Westward ho in the morning

Today was very wet and windy all day.  The weather forecast was spot on and they had a warning for high profile vehicles to avoid travel.  We heeded that warning, but not without a little controversy.  The campground manager called us this morning and asked why we hadn't checked out since our work was finished.  Well, we hadn't completed the process since we disputed some of the charges and the manager had to check with his staff to see if we had a case.  Evidently we did, since he removed the issues in question from the bill and we settled up our account.

It was almost noon by the time all that came about and I mentioned to the supervisor that I wasn't leaving and driving in 25-35mph winds with gusts up to 40mph.  I asked him to ok another day at the campground.  He agreed that it wouldn't have been a good idea to be out on the road in bad weather and called over to the campground staff allowing us to stay another day.  It was a good thing since we would have been heading into some rough weather and I really didn't want to deal with it.

We took the opportunity to finish some odd jobs inside the motorhome and get ready for an early morning departure.  Our next planned stop is past Little Rock, AR.  Since we spent so much time here in Red Bay, we will have to speed up and put some miles on the motorhome to get to Tucson in time to finish some tasks that have to be done there.

It's almost 9pm and the wind has eased up somewhat as has the rain.  Hopefully, we won't be rocking and rolling tonight and can get a good night sleep.

 

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man tired.

Ok, it was another 5am wake up day for us and then over to the service bays.  This time it was to have a 3" X 10' piece of aluminum trim painted.  So, how long did this take?  Would you believe all day long.  In fairness, the undercoat had to dry and then the next coat of paint.  Finally the stripes had to match the ones coming down the slide out.  Thankfully it was only 1 hour of total labor by the painter.  I remember when I worked for a garage and helped the painter prep and paint a car when I was younger and we could paint the whole car in one day.  Progress!

We finally got the motorhome back to the campsite and hooked back up around 4pm.  We discussed the bill with the service manager and he needs to check out a few things, but I am hopeful he doesn't try and charge us for work that was done wrong in late May while we were here and then had to be redone.  So far, they have been fair in what they charge and I expect that to be the case here.

We stopped at China King in Red Bay for lunch and it was about a 2 on a scale of 1 - 10.  Neither of us could finish what we put on our plate and even though it was an early lunch, the food was cold.  Lesson learned, don't go back to give them a 2nd chance.

They are forecasting some strong thunderstorms for the area on Thursday, so we are going to stay here another day and wait for the storms to roll on through.  So far it is just heavy rain and some winds up to 30-40 mph.  If that is all, then it will be no problem.  It will give us a chance to make sure all this slideout work didn't introduce some leaks in the MH.  

All in all, a very boring day, but at least all the work is finished.  

Repairs and repairs of repairs.

This has been an interesting last couple days here at the Tiffin repair facility in Red Bay.  We finally got into a repair bay Monday morning at 7:00am and the techs went to work on our short list of things to be done.  They managed to knock out all the items on the list and we were out of there by 1pm.  Great!  However, not so fast.

When we went back to the campsite and opened the kitchen slide there was a loud bang.  Not good.  Then the driver's side slide made a "funny noise".  Really not good.  Back into the repair bay with a different tech working on the slide.  The driver's side slide had been worked on and somehow a shear pin was broken.  Easy fix and good to go.

The kitchen slide was another story.  It seems that the repair they made to the slide in May was faulty and when it opened, out went a couple pieces that were needed.  The tech looked at it and said it would be a big job to repair and to bring it back in Tuesday morning at 7am.  Yuk, I hate getting up early.

We arrived on time today and he started working on the slide.  It took him until 3pm to finish the repair.  Now they just have to paint a strip of aluminum moulding on Wednesday morning at 7am.  Double yuk!  Ok, if that is what we have to do to get out of here, then so be it.  I drove the motorhome back to the campsite and parked it.  Started to hook it back up and turned the water pump on to wash my hands.  Oh, oh, where did that water come from?  Yep, they broke a hot water hose near where the slide work was done.  Water seeping on the floor big time and off I went to get a tech to repair it before they left for the day.  It took them 30 minutes to do the job and now we are in good shape.  I think!

