Florida in December 2013 through March 2014

Person Perched on Passenger Seat (PPOPS), a new acronym! And here I am, a PPOPS, as we follow the asphalt ribbons of roadway southbound through North and South Carolina---along with ten million other travelers heading south, with a majority of license plates from Ontario and Quebec, as well as Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland. The pockets of traffic we find ourselves in feels like a convoy only to be impeded by drivers who felt it necessary to change lanes (only two lanes; either left or right!) every 500 feet, which causes the eventual braking of the immediate two million drivers following. We have vowed to never travel on a holiday weekend again.

The best thing about being a “PPOPS” is being able to glance out across the miles and consider the towns and villages and those who helped weave the tapestry of the countryside. South of Fayetteville is a town named Lumberton; named because of its lumber resources, I would guess. It is also the half way point between New York City and Florida. Crossing into the next Carolina is the ever-marketed South of the Border, near Dillon. When our kids were young and we lived in Syracuse and traveled to Florida, there was the contest in the backseat of how many South of the Border billboards were posted; we never really got the number right but it was near 60. Now the billboards are limited in count and while there is a good stopover campground there really is not too much to make one intentionally stop. Crossing over the Great Pee Dee River into Florence one wonders how many fathers, sons , brothers and uncles’ lives were ended in the largest prisoner of war camp during the War of the North and South. Further down the road we pass a town named Moncks Corner, at the elevation of 50 foot above sea level and slightly below 8 thousand residents, I wonder if the town’s name is a result of the Trappist monks who now live on a former plantation. 

Advancing down the road was more than challenging, especially because of the number of vehicles versus the two-laned roadway on I-95 south through the Carolinas. As the designated POPS, can’t help but speculate the driver(s) five miles ahead of us who is going the speed limit and is then approached by a cluster of drivers who are going ten over the speed limit and suddenly need to apply their brakes, that causes the approaching traffic to in turn apply brakes, and again and again until five miles back we are having to apply our brakes. And then, of course, those who think if they then change lanes they will be further ahead. NOT! And so it continued, for miles and miles and hours and hours.

Although 95 spans a mere 116 miles through the lowcountry of Georgia it took us nearly 2 ½ hours of stop-n-go traveling. We pulled over at the Florida Welcome Center in Yulee about 7 o’clock to put our heads down and hopefully awaken to less travel in the morning.

Myrtle Beach with FHRV Club November 2013

On this first Sunday of November, while the skies were clear and the temperature a cool 62 degrees, we began our ride southbound on route 17 to Myrtle Beach South Carolina. This is our fifth trip within the past three years to Ocean Lakes RV Resort and to our favorite site, HH14. We have a Kodak-moment view of the Atlantic Ocean from our home on wheels and the sound of the rolling surf.

During our week-long stay we enjoyed happy hours each evening to share food and spirits. We re-discovered restaurants, oysters, and oceanside drives. Ladies shared shopping days, the men shared tall-tales. Bingo nights and mah-jong days and Mexican train afternoons. A great time spent together with wonderful friends and fellow rv'ers. This is our last Club trip for the year and we look forward to our Spring trip next year.

September 2013 Charlotte to Winston-Salem to Lenoir to NBNC

Tom Johnson Campground

Reflections in Charlotte

After a month of rehab at Tom Johnson's in Concord, we were able to parole the rig and put 'er back on the road. Thank goodness for extended warranty and a great place to have your motor home fixed up...Tom Johnson's... the slides slide, the levelers level, the refrigerator refrigerates and the electrical problems finally seem to be unkinked.

Tanglewood Campground Site 4

We stayed at Tom Johnson's for two days to get the refrigerator cooled and set on our way Sunday morning to Tanglewood Park in Clemmons NC to meet up with fellow rv'ers from the Harbour. After a pleasant drive on 601 through small towns and lots of quiet countryside, we arrived at our campsite #4.  Happy Hour gatherers brought drink and snacks to our group's site where Happy Hour was dedicated to our dear friends, Jean and Ed Huebner, in memory of Ed. Dave offered a toast of love and remembrance and everyone gave a quiet, personal moment of thought and prayer.  Several couples met at a local Thai restaurant, Chang Thai, where we enjoyed great service and delicious entrees including the most delicious calamari with sweet chili sauce, traditional Tom Kha soup, and several curry dishes. We returned to our campsites feted.

