Michael Vreeland (20733)

Virginia State Director

Well, here we sit in Virginia Beach waiting on the May Virginia Wheels Rally to start. Our Florida trip this year was pretty eventful. I normally cycle between Thousand Trails Clermont, Encore Lake Magic, and Encore Southern Palms in Eustis. Sharon wanted some time near beaches, after all we are in Florida, so I started investigating and discovered several other Encore campground options near Daytona Beach. We made a reservation at one and it worked out OK. It was not full hook up – free honey wagon service on Tuesdays and Fridays. Worked ok but we saved laundry for Tuesday and Friday mornings and had a full grey tank when dumped. On the plus side we also had satellite coverage so the campground would work if we could get full hookup. They do have full hookup so I took a couple hours to map out those full hookup sites that have satellite coverage so I can specify a site when I make a reservation. There was another Encore campground in the area, but the Encore available sites were pretty crappy so that campground is off the list.

Since Sharon has never been to the Keys we decided to pay for a week at Fiesta Keys. Once I got there, I decided to check to see if I could extend the stay using my Trails Connections membership. It worked and I was able to extend the stay by 9 additional days although it was a day or 2 at a time so I had to call every day or so to see if availability had opened up. One of the main things I wanted was a Lobster Ruben so the day after we arrived, I told Sharon I was going to get lunch. I was a happy camper driving down to Marathon to get that “pot of gold” at the end of the Rainbow. I tell everybody going to Fiesta Keys to go to Keys Fisheries and get the Lobster Ruben. Like I said before it is so good you tongue will slap your face to get more. The closer I got the more my mouth watered. After parking I had to restrain myself from running to the counter – ok truth be told running is beyond my everyday activity, unless of course I am being chased by a bear and hopefully someone slower than me is with me so I can trip them up or out run them, just saying. I got to the counter and proudly ordered a Lobster Ruben!! Imagine my surprise when the lady said they were out of them. My jaw dropped to the deck. I know there is a season for lobster but just my luck to get there when they were out of season. I did finally get one a couple days later but I could tell it was frozen lobster and not fresh but still tasty. The Keys stay ended in early May so on our way back to Virginia we stopped at a mom & pop campground at Flagler Beach for a week. You could step out of the coach and pick up a rock and throw it in the ocean. Pretty cool but the one thing most of us don’t consider is sand, we had sand everywhere and Sharon had a real hard time keeping on top of it. But everyone should do it at least once – pretty cool.

After the Virginia Wheels rally, we are heading to Americamps RV Resort in Ashland, Virginia for about four weeks. We will visit with family, catch up on doctor and dental visits, and then head to Myrtle Beach for the summer – specifically Brunswick Sunset RV Park. If you are nearby either stop by and swap some lies.

The rest of the summer is not so jammed pack. We will not be going to the International Rally at Pueblo, been there once already. We will be at the joint Virginia Wheels, SC Tarheels and Palmetto Pals rally being held in Mount Airy, North Carolina the “real life Mayberry” from the TV Show. This rally is on the NKK Calendar so please register for it if you can go. I hope to see you there.

This year’s Virginia State Rally will be held at Misty Mountain Camp Resort, 56 Misty Mountain Road, Greenwood, Virginia 23943 phone 540-456-6409. Dates of Rally Sept 22 – 26, 2024. Rally cost $130 per person, site rates are $70 less a rally discount plus taxes. Current plans are a guided Charlottesville Ghost Tour and an optional Thomas Jefferson Home “Monticello” guided tour. The cost of this Highlight’s tour is $42 for adult and veterans get a discount of $10, cost of veteran’s tour is $32. This tour also offers a Monticello Farm Table box lunch for an additional $16. This menu can be viewed at https://monticello-www.s3.amazonaws.com/files/pdfs/farmtableboxlunchmenu.pdf. This tour and lunch is not included in the rally fee. On arrival night (Sunday) we will be having Pizza and salad. The next morning (Monday) we will be serving Bagels to order. On Tuesday night we will have a Smoked BBQ dinner with sides. On Thursday night we will have a TBD dinner. Other potential meals are being considered. Of course, we will be doing card bingo and we will include a corn hole tournament. You can register at the NKK website and please do not forget to call Misty Mountain Camp Resort to reserve your site. Sharon and I hope to see you there.

We have also registered for the Region 5 Rally in Brunswick, Georgia at the Coastal Georgia RV Resort 10/24/24 – 10/29/24. I have stayed there before, and it is a great Resort. We hope to see you there.

So, to all please travel and be safe – we want to see your smiling faces in our travel and hope to be able to sit and swap some lies with you. Rally On!!!!!

 I can be reached at beagleRV@gmail.com or 540-809-9830.