We ran into friends Steve & Pat who we went to the Rattlesnake Cave restaurant with last May.  They came in to buy a part and found out it was almost $500 for the part.  Ooops.  Maybe a quick repair would be better than buying new.  We did join them for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Belmont, MS and talked for almost 3 hours.  They are a fun and interesting couple and will be heading west about a day after us later this week.  Hopefully we will run into them again somewhere along the road.

Steve & Pat

While we were in the restaurant the Cisco Kid showed up for his birthday.  They had a special treat for him by shoving a pie into his face.  He took it really well and seemed quite pleased that they had done it.  He was smiling from ear to ear.  Also licking from ear to ear.
 

Friends Ron & Dee are in Santa Fe, NM already and only have 500 miles to go to get to Tucson.  He must have that Ford Pickup running at full speed to make it there so fast.  It helps that he isn't towing a 5th wheel and can make great time.

Linda & Sherwin are back in Tucson after spending last winter in the frozen north of Maine.  I am sure they are appreciating the weather in Tucson, especially after seeing it was down in the teens in Maine last night.  

Ron K made it back to Tucson after spending the summer visiting relatives in the IN/IL area and it sounds like he had a great time seeing them all again.  It's been almost 10 years since his last visit and he took advantage of the time spent there seeing everyone.

Sharon & Don are back in Benson and we hope we get a chance to visit with them before they hit the road again.  They don't spend a lot of time in one spot and get the "hitch itch" easily.

I made an appointment with my knee doctor to have the right knee replaced on December 2.  I can't say that I am looking forward to it, but hopefully by mid January I will be moving around a lot easier.  Got to run for now, see you later.

This has been our exciting last few days, what about yours?

 


 

Tamales or Fish

We had a big decision to make today on where to go for dinner.  We've been eating dinner in for the most part since there aren't that many choices of places to eat in the area.  Since it was Friday, we knew that the fish place would be open and we heard about a nice Mexican restaurant in Belmont, MS.  Decisions, decisions.

As usual for us, we just got in the car and started driving in the direction of both places and made the decision at the intersection for the turnoff.  Fish it was.  We thought that since Tucson & the Southwest have so many Mexican restaurants that we would wait until we got further west to satisfy the urge for that cuisine.

The fish place is only open Thursday-Saturday and is a carryout place.  They do have a few picnic tables there, but it was too chilly to eat out, plus it is a busy area.  I asked a local if they had tables inside and he replied in the negative.  He did come to the car and praised how great the food was there and he highly recommended the place.  Said it was the best catfish he had ever eaten and guaranteed we would like it.  Since there was so much high praise from him, we decided to go for it.  While it wasn't the best catfish we've had, it was right up there near the top.

They had a number of choices on the menu, but we both picked the catfish dinner for $8.00.  It included catfish, baked potato, slaw, hushpuppies and a drink.  They offered us the sweet tea, but we knew not to order that since it was sickening sweet to our taste.  Must be the Yankee blood in us.  

While waiting for the order the gentleman introduced himself as Gene and wife Anita.  He is a Baptist minister and has his own church a few miles down the road.  They were very friendly and we chatted for 15 minutes or so and he filled us in on some other places in the area for good food.  Surprisingly, he said the Piggly Wiggly deli in Red Bay, AL had an excellent lunch menu.  We will have to go and check it out before we leave.  He invited us to stop by their house and chat some more if we had time.  They were a nice couple and interesting to talk to.

We went back to the motorhome and enjoyed the catfish dinner.  Gerry had a difficult time finishing hers and I left 1/2 of the baked potato for later.  It was well worth the $16 and if we are in the area again on the weekend, I see another trip out there.  Hopefully it won't be during this stop in the area.

We have the 2010 season for "Dexter" on dvd and have been watching it the past few nights. 

There are 13 episodes on 4 dvds and we are almost halfway through the series.  Dexter is a serial killer who picks out people that need to be killed (rapists, child molestors, murderers, etc) and each episode is about his next killing.  The actual murders are only a small part of the show, with the events leading up to it being the main focus.  To add to the suspense, Dexter is a blood splatter specialist with the Miami police dept.  The girl who plays his sister on the show was his real life wife until they recently divorced.  She plays a Miami police detective who works closely with Dexter.  

