Clifftop Reflections

Clifftop 2010 is now history and we are now heading North to explore New England. Here is a few reflections on what makes Clifftop so special to us: First and foremost is seeing our old friends. One special friend that we only get to see once a year at Clifftop is Leslie. We've known her for many years and she never fails to put a smile on our faces and love in our hearts. This year, she dressed like a hula girl and dared me to post a picture of her. Well, Leslie, here you go babe!!


Another reflection concerns the unique and unusual signs and banners appearing on some of the tents and campsites around Clifftop. Click on the Richard's Roadkill Eatery picture and read the menu. Yum, yum, yuck! BTW, it's not a real eatery...

Clifftop, WV

We arrived at Clifftop last Sunday to attend the annual old-time music festival held here. We've been coming here for many years and just love the gathering of several thousand musicians who come here to play music all week. It is held at Camp Washington-Carver that is located on top of a remote mountain not far from the famous New River Bridge. Folks camp here in everything from big RVs to tents and endure heat, rain, cold or whatever nature throws at us so we can jam with old friends and make new friends in the process. Today is the last day so we'll be heading North in the morning, tired but happy.

Galax, VA

We drove up to Galax, VA yesterday where we'll spend a few nights before moving on to Clifftop, WV for the old-time music festival next week. On the way here, we had a unique experience. We were driving along Interstate 40 in our 38' RV and we get passed by - are you ready for this? - a giant motorized shopping cart on a trailer! No kidding...this thing was huge. I didn't have my camera ready in time for a picture but I did find an image of it on the Internet, so here it is.

Raleigh, NC

I never thought that Raleigh would be a place to visit on one of our RV trips - but we are now here as visitors instead of residents. We spent the past week camped out at the NC State Fairgrounds while visiting, dining and even playing music with many of our old friends. We did take some time out to visit the newly rebuilt and updated North Carolina Museum of Art that had reopened shortly after our move to Florida. A wide variety of art objects were on display both inside and out. It is a very nice place that you should definitely go see if you like art. What a wonderful week we've had. Thanks everyone!

On the Road Again

It's hard to believe, but we've left all the fun of The Villages behind, loaded up the RV and hit the road again. We're spending the first night of our trip just north of Savannah GA and will head up to Raleigh tomorrow to spend some time visiting old friends. From there, we're off to Clifftop WV for our favorite music festival and then we're going to explore New England for a while. Stay tuned, more to come...

Getting Settled In and Our Golf Car

Well, we've been here three weeks now and we're still unpacking. On the bright side, we actually have a few rooms without any boxes in them but there are still lots of pictures to hang and things to, oh how shall I say it, adjust. Our new living room furniture is on order and we are finally beginning to enjoy life without having to unpack something every waking minute. We are now getting out of the house more and getting involved in the many activities around here. We have met (and continue to meet) our wonderful neighbors. We are going to love it here in The Villages.

Shortly after moving in, we picked up our new car, or should I say golf car. We ordered it on the Internet prior to moving and even selected the color and fabric pattern there. It is a 2010 Yamaha gas golf car (not 'cart' as it has turn signals, lights and other options that makes it a 'car'). It even has our names printed on the front fenders and a built-in 'beverage container'. We use it for most of our transportation needs within The Villages including going grocery shopping - it has a large bag that will hold a shopping cart's worth of groceries. If it rains or gets cold, we simply unfold the sides and lower the protective back and travel in comfort. One of our first long trips in it was to go to the Villages Polo Grounds where we enjoyed a picnic lunch and beverage of choice while watching a polo match from beneath a shady live oak. What a cool way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Life is good!

Moving Into The Villages, FL

After an over-night stay in Georgia, we arrived on Monday, 5/3, in Florida and saw our new home for the first time. It was just as beautiful as the pictures we had seen as it was being built - see our other blog at friedsnewhome.blogspot.com. It is located in the Village of Hemingway in The Villages, FL.

On Tuesday, the movers showed up and the real 'fun' began. Picture this...Susan is in the garage checking off each box and piece of furniture being moved into the house, I am inside the house showing the movers where to put everything. Then the guy shows up to install the washer and dryer. A few minutes later, another guy shows up to install our phone and Internet. Then the DirecTV guy shows up to install the TV dish. Then, our good friends Ken & Joanne show up (they are the ones who made us fall in love with this place) to welcome us to The Villages. Talk about multitasking!!! Then, before we knew it, everyone was gone and we had a house full of boxes everywhere - but our TV worked. ;-) We headed back to the RV for a well-deserved long night's sleep.