Sad Day, Sunday

Here it is Sunday and the rally's over. 

Friday we made it to the 'Eggs in a bag'  breakfast....interesting.  We might have to try it on the family vacation, the kids would get a kick out of it.  After that Brad and I headed to a seminar and then I went to 2 more after that.  Two of them were good and the other was ok, only because it wasn't what I was expecting or actually hoping for.  In between all that we managed to get a bike ride in and checked out some new RVs and a couple of used ones we found interesting. 

Upstairs Bedroom anyone

1970 something, I would love
to restore this thing.

Blue shirts

Saturday was a slow morning.  I slept in until 8:00 and then remembered I had clean-up duty at 8:45 and had to get moving.  I got up there, had a donut for breakfast then started with the clean-up...not much to do, but they need volunteers everyday, so today was mine.  Back to the RV for a shower and then off to the grocery store, milk, creamer and a few other supplies.  Back home and I bake brownies while Brad gets cleaned up and puts on the blue t-shirt(special shirt for this years rally) for pictures.  Up for the evening social and right after that we had another catered dinner....delicious.  Roast beef, baked potatoes, cold slaw and rolls....what more could you ask for.  After that they had a closing ceremony, with the grand door prizes awarded and no we didn't win anything all week. We did the 'Pledge of Allegiance' and then had a show on the many revisions of the American Flag, it was interesting to all, and educational as well.  It was a great evening with all the friends we met and hope to meet again in our travels.  

Lake James swim area

Sunday we get up and Bob, the guy next to us is already gone and from then on, it was sad watching all the RVs pull out.  We did get to say good-bye to Ginny & Eric and Tom, but a few we didn't get to see off.  It has been rainy all day so we stayed where we were....only about 10-15 RVs left.  I did a load of laundry, showered and about 1:00 we decided to go for a drive, 25 miles to the nearest Starbucks, but what the heck, what else is there to do?  We finally find Starbucks...in an Ingles grocery store (reminded us of a Wegman's)  and out of boredom we walked around there for about 45 min.  After that we headed out to Lake James State Part, which we had passed on our way.  The swim area seemed like it was fairly new and by the signs it was, built in 2010.  We did manage to see a Turkey and a couple of deer on our way in.  We ended up being out about 5 hours, which was a nice break from sitting in the RV all day.  But now we are home, dinner is done and there is nothing much on TV, so the blog is getting finished and we will probably be off to bed fairly early.  I'll let you know what Monday brings.

 

Diane

 

 

Escapee Rally, Marion NC

Hi all,



Not a good day, I don't ever want
to see my RV in the ditch

We got up Sunday and didn't get on the road until 11:00 am, a 1.5 - 2 hour drive no real reason to hurry.  We had an uneventful ride and stopped for lunch about a mile from our destination, but if we didn't eat then, we wouldn't have eaten until supper time.  We finally pull in to the 'Tom Johnson Rally Park', in Marion NC along with about 4 other RVs.  We take our turn getting parked and met some really nice people right away.  They hung out for awhile, then headed back to their place to get ready for the Social or 'Happy Hour'.  Today we just had a small gathering at Happy Hour, we had some wine, some snacks and met a lot of nice people.  Back home, hung out, got the TV working and just lazed for the evening.

 

Creek Side Campsite



Overlook



Monday there is nothing planned, it is the actual arrival day, so more RVs are showing up.  So we have the day to ourselves.  There is the social at 4:00, so we just have to be back in time for that. We headed up to the Marion Visitor Center to check on the local sites and while we were there we checked on a few places to eat.  We then went into town to check it out (not much there) and settled on a Mexican Joint for Lunch....the food wasn't bad.  After that we headed out just past the CG and turned up towards the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We stopped at a CG, beautiful place right beside a mountain creek, then headed on up the road.  It was a steep narrow road with some pretty sharp, tight turns, and it wasn't all that much fun seeing a dump truck heading down the mountain road towards you, but we made it to the Parkway.  We took a right and stopped at the 'Eastern Continental Divide' and one or two other pull overs, then headed back to the CG, going past 'Little Switzerland'.  We decided we needed to head back up another day, but it's time to get back for social hour.  We hung out for that then back to the RV for dinner.  Headed to bed after NCIS, not sure what tomorrow will bring. 