We watched the show when it originally aired a few years ago and we had Showtime via a dish, but when we gave up the dish network, we quit watching the show.  The plots are well written and keep your interest throughout the hour.  It ended it's run in September and hasn't been renewed as of now.  What a shame.  Now I have to go out and find DVDs of each season we missed.

We received good news Friday afternoon when Tiffin called and said to be in Bay 31 at 6:50am on Monday morning for our appointment.  That is a rough hour to be all packed up, slides in, jacks up and water, sewer & electric connections stowed away.  It will be worth it and hopefully we can get out of here Tuesday morning.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Now the big decision is what route do we take out to the Southwest.  I-40 and risk bad weather?  Direct route through Dallas on I-20 and face boring west Texas or drop down to I-10 and take the longer route out there?  Maybe we will do like we did picking out the restaurant and take a left or right turn somewhere and see where that leads us.  In any case, it will be good to get rid of this "hitch itch" and be back on the road.  Maybe diesel prices will drop by then.  Ha!



 

Quiet Time at Camp Allegro

During the day it isn't so quiet here with anywhere from 50-100 motorhomes moving around between campsites and the work bays, plus all the new arrivals and departures.  There are fewer people waiting for service tonight with only 10-12 people dry camping.  i.e. - no hookups.  I guess that means they are fixing the units and getting them down the road.  I was hoping for a Friday departure, but that doesn't look too promising at this time.  Hopefully we can get out of here by the middle of next week.  2 weeks here is long enough.  We are getting some much needed rest, so that is one benefit. 

There are usually people out walking their dogs (lots of dogs), standing around chatting, checking out the units and it's like a small village.  Of course your neighbor changes from day to day, so there aren't any long term relationships in the neighborhood.  I was outside today and a number of people commented on our three large windows in the side of the unit.  They hadn't seen anything like that in other Tiffin MHs and asked when I had them put in.  As far as I know, the unit came that way and has its strong points and drawbacks.  They let in a lot of light and act as a heat conductor in the cold days, but also are a heat conductor on sunny and hot days.  The double shade helps to keep the heat out of the unit on those hot days. 

Last night we drove up to a local pizza parlor and sat there in the parking lot and watched "The Amazing Race" on our computer. The program aired on Sunday night and we didn't get a chance to see it then, so it was nice to be able to keep up with the program.  It was one of the better episodes with a lot of nice scenery and stuff we've never seen before.  They even managed to get a Ford truck plug into one of the challenges.  The contestants had to hook up a chain to a large boulder and pull it forward to find the next clue.  The "Ice Hockey Crew", two girls didn't know how to drive a stick shift transmission and had to get some help from the Oklahoma boys.  Of course, the contestants had nice things to say about the Ford pickup.

We stopped at the pizza parlor since they had a very strong internet connection and I don't want to use up all of my 20 gig allowance with my Millenicom account.  I did check today and I have 11 gig left, so we will be able to watch some more tv through the end of the month.  We don't have cable tv here or a Dish or Directv account, so we rely on over the air tv or a campground with cable.  There are times when we don't get either, but we manage to make it through those terrible times ok.

Gerry spent the day making Halloween cards and the 9 lucky people should be getting their cards in a few days.  She enjoys making the cards and originally started out making birthday and anniversary cards.  No problem.  Now she makes Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, Sympathy, etc etc cards.  I think she is obsessed and I may have to set up an exorcism for her.  Just kidding.  She loves doing it and does a great job.

Which one is yours?

The weather forecast is for 30 degrees tonight and 27 on Friday night.  After that there will be a warm up to more typical temperatures.  We are warm and toasty in the MH, so it's no problem for us.  I would hate to see the electric bill for the campground though.  Most people take advantage of the electric and save their propane.  Our heat pumps work fine, and a small electric heater keeps us at 65 degrees.  

That's what we have been doing, what about you?

Full House at Camp Allegro

Norris came by early this morning and went over our job list and said they could finish the work in 3 hours.  Great, however the 3 hour time period most likely will be early next week.  At least we are on the schedule and hopefully they can get us in sooner, but I'm not betting on it.

