Roanoke and beyond................

Roanoke...our last stop before beating a path to the west. We had an appointment to get the maintenance service done (we like to keep the RV in tip-top shape!) and some warranty issues resolved. Since the work would take a couple of days, we stayed in a nearby hotel.

Lucky for us, our son lives in Roanoke! We were able to bother him visit with him each evening. Nice! We really enjoyed that. Since we weren't sure how long the work would take, we took advantage the first day and went on a nice little hike right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was just 10 minutes from Roanoke and we had cell service. Very important when waiting to hear from the mechanics.

Though it is past peak fall foliage, there was still some color around on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had a very peaceful drive, and actually much longer than we planned on, since we went the wrong way looking for the Chestnut Ridge Trail. Hahah!

Blue Ridge Parkway-Roanoke, Va

very scenic drive

quaint

most of the leaves are down, but some color pops out here and there

helloooooo

views were colorful in some places

The Chestnut Ridge Overlook Trail is actually on Mill Mountain and was a great leg-stretcher. Most of the leaves are down and covering the trail, so we paid real close attention to the trail blazes. We also watched our step, since there were lots of roots and rocks under those leaves. (I didn't even want to think about snakes-ahhahaha). 

finally found the trailhead...and yes, we were here before

paying attention to the red blazes

ready?

hey....I see white blazes...

this way

What an enjoyable trail! So peaceful....except for a few other hikers. As I was looking down watching out for snakes rocks, I spotted some really nice leaves and couldn't resist taking some pics of the remnants of this beautiful fall we had here in Virginia.

some beauty on the ground

we're good....still on the trail

natural barrier

looking up was nice too

enjoying the peace in the woods

pretty

do I need to hold your hand on this "ledge"??

nice

color everywhere

The trail wound around the mountain, with gentle slopes and well-graded ups and downs. A joy walking through the leaves and admiring our surroundings. It was a little bit chilly when we started the hike, but it warmed up pretty quickly. When Tom takes his hat off, you know its warm!

sometimes hard to spot the red blazes in the fall

are you getting hot?

love the color

still heading up

nice

hhmmm....Tom has his hat off...you know what that means, don't ya?  Its hot

really enjoying the trail-especially nice in the fall

lots of ravines too

cooling off

more barriers on the trail

There were so many interesting things to look at as we made our way along the trail. Sometimes I think I am a photographer going on a hike, instead of a hiker taking some pics. Hahah.

just so cool

close up

more "coolness"....hahaha

nature's art

love this trail

pretty

almost at the end of the trail

scenic Blue Ridge Parkway

Before we knew it, our camper was ready and so were we! We took off after a couple of days in Roanoke. Our first leg of the journey was about a 5 hour drive to Sevierville, TN. We don't like to travel much more than 5 hours in the RV, especially when we have DAYS of driving ahead of us. It was early afternoon when we reached the campground, and what a beauty!It helped that the weather was perfect too.

The river is right in front of us, and we enjoyed the views as we sat outside and waited for our laundry to finish. The laundry room at this campground looked brand new-and I was able to do 4 loads of laundry at once. Painless. Though this campground is on the small side, the facilities are top-notch.

view from my "office"

a really well-maintained campground

home sweet home...its good to be back in the RV!

view down our "street".....lots of empty campsites this time of year

today is a beauty though....70's

enjoying the afternoon in Tennessee  

Hope the weather holds up as we continue our trek westward!

Ready to head west...................

The past 3 months here in Louisa, Virginia, have flown by. Not sure where the time went! With the excitement of our adorable grandson's arrival, the days have just melted together and here we are....November 1st. We arrived in the middle of the hot, humid dog days of summer-and now we put the heat on in the motorhome for those 30 degree nights! Time to head out now.

lovely lake ... pretty quiet now....used to have lots of kayaks, rowboats, swimmers, and floats here

our camper is up the hill there....in the distance

the lake is at the bottom of the hill from our campsite

We really enjoyed our stay here. Though we were too busy to enjoy the campground for the first couple of months here, we eventually had time to take advantage of the great environment here. The campground is pretty big, with a lot of opportunity for nice long walks. The lake is located at the bottom of the hill we are parked on. We especially liked walking around the lake. In most parts, it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere-its that quiet. Its just short of 3 miles to walk around the lake and back, and there is plenty of additional walking opportunity throughout the campground too.

