Tag: Bugg’s Island Lake

Home Again & What Preceeded

May 3, 2016 – we’re home and Roomba is unloaded (only just made it before the rain came), but not in his cozy home because we have to take him for an inspection this month. So the backing into the garage part will come later.

But let me back and fill a bit.

Since my last post, the keyboard for my iPad died, and I forgot to bring its charging cable. This makes typing slow and fraught with errors, as I return to learning how to type on the face of the iPad.

In addition, we got notice from our cell service that we are nearing the end of our data plan amount, so this post had to be delayed until we returned to wifi access. So it is a compendium packed full with our 3 days and 4 nights at North Bend Campground.

With a slow start to our first day in camp (Friday, April 29), and overcast but not raining weather, I decided to head out on the bike for a bit of exercise. Meanwhile Kerry and Gloria set up below our site on the beach for a bit of fishing. Jack was snoozing under the awning and I don’t know what Jack, Martha, John, and Lisa were doing.

I rode basically the same route Jack and I had ridden back in March, through all the loops of the campground, when we had come this direction and camped in Occoneechee. I was able to really gain some speed and crank-turns going across the dam toward the closed (until May 1) area D. That is truly a lovely little area with a beach and pretty sites. I ended up hitting that flat dam road and the camp loops twice during my tour, so I managed to work up 10 miles on the odometer. 

A stop along the D-area dam was also a nice place for pix, and it tried to see Roomba from there, but could only see the roof of our screen house, and Kerry and Gloria fishing below.

    
For lunch, Jack and I cooked the truly glorious chicken, spinach, and cheese sausages we’d gotten from Trader Joe’s. On buns with a bit of mustard, it was a flavor sensation that we can repeat, as there were four in the pack and we ate only two.

Later, Jack, Martha, and my Jack took another, shorter bike tour of the area, and we saw some Canada geese with five little goslings moving along the grassy part of the shoreline. I wasn’t able to capture them very well, but some of those brown blobs in the grass are goslings.  

We also rode to Area B, that Jack and I had eyeballed last month, and with more leaves on the trees now, we could readily see that we’d have plenty of sun for solar gain, but also good shade during the hottest time of the day. It’s an unserviced site, but right on the peninsula, with fresh breezes and very few neighbors. 

   
As dinner time approached, we gathered at Jack and Martha’s site, enjoyed the stories, sunset, and watching the flora and fauna surrounding us. Martha had prepared a delicious meal we all shared and contributed to and we had a lovely time.

   
 The plan for Saturday, April 30, was to head out with bikes on cars to Boydton and check out the Tobacco Heritage trail there. Kerry and Glo decided not to ride, but all the rest of us took advantage of the excellent weather, and we drove the route Jack and I had taken in the fall of 2014: the Beaches to Bluegrass section ride we’d ridden with Alan and Mary’s tour.

We found the rail head, and began strongly, on a pretty and nice under-tire surface, for about a mile. Then we hit the end.

   
   
  
Hmmm. We had thought the trail here was supposed to be about 5 miles long, but, unless we missed something (like maybe a section of the oath that was not cindered, and therefore inappropriate for Jack’s and my skinny tires), it isn’t quite there yet.

So we turned around and found lunch at a little diner called Rose’s Pizza Restaurant, right in what passes for downtown Boydton. It was an excellent meal, well-presented, quickly delivered and much appreciated even though we hadn’t really ridden enough to earn such a meal.

   
 Since it was only about 10 miles from there back to camp, Jack especially, wanted to ride home. I was going to drive our car back while Jack rode, when Martha graciously volunteered to drive our car back so both of us could ride.

We set out and maintained a steady 16 mph pace, reversing the driving route that had taken us to Boydton. In no time, it seemed, we were back having exercised our heart rates and pedaling muscles.

Until dinner time, we hung out under the awning reading and such. I pulled out my binoculars to study the teensy birds foraging in the trees and undergrowth in front of me. I think I got a good read on three warblers, although it’s kind of difficult to tell for sure. While the black throated blue and black throated green females I’m pretty sure about, I believe I also saw a Tennessee warbler, which doesn’t nest south of the Adarondacks in NY (apparently), so this might have been a migrant. I’m quite sure that this is what I saw, but I’m always confused by warblers, so maybe not. Here are the photos I was able to find that most resembled my sightings.