He told us that there were almost 200 units waiting for service with over 50 of them dry camping or somewhere in the area.  October seems to be even busier than the April-May time period due to all the snowbirds heading south to get out of the snow belt before winter.  

The weather has been nice the last couple days and once we get to talk to the TV guy, we can roam around the countryside even more.  The tech's work day ends after 3pm and if they haven't shown up by then, the chance of them stopping by drops down to zero.  They will finish a job if it is started but not start one near the quitting time.

I have noticed a number of bloggers that I follow are already heading for their winter addresses.  Some are already back and enjoying the nice weather in the Tucson/Benson area.  We hope to be back soon enough to enjoy some of the beautiful fall weather in New Mexico and Arizona.  It all depends on how fast they can fit us in the schedule and finish our repairs.

Not much interesting or exciting going on around here, so this will be a short posting.

RV Wreck Repair & Football

We were talking to a couple here at Camp Allegro (Tiffin Service Center) and when I asked how long they had been here, the reply was they arrived August 31 for the repair.  Wow, and I thought a week was terrible.  To be fair, they had an accident and the front end of their motorhome was damaged beyond repair.  A new front cap was molded and after waiting in line for weeks, they are now ready for the painting this week.  They hope to be out of here by Friday and on their way.  I wish them luck.

Tiffin keeps the dies from all their motorhomes and can make these parts even though they aren't in stock.  I wonder what happens to other RV models when the company goes out of business.  It must be a real problem to have something like a front cap fabricated.  Also, very expensive.   The people above have an estimate of $17K for their repair and have the benefit of Tiffin making the cap.  Something to think about when you buy an older motorhome.

We replaced the Safe-T-Alert propane/co2 detector today with only a minor mishap.  Yep, blew a fuse.  No problem to find which one since the fuse panel is labeled clearly and we have lots of spare fuses.  There were a few more repairs made today by us and other odds and ends that needed maintenance.  There is always something needing attention with a home that goes down the road at 65 mph.

This was the weekend for high scoring among the football teams I follow.  My old high school team scored 51 points and lost by 7,  58-51.  Then the Redskins won 45-41 today over the Chicago Bears.   So the combined scores of my teams were 96 to 99.  It must have been like a track meet with all that scoring.  Fun to watch when they win, but painful when they lose.

Not much exciting going on here in Red Bay.  We went out last night around 10pm and they had rolled up the sidewalks already.  There was one gas station, McDonalds, Mini Market open in the whole town.  It's hard to believe that a Saturday night would be so dead that early.

 

Talladega Speedway & Full Hookups

We drove by the Talladega Speedway which is within sight of I-20 and Gerry managed to get some photos of the speedway and all the campers in the parking lot.  This was taken on Friday afternoon and we saw a number of RV heading in the direction of the speedway, so I imagine this field would be almost full by Saturday.  

I would estimate there were more than 5 times as many campers at this track than there were in Charlotte last week.  One reason for this is there aren't many hotels in the immediate area, while there are plentiful hotels near the Charlotte racetrack, plus the much larger population in the Charlotte metro area.  Just my opinion.

Notice the new $700 mirror on the left that caused us a three day delay in leaving the cabin.  This is the mirror that the tree jumped out and broke the arm and we had to order one from Tiffin and have it FEDEXed to the cabin.  It arrived Friday and SIL Jack helped me install it on the motorhome.  It messed up our travel plans, but when you are in a RV you have to roll with the punches and obstacles put before you when you are on the road.  The favorite saying of RVers is that travel plans are written in jello, and this was one case of that being true.

As I mentioned in the blog yesterday we had to dry camp the first night and were able to snag a full hookup campsite for the remainder of our stay here.  That became more important as they are calling for some real cold temps the next 2-3 nights.  Nothing freezing, but down in the low 30s.  I hope they are wrong, but if not the furnace, electric heaters and heat pumps on the roof  will keep us nice and toasty warm.  Bring it on.

 

Back in Red Bay - Camp Allegro

We stopped in Bremen, GA for the night and went to bed fairly early for us.  We did watch "Hope Springs" with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones last night since there wasn't much on tv in the area.  It was a chick flick (my view) and Gerry was a little disappointed in the movie since it was rather sad.

