Living in North Carolina with relatives in Maryland and Massachusetts, Virginia has always seemed like a "drive through" state for our travels. But this weekend, we decided to give the Old Dominion its due and head up to Goose Point Recreation Area. We haven't tested how the "little truck that could" pulls up mountains yet, so this would be the first real test. I was a bit nervous, but knew the truck would come through! We loaded up our stuff and headed out Friday afternoon following work. The drive was surprisingly pleasant. After a short(ish) stint on the main highway, we cut off to some backroads that weaved through the countryside—and weaved they did! Some were narrow enough that the trailer was reaching from yellow to white across the entire lane. As a coworker of mine once said, "I pay taxes on the other side of the road too," so I wasn't super worried. Once we got within a few miles of the park, we really hit the mountains. The drive to the front gate was six-miles long and felt like a climb to the heavens. Not a straight-up climb of course, but more of a rollercoaster, up and down kind of thing. It really reminded us of our adventure on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There were a few steep sections but nothing the little truck couldn't handle. It was quite the trooper! As the truck caught its breath at the front gate, the attendant asked us if we wanted to take a spot "at the bottom." Unsure of what that meant, we agreed enthusiastically! After all, they wouldn't have asked if it wasn't an upgrade, right? So, we traded in our original spot 53 for spot 11, "at the bottom." It was supposed to rain the next day, and apparently the original tenants of site 11 got scared and left. Well, their loss! We made the drive down the rest of the mountain and pulled into our weekend home. Boy, were we impressed... The site was huge, flat, mostly private, and lakefront. There's not much more you can ask for! We set up camp and relaxed for the rest of the evening, looking out over the lake. The next morning, Rose woke up early and saw very pink light coming through the window. She opened the trailer door and disappeared for several minutes. Being curious about what was going on, I opened the bedroom windows to find one of the coolest sunrises I've ever seen! Rose was out snapping a few pictures. After we enjoyed the sunrise for a bit (aka. I went back to bed), we got up and had our morning coffee by the lake. There wasn't a cloud in the sky (yet), so we decided to hike our way up the mountain to see where we were supposed to be staying all weekend in good ol' site 53. It wasn't very far, but our legs could definitely feel the hills. Site 53 was waaaay up at the top of the mountain. There were some awesome lake views, if you could see through the trees. We were definitely glad we got our upgrade (or downgrade, if you follow altitude). Content with our upgrade, we headed back down the mountain to prepare for the rain. It was still sunny at the moment, so we explored the bottom section of the campground. There was a cute little walkway with lights lining the edges and a really cool fishing dock across a little inlet from the campground. They also had one of the best campground amphitheaters we've ever seen! It was so cool that I decided to give a quick lecture to my audience of zero (Rose wasn't listening either). There was a little trail leading into the woods from the amphitheater, but it didn't seem to lead anywhere. We followed it for a bit before it got super narrow and almost dumped into the lake. We weren't really in a hiking mood anyway, so we snapped a few pictures and started making our way back to the trailer. When we got back to the trailer, our neighbors were also out and started talking to us. Apparently, they were new campers (started in January) and were curious about our trailer. Our, admittedly awesome, trailer has turned quite a few heads in campgrounds since we got it. There haven't been many trips without someone approaching us to ask about it. We talked to our neighbors for a while, going over features, sharing tips, and talking about our adventures before the rain started coming down. Both we and our neighbors frantically pulled our chairs in and hid in our respective trailers. Of course, a little rain can't keep me and Rose inside for too long! After a quick Google search on the phones, we saw there was a small town nearby called Bassett, VA that had an antique mini mall. We like antiques, so we put on our rain gear and headed to town. Little did we know, Bassett, VA is the home to the one-and-only Bassett Home Furnishings! It was a tiny little town with tons of massive warehouses and factories. It almost looked a little out of place. Still shocked by the realization, we made our way to the antique store. The store was on a "riverwalk." I use the quotes because it didn't seem like the riverwalk idea had been fully realized. They had pavilions and a few decks, but there wasn't a "walk." We parked the truck and headed into the mini mall. The store was... unique. There were plenty of knicknacks, like any antique store, but that's about all. There wasn't anything that really peaked our interest. They did, however, have a year-round Christmas room filled with trees and Santa Clauses. I figured my dad would get a kick out of it, so we snapped a few pictures to send. On the way back to the campground, we stopped at a few other campgrounds in the area to see what else was around. Apparently, there's a lot! There were several recreational areas and state parks scattered about. We saw a sign leading to the dam that made the lake we were camping on, so we decided to check it out. It was beautiful, even in the rain! We made one last stop at nearby Fairy Stone State Park (had to get a sticker for the cooler!) and headed back to the campsite to settle in for the day. As a part of the "big news" mentioned in the last post, Rose and I just got an unlimited hotspot for internet on the go. We wanted to test out A) how it works out in the middle of nowhere, and B) is it really unlimited? What better way to put it through the paces than on a rainy camping day? We put on our comfies, connected all our devices to the internet and had a lazy day right there in the trailer. Rose facetimed her friend Jessie and her mom, while I stayed in the recliner and streamed movies all day. It was AWESOME! We finished out the day relaxing in the recliners, drinking "sodas," and watching Netflix. That's camping, right...? The next morning was absolutely beautiful, which made it really hard to pack up and leave. We had our usual coffee and some breakfast out by the lake for the last time. It was hard to pack up with such beautiful weather—especially after we felt like we lost a day to the rain—but it was a great adventure overall. The truck did have a little trouble climbing the 11% grade leaving the park, but all went well and we're excited for the next trip! Oh yeah, the BIG news! Well, maybe you'll have to wait until the next post... We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise too early, now would we?
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