Nice Walmart for an Overnight and a Bit of Trouble

Bremen, IN     (Click on Pics to Enlarge)

This will be a short blog for today as it just speaks to a bit of travel.

We left Dumfries, VA Tuesday and began our journey toward Goshen, IN and the Escapees' Escapade.  We ran into rain almost the entire journey.   I don't mind driving in the rain, but it sure gets the coach dirty.

We usually stay in campgrounds as we travel, but for just an overnight stay I just hate to pay for a site when all we're going to do is catch a late dinner and sleep before proceeding early the next morning.

The route we chose dictated that we head thru West Virginia and western Maryland.  A bit of a hilly ride for the east coast.  We decided to stop for the night just east of Wheeling, WV (near Triadelphia).  We had stayed at the Cabela's lot on a prior trip, but after talking to our friend Bill Osborne (Seeing the USA blog) we decided to try the Walmart in the same general area.  Thanks for the suggestion Bill.

This Walmart was unlike others we had stopped, because the one here had a dedicated RV parking area. 

The area was divided from the rest of the customer parking and the sites were VERY long and easy to get into and out of.  There are about 12 spots here, but only 3 RVers for the night.

Did I mention that it rained almost the entire trip on us?  Earlier in the afternoon we stopped at a rest area in West Virginia for lunch.  While eating, our Tire Traker pressure monitor signaled.  It showed that we were losing air pressure on the left rear tire of the Honda Fit.  I threw on the raincoat and with tire pressure gauge in hand ventured outside threw the rain and heavy winds for confirmation.  Sure enough, the tire was now down to 19 PSI and I could see "something" protruding from the tread area of the tire.  This is one time when I wished that we weren't carrying two bicycles inside the Fit and two on the back.  Of course, that little temporary tire is stored under the bikes inside which necessitated removal of most everything.

Got the tire changed and was able to drive to the above mentioned Walmart.  Karen had called ahead and found out that they could repair the tire, so that was our first order of business upon arrival.

The tire was repaired for $10 and made it successfully the next day on our trip to Indiana. Let me strongly urge to anyone who does not have some brand of Tire Pressure Monitoring System that you should certainly give it some consideration.  I will guarantee you that it would have been impossible for me to feel that low tire on the rear of the Honda Fit.  I'm sure that it would have been completely shredded before I would have "felt" anything.

Oh yes, the item that was in the tread.  I would not have believed it had the Walmart guy showed me when he dismounted the tire from the rim.  I think it's part of the scissors section from a Swiss Army-style knife, but not certain.  I must have run over it at just the right, make that wrong, angle. Only about 1/4 inch of the part to the left was observable sticking from the tread.  The rest was inside the tire.

Oh well, just part of the "fun" of being a fulltimer.  We made it to our current destination in IN and we're safe, if not dry. (It's raining here again this afternoon.)

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Natitude?????

Dumfries, VA        (Click on Pics to Enlarge)

What the heck is "Natitude" you ask?  It's a marketing slogan used by the Washington Nationals Major League baseball team to encompass the combination of "Nationals" and fan "Attitude". 

We decided to leave TT Chesapeake last Friday and will eventually be heading towards the Escapees RV Club's nationwide rally called the Escapade in Goshen, IN in a couple of weeks.  We had a few days extra in our travel plans so we decided to head back up to Dumfries, VA and catch a couple of Washington Nationals baseball games on Saturday and Sunday.

Platform at the Huntington Station

We learned by living in this area for many years that traffic can be a nightmare on any day of the week.  When we head to the National's Park (in downtown DC) we always ride the Metro System.  You probably don't save much from a money standpoint, but it's worth it to us to avoid the traffic and parking aggravation.

We were able to exit the Metro on Half Street, just a short walk from the center field entrance gates at the park. The ball park was constructed so that you enter at the mezzanine level, so the field is immediately ahead.  Here's the first view of the field as you come thru the gates.

Here's a view from behind home plate.  Our seats were not quite this good, but I will say that there really are no "bad" seats in the park (some just farther away than others).

This was the view from our seats on Saturday. We were in Section 417 (way up there), but still a great vantage point to see the entire field.

Saturday's game was a good one for the home team.  Washington defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0!







We really enjoy the "atmosphere" at Major League ball games.  The sights and smells are all part of that experience.  We're not too fond of the inflated food prices at games, but we always look for deals or coupons when available.  For informational purposes (because neither one of us are beer drinkers) a domestic beer will cost you $9 and a "premium" beer $9.75.  I couldn't afford too many of those even if I was a beer drinker!

We had better seats for Sunday's game (Section 308).  It was a beautiful afternoon for baseball.  Lots of folks in attendance.

Here's a picture of Jason Werth, one of Washington's better players, at bat.

It wasn't all fun and games for the Nats today.  Here's Danny Espinosa after being hit by a pitch.  He was able to get up and continue, however.

There are some great views around the park, as well.  Here is a distant view of the US Capitol from the left field side.

For anyone who remembers the Washington Senators (and I did), you'll remember Frank Howard.  He was one of the stars on a team which didn't win a whole lot of games back in the late 60's and early 70's.  This is a bronze statute commemorating his achievements in baseball.

Unfortunately, the game didn't go as well for the Nationals on Sunday, and they wound up losing 4-2 to the Padres. Attendance was pretty good for both Saturday and Sunday's games and we enjoyed them both.

Oh, I almost forgot, Sunday was Jordan Zimmerman bobblehead day!  That was worth going just for that!  LOL













Thanks for stopping by to take a look!