Shenandoah Valley, VA

Greetings from Charlottesville, Virginia. We arrived at the KOA here ten miles south of town around 4:00 today find that two of the pins securing the 5th wheel hitch to the truck bed had come undone. I didn’t think this was possible, but upon examining the connectors, there is nothing to prevent them from twisting 90 degrees and popping out. The saving grace is that all four would have to be in perfect alignment for the whole thing to come off, but that’s not something I’m interested in seeing! Brian and I were able to use pieces of firewood as levers to move the hitch back into position and reset the pins. From here on out we’ll check them every time we stop to make sure they are set properly. I have never liked the way the hitch attaches, as it has approximately half an inch of play between the truck bed, which causes lots of the shaking we experience going over bumps. Live and learn!

We left Harpers Ferry at 10 this morning headed towards Front Royal and Shenandoah National Park. While the forecasted rain never made an appearance, Skyline Drive, the road that follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the park for 100 miles, was completely fogged in. We drove as far as the visitors center, watched the movie about the park, had lunch in the trailer, and then drove back down to Front Royal and around the east side of the Blue Ridge mountains to Charlottesville. The leaves are a little past peak, but were pretty none the less in the fall sunshine at lower elevations. Tomorrow we will tour Jefferson’s Monticello home before driving to Williamsburg.