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While I do need to take off next week from work, it looks like as of now the calendar looks good for me getting next week off from work. Saturday into Sunday looks somewhat rainy, or at least showery, but I can survive a night in the rain, especially if a lot of the days will be spend driving if I ultimately decide to go down to West Virginia. That’s what I want to do, but it’s such a long trip, and that gives me pause with my old truck, plus all that time driving and the necessary piss breaks.
I am doing fine as long as I restrict my coffee consumption to less then a cup in the morning, and be careful how much other “wet” things I have for breakfast, no oatmeal overnight, no matter how convenient that might be. Especially for that second day, there isn’t a lot of places outside of gas stations to stop for pee breaks between Tioga, Penna. and Cumberland, Maryland. When I’m down in West Virginia or whatever I decide to spend the balance of the week, I can be free to consume as much excess coffee with cinnamon and ginger as I want. I am thinking I’ll start out the road trip with hard boiled eggs, homemade bread, a banana and maybe some five hour energy shots.
Weather looks good for most of next week, especially for the portion of the trip that I would spend down in West Virginia. Might even be good enough on Sunday to spend a few hours poking around Cumberland Maryland on the Chesapeake – Ohio Canal Trail, though I want to reserve enough time to stop in Keyser to go to Walmart to get any necessary additional supplies for the balance of the week, as the only shopping options in Davis and Thomas WV are Stop and Shop Express and Dollar General, both of which aren’t much bigger then a modern gas station. I plan to go shopping tomorrow at Walmart for more mouse traps, hopefully a better smoke detector that doesn’t constantly keep going off when cooking, windshield wipers, and a lot of food and supplies I need for the week, though I’ll probably have time to stop in Oneonta too on the way down Saturday, just because I’ll most certainly forget things, need to pee and it’s going to be a rainy day.
Of course I could still reconsider going to West Virigina. I saw the hot cider-apple doughnut sundae with local doughnuts made at Tobey’s Doughnut Shop that the Glen Dairy Bar is selling this month. Yum, yum, yum. That gives me pause. How can I work in Watkins Glen to my trip? Lol! I do at any rate want to find an orchard with hot apple cider and doughnuts on the way down, plus an ice cream parlor along the way with pumpkin ice cream, even if I don’t ultimately end up going through the Finger Lakes.
At any rate, I look forward to getting down to wherever I decide to camp for the balance of the week, and get things set up. Being able to relax, get some good meals cooking on the campstove. Enjoy some soups and stews, maybe bake some bread or biscuits either in the dutch oven over a fire or the camp oven over the stove. It should be a lot of fun. Warm up by the heater and the fire, then get up early before dawn, make coffee up, have breakfast, and watch the sun rise. Ride bike through out the day, explore scenic canyons and trails, hike through the mountain laurel.
Is that even possible? I heard they have a lot of coal there, it’s not like the Gaza strip.
I so wanted to go to West Virginia this year. And I might but not next week. I keep putting off my decision to formally request to not take off next week from work, hoping in vein that the forecast for the High Country of West Virginia would improve in vein.
It’s been a tough decision as I really wanted to go next week when there would still be good color but after the crowds of Columbus Day Weekend. When it would still be fairly warm and the days relatively long for the autumn season.
But the cruel reality is that the low pressure is moving further south than originally expected and it’s not only expected to deliver a significant amount of rain come Saturday into Sunday – which I don’t care so much but leave the High Country socked in rain showers and fog most of the week, with highs in the low 40s with the strong winds that give the trees of Dolly Sods their distinctive shape. Really doesn’t sound like much fun for camping.
I’m sure I could survive hot tenting but it wouldn’t necessarily be a totally pleasurable experience, especially figuring it’s not cheap to drive my Big Jacked Up Truck all the way to West Virginia which is about 500 miles and two days away from Albany. A lot of gas and wear and tear on my twelve year old truck. And that means at least one night each way camping at the County Bridge campground in Pennsylvania which is relatively inexpensive but not free. It would be lots of money spent for camping in hypothermia weather.
Maybe the forecast will improve for the following week or even in three weeks when Election Day and Veterans Day holiday fall on the same week, offering extra time off without using as much time. Or maybe I’ll plan other smaller trips closer to home. But I’m disappointed as I really was looking forward to my West Virignia trip.