Monday morning campsite huddles resulted in summits at picnic tables by the men and the women spending monies at Trader Joe's and Steinmart.  After our early evening gathering where we shared the day's activities with one another we said goodnight to greet one another again tomorrow.

Childress Engineering Shop

We met up with Rita and John and traveled a short way to Childress Racing Museum, where we strolled through the original #3 race shop and saw over 40 cars driven by Earnhardt Sr, Childress, Harvick, Burton, Scott and Ty and Austin Dillon.

We followed a leisurely pace to the engineering building where we saw new cars being built and research and development continuing to build winning engines for Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup, Camping World and Nationwide truck series teams.  

Childress Winery Harvesting

Grapes of Cabernet

After spending a couple of hours at the museum we went to the Childress Winery and enjoyed a light lunch of soup and salad. We walked through the pricey gift shop and while returning to our car we were entertained with a grape harvester and an mini-education brief by the harvesting team. The RV group met for the planned cookout and fellowship.

To Ed

Old Salem Reenacters

On Wednesday the 2nd,  we visited Salem North Carolina, which was founded in 1766 by the Moravians, missionaries of the Protestant faith, that began in what is now known as the Czech Republic. Our group met up for an early dinner at The Tavern. And we toasted and remembered our dear friend, Ed, whose birthday is today. A fond and loving salute was cheered.

 

FHRV at Tanglewood Park

Omelets at the campsite

Our Thursday began with the gathering of the RV group to share omelets-in-a-bag. Later in the afternoon we climbed aboard the hay wagon to tour the park, enjoy the autumn afternoon and select our pumpkins which had been reserved for us by Tanglewood. Although no one volunteered to lead a sing-a-long there was a youthful camaraderie among the riders as we rode through the parkway. Happy Hour concluded the day.

Tanglewood Horsies

Reynolda House

Fragrant gardenia at Reynolda Conservatory

On Friday, we visited Reynolda House, near Wake Forest, which was a country house built over the course of five years by the RJ Reynolds family. The 60-room estate originally included a model farm, village and gardens on 1,003 acres surrounding the Reynolds's country house.  

Loaves of Bread at Winkler Bakery, Salem NC

We also toured the conservatory and enjoyed some wonderful perfumes of gardenias and orchids.  

We decided to go back to Old Salem and enjoy the ambiance of the quaint village and visit the Winkler Bakery, where we bought warm loaves of bread that had been baked in a domed oven over hot white oak coals, as they have done since 1800. We lunched at the Mayberry and then ventured back to camp for an impromptu happy hour and conversation.  

And then there were none.....

Saturday found the majority of the rv'ers hanging around the campground, chatting at each other's sites and pre-packing for Sunday morning departure. 

An impromptu happy hour gathered at the end of the afternoon. Goodbyes were exchanged and plans to see one another at the Harbour and Oktoberfest.

Sunday we continued our journey westward to Lenoir NC, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to visit with our friends, Jean and Sam Jones.

During our brief stay we visited Blowing Rock, Boone, Jefferson, and Shatley Springs. One of our excursions took us into Virginia by way of winding country roads.


In Jefferson, we taste-tested fresh made cheeses produced at Ashe County Cheese (we also took some home) and peeked in on the manufacturing phase of a vat of cheddar being cooked.



Shatley Springs  is really in the middle of nowhere; but was a beautiful country ride as we wound through the hills and passed by many Christmas tree farms. Once we arrived at the Springs we enjoyed a lunch of fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, and homemade desserts. Shatley Springs became popular in the late 1800s because of its healing qualities of the spring water. We found a rustic atmosphere with ten cottages bordering a fishing pond and we felt like we had taken a step back in time. 


Dave and Sam took to the air for a tree-topper tour of the area while Karen and Jean visited Blowing Rock and Boone area stores.

Thursday, on 10/10 at 10 a.m., we began our trip back to NBNC; regretfully, we did not have a route 10 to travel! We arrived home safely and look forward to our next trip in November to Myrtle Beach with the Club.

Summertime of 2013 Sets in NBNC

Our summertime continued with an annual visit from our grandsons, Alex and Kyle. After trekking through the mountain range of Appalachians and returning to New Bern, Alex and Kyle dug in for their five-week vacation. Over the next 35 days we played mini-tournaments of badminton, boccie ball, and washers. We took long walks and rode bikes in the Harbour.

