Wednesday, May 27, 2026: With our car finally in tow, we headed out for Williamsburg, Virginia.
We pulled out fairly early, stopped to fill the bus, and then we were off. Our time to beat on the GPS looked good, and we were ready to roll.
Our plan was to make very few stops along the drive, and for the most part, we stuck to that. We did stop at the Virginia Welcome Center to pick up information and brochures so we could start planning our three weeks in the Williamsburg area.
We arrived at Thousand Trails Williamsburg and were set up by about 4:30. For us, that made it a very good travel day.
Since we were back in an area where Vinny’s Italian Grill was located, we already had dinner on our minds. A quick map search showed a Vinny’s in Newport News, just a few miles down the road. Ready for dinner, and especially looking forward to some very good bruschetta, we headed out.
Once we were seated, we were asked if we wanted an appetizer. Not seeing bruschetta on the menu, we asked about it and were told they only had a white bruschetta pizza.
That gave us a pause.
The menu did not look familiar either, but we made our selections and waited to order. While we were sitting there, another map search revealed the problem. This was not the Vinny’s Italian Grill we knew. This was Vinny’s Pizza. Outside the garlic knots, no Italian tongiht.
With disappointment hanging in the air, the meal ended up being okay at best. It was food, and we were satisfied enough for the moment, but it was not what we had been looking forward to.
After dinner, we made a quick stop for supplies and then headed back to camp.
Thursday, May 28, 2026: We spent the day resting before our Williamsburg adventure was supposed to begin.
Kennon and Denise were arriving that afternoon, so we spent some time looking through the brochures we had collected at the Virginia Welcome Center and mapping out the things we wanted to do and see while we were in the area.
Other than that, we mostly relaxed and waited for their arrival.
Since the wiring was still messed up on the taillights for the car, Kevin also disabled the towing wiring. A few of the loose wires were going to dangle, so he ended up cutting those back for now. We figured we had nearly three weeks in the area to work on it, pick up the parts we needed, and get everything repaired correctly.
That evening, we met Kennon and Denise at Food for Thought in Williamsburg for dinner. When they first asked if the restaurant sounded good to us, we checked the menu, and Beth found crème brûlée listed. Of course, that pretty much settled it.
The conversation and catching up were good from the start. Once we finally paused long enough to order food, we picked right back up and kept talking. They are another one of those groups of friends where the catching up comes easy, and we always enjoy the time together.
The meal was very good, with each of us finding our own style of food to enjoy. The Creme Brule was perfect, and she was not disappointed.
After dinner, we walked across the street to the Williamsburg General Store. That place is packed with all kinds of tourist items, ice cream, sauces, jellies, jams, gifts, and plenty more. We did not get ice cream this time, but we did browse the store as we “walked off dinner.”
We will definitely be back.
Before we split up for the evening, we made plans to meet the next day at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center to buy our season passes. Kennon and Denise were only in town for the weekend, and since they were already familiar with the area, we were happy to follow their lead.
For the weekend, they were officially our tour guides.
Friday, May 29, 2026: Early in the morning, Beth got one of those calls that no one wants to receive.
A few quick decisions were made, reservations were changed, and last-minute updates started happening fast. Just like that, our Williamsburg plans were put on hold, and we were closing things up to head back toward Tennessee.
Then came one more complication. The tow lights would not work.
Since we could not tow the car without lights, Beth would have to drive separately again. It was not ideal, especially with everything else going on, but we knew what had to be done.
We pulled out of Thousand Trails Williamsburg around 11 a.m. and headed toward Warriors Path in Kingsport, Tennessee, which has become our current “home base.”
The drive was a full-on push. Minimal stops, steady driving, and the two of us rolling down the interstate like Smokey the bus and the Bandit.
We stayed in contact along the way, calling each other to make sure we were alert, awake, not too stressed, and still doing okay. It was one of those travel days where the goal was not sightseeing or enjoying the route. The goal was simply to get there.
We split up in Bristol, Virginia. Kevin headed to the campsite, and Beth went straight to her mom.
Since Kevin did not have a vehicle at the campground, he had to stay there, which was going to be necessary anyway. When you make a last-minute reservation at Warriors Path for two weeks, you almost never get the same site for the entire stay.