Today was an early day for us and we were on the road before 10am with a 210 mile drive ahead of us.  It was an easy drive and we caught RT 78 out of Birmingham, AL and eventually picked up AL 19 for the last few miles.  Not much interesting to report on the drive other than some pretty scenery and a lot of red clay along side of the road.

When we arrived in Red Bay the streets were lined with people sitting on the curb, in chairs and just standing around.  Evidently there was a parade and we were part of it.  One group of young children made the pull sign for blowing the air horn and I obliged them.  They gave us a big cheer, but I was hesitant to do it again since the police frown on this practice in town.  The parade was for the Red Bay High School homecoming celebration and there was a football game scheduled for later this evening.

We arrived at the campground to find out it was full and so was the dry camping area.  I did find a spot to park after I took on some water and dumped the holding tanks.  Not exactly a prime location, but the price is right.  Free!   The RV dealer across the road had a couple sites with electric only right next to their garage for $20/night.  No thanks.  We may get a full hookup site by Monday and then there is a 4-5 day wait for the express service.  Anything major and there is a 4-5 WEEK wait.  Not for me.

They are calling for temps down around the high 30s at night in a couple days.  Hope we have electric by then or we will have to run the diesel burner for heat.  No big problem, but would prefer running the heat pumps on the MH for heat.

Now we sit and wait.  Hope to get some geocaching in while we are here, but there aren't many around that we didn't find during our last visit to Camp Allegro.

Momma told me there would be days/weeks like this.

The Last Supper

Barbara called our dinner party at Hawthorne's in Mint Hill, NC our "last supper".  I hope she doesn't know something that we don't know.   I prefer to call it our going away dinner.

It was an interesting get together with all the travel the family has been doing here in North Carolina recently, so we are happy it worked out.  Grandson Jared just returned from a trip to Austin, TX; granddaughter Stephanie and hubby Shawn returned from a vacation in the Tampa, Florida area; we are down from Pennsylvania and SIL Henry was in Atlanta, GA earlier in the day.  Ryan was unable to attend because of a prior commitment.   Son Larry Jr., DIL Jane and grandson Grant joined us, also.  It was one rowdy bunch of 12 people.

We took lots of pictures and had a fun time visiting with all of them.  Just wish we could have spent more time visiting, but they all live such busy lives so we will take what we can.

Here are some photos of the group.

Shawn & Stephanie

Sean & Taylor

Grant, Jane & Larry Jr.

Larry Jr, Jared & Gerry

Gerry & Me (beauty and the beast)

Daughter Barbara & SIL Henry

Much to everyone's surprise, we all met in the parking lot within a few minutes of 6:30 and got all the hugs and kisses out of the way before we went into the restaurant.  Luckily the restaurant wasn't that busy and we had pretty good service, except for a few mixed up orders.

After the meal Gerry and I went over to Larry & Jane's house to tell them goodbye until the next time.  It was close to Grant's bedtime, so we called it an early evening with them.

Over to Barbara & Henry's for a short visit, which took longer than expected since Gerry & Barbara had to get all the card crafting stuff sorted out and reclaim their tools and stuff.  Henry and I watched Comedy Central coming from the US Senate about the continuing resolution being signed.  What a joke regarding the politicians instead of statesmen keeping this mess from happening.  Hang around for round two of this mess coming up soon.

We stopped at a grocery store for a few supplies and got home around midnight. Then we had to get up around 7:30 and get out of Concord.  More about that on Friday.

We are sitting in a Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Resort in Bremen, GA at the present time.  It's a Passport park, so it is fairly reasonable with the discount.  Of course they charge $1.50 extra for 50amp, $3.21 for Directv and a few other charges.  They are like KOA, Keep on Adding with all the extra charges.

 

Balloons to Rocks and CO/Propane Detectors

Last year at this time we were hanging around Albuquerque after the Balloon Fiesta waiting for Gerry to get over a virus.  We were antsy to get on the road, much like now, but Gerry didn't feel up to starting down the road.  She went to a Clinic and was prescribed some medicine that helped clear up the problem and away we went.

This year we are sitting in a campground with the largest boulders I have seen on the East Coast.  They are scattered around the area and these three are close to our motorhome.  They are all larger than a car and some close to being the size of a motorhome. 