 



The Dinner Crowd



Tuesday we headed up for the coffee and pastries breakfast, a quick break to the RV, then back up for registration.  There are about 90 RVs here, last year there were about 150, so it is a much smaller crowd, but lots of great people, with lots of stories and information to share.  Lunch is always on your own and then there was a first timers Meeting at 2:30.  We headed to the grocery store (our day for snacks) then back in time for the meeting.  Lots of information, general data and people who are always willing to help and share stories.  We had a catered dinner, Pork, baked beans, potato salad and iced tea.....and the food was delicious.  After that they had music, by Tom Sparks....not bad, we just went back and listened to it from the RV. 

 

Wednesday, no pastries for breakfast, we headed out to the restaurant on the grounds, but breakfast is over at 10:00....what, into town and about an hour later we finally found a Waffle house and couldn't believe there were no local diners for breakfast.  There is a covered dish dinner tonight so off to Lowe's for a crock pot, then the grocery store for burger and rolls.  I took the easy way out, made meat balls, threw them in the crock pot and off to a seminar.  They had a geocaching seminar that was OK, but I actually learned more from some of the people in the audience.  I downloaded an APP for the IPhone and then headed back to get Brad for the Social hour (you need to be on time to win a door prize).  Up there at 4:00, back to the RV grab our things and back to the pavilion at 5:00 for the pot luck.  There really weren't a lot of people there, but the food was good and plentiful.  After that there was a lecture on the 'DOVE' (Disaster Operations Volunteer-Escapees) BOF (Birds of a Feather) Group.  They do a great thing, head to disaster areas a Red Cross Volunteers, but I think they have scared us with all the rules and regulations....we'll see.  After that there was a Bluegrass Band, but we didn't stay.  We went back to the RV, cleaned up the crock pot then headed out for a walk.  They had hidden some 'geocache' items here at the park for us to look for, so off we went.  Of course we don't have a GPS, so we hooked up with another couple and looked together.  They were headed for item #3 so we went along and found 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9, missing 7.  The four of us looked and looked and looked, but decided to quit at it was near a propane tank.  We had a good time doing that, then back to the RV relax and off to bed about 10:00.

 



The Main Biltmore Building



Thursday is an early day, heading to the Biltmore Estate,  I don't even know how to describe it.  We were advised to get the audio tour and I am so glad we did.  As you walked into each room or area it really gave you a lot more detail and history, kind of like brain overload...and we even took a short lunch break about half way though.  The house itself is about 4 acres in size and they still own about 8,000 acres out of the original 125,000 (oh my).  My advice is if you get the chance, go visit it, words and pictures just can't do it justice. 

 

The number of famous people that had a hand in building, painting and building the place was astounding.  The grounds were partly laid out by Gifford Pinchot (of Pinchot Park).  After the main building and gardens we finally got in our car about 3:30 to head out....but decided to stop at the winery on the grounds for a short visit.  We just couldn't walk anymore, so the winey tour was out, but we did some tasting and buying...all in all not a bad day.   We finally got back home about 4:30, skipped Social hour and went for a short bike ride.  Back home a quick sandwich and up to the pavilion for the 6:00 ice cream social.  We sat with Tom and Nancy, shared a few stories, got some tips for the out west travels and back to the RV.  Brad went for a short bike ride and I have been at this for about 2 hours....I think I'm done.

 

Tomorrow, eggs in a bag for breakfast.....will keep you posted.

Diane and Brad 



Pictures of our Rally and Blue Ridge Parkway travels

https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/RallyAndBlueRidgeParkway?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLT3kovi2MKtCQ&feat=directlink

 

Pictures from Biltmore Estate

https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/BiltmoreEstate?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP_qovCw6u7JXw&feat=directlink

South Carolina/North Carolina Border

Hi, here it is Saturday night I am actually back at the blog. 

We got up yesterday had the car hooked up and pulled out by 9:00 am....ugh.  They are calling for some ugly storms and we had about a 4 hour drive, so early on the road, early to park.  We had an uneventful drive, stopped once for gas and raced the storm to the CG.   We got here about 1:00 and the peaceful, quiet CG that we have stopped at in the past is no more.  This time we are in the middle of a metropolis and we don't even know which one it is.  The entrance in the CG now splits and you have the choice of coming into the CG or going into the mega grocery store (seriously). 

