My father-in-law bought several lots in a new, owner-run campground in a small area of West Virginia called Falling Waters many years ago. Although the original plan called for a pool, a miniature golf course and various other improvements, the campground remained largely the same for many years. At one point we had a camper on one of the lots for a few years which was only used once in a while, mainly in the winter by my son and husband when sledding weather came around. My husband and I often discussed what a foolish investment we thought his Dad had made buying these 4 lots, especially the ones on the Potomac river since it would cost a small fortune to even begin to develope the area. So, the land sat untouched and rarely visited until about 2 years after my father-in-law's death. Having received another statement of unpaid dues from the management of the campground, my husband decided to take one more trip up there before we made a decision as to what to do with this property. Well, imagine his surprise when he arrived at this previuosly sad, overgrown spot only to find that massive development had taken place. As if following the original sales pitch used to sell his Dad, the campground not only had the promised pool and mini golf course, the majority of the lots had campers, pavillions, landscaping and what looked more like houses than campers with people everywhere tending to their places and riding around this large community in golf carts. Venturing down to the river road, he found most, if not all, of the river lots had been cleared and built on, affording their owners a grand view of the Potomac River along with the waterfront privelleges any home on the water has. My husband was in love.
So, for the last several years, my husband has been transforming the river property into a quiet, comfortable get-away spot. Along with help from our son and sons-in-law, they have descended on this lot with bush hogs and chain saws. Of course the thought of four rednecks in the woods with chainsaws has been a great source of concern for the females in the family, the boys have all emerged from their weekends in West Virginia with all their fingers in tact and no more than minor cuts and scratches.
Being justifiably proud of all that's been accomplished, my husband is always encouraging me to join him on weekends in what he refers to as West ByGod Virginia. Although it's difficult for both of us to be gone at the same time with our own business to run, I have managed to get up there without incident several times. It's a beautiful, usually quiet spot, rather far removed from anything remotely resembling a mall or shopping center. I appreciate the view and the level of relaxation but, not being too adept at sitting still for long periods of time, I usually bring my laptop along with me. As I said, I had been there a few times and everything went well. However, last year something changed.
On an extremely hot July 4th weekend last year, I accompanied my husband to his retreat, naturally making sure my laptop was close by. The first evening went pleasantly in spite of the sweltering temperatures since we could always retire to our air-conditioned motorhome to cool down. The next day, we went in search of a local flea market and spent several hours wandering around looking at all manner of old glassware, used tools and toys and whatever else one could think to sell. By the middle of the day we agreed it was much too hot to continue this effort so we hightailed it back to our place for some air conditioning and a cool drink.
As my husband entertained thoughts of a long nap in our cool haven, I plugged in my laptop to while away the hot afternoon. As we each settled into our chosen pursuits, the unthinkable happened! The world stopped...What the heck ??!! No AC, no computer...oh no, the power had gone out. We checked all the breakers and turned off several appliances convinced that would solve the problem. My husband went out to check the main breaker and reappeared moments later looking dejected. According to all the neighbors, the power was out in the entire campground. Since there had been no freak thunderstorm or any other event that could have caused the problem, people were at a loss to explain this turn of events. A few even looked at me suspiciuosly knowing that it was a rare time that I came up to the area. Ok, maybe I do have a reputation because of my Cajun heritage, but only among family memebers. I mean just because a couple of times an offhand remark or a prediction came true....Ok, OK, maybe more than just a couple of times..... that doesn't mean I'm a voodoo princess, does it? It didn't take us long to realize that we were fortunate enough to have a motorhome equipped with a generator so we cranked the generator on and were instantly rewarded with lights and AC. We smiled and waved to our unlucky neighbors and smugly retreated inside. Again we settled into our chosen spots, but...you guessed it...the generator stopped with a loud THUD! Checking the breakers again and any other possible causes of this breakdown, with much cursing and coaxing, the generator coughed, sputtered and grudingly came back to life. We held our breath for what seemed an eternity and finally went back to our activities. Lulling us into a false sense of superiority, the generator kept going just long enough for my husband to doze off and me to get interested in an internet site. Once again, the world went still. No amount of effort would get this infernal machine started again and we reluctantly admitted we had become one with the rest of the hot and uncomfortable in the campground. We agreed it was unwise to venture too far outside knowing our neighbors were gleefully enjoying our situation and my husband decided it was best if he continued his nap. I, of course, had nothing left to do but stare at a blank computer screen as I had forgotten to recharge the battery.
Afternoon gave way to evening with barely a noticiable breeze or drop in temperature and still no power. As night fell we joined the parade of golf carts to the open field where the fireworks display was due to start. The ring of parked golf carts was abuzz with talk of the power outage and how this had never happened in the entire history of the campground. I sat quietly knowing it was the best option and thought longingly of the nearest hotel. Late into the evening, we wandered back to our quiet, dark campsite trying to decide if we should pack up and leave (this idea had my vote) or try and wait it out. As we got closer to the decision, we began noticing lights coming on and, yes, the blessed sound of air conditioners coming on. As they say in West Virginia...YEEHAW!! The power was back on and the rest of the weekend went by without incident. This entire episode became another of the stories that gets repeated at family gatherings....Mom made the power go out, Ha Ha.
Being somewhat adventurous and having given enough time to pass by, I decided to give West ByGod another chance. So, this past Friday, we packed up and I again went to West Virginia knowing the power couldn't possibly go out again. In fact, my husband and I were joking about it on the trip up. We pulled into the campground, my husband presented his ID card, and the guard handed him a small piece of paper. I watched as he read the notice, looked over at me, looked at the guard and demanded to know exactly what this meant. "The water's out in the entire park, Sir" muttered the guard. I sarted laughing and admitted it was my fault. Of course the guard didn't understand why I would say that and just looked blankly at me. Knowing that management was working hard to restore water, we went to our site and got on with our weekend vacation. We spent Saturday at flea markets and outlets giving the powers that be plenty of time to get the water going. No such luck. By 4:00 on Saturday, little progress had been made so along with many others, we admitted defeat and packed up to head home.
By the time we arrived home, I thought I had the whole thing figured out. I decided that, barring natural disasters, since the one time I went up the power went out and the next time, the water went out, by the third visit both the water and power should go out and the curse that follows me to West Virginia should have worn off. Otherwise I may have to look into either disguises or exorcisms before I'm banned from the state.