and tranny temps to be sure nothing gets too hot, so the sort driving day ended up being fortuitous.

Since the temperatures were forecast to get into the high 20's we opted for an electrical connection this night at Ft. Chiswell RV Park and Campground.  This RV park is just .4 miles off the Interstate, and, we found out a little later, is a popular overnight stop for many RVers....when we parked in our pull through spot around 2:30 there were about a dozen RV's in this park....within 30 minutes the parade of RV's coming in for the night began.....within a couple of hours every site was full...that's close to 100 sites!

Our view yesterday at Ft. Chiswell RV Park

Once we got set up, and I was able to take care of some insurance work we went out for a walk around the park...we managed to log about 1.2 miles of brisk walking....the park is right on the edge of cattle grazing land.

As the sun set behind the local hills the temperatures began to drop so we began to turn on our heaters....all except the front electric heater (see below).  We spent the evening reading, and then watched Survivor at 8 pm (we have cable here).

I don't remember if I mentioned in a previous blog entry that our front Square D electric heater bit the dust a few days ago.  This is a well documented problem with these heaters....we have three of them.  Eventually the fan bushing (plastic) deteriorates, and the fan freezes up....well it lasted 30 years, so we can't complain too much.  Square D is out of business, so we went on the  Newell Gurus user group website and found that a few others had had this issue and found a replacement heater that would fit in the spot where our failed heater is mounted.  I found the King Electric PAW replacement heater on Amazon Prime.  I ordered it Monday afternoon, and it arrived at the home of our upcoming hosts Tuesday afternoon....amazing!  When we arrive at our next destination Thursday it will be there for me to install.  

Time to get ready for our drive up to Huntington, WV....189 miles distant.

Thanks for stopping by!