Royal Cafe & Creperie

Larry Jr. & Jane were going to their Friday night dance class and we picked up Grant for the weekend.  Jr. mentioned a crepe place near the dance class location and once you say crepes, Gerry is raring to go.  Crepes are one of her favorite food groups and she doesn't pass up a chance to have one.  Our house boy in Abidjan made the absolute greatest crepes in the world and they were on the menu quite often.

This place is a little different from the usual crepe place in that they actually make them into sandwiches.  I had a gryo one, while Gerry tried the Italian crepe.  Each one was a meal in it's own.  We all agreed that they were delicious and it would be added to our places to visit while in the area.

http://www.royalcreperie.com/  

Gyro crepe.  Doesn't that look good?

Grant, Larry Jr. & Jane with full tummies.

 Jr & Jane went to their dance class and we brought Grant back to the motorhome for the weekend.  We had an enjoyable evening with him and then we all went to bed early.  Great way to start the weekend.

Big Storm Forecasted for our area.

We've been watching the big storm heading toward us and for a while it looked like it would miss us, but as of 4:30pm it looks like Charlotte will get some rough weather.  There isn't a lot we can do about it and have put some papers and stuff in a bag in case we have to get out of here.

It seems like the storms are getting bigger and bigger each year and causing a lot more damage.  Charlotte has been on a flood watch the past week or so at various times.  Fortunately, we are high and dry.   There is a chance of 1" hail during this latest storm and that would make it three years in a row that we've run into hail.  

Stay tuned for a later report on this lousy weather event.  We are the circle with lines through it just east of Charlotte.

Time to think to bring in the slides and batton down the hatches.

As the sky darkened, shelter at Barbara's house came to mind and we packed a few important things, brought in the slides and started to head there.  We made it about a block when the storm was right on us.  Lightning bolts were a flying in the air, the wind really picked up and shoved the car around.  That is when I decided to get off the road, seek some shelter and parked next to a building to get out of the wind and have some shelter from the rain.

We parked across from the Charlotte Motor Speedway and tried to get a picture of it during the storm.  It was raining so hard that the speedway disappeared even though we were about a half block away from it.  

Taken with windshield wipers going full blast.

Signs were flying down the road.

While waiting it out, we called Barbara and warned her it was heading her way.  She said it was sunny and then said, oh boy here it comes.  She had heavy rain and some hail and then lost the power at her house.  So much for going over there for dinner.  She made it through the storm in fine shape except for the power problem.  Henry had been out of town and had to drive through the rain to get back home.  He made it, but even after the rain stopped, didn't agree to do some grilling and opted for a tuna sandwich.

Although we did have power, since we were out, we stopped by a local restaurant and were seated quickly.  The previous customers were just finishing up and we thought that was great.  By the time we finished our meals there must have been 50 or more people waiting to be seated.  It seems all those people lost power and were coming in for dinner.  I almost had to fight my way out of the restaurant.

There were a lot of trees down along the road back and one had blocked a lane in a side road.  I'm glad we weren't driving by when that one came down.

This large tree fell across a busy highway and the road crew had cleared a path through and went on to other fallen trees.  If you look closely, you can see the power lines that were downed by the branches as the tree fell.

 All in all we lucked out on this one.  Areas north of us were hit with microbursts and there was a lot of damage due to trees falling on houses.  I think part of the reason for so many trees falling was a combination of very wet ground and the high winds.  I haven't heard of any deaths associated with the storm and hope it stays that way.

We did not get any hail and for that I am thankful.  That was our day, how was yours?

Corn Hole Time

We had the big family gathering today to celebrate Fathers' Day and our being in North Carolina.  It was great seeing everyone again and since they lead such busy lives, it was especially nice.   Our daughter Cassie and her family couldn't make it and they were missed.  Gerry's sister Darlene and bil Tom made the drive down here for the party.

The big game was being played when we arrived.  It was girls against boys and I'm not sure who won, but I was rooting for the girls.  The corn hole board was a gift to Barbara for Mother's Day and it seems to be in use very often.  Here's Barbara & Taylor competing against each other with their partners down at the other end.

Taylor & Barbara playing corn hole.

Shawn & Lee

 For those of you that don't know what the game of corn hole is all about, a brief introduction follows. 

There are 4 bean bags per player or team and tossing the bags onto the board scores a point or 3 points when it goes in the hole at the top of the board.  There are cancellation points much like horseshoes and the game is played to 21 points.  One doesn't have to win by 2 points and the first to 21 wins.  It seems that a beer or drink to help level your throw is part of the game.  Or at least, that is how the game is played in North Carolina.

