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.