Bug Mushroom

Notice how the tree is fighting for room next to these boulders.  The giant oak seems to be holding it's own for now.  Amazing how the trees can compete for space with the boulders.

Last night our Safe-T-Alert CO/Propane detector starting going off every few minutes.  Normally that would be a cause for alarm, but since we don't have any propane lines and there weren't any engines running emitting CO2, then they were false alarms.  I took the unit out of the wall and checked it and found out that they recommend you replace it every five years.  Ours was 7 years old and it must have died on us.

 

 Just to be on the safe side, I left the window in the bedroom open and turned the exhaust fan on all night.  It got real cool, but that just contributes to good sleeping weather.

Larry Jr. said it most likely was a faulty unit and needed replacing.  He also said to check the propane tank for the portable grill and put soap and water over the valves to make sure it wasn't leaking.  Tiffin Service gave us a second opinion that matched Larry Jr.'s and confirmed that it was faulty and since we will be there on Friday, I will wait until then to replace the unit.  The local RV dealer, Tom Johnson wanted $134 for the detector and it will cost $44 at the Tiffin store.  $90 profit seems like a ripoff to me.

We are off to Larry, Jane & Grant's house where Barbara will join us for dinner there.  It's always a surprise to see what Larry Jr. has prepared for us.  Follow up.  He prepared some ham & turkey sandwiches with cream cheese, dinner rolls and lots of other ingredients that I didn't catch.  They were delicious and I ate two helpings and made a pig of myself.  They're called Tailgate Sandwiches.  Yum!

Gerry had made two pumpkin pies since they are Larry Jr.'s favorite pie and he always looked forward to winter holidays and the pies.  Grant saw them first and was very excited.  Evidently it is his favorite pie also and he asked for the biggest piece of pie.  It didn't last long on his plate and I think he could have eaten another one.  As usual, the pie was superb. 

We made it an early night since everyone was tired and worn out.

That was our day, how was yours.

Bank Of America 500 at Charlotte Tailgating Party

We always stay at the same RV park when we are in the Charlotte, NC area and usually have the same campsite from year to year.  This time was an exception with the NASCAR race being run this weekend, so they moved us a little further away to another nice site.

I explained we weren't here for the race so that is why we are farther away.  No race people near us except for a tent across the road.  There are still a number of campsites available and it looks like the Fall race isn't as popular as the Spring race.  There were more cars and campers in the area today compared to the last couple days, but not like it used to be.

Barbara, Henry, Darlene and Tom got tickets to the race and decided to come by the motorhome and tailgate for the afternoon.  They arrived at 2:00PM and we commenced to party.  It was an actual tailgate party since I put our gas grill on the tailgate of Barbara's Chevy Avalanche pickup truck.  It was just the right height and after partying for a couple hours I grilled some hotdogs and hamburgers.  Gerry had prepared a number of finger foods and dips, along with some great potato wedges.  We all managed to stuff ourselves and waddle around trying to work off some of the calories.

Darlene, Gerry & Barbara

 

Layered Diablo Dip

Henry, Barbara, Me & Darlene

Darlene & Barbara

Henry, Barbara, Me & Tom

Barbara

Barbara & Darlene at the racetrack.

 After dinner I drove the 4 race goers up closer to the racetrack.  We are a little over 1/2 mile from the track and I thought I'd save them some walking.  I may drive up and pick them up after the race, but I am not sure if the roads will be a mess or not.  I'd hate to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyone trying to get home after the race.  Especially since there will be ice coolers of adult beverages are all over the place that will be empty by the end of the race.


Their tickets were for seats about 9 rows up from the track near the finish line.  They hope to move up a little higher to get away from all the debris flying around when the cars whiz by them.  It seems there is a lot of rubber flying off the tires and pelting everyone near the track.  Not my idea of fun.

We can hear the cars as they come into the turn nearest us and the roar is quite loud.  I can't imagine how loud it is at the track.

I drove up near the track and picked them up after the race and we went back to the motorhome to wait for all the traffic to thin out.  After an hour or so, they headed for home and we are going to bed.

Goodnight all.  