 

Female black-throated blue warbler
  
Female black-throated green warbler
  
This is as close a picture as I could find to what I was seeing in the trees
 
Also, I didn’t actually see but heard several kingfishers plying the shallows around the cove. A while after Jack had disappeared from our lounge area, I began to get chilly. So I closed up the windows and turned on the heat pump for a bit of warmth.

I got everything ready for us to quickly grill some hamburgers to be served on pretzel buns and to heat up the mac-n-cheese with Hatch chilies we’d gotten at Trader Joe’s. After an adult beverage up at John and Lisa’s roaring camp fire, we all departed to “fix n’ fetch” our separate dinners, then re-gathered there to consume more of everything: food, drink, lies, tales, and jokes.

As the forecast had predicted, it began raining in the night, and we awakened on May 1 (happy European Labor Day, and Birthday to my niece, Lee) to gray drizzle.

To celebrate a new month and all that comes with fresh starts and birthdays (and to console ourselves for the bad weather that was forecast to stay with us all Sunday) we cooked cinnamon rolls in the Omnia oven for breakfast. I went on a cleaning spree and re-organized all our various stuff and trappings, high had gotten helter-skelter in Roomba.

Then we sat down in our nook to read and play games, write and plan our final dinner of this trip: bratwursts with grilled onions and peppers, fresh grilled asparagus, and fingerling potatoes roasted in the Omnia with rosemary and garlic. When the rain eased for a while in the afternoon (and the temps rose), we moved our lounging out to the screen house and I did a bit of digital drawing (as yet unfinished). Kerry and Gloria headed down to the beach to try another round of fishing between showers.

Jack and Martha experienced some anomalies with their RV, and the boys beavered during the day to fix or mediate the issues, which were electrical in nature. I stayed out of their way, except to find the electrical tape we’d stored in Roomba for use in the fixes.

After all was calm again, we performed another “fix & fetch”  dinner to gather and eat at Jack & Martha’s site for this last night in camp. Another lovely, cloudy sunset over the water, despite the all-day rain forecast, and we enjoyed our time so much, we began planning for another gathering, possibly adding in another Meadows of Dan couple if they’d be willing, for later in the summer.

   
 Our departure AM dawned sunny, but clouds on the horizon and the notes from folks back home indicated a swift departure might be best to beat out the rains apparently deluging Floyd County. Jack, Martha, Gloria and Kerry all broke camp and left before Jack and I had eaten breakfast. We weren’t quite as stirred up about driving in the rain or even arriving in the rain, so we took a bit more time and got away around 11:15AM. Listened to our audiobook en route and had an uneventful drive home, were greeted by our house sitters, who were packed and ready to leave for the Charlottesville area, chatted with them about this and that. We were very pleased to hear they had taken full advantage of our regional amenities, including the best restaurants in Floyd, the Old Mill Golf Course and their restaurant, hiking trails, Buffalo Mountain, and nearly everything we had suggested they might enjoy. They even straightened up and sorted out our refrigerator storage and spice/herb racks. We hope to have them back again some day.

So ends another Blue Roomba adventure. Until next time, may the road rise up to meet you and your way be safe and joyous.

Last day, VA Beach; First Day, North Bend

Finally got our lazy behinds moving enough to take a ride today (April 27). We suited up, lubed the chains, and met Kerry on the opposite side of the main highway (Rt 60 or Shore Drive) where the mainly day use areas and woodsy trails are in this enormous state park. 

  
We took a paved trail, named the Cape Henry Trail, in the direction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, until it ran out. Saw some interesting things along the way, once we left the Park and headed through some pretty residential areas. We were also surprised to see that we passed behind the grocery store we’d been shopping – knowing we could ride our bikes easily and off-road to get provisions is a good thing for next time.

  
 

It is difficult to see here, but one sculpture id Spiderman, made of wire mesh or mesh panels
   

Reversed course to see where the pavement on the opposite side of the main park entry road would take us, and the pavement itself was terrible, with deep potholes and high ridges pushed up by roots. It circled back to the main road at another entrance to the Cape Henry trail (and several others) which were unpaved. Kerry decided he had had enough for the day, and returned to the campground.

Jack and I deliberated a while, due to the fact that we’d placed skinny tires our bikes for the Cycle NC ride just passed, but then said, “How wrong can we be?” And took off into the woods.