This time, we would move five times, almost every day or so, until finally getting a five-day stretch at the end. It was not the easiest setup, but it was what we needed to do.
Saturday, May 30, 2026: Beth spent the night at the nursing home along with her brother, Brian, and his wife, Penny. That would be the situation for the next few days. Her mom would have one good day followed by one very bad day, and no one really knew exactly what was going on.
Beth would come back to the camper in short spurts, and then we would go together to visit. With campsite moves coming almost daily, and Beth needing to be with her mom, we spent the first five nights apart.
It was not easy, but it was where we needed to be.
Sunday, May 31, 2026 through Thursday, June 4, 2026: These days all had a similar rhythm.
Beth spent most of her time at the nursing home with her mom, Brian, and Penny. Kevin handled what he could at the campground, including the site moves at Warriors Path. When Beth was able to come back for short breaks, we would catch up, regroup, and then head back to visit together.
There were good moments and hard moments. Some days brought signs of improvement, and other days brought more concern and uncertainty.
That is one of the harder parts of situations like this. You want answers. You want a clear plan. You want to know what the next day will look like. But sometimes all you can do is show up, wait, help where you can, and take things one day at a time.
That was our week.
Friday, June 5, 2026: Things finally started to settle a little.
Margaret began showing some great signs of improvement, and the decision was made that Beth and Brian could step back from the 24/7 watching, serving, and waiting that had been needed for the past several days. That did not mean everything was completely back to normal, but it did mean everyone could breathe a little easier. After several intense days, even a small amount of improvement felt like a big blessing.
Saturday, June 6, 2026: Of course, this was another move day at the campground, so we made the move as soon as the new site was clear.
After getting moved, we met Brian and Penny at the nursing home and spent some time visiting and eating lunch. They left early, and later Olivia and Nate came to visit.
After their visit at the nursing home, we all met back at the campground for an impromptu repair session on the car lighting. Nate and Kevin worked for hours, chasing wires and figuring out what needed to be connected. Eventually, they made the correct connections to the car so we could tow it as planned.
It may not sound like much, but when you live on the road, something as simple as working lights can make all the difference. It means one less thing to worry about. One less problem hanging over your head. One more step toward being ready for whatever comes next. After the week we had just been through, getting the tow lights working felt like a major victory along with Margaret’s improvement from what still remains to be an unknown.
Sunday, June 7, 2026: 31 years ago today, Beth and I said that we did. With the day being our final moving day for this trip, we took the morning easy and watched the campers on the site we were moving to like a hawk. No movement before my last walk past the site at 11 am.
Just before noon, the camp host came by to see if we were going to be moving. Check out at the campground is Noon. Check in is not until 4 pm. I informed her that I was waiting on 127 to leave. She said that 128 was waiting on me to vacate 132. Most campers leave fairly early on check out days, but today the ones in our next site waited.
At 12:01 pm, they finally pulled out, and the big shift was on. We were ready and rolled up the hill right behind the ones that left. As we circled back around to our new site, the campers on site 128 were on the move as well. Finally, everyone was settled by 12:30, and it was time for lunch.
I had told Beth that she could have anything she wanted for lunch since it was our anniversary and would leave the pick to her. She found a place and simply gave me the address. Not long, we arrived at a Chinese Buffet in Kingsport. While she likes Chinese, her selflessness provided me with my favorite. Smaller buffet than some, but I ate my share, and she left full as well. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the campground.
After what had seemed to be a weekend of improvement, this would become one of our hardest weeks. Beth spent most of Monday and Tuesday with Margaret. On Wednesday, we both spent the day with her.
Margaret Marie White passed away at 10:21 Wednesday night, June 10, 2026.
This was not the week we had planned.
Plans change. Calls come. Campground reservations get rearranged. Tow lights fail. Sites have to be moved. And family comes first.
Williamsburg will still be there. The brochures are not going anywhere. The places we wanted to see can wait for another time.
For now, we were thankful we could get back to the area. Thankful that, for a little while, Margaret had some really good days with us. Thankful for family stepping in together.
And even though the week did not go anything like we had planned, we were thankful we were close enough to be where we needed to be.
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