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I’m Michele, and I have a problem with expectations.  Setting my expectations too high for people, places, meals… you name it.  I’ve somehow gotten in the habit of letting the anticipation of something be overtaken by a strict set of expectations.

And you know how this story ends, right?  When things don’t go the way I “expect” them to (and they NEVER go exactly the way you think they will) I’m often left disappointed and a little disheartened.

I find it more than a little ironic that, as a meeting planner, I have to deal with the unexpected ALL the time!  But somehow that flexibility just doesn’t translate into my personal life.

I consider it a small victory that at least I am aware that I do this!  And I know that I would be a happier person if I could go with the flow a little more.

As we’ve been continuing to plan our escape, I understand more and more that being flexible, adaptable, and open to the possibilities is going to mean the difference between our having the adventure of a lifetime versus it being just another trip.

Because we’ve been camping with Marvin almost every weekend this summer, we’ve been neglecting our poor motorbikes – save the occasional evening bike ride and boy’s off-road weekend (and yes, there is a video!).  So this weekend we left Marvin at the storage lot, jumped on the bikes, and headed out for a tent-camping, motorbike riding adventure.

Darryl and his friend David had been out riding a few weeks ago and discovered some new cool campgrounds – so off we went!  No trailer, no soft comfy bed, no shower – just bikes, tents, a little food and a vague idea of our destination.  We had no reservations, but we did have a plan, plus a few backup plans – so I was pretty confident we’d end up with a patch of grass somewhere for the night.

The leaves are starting to change up in the mountains, so it was a beautiful ride. I had no idea where we were going – and I think in some ways that maybe that helped me enjoy the adventure a little more!

After about 5 hours of riding we ended up at the Big Run Campground.  It is an absolutely beautiful, but very small campground – only about 6 sites.  It was us and one lone trailer – and it stayed that way for the whole weekend.

It took us a while to get our site set up – I think we are so used to just parking Marvin and plugging in that we’re a bit out of practice in setting up the tent!  But it wasn’t long before we were fully tented, tarped, and hammocked.

Camping most weekends at Rocky Gap, we are used to having lots of hiking, kayaking, and mountain biking to occupy our time.  But here, with just the motorbikes, once we got our site set up, we both kind of looked at each other and said “now what?”

“Now what” quickly turned into enough activities that before we knew it, it was getting dark and it was time to start the fire and have dinner!  We gathered firewood, went exploring down by the (very low) reservoir, took another quick bike ride to explore another nearby campground, and also spent a little time just hanging out with a glass of wine daydreaming about the kinds of places we’d see on our trip.

It might not have been as exciting as hiking the Grand Canyon or a full slate of sightseeing – but I suppose some days are meant for chilling out, listening to the birds chirp, and enjoying a roaring campfire.

As we tour the states and Canada on our trip, I’m sure we’ll have more days of the “chill-out” variety than we will major destinations.  And the less I expect and the more I just experience, I’m definitely ok with that.

In this episode, my friend David and I go out to Garrett County, MD, just north or Gormania and camp for the weekend in the Potomac State Forest.  One of the major reasons for going out there?  The fantastic roads.  Miles and miles of them.  We start from the campsite headed north on Route 560 into the town of Loch Lynn Heights.  Then a turn onto 135 and we are headed toward a few of the best kept secrets in Maryland and West Virginia.  Among them, Jennings Randolph Lake, Robert W Craig Campground, and of course the Savage River and Savage River Reservoir.  There were not that many people up here for mid September, so we had the roads all to ourselves.

We also took Route 46 south out of Bloomington.  One of the nicest roads you’ll find.  You’ll also find some of the best camping along Big Run Road just north of the Savage Reservoir.  You can get there from the south taking Savage River Road out of Bloomington – or coming from the north off of New Germany Road.

The next time you have a free weekend, don’t forget to take a ride up and check it out.  But don’t tell too many people – we want to keep it a nice quiet secret.