Acorns Keep Falling On My Head

We've been camping here in the park since Saturday night and have a nice spacious spot under some huge old oak trees.  While they provide a lot of shade, they are also home to some of the largest acorns I have ever seen.  Fellow rvers know where this is going, so I will get right to the point.  The acorns hit the roof of the motorhome and sound like huge branches are falling.  It turned a lot cooler the last couple nights and with some heavy wind and rain, the acorns pounded us all day.  I'm afraid to get up on the roof and see what it looks like.  They are also falling on other rvs and the occupants don't seem too concerned.

We've been spending time with our children and their families since our  arrival.  While it is very interesting to us, there isn't much to blog about.  It is great seeing them but we have to compress 6 months of visiting into 12 days.  It does get intense at times.

We visited with our grandson Ryan and great grandson Griffin today and had lunch with them.  It was a nice time and we enjoyed chatting with Ryan and playing with Griffin.  Griffin is growing like a weed and is still a very happy baby.

Gerry & Griffin

Ryan & Griffin

From there we went to Larry, Jr's for more visiting time with him, Jane and Grant.  We enjoyed a delicious Mexican Bean Pie dinner, Key Lime Pie dessert and followed it up with some Hot Spiced Cider.  Gerry said she doesn't mind being spoiled while we are here and she doesn't have to cook.

Jane, Grant & Larry Jr.

Friday will bring some changes to the area with the beginning of the NASCAR race scheduled for Friday & Saturday nights.  We've been warned to avoid traveling in the area during the arrival and departure of the race fans.  The roads will be jam packed, along with people walking back to their parking spaces.  We have made our plans accordingly.

Barbara is trying to get some race tickets for her and Henry, and also for Darlene and Tom.  If they get the tickets, then they plan on tailgating at our motorhome the day of the race and then walk to the stands.  We are about 3 blocks from the racetrack and it should be interesting.  More to follow.

Our Verizon cell phone is acting up and it may be the time to replace it.  We have been studying smart phones and checking into the cost for them.  Our present phone that meets our needs is 5 years old and we removed texting from the plan.  It costs $46 a month.  To get a basic smartphone service looks like it will cost over $100 a month.  More phone than we need or will ever use, so we are still mulling which way to go.  Maybe getting a basic phone like the one we have is the best solution.  Decisions, decisions.

I have decided to go to bed, so will close for now.

Easy Day's Drive

We woke up this morning to see a thick fog covering the Walmart parking lot.  I turned on the tv for local news and found out the fog was blanketing the area, but would burn off quickly.  That was when I decided that getting an early start wasn't such a good idea and we took it easy getting ready to hit the road again.

Fog clearing up

The traffic on I-81 South was light and we made good time traveling down the road.  Once we got onto I-77 South, the traffic picked up a little, but not enough to slow us down.  The tractor trailer trucks with heavy loads were another story since we were beginning the ascent over the mountain on the VA/NC border.  One truck in particular had a load of steel, was barely moving 40mph and was holding up traffic.  I don't know how he did on the really steep grades just ahead of him.

The downhill run of 7.5 miles had numerous run away truck ramps spaced about a mile apart.  The lower we go, the more the ramps had been used.  I downshifted the transmission and let the exhaust retarder do it's job and maintained a safe 50 mph descent.  I love the exhaust brake and the job it does.

We arrived at the campground and were almost set up when Barbara & Henry showed up with some great sandwiches and cold beer.  We were happy to see them and started chatting non stop and it stayed like that for a couple hours.  Henry and I transferred the load in the back of the Saturn to Barb's Avalanche.  Part of the load even carried over to the front seat.  They went back home to do some chores and we finished up with setting up the motorhome.

Later we went to their house for more visiting and a small cookout on their patio.  We didn't take any pictures since we were beat and just wanted to relax.  More conversation followed and we wound up staying there until about 11pm.  By this time we were very tired and ready to call it a day.   

Now it is time for feather bed ball, so good night.

On The Road Again

We finally got on the road today after a few aborted attempts in the last couple weeks.  Our neighbor Bob came over yesterday and brought his handy dandy John Deere tractor and pushed some bushes, tree trunks and other junk away from the motorhome.  It gave me enough room to maneuver the motorhome around and then pull out of the parking space heading in the right direction.  The next problem was the entrance to our little enclave.  There are some trees very close to the lane and it is a tight fit.  I managed to drive out and not take off any mirrors today.

