PIEDMONT, SC: We're On the Move!

Today dawned partly cloudy and we were excited to get Little House on the road.  Selene went to the house and picked up Mike and some food items, and headed back to the campground in Moncure, where Hank had been doing the outside departure duties - dumping tanks, collapsing the ham radio antenna, adding water to the fresh water tank, raising the jacks, etc.  We hooked up the HHR to Little House and headed out at 11:18 A.M. for the 240 mile drive to Ivy Acres Lodge & RV Park near Piedmont, SC, just south of Greenville.  After a lunch stop at a parking lot in Asheboro, we arrived at the campground about 4: 15 P.M  We are in site 309, a short term pull-thru site with a nice meadow view behind us in the SC hill country, and a great wifi signal. It  It's currently raining.  Our evening will be spent with our computers as Hank and Selene do their usual surfing, and Mike gets caught up on work details.  Tomorrow morning, we'll head toward our final destination - central Alabama!

MONCURE, NC: Update

Yes, we're still alive and kicking!  Since our return from Marion, NC in mid-July, we've had our usual social activities in the area at night, and have continued sorting, tossing, donating and selling stuff from the house.  Progress is slow, but we're moving forward.  We're taking another travel break next week when we head to central Alabama for a family gathering. We can't pass up an opportunity to see our kids and grandkids, and look forward to the Florida and northern Alabama contingents  joining us.  Hank, Selene and Mike plan to leave NC in Little House on Wednesday, August 7, overnight in SC and arrive in central AL on Thursday afternoon.

On a side note, our GE Potscrubber dishwasher needed some door and latch repairs. Yesterday, the service tech determined that this 26-year-old machine was not worth trying to repair due to the probability of the problems recurring quickly. The machine will be replaced under our home warranty policy and I seriously doubt that the new machine will last as long.

MARION, NC; Second Night

This morning started with sunshine, and today was the first day with no rain that we've experienced in a couple of weeks....just a beautiful day.  We met with a service writer about 8:30 A.M. to explain our problem, and then ate breakfast with our 6 friends at TJ's Cafe here at the dealership.  Amazingly, we recieved the call to move Little House to the work area soon after, and we were ready to go in 15 minutes.

The slide wiper seal was replaced and the slide was adjusted once more, and we returned to our campsite about 4 P.M.  This evening we went to dinner with 4 friends to Fatz Cafe.

Tomorrow, we'll return to the Raleigh area.

MARION, NC: Change of Plans

Yesterday (Saturday) was the last day of our Good Sam chapter campout.  The morning started with a pancake and pastries breakfast compliments of the campground, followed by our chapter meeting at 10 A.M.  Two of our couples left after the meeting, and the rest of us had a day of relaxation and conversation as we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon with a nice breeze.  At 4:30, we departed for dinner at Bogart's in Waynesville, NC....a very nice restaurant with good food and service.  We returned to the campground for more conversation, and then enjoyed ice cream with toppings as we watched the evening slip away.  Rain showesr moved in about 7:30, so the group said their farewells and retired to their RV's.

This morning was full of more farewells as the remaining RV's prepared to depart.  As our big slide came in, the wiper seal came loose.  Since we had to go within 5 miles of Tom Johnson's, our favorite repair facility, we headed to their main campground arriving about 12:30.  Coincidentally, two other chapter couples and another couple we've met before we're already here....one for service, and two for meeting up with each other, and they invited us to join them for lunch at the Steakhouse.  Although this stop is due to needing unexpected service, it's nice to share some more time with friends. The afternoon weather has been alternating between sunshine and downpours, and it look like the evening will feature more of the same.

Tomorrow, we'll find out how long our wait for service will be.

WAYNESVILLE, NC: Thursday and Friday

Thursday dawned dry, though cloudy.  The morning was spent getting laundry caught up, and then we headed out for a trio to Walmart after lunch at Clyde's, a local favorite home cooking restaurant.  We returned to the campground  to greet 4 more camping club couples, one of which is staying in a campground cabin since they no longer have an RV.   After a  time of catching up on each other's news while sitting outside in the beautiful afternoon, the group decided to go the Sagebrush Steakhouse for dinner.  We returned to the campground for another conversation circle while enjoying the great evening weather.

Friday morning, the group went different ways to enjoy different activities.  Hank and Selene and Art and Betty Strong headed toward the Blue Ridge Parkway and made a stop for a light lunch at McDonald's.  We chose to head north on the Parkway in order to visit the highest point on the road about 20 miles away.  As we climbed, the air gradually cooled and the clouds moved in, but the view at the high point was amazing and the temperature seemed 20 degrees cooler.

 We returned to the campground to prepare items for the group's Nibbles gathering, and also for another conversation circle.  Our Nibbles gathering offered a wide range of foood items including Chinese Chicken Stew, rice Barbecue Meatballs, pimento cheese sandwiches, fresh fruit and raw vegetables and dip, salads, cheese and crackers, fried chicken chunks, cookies, and banana bread.  After dinner there another circle gathering while we enjoyed the pleasant evening temperature.  A rain shower moved through about 9:30, bringing an end to another full day of fun and friendship.

WAYNESVILLE, NC: First Night

We left Dickens RV Park in Moncure, NC at 9:43 A.M. and arrived at the Creekwood RV Park near Waynesville, NC about 2:30 P.M. after a lunch stop at a rest area west of Winston-Salem. It's nice to see that NC is a very green state today compared to the drought conditions of the last few years, and we were expecting a rainy travel day. We only had a few rain drops to contend with toward the end of the journey, but while registering at the campground, a brief heavy thundershower hit. Eventually we completed our setup on Site 27.  We had some very heavy rain early this evening, and more heavy rain will probably move through overnight.

We're here for our monthly Good Sam chapter outing.  So far, there's only one other person here from the group, but more will be arriving tomorrow and the campout officially begins on Friday. The campground provides free cable tv and wi-fi with good results.

MONCURE, NC: On the Road Again

We've been in the Raleigh area since June 14, working on the house, having a garage sale, selling furniture, and doing other things related to the house sale, and we've made a lot of progress.  We're ready for a break!  This morning, we're headed to Waynesville, NC in the western mountains for a local camping club weekend outing. Further updates will follow.