We spent day-long beach days at Atlantic Beach, camped a week at Ocean Lakes RV park in Myrtle Beach and visited the aquarium and played mini-golf at Salter Path. 

We feasted on baklava, hamburgers and hot dogs, shrimp scampi, popovers, grilled chicken and lots of popcorn. We went to the movies to see Despicable Me 2, we went for adventure walks and bike rides.

 The ocean and jet park in Myrtle Beach were among the hours of fun.

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The Davis Men: Kyle, Eric, Alex

 The boys welcomed their Mom and Dad to NBNC on Sunday and then watched with tear-filled eyes as their Mom and Dad remarried at Atlantic Beach.

The Davis Family: Kyle, Eric, Carol, Alex

On this day, Sunday, we tearfully waved goodbye to the plane that wheeled up from NBNC to take the Davis family back to their home near Saint Louis.

Summertime of 2013 Continues....

Well, this continues "The Rest of the Summer" with our journey to Saint Louis to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary with our children and grandchildren. On June 21st we began our trek westward from Green Lakes State Park in upstate New York and drove to the Indiana Exit 145 rest stop, where we dined on leftovers and put our heads down for sleep, after tacking on another 600 miles on the motorhome odometer. We continued westbound to set up camp at Sundermeier Campground in Saint Charles Missouri. Enroute we stopped and got the motorhome shiny clean in a truck cleaner station. That was pretty cool! During our two-week stay we visited with former neighbors and co-workers and dined with good friends. We made more heart-warming memories with our children and grandchildren and toasted our fortieth wedding anniversary with our son, Steve, and his wife, Adrienne and with our daughter, Carol, her husband, Eric, and our grandchildren, Alex and Kyle.

 After celebrating our country's Independence Day and our fortieth anniversary in Saint Charles and fifty-two days we begin our final leg toward NBNC on July 7th. Leaving Missouri on a sunny, humid Sunday morning with our two grandsons we ventured eastbound on I-64. We were travelling through West Virginia when we came upon absolutely stopped to a halt traffic. Having creeped forward less than one mile during an hour and a half we decided to venture to route 60; although we were moving we found ourselves up, down, and round the bends through the Appalachian Mountain range. After 642 miles for the day, we leveled out in Lewisburg West Virginia at a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night. Monday morning found us eastward to Richmond and mountain fogs. We finally parked in our driveway after nearly 3,000 miles total for this excursion. Thanks to Dave for his steadfast safety in driving us over the rivers, through the woods and up and over mountains.

Summertime of 2013 begins in Syracuse....

Rest Area just north of Exit 77 Linglestown PA on 81 N 

 We began our 55-day trip on May 19th, after having the starboard slide-out motor repaired and a new battery under the hood. We drove 522 miles northbound through overcast skies and typical drizzly Pennsylvania weather and overcrowded traffic. We pulled over just north of Linglestown PA's exit 77 on Route 81 to the rest area to shake the traffic and veg out for the remainder of the night. We have never stayed at a rest stop overnight before. We put out the bedroom slide and dined on shrimp scampi taken from the freezer. We watched reruns of Adam-12 and MASH and plugged our ears to the road traffic.

Sunday, May 20th the drizzles continued and became fog in the mountains of Pennsylvania. The roads are in desperate need of resurfacing and repair. We came to rest at Green Lakes State Park, just outside of Syracuse NY on site 115.  While here in Syracuse we have borrowed Dave's parents car. The Jeep rests quietly in NBNC.

From May 20 through June 13 we spent days helping Dave's parents in landscaping, cleaning and arranging for care so that they may continue to live in their home, although they face challenges of being elderly.

After several weeks of rain, rain and, yes, more rain, we headed westbound to Saint Louis, Missouri. But before venturing onto the interstates once again, we attended the Camping World/Good Sam Club Rally at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. While there for the week we endured yet more rain. Thankfully we do not have to shovel rain but we sure did our best to straddle mud puddles. The unwarranted precipitation caused at least 400 rigs to park upcountry at the Destiny Mall parking lots. Although most days we overcast and drizzly, we attended many seminars and grazed through the buildings of vendors.    We attended two of the three evenings of entertainment; Friday night was Wayne Newton. As he approaches his 72nd birthday he was received well by the gathered crowd...and then he began to sing...he should have hung up  his ukulele thirty years ago! The second  night of entertainment was provided by Reba McIntire, who gave a great performance and received an encore.