heading on the trail around the lake...no one ever goes here...lots of folks ride around in golf carts in the campground itself!

pretty

can't get lost here...hahahah

the campground is on the other side of the lake

its so peaceful  here

there's our camper...in the middle at the top of the hill

We've watched the leaves turn brilliant colors, and we've watched them come falling to the ground. There are still some leaves on the trees, but not for too much longer.  Its time to go. Though it will be hard to tear ourselves away from Jack, we will have to manage with pictures and Facetime. Haha. Our NJ trips to visit family, friends (and doctors) were fabulous and the good memories will have to hold us over as well for a few months as we head out west again. Time to "hitch up and go".

campground is empty compared to the long days of summer

the top of the hill...perfect campsite...especially on the rainy days!

want to extend our walk?

packing up our outdoor items

knitted up one more set of booties for Jack-its getting chilly out here-this little guy will never be cold!

Fall in full force.................

Fall is in full swing, and we are enjoying the colorful foliage and the fresh harvests. The day before leaving for a week in NJ, we relaxed at our campsite and read our books watched football while enjoying a nice warm acorn squash dish. It was steaming hot and tasted really good. Perfect for the chilly weather.

the best acorn squash dish!

steaming hot dish to warm us up

Hhmmm....must be half-time

As usual, we had a packed agenda for our week in NJ, and we were really looking forward to seeing everyone. The fall foliage was spectacular along the drive, and NJ was "peak". How lucky we were able to catch the colors in their prime! It was icing on the cake, so to speak. Our week went very well, considering all of the appointments we had, most of which were medical and not fun. The highlights, of course, were visiting friends and family. SOOOOO great to see everyone! (Sorry no pics to share here).

lunch on the road ....sweet potato, kale, tomato, lentils....really really good!

ummm...that's good too?  (foregoing solid food for a few days before a Dr. visit)

I know that some of you that read this blog have never been to NJ, and have no desire to based on a preconceived notion that it is, well, not the nicest....and I just want to let you know that it is not all pavement, crime and traffic here. Its actually quite nice! Best of all, the shore (beach) and the big city (NY) are all within an easy drive of just about anywhere in the state. Just sayin'. Maybe you want to put it on your travel list? 

heading out to appointments in NJ

the pumpkin patch still has a few pumpkins left

lovely scenery along the highways and byways in NJ

heading to Motor Vehicles to renew a license

The week back in NJ just flew by (miss my friends and family already!), and before we knew it, we were back "home" in Virginia. Just in time for another football game! The games echoed throughout the campground, with most people watching outside. It seemed like everyone was watching football! (Except our neighbor, who was into Nascar, and me-reading).

Football fan! Go Giants!

Since the weather forecast for the week is not the best, we decided to go apple-picking our first afternoon back home. We had a great time, especially since two very special people came along with us! What a perfect fall afternoon.

enjoying an excursion with our grandson (and daughter!)

Staying warm in Grandpa's arms

what a fun afternoon!

enjoying the views

so pretty

I've never seen so many white pumpkins

these are all pretty big too!

love the red (hoping its not poison oak or sumac!)

next year's apples starting up

There were all sorts of varieties of apples in different sections of the orchard, but some were already picked with not an apple left on the tree. Actually, we thought we were out of luck with the apple picking-there seemed to be no apples left. Ah. We hit paydirt in the Granny Smith section, and came out with a nice bag of "fresh from the tree" apples.

lots of apples here

Tom getting the highest apples

oh so many apples!

here's another good one

don't they look great? 

this section is just about empty of apples

we followed the sign to the Granny's....(how appropriate!)

the view over Charlottesville

Blue Ridge Mountains (or Shenandoah?)

the vineyards

Apple cider donuts! Oh boy....where is my will power?

The weather is starting to chill up a bit, with lots of nights in the 30's and 40's. Though the chilly days feel great to me, it is a signal that we need to start thinking about hitting the road again soon.