2 days, 569 miles via I-75, I-64, I-77, I-79. I-68 and, near DC, I-270, I-495 and I-95.
Day 1: Georgetown, KY, to Sutton, WV
QTE Hop 5, Day 1
The only things that made this day difficult were the terrain – very hilly – and the rain – intermittent with occasional downpours. I was also pretty weary after the work and the rain in Georgetown. The best thing about our overnight stay – at the Flatwoods KOA – was that it allowed us to put another state on our map of the US. We have now stayed at least one night in 19 states.
Patience at Flatwoods KOA
The campground, though small, was really nice. It was part of a complex that included a Day’s Inn hotel (where we had guest privileges to the pool and other amenities), a conference center and a large amphitheater. We splurged on the dinner buffet at the Day’s Inn and were pleasantly surprised. It included prime rib that was superb, interesting sides such as polenta and some tasty strawberry cobbler for dessert. A very nice meal which, including a glass of wine for me, came to $51 before tip. Highly recommended.
Amphitheater
When we came out of the restaurant we were treated to a nice rainbow.
Rainbow
Day 2: Sutton, WV, to Lorton, VA
Hop 5, Day 2
We were glad that we made this 308 mile trip on Saturday. It was, after all, the weekend after July 4th and the traffic was heavy. I can only imagine how bad the traffic would have been on Sunday.
This trip was mostly on interstate highways. The shortest route – by some 45 miles – would have had us cutting across West Virginia on US 33 and other US highways, but Jett eagerly agreed to the longer route. Wider lanes and fewer curves are highly valued.
We had an interesting refueling stop at a small gas station just off of I-68 in Friendsville, MD. It was not only small but quite busy. We were fortunate in that we could pull up to the rightmost pump, which made exiting easier, but were unfortunate in having some yahoo in a school bus next to us. He finished pumping just as we were pulling in and, due to the constraints of the station layout, his only exit option was to back out of the pump and go behind us. He insisted that we pull forward to give him room. We did, though a bit annoyed by his impatience. It took him a good 5 minutes to maneuver his way to the exit, by which time I could have filled my tank. But even with the “easier” position as the end pump, getting out was a little scary. We cleared a parked pickup by scant inches.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. We made it to Lorton and the beautiful Pohick Bay Regional Park by 4pm and were met there by Jett’s son and grandson. Jett’s other son and two grandchildren arrived a bit later. It was a wonderful reunion. Hot dogs for all.
We had an electric-only site for one night, then moved to a full-service site for the remaining 6 nights. The lack of a water supply was a surprise to us. Fortunately we had enough in our fresh water tanks to make it through (barely), but as that water had been sitting there for 10 months, we didn’t trust it to drink. Beer for me, juice and soda for everyone else.
The full-service site was the same one we had back in October 2012 when we were novices and were thrilled that we got Patience backed into the very tight opening in a single try. But even with nearly a year of experience under my belt I could not even come close to duplicating that accomplishment. It took me about 6 tries to get the RV situated correctly.
The rain continued. We had rain every day we were in VA. Jett’s son Devin has a beautiful new power boat that we took out on Pohick Lake on Saturday, which was mostly sunny with just a few showers. I got to swim with my grandson Patrick and to experience a very bumpy high-speed ride on an inner tube towed behind the boat. I kept it short, not wanting to tick off my back.
New tires!
I got four new tires on the truck while I was there, to the tune of just over $1,000. These were the 4 dually tires on the back of the truck that some people had recommended that we replace before we began our trek west. I felt pretty good that we had gotten an extra 10,000 miles out of them, but I also felt good that the truck now had some rear tires with tread.
Sparky at work
I worked out of Jett’s sons’ house while Jett was enjoying her sons and grandchildren. We rented a car for her for a few days so that she could go places on her own. She took them to the Pirates Cove waterpark at Pohick (which, if truth be known, they could have walked to – it was less than half a mile from our RV site) among other places. We also had a couple of nice campfire cookouts at our site. Patrick and his father slept in a tent on the site Friday night before we departed. I don’t think they got much sleep, but at least they didn’t get rained on that night.
On Saturday morning, amid teary farewells, we departed for MA and the end of the QTE.
Josh and Patrick
Sleeping Zachary
Jett and Regan
Cookout