While at The Rally we met up with fellow rver's and enjoyed sharing ceegars and scotch at our curbsides.  The evening before our departure a camping neighbor became trenched in mud. We prepared ourselves by pulling our rig forward and were able to get ourselves from being mud-bound by building bridges with our leveling blocks and propelling across the muddied trenches. Dave did a great job getting us from our mudcaked site.

After spending another week at Green Lakes we hit the road and arrived at site 76 at Sundermeier Campground in St. Charles Missouri. While here until July 7th we will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary with our son, Steve and his wife, Adrienne, and our daughter Carol and her husband Eric, and their sons (our grandsons) Alex and Kyle.

On July 7th we will begin our return to NBNC with our grandsons. Stay tuned!

Wilmington NC: April 21~28 with FHRV Club

Raising of the RV Club Flag

On Sunday, April 21 we began our trek southward to Wilmington North Carolina, after having had a great time with fellow Fairfield Harbour RVers at the Annual Open House and PotLuck in the Harbour. Weather on Sunday was chilly and very overcast. We arrived at the Wilmington KOA and set up on site 34.  

Then the Huebner’s and the Costello’s ventured into town to Front Street Brewery, Wilmington’s only microbrewery in a building that dates back to 1865. We found the menu and service to be wonderful. Our appetizers included very delicious pub fries, onion rings and beer nuggets. Dinners chosen for our table included fish n’ chips, classic Reuben and baby back ribs.

Eat, Drink, Camp

Staying warm at the fire

Eat, Drink, Laugh, Camp

Jeannie Beanie!

Fire-tending

Monday, April 22nd the remaining our our clubbers arrived at the campground and we all met around the campfire and shared hors d'oeuvres. Chilly night, but the campfire and good conversations kept us warm.

Tuesday morning we met around the campfire for donuts and coffee and planned our day. Wilmington is a small town blend of preserved historic areas and the striding into the 21st century of modernization and vision.

We boarded a local-owned trolley for an hour tour of the city that meandered through neighborhoods paved in brick-ways and listed in the National Register and along brick-lined and live oak treed streets reflecting eclectic styles of architecture and gardening.

After the tour we scattered like ants to various sites along the riverwalk. The Diligence, a Coast Guard Cutter, is homeported along Wilmington’s Cape Fear River. The Diligence is capable of performing missions that range from alien migrant interdiction operations, drug interdiction missions  and search and rescue.

   We  met as a group at Front Street Brewery for appetizers and happy hour, returning to our campsite for campfire. While sitting around the flames we were treated to seeing the space station go overhead as it was continuing its voyage in the neverending atmosphere.

Wednesday the rver’s embarked on their own smorgasbord of tours, shopping and sightseeing. Several of us boarded the Battleship North Carolina, which is a self-guided tour and can be a brief or as long a tour as you pace yourself. We began the walking tour after viewing the introductory movie and then meandering through the exhibit hall. 

As we began our walk up the gangway to board the ship one is struck by the size of ship. When the ship was commissioned in 1941 it was considered the world’s greatest weapon. 

 

As we walked on the main deck we saw the armament of  nine 16-inch/45 caliber guns in three turrets and twenty 5-inch/38 caliber guns in ten twin mounts. The weaponry is very formidable. During World War II the North Carolina was in the Pacific and earned 15 battle stars. 

The ship was decommissioned in 1947 and after being inactive for 14 years there were plans being made for its scrapping. There was a statewide campaign by citizens of North Carolina and bring her back to her home state. The Save Our Ship (SOS) campaign was successful and the Battleship arrived in her current berth in 1961 and in 1962 was dedicated as the State's memorial to its World War II veterans and the 10,000 North Carolinians who died during the war. We then met for a sunset dinner at Bridge Tender in Wrightsville Beach. Although there was no sun to see being set, we did enjoy a good meal and, again, great conversations. The evening brought us all to the fire circle to enjoy the sharing of laughter and guffaws.

Thursday our morning and midday brought us overcast skies, temperatures in the 60s and a few of our clubbers having to depart and hit the road. This evening will be happy hour and potluck.