Day Three — The Great Reunion Rolls On

The great reunion camping trip continues! We’ve packed up Camp Run-a-Muck and moved a bit farther south to Loft Mountain Campground in Shenandoah National Park. The weather hasn’t exactly been postcard-perfect — think more “moody mountain mist” than “sunny brochure photo” — but Bill and I are making the best of it.

Here are a couple of pictures from the last few days. My favorite is of Pennie, who I caught trying to hitchhike home. Apparently, she’s not quite sold on this whole “outdoors is fun” concept. I told her there’s no Uber for dogs in the national park, but she’s still keeping an eye out for a passing Jeep just in case.

By Captain Weeble — chronicling the adventures, misadventures, and everything in between.

Day One — Launching Camp Run-a-Muck

Day one of our grand camping adventure began with three brave souls crammed into a Cruise America RV: Bill, Pennie, and yours truly. Bill and I were raring to go. Pennie… well, she had the look of someone who’d just realized this wasn’t a quick ride to the park.

Now, before we go further, a quick side note about our furry companion. Pennie has epilepsy, which means she needs her medication every day. Usually, that’s easy — I tuck the pills into her food, she eats, and we’re good. But sometimes, Pennie gets suspicious and surgically extracts the pill pockets like a bomb expert. When that happens, it’s Plan B: manual delivery straight down the hatch. I can handle it, but my wife, Mrs. Weeble, wants no part of it — which is how Pennie ended up joining the boys’ road trip.

Since I wasn’t sure how calm she’d be during a long RV drive, I called my vet for advice. She suggested a little melatonin to take the edge off. Best advice ever. For the first hour, Pennie rode in Bill’s lap looking mildly betrayed. By hour three, she was snoozing soundly on her dog bed between the seats, completely relaxed — probably dreaming of steak dinners and quiet houses.

We eventually rolled into Shenandoah National Park and took our time meandering up Skyline Drive, stopping at just about every overlook. The views were amazing, and we only mildly annoyed the cars behind us — a win in my book. By the time we reached Big Meadows, the air was crisp, the scenery beautiful, and the RV smelled faintly of dog treats and adventure.

We set up camp, declared it officially Camp Run-a-Muck, and toasted to the start of our trip — two men, one well-medicated dog, and a motorhome full of optimism, snacks, and questionable decision-making.

By Captain Weeble — chronicling the adventures, misadventures, and everything in between.

Two Old Friends, One RV, and Fifty Years of Memories

Before I dive into this new adventure on Captain Weeble’s Travels, I want to share a little backstory about how this trip came to be.

My partners-in-crime for this journey are my longtime friend Bill and my Dog Pennie. We first met when I was a junior in high school—he was dating a friend of the girl I was seeing at the time. We got to talking about baseball, and before long, he invited me to join his Sunday ball games. That was the start of a friendship that’s lasted more than fifty years. Over time, Bill became the brother I never had.

Back in our twenties, we spent many weekends tent camping at Big Meadows Campground in Shenandoah National Park. We shared countless campfires, told tall tales, and—if I’m being honest—drank a lot of beer.

These days, things are a little different. Bill now lives down in Houston, Texas. We still talk every week and make a point to meet up every year. The last few times, our adventures took us to Ocean City, Maryland. But in August 2024, I had gastric sleeve surgery, which put a pause on our travels for a while

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That surgery came with a few lifestyle changes—no more carbonated drinks and definitely smaller meals. So when we started talking about this year’s trip, I knew our old “beer and barbecue” routine wouldn’t quite fit. Truth be told, neither of us can drink like we did in our twenties anyway; we’ve both become almost teetotalers.

That’s when the idea hit me: why not rent an RV, head back to Big Meadows, and relive our camping days—minus the beer and air mattresses? Bill was instantly on board and said, “Set it up.”

So I did.

And that’s where this story begins.

By Captain Weeble — chronicling the adventures, misadventures, and everything in between.