Much has transpired since our departure from New Orleans.  We headed back to Virginia to pick up our RV.  Then we headed off to Kiptopeke State Park, at the south end of the Delmarva peninsula, near Cape Charles.  The trip was thankfully uneventful, but a bit unnerving.  The brochure height of our camper is 13’ 4”.  The Cheasapeke Tunnel height is listed as 13’ 6”.  Nothing came off the top, so both figures were reasonably accurate.  Still, the pucker factor was high.  Tom headed off to kayak surfing practice/training, prior to the Kiptopeke Sea Kayaking Symposium, at which he was to be an instructor.  The weather was calm, and predicted wave action looked mild, so expectations were low.  It’s a three mile paddle from the put-in to the surfing action, through coastal marshes.  A stop on shore prior to heading out showed some wave action, but it was pretty far out.  We paddle the distance and found the waves to be close to perfect!  Three footers, with occasional 4s, with long runs and gentle breaking.  We surfed for hours, and I had some of the longest runs ever.  It was a wonderful day.  Day two, at a different location, gave us areas of bouncy seas, but not much you could ride.  Still, it was a good day on the water.  And then…

Back at the camp-site, the park ranger had come by at noon to advise Linda to get all loose items secured, as a storm was in the forecast.  By the time Tom returned from Kayaking at 4, the direction had changed to: “the park is closing, you need to leave”.  We learned just how quickly you can pack up and re-hitch a 5^th wheel RV.  Our goal was to get across the bridge/tunnel before winds forced it to close.  We wanted to get west, away from the water, as quickly as possible to avoid the worst of the storm.

We successfully got across the bridge and drove toward Richmond for about an hour before we stopped to regroup.  Here is where Divine grace came in.  For several years, we have hosted a Marriage Retreat at a timeshare property in Gordonsville, VA, about 60 miles west of Richmond.  It is called Shenandoa Crossing.  Of the several hundred properties in our timeshare group, only two have RV facilities, and the Shenandoa Crossing is one of them.  We had seen the RV area, but always stayed in the cabins.  At 8pm, we called and asked if they had an opening for that evening; they did!  We finally got there at 10 pm, pulled into the site (with some maneuvering, as it was tight) popped out the bedroom slide and crashed.  We didn’t even unhook the truck until the next morning.  It proved to be a great site to regroup, as we knew it well.  It gave us time to begin actually moving into the camper (this was only our 4^th night sleeping in it).  Also, on the multiple times we had been there in the past, Tom had always looked longingly at the small lake on the property as another body to kayak on.  Well, the kayak was on the car, and here was the chance.  The lake perimeter is only about 2 miles, and it was glassy calm.  Still, it was a chance to do something that I never thought would happen.  The picture attached to this post is a photo of the main lodge at Shenanndoah Crossing, from the water. Victory!

We stayed through the weekend at a very nice, well maintained site (the “common” bath/shower was individual rooms, with locking doors, each as clean as a hotel room).  Next stop: New Hampshire!