Friday, May 11, 2007

Still Lovin' Virginia!



Our new campsite is in Central Virginia not too far from the Appomattox River and Lake Chesdin. Once again this is an area steeped in history and has tons of charm in it's old country roads and farms. We took Big Alberta (our truck) out for a long "hike" yesterday afternoon exploring. I was struggling against car sickness most of the way due to the twisting turning roads and the fact that I was trying to read the map on the GPS screen and look at the scenery all at the same time. I ate about 400 ginger mints and it got me through the queasiness.




We wandered around a bit on the banks of Lake Chesdin listening to the creaking, rattling and croaking of what sounded like a thousand different frogs and/or toads. I was longing for a kayak or canoe to get out on the water and explore all the nooks and crannies of that area. It is really beautiful. We are taking a mental count of all the places we encounter in this first year out on the road to see if it would be worth the investment to buy a couple of kayaks to haul along with us on top of the truck. Nice kayaks are not cheap and it will add significant weight to our whole set up and will eat into the already ridiculous gas mileage situation so we want to be sure they would get used...a lot.

We were about 20 miles from camp when we realized... "Hey! We have not eaten anything all day!" And suddenly we were moments from death. Really. We barely made it home. I was seeing things in triple when we pulled in to the park. Grill Master McLane quickly fired up the "little girl" and cooked some asparagus, squash and fake chicken. People... if you are at all interested in the concept of fake chicken products (and I know some of you secretly are) get yourself anything made by Quorn. They are doing stuff with "faux meat" that will rock your world... I promise. "Faux Meat." I had to say that again and with quotes around it. Say it out loud. Faux Meat. It is "meat" that is not your foe. Enjoy.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That looks like some delicious microprotein there

Bethany said...

I have to correct you and on that one.... it's mycoprotien.... and it is made from fungus discovered in some field in England. Mmmmmmm... English fungus. It's best served with a spicy mustard on the side.

StefRobrts said...

We have a lot of fun with an inflatable rowboat (sevylor fish finder). Packs up small and light (compared to kayaks), and it's cheap. Easy to inflate. You might find that a good way to see if you use it enough to make it worth hauling kayaks around.

Bethany said...

Hi Stef...thanks for that suggestion! Now that we are no longer in danger of being eaten by alligators that may work out to be a good idea. We will be hitting the Mother Ship of the L.L. Bean stores up in Freeport, Maine in about a month so I would bet they might have some options when it comes to rafts like that. I am sure the North East is going to be a serious kayak purchasing temptation.

Anonymous said...

Man that is a nic shot of Lake Chesdin Sure looks like a future painting. Hey you might look into a canoe You only need one and they weigh about the same as a kayak. Some even less. you can carry alot of painting gear in them too