While there were tree roots pushed up along the path, it was wide and flat and we had no trouble avoiding the hazards, which also included deep loose sand in a spot or two. But for the most part, the trails was packed and covered with a light dusting of pine needles, so it was soft and quite lovely.

We found a map that said we could exit the trail at 64th Street in VA Beach, so we checked that out and while we didn’t find a bike lane proper, there was a parallel road that had almost zero vehicle use, bordering a residential section, which served as a lovely bike road.

A little while later, as the bigger road turned into Atlatic Ave., we found something called the Maritime Trail, and that led us right to the boardwalk. Which, by the way, isn’t made of wood any more.

   
 The wind off the Atlantic Ocean was quite strong, and the clouds were gathering for the afternoon storm that was forecast. Jack had neglected to bring along a jacket, and we had to ride pretty fast to keep him warm, so we began looking for a bike shop so he might be able to buy a coat. Cycled down to the Pier without any luck, and decided it was time for lunch.

   
  

I was glad to see that the seaside amusement park remembered from my youth was still there
 
Had an excellent pizza and a salad at a place just off Atlantic Ave., looked for where our devices directed us to a cycle shop (evidently now closed with the space a barber shop today), and decided to beat a fast path back to the campground. Again followed the parallel road until the main road made a bend and turned back into Shore Drive, where we found excellent pavement and a dedicated bike line along both edges of the four-lane. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Jack was really cranking the pedals up the road, and I just managed to keep up, and we got back to camp around 3, and took hasty showers. The rain was definitely coming, so we took down the screen house and had the greatest time watching the osprey over the bay.

They were hovering like kestrels, using the wind (blowing strongly out of the east) to just “sit” in the air. We saw many of them dive into the water, where we would lose sight of them beyond the dunes. But now and again, one would fly over the campground and our site, carrying a fish overland to their nests. This went on for ages, and we saw many, many of them score successes and carry their bounty over our heads. Total bliss.

We left with Kerry and Gloria in their car to head out to Trader Joes. What a nice store! We had a great time looking at all the fun foods and planned and provisioned for the trip to North Bend Campground, where a grocery store is not just right around the corner but rather 20-30 miles away.

Got back home and began prep-and-grill of our quit late dinner together. Pork roast, asparagus, salad, and rice. Just as we sat down to eat the skies opened up and it rained significantly on us as we sat under our awning. We stayed dry, ate well, and enjoyed the close of our last day at First Landing. This is definitely a place we’d like to return to one day.

The next morning, April 28 (Roomba’s adoption anniversary) I was up just after dawn when I saw a blue grosbeak, just foraging around the campsite. I haven’t seen one of those for years. Later, as we were nearing the completion of the pack-stow-and hitch process, I first heard, then saw a little hummingbird in one of the nearby live oaks. Such a bounty of birds!

 

Not my photo, rather, borrowed from my bird guide
 
Headed west for the final camp-stop of this adventure, and lost track of Kerry and Gloria somewhere near Portsmouth. Had a fuel stop and lunch in Emporia, Virginia. Texted with Jack and Martha (coming from Meadows of Dan to meet us), Gloria and Kerry, to locate everyone en route, and got to our site at about 3:30.

 

The setting by the lake – site C-152
  
The view from our “porch”
  
The screen house
 
It is truly a lovely campground, and quite inexpensive for senior citizens — far les expensive than my fave state park, Occoneechee, nearly next door. But since this is a federal site, also on Bugg’s Island/Kerr Lake, as is Occoneechee, it is a true asset to the citizens of America, so is available for less cost.

Anyway, we gathered not only with Jack and Martha, and Kerry and Gloria, but also Jack and Martha’s friends, John and Lisa. All of us are near one another and John and Lisa built a fire and we told stories and lies, ate dinner, and laughed tougher until about 10, when we hit the hay. Two great days.

Penultimate Day

As I start this blog entry (Wednesday, March 23, 2016), I’m sitting in the “screened porch” listening to the birds call one another, and to a squirrel scurrying around in the leaf litter, watching the sun get lower over the water. Even though the wind is really blowing, it is downright hot here in the “porch.” Of course, there is a fairly solid buffer of evergreen trees directly in front of me now. 

