Heading West after Front Royal

On Friday morning, July 24, we left our campground in Front Royal, Virginia and began our slow journey toward the West. We had originally planned on avoiding the Pennsylvania Turnpike but changed our plans en route. So we drove northwest to I-70 at the Maryland Pennsylvania border. I-76 is the turnpike and it merges with I-70 until you are close to Pittsburgh. It only cost $13.75 to drive on the turnpike with the RV towing the car. From there you are following I-70 alone. Eventually we got to Ohio and it was time to stop for fuel.

We found a Flying J truck/auto plaza and while I got us a coffee from the C-store, Bruce filled up the rolling condo with diesel.
After the coffee was purchased, it was time for Annie, the Schnauzer, to take a walk and do her thing on the grassy area by the fuel pumps. Mostly she enjoys getting out to sniff all over the place where her "dog friends" have previously been.

We were unable to find a campground within our membership system along our route, so we found a suitable place listed in our Trailer Life book. It was in Cambridge, Ohio and was the Spring Valley Campground. It was the Christmas in July celebration at this campground and we were lucky to get a space. It cost us $29.00 for the night which is a far cry from our $10.00 at a membership park, but all in all, still a fair price. It had full hook-ups, 50 amp, and was right off the interstate.

We left the next morning and continued on I-70 into Indiana. Farm country! We had made a reservation for 3 nights at a park in our Coast to Coast system. $10.00 a night! It was the White Oaks on the Lake Resort in Monticello, IN. and was north of Indianapolis. We got a nice long, back-in space. While we were getting ready to back in, the old guy behind us came out of his RV to see if I needed any help. "No", I said with a smile, "I can do it". I thought he was going to stand there and watch to see if I could actually handle my job but he went back home.

White Oaks on the Lake is exactly that....on Lake Freeman. Lake Freeman was created back in the 1920's to provide hydroelectric power. It is a beautiful lake and while we were there we saw a lot of people with their watercraft enjoying the clear, blue water. There are many beautiful homes and cottages built around the lake and all have boat docks. This resort had a pool, clubhouse, mini golf, basketball, beach, tennis and canoe rentals.

This is Lake Freeman.

In order for us to tackle the problems of backing into RV spaces, Bruce and I use these walkie-talkies. I refuse to run around outside the motorhome waving my arms and gesturing to make Bruce understand which way I want him to turn. With the walkie talkie I can simply give directions and stand still. He has confidence with me giving those directions and looking at the view in the back up camera and we get the job done quickly. We got these Motorola units at WalMart.

We found a McDonald's in the town of Monticello along with a WalMart Supercenter for groceries. On Sunday we went to the local United Methodist Church to worship with the local folks.

Staying in Monticello at the White Oaks on the Lake Resort, was a nice restful 3 days. We hadn't planned on doing any sightseeing in this area. The weather was great and we had good places to walk in the morning for exercise. We also had good books to read and the satellite TV was working just fine! What more could a full-timer ask for?

Until next time....so long for now!