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.