Willville

Saturday Sept 29, 2012

It's time to head south. I've had about as much fun with the New England rain as I can stand and it looks like today will yield a fair amount of precipitation as well. My strategy is to get as far south as quickly as possible. As I start today's journey, it's raining a little and I have to navigate quite a few NH and Vermont back roads before I make it to the interstates. Hopefully, at a minimum I'll make it to West Virginia by sunset and tomorrow head to Willville.

Today's trip was somewhat wet in the beginning but fortunately decreased as I continued south. This southerly route led me through NH, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and finally Virginia. Toward the end of this segment, the ride was actually very enjoyable. The skies were clear and the temperatures were pleasant. In fact, I was tempted to do an all-nighter and attempt an epic non-stop run to my home. After stopping in Winchester, Va and having a bite to eat, I came to my senses and decided that might not be the best strategy. Not only was it way too ambitious, I also wouldn't get to visit Willville which was one of my goals in the beginning of this trip. In short, I covered 500 miles today and half of that was in a light to moderate rain.

I did stop at a rest stop outside of Harrisburg, Pa and was most impressed with the stop itself and the scenery. I met a fellow Atlantan there who couldn't resist inquiring into the nature of my travels. It turns out he is a retired NY policeman returning from a visit to the old homeland.

PA Rest Stop

Ultimately, I landed in a mom-and-pop hotel in Winchester for the evening. So far, I've camped one night. Pitiful.

Sunday Sept 30, 2012

It was a great relief to get up and see clear skies. Hopefully those skies will be clear all the way to Willville.

Packing is easy today and I'm out of the hotel and on the road at about 9:30AM or so. Willville is only about 240 miles by interstate but I plan to go by the BRP starting at Waynesville, Va. This will add miles and time, but I still should have plenty of time to get there and set up my tent before dark.

Interestingly the northern section of the BRP that was under construction when I passed earlier in the week, had been completed. New asphalt where it was a dirt road is very nice indeed. Just for grins, I decided to stop and snap a picture of Otter Creek facility that I had stayed in earlier in the week.

Otter Creek Pond

Sure enough, I roll into Willville about 4:30PM or so. I have enough time to set up my tent and go have a nice sit-down dinner at one of the local diners nearby. The food was pretty good and the staff was most friendly. I wish I could remember the name of the place, but I can't. I had picked up some liquid refreshments earlier in the day, so I'm set for the evening.

There's only four patrons for the evening in Willville, but Will lights the communal campfire anyway and we all sit around the fire telling motorcycle stories. To the uninitiated, these stories might sound bland. However, if you've ever tried to put on your rain gear under an overpass and had a little difficulty, you tend to find other's stories of the same predicament quite hilarious. And so it was on into the evening with the stories and beverages. A good time was had by all.

I turn in kind of late and am very relaxed and comfortable. The camp sites at Willville are on grass, so there's a little extra padding for the bedding. I drift off to sleep but am awakened a short time later by the sound of rain. It's not a hard rain, but it's hard enough to make a distinctive sound on the tent. The combination of sounds from the flowing creek next to my tent and the rain make for a very relaxing ambiance conducive to sleep. I sure hope it's not raining in the morning when I have to pack up.