Jackson Springs, NC: First Night

Today we made the drive from Madison, GA to Jackson Springs, NC and the Sycamore Lodge Resort, which is about 70 miles south of Raleigh.  This weekend we'll be helping with a cycling fundraising event for the American Diabetes Assn that overnights near here in Southern Pines, so we turn this into a camping outing instead of staying in a hotel on Saturday night.  This is a very large membership campground with many amenities and activities set in a pine forest near Pinehurst.  However, it is out in the country so no quick trips to WalMart for things you forgot - at least a 20 minute drive to stores and restaurants.

We'll spend our time here before and after the cycling event just relaxing and enjoying our life in our Little House on the Road.

Madison, GA

We left Calera about 9:15 A.M. CST and arrived at Country Boys Rv Park in Madison, GA about 4 P.M.  EST. Our trip through Atlanta took an extra hour since I-20 was closed down due to an accident and we took an alternate route, along with thousands of others, to avoid sitting still. We had a few showers courtesy of Beryl, but nothing too bad.
This campground is pretty basic, but it works for what we needed - an overnight stop.  The owners are friendly and accommodating.
Tomorrow we continue our journey to Jackson Springs, NC.

Calera, AL

We arrived in Calera at the Rolling Hills RV Park on May 25 for our family celebration of Matthew's and Montgomery's high school graduations.  Our gathering included the Martin and Barone families,  as well as the Steeles from Florida,  the Redle clan from Louisville (Jan, Joel, Carolyn and Sophie) and David and Heather from Madison, AL.  The weekend went by too fast but there was plenty of good times and good food as we enjoyed being with the family.

Crossville, TN: Fourth Night

After our breakfast gathering yesterday, we had a free day for sightseeing or whatever members wanted to do.
We spent some time visiting an RV dealership looking at purchase possibilities. Last night was game and social time.  I played "George" (a card game) with some of the ladies, and Hank, along with some of the other men, tried to solve some of the world's problems.

Today started with a breakfast featuring freshly made sticky buns, fresh fruit, and leftover donuts and bagels.  Hank presented a seminar on the club's website (he's the webmaster). There were a couple of other seminars, but we opted out of those, choosing to do some catch-up computer work.  Happy Hour was held at 4 P.M., followed by a catered dinner of grilled chicken and ham, tossed salad, green beans, white corn, and bread followed by peach cobbler.  Yummy!  The rally closing was held with some prizes given away, including a 50/50 raffle.  I won $25. and Hank won a hat.

Tomorrow morning,  the members will go their separate ways, looking forward to the next rally to be held in St. Cloud, Minnesota in September.  We will point our Little House on the Road south as we head to family time in central Alabama.

Crossville, TN: Day 2

Yesterday, we left Brookville, OH about 9 A.M. for the 7 hour trip to Spring Lake RV Resort in Crossville, TN. We are here with the RV Radio Network   for their spring rally. There's about 30 people attending and we are in site 38 which is lakeside with a nice view out our back windows of the lake and fountain.  This campground doesn't have the usual "resort" amenities like pool, mini-golf, etc., but it's a very nice campground with level gravel pads, free wi-fi (not the most reliable) and free cable tv along with 2 good clubhouses available to groups like ours.

Last night's activities included happy hour on the clubhouse deck, followed by dinner  - sloppy joes, chips and pickles - followed by bingo and all of these were accompanied by lots of talking to old and new friends.  I won $5 at bingo.  Bingo was followed by ice cream and cookies. Last evening was a wet and sometimes stormy evening, but we were nice and dry in the clubhouse across the road from our trailer.

Today, we've had our breakfast gathering complete with  bagels and English muffins with appropriate spreads, watermelon, donuts, coffee and juice.  More activities will take placed today..

Brookville, Ohio: Fifth Night

The 2012 Dayton Hamvention is over.  We enjoyed the experience, did a lot of walking and looking, and had a good time visiting with old and new friends during our Happy Hours and other gatherings. The weather was almost perfect, a rarity for this event.  Over $80,000 in prizes were given away, and there were over 25,000 attendees.