Jared & Larry Jr. in a deep conversation.

Big Smile from Taylor

Jared, Larry Jr., Sean & Taylor

Barb, Gerry, Henry & Ryan

Grandpa Henry & Griffin

Everyone left and finally it was down to Tom & Darlene, Barbara & Henry and Gerry and me.  By this time we were worn out and left also, very early for us to leave a party.  We can't party three or four nights in a row and keep going.  We did have a great time and really enjoyed seeing all the family.

That was our Sunday, how was yours?

Fire & Water

Gerry and I had Grant stay with us for the weekend and we wound up visiting with Barb & Henry at their house.  Gerry's sister, Darlene and husband Tom drove down from Annapolis, MD to join us in the festivities.  We hadn't seen Darlene and Tom since last September and it was great seeing them again.

Henry prepared some Chicken Speedies on the grill and with the sides, we were more than filled up with great food.  No, that isn't my Mai Tai mix on the bar, it's for Tom. 

 

We ate on their patio and after dinner someone had the bright idea to build a fire in the firepit.  Nice thought, but since it had been rainy for the last week, the firewood was soaked.  Grant wasn't to be deterred and worked on the fire for a long time.  Henry finally went over and helped him and this was their reward.

It was only after the fire was going that Gerry remembered we didn't have any marshmallows or chocolate for S'moors.  It was too late to pick them up so we all had to suffer through not having them. 

It was difficult to get a nice picture around the fire since the smoke kept moving around and covering up people in smoke.  This was the best we could do with the picture and I've included it just so you know they were successful in the fire making skills.

By this time the adult refreshments were flowing freely and someone thought it would be great to get into the hot tub.  Barbara and Grant were prepared since they had their swimming suits, while Gerry wasn't as fortunate.  Do you think that would stop her from jumping in?   No way!  Barb and Gerry found some clothes for her and in she jumped.  Darlene, being less daring decided to opt out of the hot tub.  This is the best shot I could get of shy Gerry in her hot tub outfit.  She looks pretty hot to me.

I don't really like hot tubs and since I wasn't properly dressed, I declined the invitation to join them.  Plus, I wasn't sure Darlene could handle seeing me in there and I know it would be hard for her to resist.  So, I stayed out for Darlene's sake.  No thanks are needed.

We left shortly after that and weren't sure Grant could stay awake long enough to drive back to the motor home, but he made it.  Good thing!  There is no way that I could carry him into the motor home since he is so big now.  

Alaska Trip - 1995

Gerry and I had planned on buying a motorhome and looked for the perfect one for almost 2 years.  We finally figured out the the perfect MH wasn't in our budget, but we did find one that we both liked.  It was a 30ft 1995 Fleetwood Flair with no slideouts and it seemed huge to us.  We picked it  up at a local dealer (who went out of business a year later) and took it home to see if it fit in our driveway.  It did, but was a little tricky parking it.

We took it out for a test run at a local state park and checked everything we could.  It all worked and we were very please with that.  Then we drove home, packed it up and went on a 90 day trip from Maryland to Alaska and back, driving a total of 15,016 miles.  
Why am I writing this you may wonder.  Well, I was reading a blog today and the bloggers were in Fairbanks, AK and looking for the North Pole visitors center.  Here it is in 1995.

 
They found out that the visitors center had moved across the street to the campground that used to be there.  We camped there for a few days while we visited all the sights in the area.  The blogger said the visitors center was in the office of the old campground and the campground was closed for good.  What a shame, since it was a great spot to stay while in the area.

Gerry was on the phone with one of the kids at the campground office in 1995.  I was using Compuserve as my internet provider in those days and we connected to the local Compuserve phone number to check our email  Compuserve is also out of business.  Can I pick winners?

Check out the following blog about their Alaska trip.  Ray & Cindys RV Travels

It was a very muddy trip along the ALCAN Highway and the stuff they put on the road to keep the dust down really cakes up and clings to everything when it got wet.  We had mud about 6-8 thick on the undercarriage and must have added a couple hundred pounds to the unit.  

There are a number of blogs about traveling to Alaska and it's sort of a pilgrimage for RVers to make the trip at least once in their lifetime.  We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but if you don't like to drive a lot, then I wouldn't advise starting on the adventure.  

We had a quiet, but rainy day around here.  It was time for Grant to spend the night with us.  We drove to Larry Jr. & Jane's to pick him up, but before leaving we had some great homemade pizza prepared by Larry Jr. Then we brought Grant back to the MH with us.  He is zonked out on the couch and we are finally getting ready for bed.

That was our day then and now.  How was yours?