Belle Isle State Park, Lancaster, VA

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After a rainy week at Beth Paige with our Carriage/Lifestyle friends, we needed a week to unwind.  We were looking for a new campground to spend some time before our hookup with our friends when we realized we were very close to Belle Isle SP.  We had stayed there last year and so decision was an easy one.

Located on the Northern Neck, Belle Isle SP is one of those hidden gems in the Virginia State Park System.  The Northern Neck is located between the Potomac River to the north and the Rappahannock River to the south, is amongst the earliest areas of English settlement in America and the birthplace of Robert E. Lee.  Today, it is a a largely rural area that is still home to farming and waterman.  

Belle Isle State Park was once a large estate and the estate home still exists.  The house is available to rent and would be a excellent location for weddings and large fetes.  To make it more interesting, you can arrive by carriage or boat.  

Belle Isle manor house.  Notice the nice carriage road in the front.

House dock 

Overall the park is pretty flat but it has good roads and, at this time of year, very few people using the park.  Biking is great between the roads and trails.  The campground has everything you need - 20/30/50 amp electrical and water connections.  No sewer but a dump station.  Restrooms and showers are spotless.  

Sites are large enough to take just about any size rig.  Satellite reception is tough because tree cover is heavy.  We managed to get our Trav'ller Dish to lock onto all of the Dish satellites but reception on 129 (very low in the sky here in the East) is iffy.  A new cell tower in the area means that you can actually get a phone signal (last fall you couldn't).  We get a 4G signal with Verizon that varies from 2-3 bars with a booster antenna which mean we have internet as well.  

We have at least another 40' to the back of our lot.  That's a big site!

Tent campers haven't been ignored either.  The park provides large gravel pads with each site that makes it easy to pitch a tent and anchor it.  More than half the sites this weekend are occupied by tent campers.

River views and lots of space.  What else could you ask for.

We are off to the Shenandoah Valley on Sunday for a campout with our friends Bruce and Carol from Aylett, VA.

The Wedding

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Haven't updated in a while as we have been waiting for the event of our adult lives - our son's marriage.  

We travelled from Tupelo, MS to College Park, MD and have been staying at Cherry Hill Campground in College Park.  This was the coach's first big trip and it did well.  We came early to help the kids clean out their apartment and remove the stuff we had stored there.  We also spent some time helping them get organized for their wedding.

We've already started to sort through and get rid stuff we don't need with more to come over the next month or so.  This Monday (Oct 7) we are off to a Carriage 5th wheel local chapter rally to see all of our friends from our former fifth wheel life.

The wedding was held on a beautiful, warm early Fall day at Gambrill State Park in Frederick, MD.  The park sits on top of the Catoctin Ridge which runs from the Potomac River to Camp David on into the Gettysburg area.  The wedding was held in the Tea Room which was built by the CCC in the 1930's.

 Great views into the Monocacy River Valley (City of Frederick) and the Middletown Valley.  

Like all weddings, there were things forgotten, uninvited visitors, things off schedule and so on - like our son Brian who left his dress shoes at home (saved by his friend who picked up a pair of shoes for him on his way to the wedding).  

And Molly who couldn't find her laptop which had all of the music on it.  But it showed up with the help of her Dad, so off we went.

  Anyway, at 11 am +/- the ceremony got underway and Brian Charles Baird and Molly Christine McMahon were united in marriage.  Yeah!

Uninvited guests were a bit too numerous to count.  After a down year last year, the brown stink bug has surged back.  Thank you China for another "gift".

Afterwards we all set around, stuffed our faces, shoed the bugs away and congratulated the couple.  

All things considered, a wonderful day and happy parents on both sides.