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.