NOVEMBER 8:

Today was VERY cold, but another full of sunshine.  We made it out around 8 AM again this morning and stopped down the road for coffee for MW.  We are now pointed towards home, and that means it’s mostly just about getting there.

TheJonesPath.com

Ohio University Campus

We passed through Athens, Ohio and the Ohio University campus.  That looks like a great little town to explore.  Kids were out everywhere headed to classes.  We were a little off course and had to zig zag through the campus with it’s cobblestone streets to get back.

Along the way we made several stops at overlooks, both for the view and to stand up for a few minutes, and also took the short walk down to see Sandstone Falls.  I found a restaurant near tonight’s campground that sounded promising, so we just snacked for lunch.

We arrived at Pipestem Resort State Park in West Virginia in the early afternoon.  We immediately found out that dinner was going to be a bust.  We drove to the restaurant only to find it closed.  Once we were on the little mountain road, we had to go a long way to find a place to turn around.  (It was a bit of a pill, too.)  Later I checked the website, which said the restaurant would open at 4 PM, so we headed over to drop off Penelope.  Just before we left to head to dinner, I called to confirm that they were open.  The answering machine said they were now only open on Fridays and Saturdays.  Dang!  I was really worked up for this place, and the guy in the office at the campground said it was definitely worth going to.  Bummer!

Pipestem is another huge park, and the campground is nice and wooded with 81 sites (50 are full or electric only).  The attendant told us to take number 39, “the best spot in the park”, and he was right.  It is back in, but sits way away from the other sites and the road.  Of course, the park was mostly empty, so any site would have been fine.

I made stir-fry for dinner, then worked on the journal.  We watched a little TV before turning in.

A few pics from this beautiful day:

NOVEMBER 9:

Today we are driving the last leg home, and it is supposed to be raining and dreary for the entire trip.  Thankfully, it held off long enough for us to take care of loading up and dumping, and started raining just as we were getting into Brutus.

We stopped in Princeton, West Virginia to have breakfast at Shoney’s.  It was a buffet, and I didn’t think it was very good.  MW said it was good to him, so maybe my tastebuds were still messed up from the creeping crud.

Back on the road we put the pedal to the metal to get home, arriving around 1:30 PM.

The house was still standing and all was in order.  RP did a great job of keeping an eye on things and even cut the tree off of the driveway (felled by Hurricane Michael) so we could get Penelope into her spot.

I thought, after being on the road for two months, it would be good to come home.  Surprisingly, that’s not the case.  Except for seeing the kids, Boogers, Tina, Ashley, and other friends, I’d rather still be out there on the road.  We are already planning the next adventure AND maybe some big changes.

Stay tuned!