Our destination on this journey was Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania to spend a little time with Ben and a couple of very special guests. The drive to Slippery Rock from Anna Maria Island is about 18 hours, so we had a few stops planned as we made our way north.
Typically when we "hit the road" we leave very early in the morning, however this time we enjoyed a morning visit with NaNa before heading out around mid-day. While traffic on the interstates leaving Florida can sometimes be a nightmare, we were fortunate that on both I-75 and I-95 it wasn't too heavy. We did have one major obstacle standing in our way, a huge line of thunderstorms moving through Georgia.
We made a quick strategic decision. We decided to slow it down and let the storms pass, so we made a diversion to St. Augustine. It wasn't a long visit, but it was enough to confirm what Governor DeSantis has been telling everyone, "Florida is open for business"! The narrow streets were packed with people of all ages enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon in the Nation's Oldest City. It was good to see people out and about and it was especially good to see that business was booming at many of the shops and restaurants that had struggled so much over the past year.
We missed most of the heavy rain, but we did encounter a downpour between Brunswick, Georgia and Savannah. I was on the phone with Marriott trying to make a reservation for the night, so Beth was driving and did an outstanding job navigating us to the hotel. We had visited Savannah recently and had a great time. This time through it was just to get a good nights rest and hit the road again.
We had booked two nights at the Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, West Virginia. As we made our way towards the resort we made a detour to enjoy a walk through the Congaree National Park which is near Columbia, South Carolina. We also enjoyed a special lunch with some good family in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thanks Katie, Dan and Paula! We'll try to give you a little more notice next time.
The Stonewall Resort is a part of the West Virginia State Park system. While you don't typically associate the words "resort" and "State Park" together, the Stonewall Resort lives up to it's name. It's located on Stonewall Jackson Lake (don't tell the cancel culture crowd the name!) and offers accommodations that include camping, cabins and the hotel. There is an Arnold Palmer designed golf course and amenities for every member of the family. This was the third time we had stayed at a hotel in a West Virginia State Park (Pipestem and Hawksnest were the other two). This was the most luxurious of the three, but all three have been outstanding.
Ben's days off are currently Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We planned our arrival so we would be able to enjoy spending time with him on his well deserved days off. We enjoyed the two days with him tremendously. We managed to pack in an outdoor lunch at the very scenic Allegheny River Grille, had a treasure hunt at the numerous thrift stores in Franklin, PA and enjoyed a round of golf at the Foxburg Country Club. This nine hole golf course was established in 1887 and is the nations oldest continuously operating golf course. Any golf enthusiast would enjoy playing this short but challenging course, as well as visiting the small museum located inside the clubhouse.
Our weekend at Ben's was great! On Friday we were joined by two very special guests, Sarah and James who got up very early to catch a cross country flight from California to join us. Beth and I are fortunate to have two children that have always liked each other and gotten along very well. As much as they enjoy each other, it's now a real treat to watch James with his Uncle Ben. Those two have formed a special bond and are real buddies.
Ben had a weekend full of activities planned for the "sold out" campground at Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest. He had mapped out an activities schedule that kept James busy and smiling from ear to ear throughout the weekend. There were crafts, relay races, candy bar bingo, gem mining, hey-hey-hey hayrides, visits by Yogi, Boo Boo, Cindy Bear and Ranger Smith and so much more. James and a couple of his new friends from Pennsylvania even enjoyed a bedtime story with Yogi on Saturday night.
A little weary from all the fun but still smiling, Sarah and James flew back to California from Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning. Beth and I flew back to Florida on Tuesday evening.
As for The Silver Bullet, it's going to be spending most of the summer in Pennsylvania. We'll pay an occasional visit and enjoy taking it on a few road trips. We'll be back here in Florida until Tuesday when our next adventure begins..................
