Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow, I can’t believe our month in Pittsburgh has come to an end. We were so busy that the time just flew by and we didn’t get to see everyone that we wanted too. It felt like we spent most of our time running to appointments: various doctors, tests, dentists, vehicle appointments, insurance broker appointments, and more. Fitting all of it into a month was very stressful. We have learned our lesson that a month just isn’t long enough time.. Next year, we plan to spend 3-4 months here.

I ended the last blog post with a stop in Bellefonte, PA to visit my brother and sister in law, Randy and Val. Randy helped Tim install lithium batteries in our trailer., although they didn’t get the job totally finished. Our next stop was Duncansvillle, PA at the RV dealer to get some work done on the trailer. One of our jacks was leaking hydraulic fluid so they replaced that and did the PA inspection. Our trailer brakes needed to be replaced so that was completed too. We were on our way the next day and headed to Somerset PA for a few days to visit our friends, Bill and Kelly.

Beautiful evening at Hickory Hollow Campground

We spent 4 nights at Hickory Hollow Campground outside Somerset. It is a pretty campground set in the rolling hills of Southwestern PA. It was great to see Kelly and Bill again and just hang out at the campground. Tim was busy working on his project installing the new batteries. While Bill helped Tim charging and then wiring the new batteries, Kelly and I took a ride to Ohiopyle I hadn’t been there since I was a teenager, so it was great to see it again. We hiked along the river enjoying the scenery and watching kayakers go over the rapids; then wandered through town and had a great lunch. The rest of the time, we enjoyed the campground and time with our friends. After our stop in Somerset, we finally headed back to Mountain Top Campground in the Pittsburgh area and the crazy busy time started.

Our site at Hickory Hollow was perfect. No campers in front of us to block the view of the pond.

The view from our site. Very peaceful setting.

We enjoyed watching these kayakers go down the river.

Enjoying the campfire with Kelly and Bill

Even though we were running constantly, we managed to spend quality time with our family and have a relaxing trip to Tim’s camp. He has been a member of Baker Run Hunting and Fishing Camp in Potter County, PA for years and we don’t get there very often. It is a great place to relax, way out in the country, with very little cellular connectivity. Katie, Jon and Rosie joined us for a 5 day trip to camp. We spent most of the time just hanging out at camp, taking long walks with the dogs, playing cards and sitting around a campfire. The best part was getting to spend quality time with Rosie. She is such a little cutie. The new owners of the camp next door now live there full time and they run a stable with daily trail rides. Katie and Jon did the trail ride during our stay and said it was fun.

Trent and Teddy enjoyed being at camp although they didn’t like anyone going outside without them.

In the past few years, Katie and I have spent a day being tourists in Pittsburgh, visiting different areas of town each time. We didn’t find the time to do that this year but we managed to spend a little time in the city, mostly meeting others for dinner. We met Debra and Barry, fellow full time RVers whose blog, The Virtual Campground, I follow. I read that they were staying near Pittsburgh for a few days so I contacted them and we were able to find time to meet in the city for dinner. It is always great to connect with fellow RVers.

We managed to meet our friends, Jim and Ruth for cocktails at the William Penn lobby bar and the a terrific steak dinner and Eddie V’s. That was a wonderful meal and fantastic evening out on the town. The very next night we met Whitney, Ian, Katie, Jon and Rosie at Sullivan’s Steakhouse in U.S. Steel Tower for another fantastic steak dinner and even better news. Whitney is expecting so we will have another grandchild this coming year. We met our friends Bill and Susie for breakfast one day and had a few visits with Tim’s Mom.

On our last weekend in town, I had a girl’s day with Katie, Rosie and Whitney at Narcisi Winery. It was a beautiful sunny day and the winery grounds was a perfect place to enjoy it. It is a very pretty place and the pizza, wine and music made for a relaxing time with the girls.

Narcissi Winery has beautiful and very comfortable outdoor spaces.

We highly enjoyed our month at Mountain Top Campground and will miss the sunsets and sunrises. I managed to get a few good shots of both during our stay. We tried to stay an extra month but they were booked for the fall weekends so that wasn’t possible. It was hard to leave Pittsburgh but it I guess it is time to slowly make our trek south for the winter.

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