The mirror arrived by Fed Ex right on time as they promised; two days from Red Bay, AL to South Mountain, PA.  That is some service.

Our SIL Jack had a scheduled day off and came out to install the new mirror.  Boy, was it a tight fit for him to make the electrical connections and install the mirror.  It took about 3 hours to finish that job and then he fixed a couple more problems on the motorhome.  Now I have to wash it and get the road and tree grime off of it.

We had planned on stopping in Richmond and visiting with our friends Carolyn & Mann, but all the campgrounds were full.  They also ban overnight parking at most of the Walmarts in the area so we didn't have a choice of what to do.  We made it to Christiansburg, VA and are Wally Docking for the night.  There is a Virginia Tech college football game here on Saturday and the Walmart is a little crowded, also.  At least we didn't have to drive the complete 425 miles down to Concord tonight after the last couple busy days.

I am tired and going to bed early tonight.  Hope to be on the road early and get to Concord before 1pm.  We will see how that goes.

That was our day, how was yours? 

Ooops Kind of Day

Well, we were all loaded and ready to go this morning.  We have a very tight fit to get the motorhome back on a decent road.  First we have a narrow lane by the cabin with lots of trees, then a gravel forest road and finally a narrow asphalt road.  The road down the mountain is 11 miles long and full of curves and unlevel road.  It's like running a gauntlet.

We were about 8 inches away from getting the motorhome turned around and ready to hit the road.  Then I heard a sickening crunch and Gerry was yelling stop.  Too late, by this time the tree reached out and grabbed my driver's side mirror.  Not only that, it broke it off and now we are waiting for a replacement mirror to be shipped to us and hope to get it within two days.  Fat chance of that.  It looks like Saturday will be the earliest and Monday is more likely when it will arrive.

It is a simple task then to splice the wires and put the new mirror back on the motorhome.  Then it is back to the gauntlet and try to get out of here.  Not something I am looking forward to and they are calling for a tropical rain storm to arrive on Monday and dump a lot of rain on our parade.

We did move the motorhome back to the pad here at the cabin and will be ok.  At least the rent is cheap here.  One possible problem may be that we will be arriving in Charlotte, NC during race week and that means it will be hard to get a campsite.  We may just take our time and arrive after the race.  We don't have to be out west at any specific time, so that is a possibility.  Time will tell.

That was our exciting day, how was yours?

The Pirates and We Did It

We got up early today and began the final loading of the motorhome.  It's hard to believe how much work goes into bringing stuff from the cabin back to the motorhome and then finding storage areas for it.  As it turns out, we have two areas with space to spare.  Now we are wondering if we forgot something and that is why we have the space.  I guess we will find out sooner or later.

I filled the batteries with distilled water and then oiled the jack housing.  Some more lubricant on the slide rails and we should be good to go in the morning.

We aren't going to winterize the cabin since Cassie and Jack will use it one weekend and then close it for the winter.  Now that we have all our stuff out of it, the cabin looks really nice.  Plus, it is Indian Summer here and that makes it even more difficult to leave, but it will change quickly and we don't want to be here for that.

Our neighbor Bob stopped by to tell us goodbye and volunteered to take some trash to the dump on Saturday.  He was going anyway and didn't have a full load.  We only have two bags full and a few odds and ends, so it won't take much space.  He is a fantastic neighbor and volunteers to help all the time.  His efforts are greatly appreciated.

The Pittsburgh Pirates won tonight versus the Cincinnati Reds, 6-2.  It was their first playoff win in 19 years so it was especially nice to see them win.  They play the St. Louis Cardinals later this week in a 7 game series.  Go Pirates!

Since it's been so warm lately the Stink Bugs are out in force.  We've had more of them today than at any other time this summer.  I hope we can close the cabin in time to keep a lot of them out of there.  Do you have them in your area?

We will head Leaddog down the road in the morning heading for Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, VA.  We hope to see our good friends Carolyn & Mann while we are there.  Hopefully, we will be rcovered from all the work we've done the past few days.

That is it for us and now it's time for feather bed ball.   Good night.