Tomorrow we travel to Crossville, TN....the next stop for our Little House on the Road.

First Night; Brookville, Ohio

We arrived at the Tall Timbers KOA in Brookville, OH (near Dayton) about 1 P.M.  We're set up in site 33 near several of our friends.  This is one of our favorite campgrounds - great owners, friendly workers, and beautiful landscaping (we have shade!) - overall a top-notch park. This week, most of the campers here will be ham radio people, like us, who are here because of the Dayton Hamvention this weekend.  Tonight, the park had a free hamburger/hot dog supper for everyone here, which also included chips, baked beans, slaw, sandwich toppings and 3 kinds of cake.  This year, the weather promises to be about perfect during our stay - 70's for highs and 40's/50's for lows and no rain.

We'll be here until Monday morning, and starting Friday morning until Sunday afternoon, many of our daytime hours will be spent at Hamvention.  Unless something very exciting happens, I may not post another entry until Sunday.  We will gather with our friends every afternoon at the campground for Happy Hour about 4 P.M.

Catch Up Time

Jordan Lake: Night Three

Saturday was another beautiful day in central NC at Jordan Lake.  The club members gathered for a 9 A.M. meeting than regathered near one of the campers' rigs for conversation.  At noon, we all headed to Virlie's Grill in historic downtown Pittsboro, NC  where we had a nice lunch in a private room with our own private restroom.  While strolling back to our vehicles, we took note of   the S&T Soda Shoppe across the street..  After more talking and a few naps, many of us returned to the S & T Soda Shoppe for a treat of mammoth proportions.  Saturday evening, we once again gathered in front of the pavilion fireplace for  talking, a late sandwich, roasted marshmallows and watermelon.

Sunday morning was the time to say "farewell for now" as everyone started preparing to hit the road in different directions.  We left the park about noon and headed northeast toward Dayton, OH.  We spent Sunday night in Jackson, OH at the Lazy Dog Camp Resort.  Because of much needed rain, we had trouble accessing the below-ground-level water hookups, so we had to make do with the small amount of water we were carrying.  Probably won't return to that campground again, but we persevered and made it through the night.

Monday, we headed out for the 45 minute drive to Chillicothe, OH and the Sun Valley Campground and Mobile Home Park. This park is located outside of town in a farming area, so other than road traffic, the only sounds are singing birds and occasional lawn tools - very nice. We did some exploring for a lunch source and ended up at Giovanni's Pizza (some of the menu shown) where we shared a delicious, huge pizza and brought back some of that plus our free apple dessert pizza.  That gluttony necessitated a nap, and the rest of the day will be spent with our computers.  We'll be here until Wednesday when Our Little House on the Road heads toward Dayton.

Lake Jordan, NC: Night One & Two

We left home yesterday for a five week trip and our first stop was Lake Jordan Recreation Area, about 45 minutes west of home.  This is the largest state recreation area in NC, with over 1000 campsites, most with water and electric hookups. We are in the Group RV camping area for our monthly club campout,  This campground is separated from the lake by several rows of trees, has a pavilion for our use, bath/shower house, and a camp host living on site, with frequent ranger patrols.  No resort amenities here, but lots of quiet, fresh air, frequent eagle sightings as well as other wildlife. There are 10 RV's here, with some members coming and going since we're close to home.

Last night, after an afternoon of sitting together outside in the beautiful spring weather,  the 8 of us who arrived early went to Carolina Brewery for dinner.

The rest of the group in RV's arrived today. There was more conversation outside today before we gathered for a pot luck supper in the pavilion.  The huge pavilion fireplace provided warmth as the evening cooled down and the camp host entertained us with some guitar sing-alongs.  The evening ended with 6 of us playing Mexican Train Dominoes.

Tomorrow promises to be another beautiful day and there are more club activities planned. More on that later as we get ready to bed down in our Little House on the Road.