Beckley, West Virginia

Well we are now in Wilmington, NC and more than happy to say it! I’ll tell you about where we are later, maybe in a new post, maybe here, depends on how long I can go tonight.  This post is about the blizzard we got stuck in.

We left Columbus, Ohio on a cold, rainy and totally overcast morning, October 29, 12012, looking to skirt the Frankenstorm by heading south through West Virginia and Virginia into North Carolina somewhere, probably Winston-Salem, well that was the plan but as is usual for this trip, the plan didn’t happen!  After driving through rain all day we made it as far as Beckley, WV and as I’ve posted already we holed up in a Microtel.  When we got into our room we briefly thought about hitting the road the morning of the 30th and try to get further south but since high winds were forecast and we are pulling a 24′ travel trailer we thought better of it and booked another night hoping that we could get out the 31st, this is what we woke to:

Snow accumulation on a table outside the breakfast area in the hotel!

Well we knew we would be in it for the long haul so we started making plans for the mutt and the buns.  I also posted earlier that we had missed the exit where all of the hotels were in Beckley and took the Microtel in a pinch thinking we could either get further south or move to a pet friendly place, but we now had to make do and get the buns and dog as warm, dry and comfortable as possible.

Debby in the door of the trailer.

Evidence of the winds that blew during the night.

We went out to the truck first thing to clear it off so we could get to the buns and to let Zoe out, on one of my visits to the herd I grabbed the winter duffel se we had warm clothes to wear. I cleared the truck so I could empty the dog and she was VERY VERY happy to see me! While I was walking her around the hotel Debby got into the trailer to get out the food, extra blankets and tarps so we could set the buns up and add as much additional insulation and wind protection we could.

Zoe getting ready to play in the snow after I get her out of the truck.

After I got back with the mutt I let her off leash, since there was no one around, and she had a great time helping out and playing in the snow.  I got to work getting the buns set for winter weather.

Getting the cages set for the weather.

getting ready to close up.

We  changed all the litter boxes and put extra blankets in each of the cages so the buns could either sit on the extra layer of they could cuddle into the blankets.  We then placed a moving blanket across the  top of the cages and bungied it down for warmth and wind protection.  On the side we bungied tarps to hold the warm air in and to Block the wind.

We wanted to keep some of the ventilation open so there would be some wind getting into the bed of the truck, so we placed our outside rug between the window and the cages to baffle the wind and to stop and snow from reaching the buns. We then fed everyone and gave them water.  All the buns went right for the food like they had missed a week of meals even though they all got a nice dinner and greens when we got into the hotel and I gave them treats on my last visit with them the night before (it was only about 10 am when we went to take care of the kids)!

There were many visits to the truck throughout the day and everyone did just fine!  Zoe was fantastic and handled the entire event without any fuss at all, I was amazed after all the crap she had given us at the beginning of the trip.  Zoe stayed in the cab of the truck with her huge pillow, her food and water, a rawhide bone and a couple of her favorite toys.  She slept and when I was seeing the buns I let her off leash in the parking lot or take her on a short walk before I headed into the room to thaw.

This is how we will get out on Nov. 1

We stayed the 30th and 31st hanging in the room, there was nothing to do in walking distance so we were pretty tied to the hotel. There was a little diner next to the hotel and we took a couple of meals there but mostly had the free breakfast and grabbed enough to munch on in the room for the rest of the day.  The critters all just went with the flow and we made it out none the worse for wear! The snow and wind had died down pretty well by the morning of Nov. 1 and the roads were clear but wet so we got the heck outta there!  We made it through the rest of West Virginia and the little piece of Virginia and got as far south as Raleigh, NC.

We stayed the night of Nov. 1 at the State fair grounds in the RV lot there, cheep and full hookup so we had a bathroom! We then headed to Wilmington the morning of the 2nd.  We found our park and .. well remember Enon Beach in Ohio?  This place makes that place look like the Hilton!!!  I would guess that over 70% of the trailers here are long-term folks and some of these trailers look like they haven’t been moved in years.  It is comfortable, with full hookups and it’s cheep!  I actually kinda like it because it feels safe, the folks are real people and it is funky. We will be here for at least two weeks.  I’m gonna try to see what it takes to busk here and if that doesn’t work out I’ll get a temp job to restock the coffers!

Well I’m beat so the talk about our new digs will have to be my next post, until then!

Victor