Running from the Storm

We pack up and leave in the dark – as do many of our fellow travelers. Everyone is anxious to get going before the weather changes. We are trying to get as close to Kelcey & Scott in Richmond as we can – but are going to stay out of the high wind area. As I’ve stated before – wind is the mortal enemy of RV travel! We travel south on Hwy 81 from Hershey toward Virginia.

We quickly motor through four states today - Pennsylvania, Maryland (all 10 miles of it north to south) West Virginia and then Virginia. Roanoke looks to be out of the high wind area and as close to Richmond as we dare, so that is our destination today. Traffic is heavy - much more than we anticipated. The heavy northbound traffic consists of hundreds of utility trucks, tree trimming trucks and tractor trailers carrying industrial generators. We presume that they are traveling to staging areas so that they can be prepared to jump in and help with whatever emergencies the storm brings. Everyone seems to be taking this storm seriously - and the traffic reflects it.

Andy loves reminding me of why we bought this coach. We owned an oceanfront house in Galveston, Texas until Hurricane Ike destroyed it in 2008. We were deciding whether to rebuild our vacation house or not when Andy came up with the idea of getting the RV ( I was reluctant – I wanted my house back). His reasoning was that if we ever encountered another hurricane – we could simply drive away from it. As I look over at him behind the wheel  – he has a constant smile on his lips - and he keeps emphasizing that this exact scenario is why the RV was such a good decision. He loves it when his plans all come together! 

We call ahead to find a place to wait out the storm - they are filling up with other travelers trying to get out of Hurricane Sandy's path. The brunt of the storm will hit tomorrow and Tuesday. We finally find one that has a spot available - not ideal - but any port in a storm! We land outside of Lexington, VA. This park has fuel, food and shelter - everything we may need for the next few days. We unpack, take Henry for a walk between raindrops and hunker down for the storm.