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| Kurt Thiele & I at Don’s 50th Birthday Bash |
We are blessed to have friends like The Thieles. They posses an adventurous spirit and a sense of wanderlust that mirrors our own. Plus, they have some adult toys. Not those kind, more specifically, they have a boat and a jet ski. So, when we were down at Kerr Lake a couple of weeks ago we thought of them and sent them some photos. While still lakeside, Becky Thiele told us to check out what festivities would be occurring during July 4th because they thought that would be a fun time to return. The Park Rangers told us that actually, the Saturday after July 4th would be when they were having their fireworks display but space was booking up fast. We then returned to the Ranger’s office to see if any campsites were still available. Lo & Behold! There were a few still available in the Henderson Point area. When we returned home we finalized plans & Becky booked the campsite for Friday & Saturday. That still left open the question of what to do July 4th? I would have been content to head on over to Great Meadow in The Plains, VA for their annual spectacle. Don & I have been there many times but The Thieles proposed we head down to King’s Dominion (a thrill-ride theme park in Doswell, VA)as they were offering free admission to veterans & active duty military members plus discounts for their family members.
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| Don & Kurt on Shock Wave |
I will admit that I was skeptical about that proposal figuring the crowd numbers would be astronomical but if they were up for it then so was I. It was decided that Wednesday evening, after dropping Damian off at his Mom’s house, we would spend the night at The Thieles so to enable a bright and early departure. We arrived to a delectable meal of salmon with dill sauce and enjoyed it while discussing the preparations for tomorrow. Don & I pride ourselves on our ability to travel light. I am a firm believer in the one carry-on bag rule. We have travelled enough with Becky & Kurt over the years to accept that in this area our styles differ some. Becky would have Kurt jack up the foundation of the house, stick a trailer under it and tow it along if only he would agree to it. Travelling light to her means we will only fill one overhead car carrier & one trailer and the entire back storage area of their large SUV. (Don’t forget the storage areas inside the jet ski! We did not take the surfboard with a jet engine that they call a boat – remember, we were travelling light this trip) We did, however, pack all the tie dye equipment since it was decided we would hold the Third Hippie Tie Dye Fest down at the lake. (In all fairness, we have tickets to Winestock this coming weekend. A Woodstock-inspired wine fest in Little Washington, VA & we needed some new outfits) Independence Day at King’s Dominion proved to be a great idea. What turned out to be a not so great idea was our choice of hotel to stay at while down there. We arrived at the Days Inn King’s Dominion & immediately displeasure was directed our way. It seems that the on line booking site we used to secure our reservations had not included some essential information we had provided, namely that we were travelling with a small dog. (OK, in all fairness, “Willow” is The Thiele’s toy Yorkie. She weighs 2.5 lbs & I’ve seen bigger vermin in certain hotels)
The Innkeeper obviously has not recently attended any customer service training & after forking over an extra $25 we were granted access. We headed on over to King’s Dominion (being able to walk their was a plus). We joined the not-as-heavy-as-I-imagined crowds for some daytime fun & then headed back to the hotel for some evening repast before returning for the fireworks. What we did not expect was that we could not get a pizza delivered to the hotel. After expending an inordinate amount of time trying to accomplish what turned out to be the impossible we decided to pay a visit to the Burger King across the street so we could still get into the park and find a good spot for pyrotechnic perusing. I decided that if I was going to Burger King & if it was the 4th of July, I was forgoing my meatless ways and ordering a Whopper Jr. What we again did not expect was that it would cost me $5.99! Yes, the Burger King outside King’s Dominion is just as price gouging as actually eating inside the park. Lesson learned. King’s Dominion gets all props for it’s amazingly long and spectacular fireworks display. It truly made for a grand 4th.
What was even more grand was the fact that while walking back across the street we were able to avoid the 2 hr parking lot exodus. We returned to our room thoroughly exhausted & prepared to snooze. The herd of elephants occupying the room above us obviously had other plans. They must have been practicing their circus act into the wee hours. Finally, Becky went out to walk Willow & was greeted by a party of other hotel guests who were in the parking lot observing the police activity that was under way. It seems their is a small copse of trees that lies between the hotel and the railroad tracks. It seems some revelers were using that area as an outpatient procedure facility as some proctological evaluations had been occurring there during the night. Needless to say, when I write my travelocity evaluation of the Days Inn at King’s Dominion it will be less than favorable. We set out the next morning for North Carolina’s Kerr Lake.
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