  

While we did see an osprey circling just off our camping site this AM, the single avian critter we’ve seen the most is the ubiquitous crow. Yesterday, we saw an American kestrel or two, and today, we heard (but did not see) a kingfisher. There was also a redtailed hawk soaring over one of the inlets of the lake.
Before we left for our short ride today, we had to roll up the awning, hoping we can re-pole it if the wind dies down during the day. But it was fiercely flapping as we finished breakfast and reading and suchlike before setting out on our ride. So we decided we didn’t want to worry about it while away, and secured it.

In about a month, we’re headed to the organized spring bicycle ride sponsored by Cycle North Carolina. Along the route back home from that ride, we’re scheduled for some Roomba camping, and the last stop before home is a federal campground called North Bend, which is a near neighbor to Occoneechee. North Bend is farther east, where the actual Kerr Reservoir hydro-electric dam is (in fact, when you cross the dam you’re in North Carolina), but it’s a very nice public area with an educational center, a visitors center, and all sorts of activities, events and special use areas. And tons of campsites. It’s the same body of water we call Bugg’s Island Lake and the North Carolinians call Kerr Lake.

Anyway, our goal today was to head over to North Bend and cycle around all of the camping areas, including the one we’ve reserved, just to check it all out. And, of course, to get a few “wind-down” miles on the bikes after our excesses of yesterday.

We had a very nice tootle about, and found, then scoped out, our scheduled site. We even circled through a lot of the still-closed areas where maintenance crews were working to ready the whole place for the camping/fishing/boating season.
Cycling through some of the sections with non-serviced sites, where the sites sit right next to the water, we envisioned ourselves able to get enough solar gain in some of them to manage a long time without shore power. The trick would be AC. It gets hot – really hot – down here in the Piedmont of Virginia during the summer. BUT. We also discovered that this particular federal campground does not prohibit generators. So if we returned and wanted to be right on the water near a beach in the summer, we could manage it with the screened porch and our generator that can run the AC system in the Alto. Not too shabby. 

Now maybe we have to get some kayaks. Not really – water sports just aren’t our thing.

Anyway: North Bend Campground is only 20 miles away from Occoneechee, and, by parking at the Visitor Center, we ended up cycling about 10 miles without leaving the campground. We didn’t push things, as we wanted to get back to camp to put our feet up a while, enjoy the 85-ish degree temps, and get an early start on the meal we’ve been anticipating as our “anniversary dinner.”

  

After showers and a bit of a laze-about, we started dinner prep. While we were having some artichoke bruschetta on some nice crackers, an adult redtailed hawk landed in the tree just above Roomba. Jack saw it land, and I saw it take off, handling the wind as it looked below for a possible meal. Red tails are the most beautiful critters on earth (but I’m biased).

Not long after that, I saw a bright flash of black and white – and there was a hint of red also. I first thought it might have been a rose-breasted grosbeak, but we looked harder, and it #1, didn’t fly or land like a grosbeak, and #2 had a LOT more red than it should.

In just a moment or two we decided it must be a red-headed woodpecker – a species I’d never seen in real life. Jack looked it up in our digital Peterson’s Guide, and yes, it WAS a red-headed! Then we saw a second one. We were so excited. 

One landed right outside the round window as we sat in our “nook” under the Big Front Window, and try as I might, I could not get a photo with my iPhone. Every now and then, I dearly wish I had a “real” camera with lenses and such (then I realize how much stuff I’d have to carry around with me if I did have one of those . . . And, well).

So, on the bird sightings front, this trip quickly moved from ho-hum to fun and exciting. I was very happy.

Dinner was Roquefort butter ribeye steak (thanks again, Jim G.), grilled asparagus, and cheese tortellini. Jack did his usual magic on the grill, with his rubs and spices, and I watched the sun set over the lake for the last time this trip. Got some photos as the day waned, but not much exciting to show (since I couldn’t get one of the woodpecker).

   
 

  
After our anniversary dinner, we retired to the screened porch for a final glass of wine or two and topped off the night (and the trip) with a dram of Glen Morangie single malt. Altogether a stellar trip and celebration of our 8th real anniversary. Multiply that by four for the number of years we’ve been officially married, as of Feb. 29, 1984 (then add 6 years of our “extended engagement” pre-wedded bliss).

Here’s to Sadie Hawkins Day and all the girls with the moxie to ask the boys for their hands in marriage!