Well any way, we got to our site and as we were hooking up the camp host came to let us know we are under a tornado watch, oh great.  We got settled in, walked around the CG  two or three times, checked out the shower houses for shelters, then raced to the RV as the rain started.  We watched some TV, and the sky, more TV then all clears up for a little, down to the office for a sub for dinner (they had a Blimpies there) and back to the RV.  Not much happening tonight, sub and a few wings for dinner and a cool rainy night stuck inside.



Packed up for the move

We got up this morning and I am ready to get moving.  I needed a pedi, which I do get and wanted to do some shopping.  I don't know why but first it was JC Penny's, then Belk's, Macy's and then off to Kohl's.  We probably didn't travel more that 15 miles from the CG, but it took us all day.  It really seemed like we were driving in a circle half of the day, which we might have been, but we did find our way home, yea.  I got dinner started and Brad washed the car, talked with the neighbor, and he liked to talk, then off for a walk around the CG.  Back to the RV, check on dinner then off for another walk to take the trash down.  We had spaghetti for dinner and then did all the dishes, a load of laundry and started gathering up for the move tomorrow.  We are headed to Tom Johnson's RV center in Marion, NC for an Escapee's rally.  We are both a little anxious since we have never been to a rally, but really looking forward to it as well.   MIB III is on TV so I guess I'll get going and let you know how all goes when we get to the RV Ralley.

Diane

10:00 addition, just had a nice fire works display, don't know what from or what it was for, but they were nice, just about 10 min. long.  :-)

Ready to Move

Well here we are, awnings in, chairs packed, laundry done and getting ready for another move.



Sad Campsite

  Just a quick breakfast here at home then off to Lowe's for TP, a quick stop at Dennys for a light lunch, then back home. 

I  then headed out to the Commisary for groceries while Brad stayed back at camp to pack and clean up.  I don't know how or why but going for groceries, no matter where I shop,  takes 2 hours.  I finally get back home, put all the food away and sit down for a beer and relaxation time. 

About 6:30 we had steaks, mushrooms and garlic toast for dinner, then back to work.  The dishes got washed, dried and put away, the last of the laundry got folded and put away, trash to the dumpster, chairs stowed for the night, and now at 9:00....I quit. 

Brad still needs to shower, but then I'm sure he'll just crawl off to bed. 

Later,
Diane

Georgia to South Carolina

Well here it is a week later....I really am not doing a good job keeping up this blog.

Thursday 4/11, we picked up our mail....fed tax documents, so off to the fun stuff.  Brad sorted mail, paid bills while I cleaned and did laundry.  We did get the owners card, so Brad headed up and got new decals for the RV then when he got back I headed out to the Commissary for groceries.  Not much of the out and about today, so we thought we would treat ourselves to dinner.  We headed into St. Mary's and ate at the Seagle Waterfront Cafe.  It really didn't seem like our type of place, only 2 or  3 other table with people and it was 6:30 til we got there....but until we left the place was packed and the food actually was very good.  Back home hang out, relax then off to bed.



Yes there is a gator in here.

Friday was an ugly gray rainy type of day.  We didn't do much, packed up the stuff outside, did the rest of the laundry (now remember my washer in the RV is very little), and did a couple of strolls around the campground.  We did notice the gators were out, not the 1 or 2 we originally saw, but more like 4 or 5.....glad I didn't rent a kayak!!!  We headed out for dinner again, went to St. Mary's Seafood and more.  Great food and a kind of rustic atmosphere.  Of course we ate too much and still had plenty to take home, but that isn't a bad thing.  Back home and finish packing up what we can and get ready for the move tomorrow. 

Saturday we got up, showered, ate and were out of the CG by 9:30, stopped for gas, hooked up the car and didn't actually didn't get on the highway until 10:45....how do we manage???  We did travel a little over 250 mile and made it to Joint Base Charleston, got our spot, checked in, hooked up and relaxing by 5:00.  Not a bad day for us. We did see an RV on 95 that lost his tow vehicle, ouch, it didn't look pretty.  We had dinner on the grill, no TV reception so a repeat movie and off to bed about 10:30. 

Sunday we finished getting things organized then headed over to Camping World, stopping for lunch on our way.  I don't know why we do that, ended up getting a portable satellite dish and a new rug, we did need both....but that's an ouch on the old wallet.  After that we had to hunt out a Starbucks and drown ourselves in the Cafe Mocha's, then we felt a little better.  Back home hooked up the dish, a phone call to reactivate the receiver and yahoo, we have TV. 



Fountain at River Park



Court Yard Entrance

Monday we got up, had yogurt for breakfast, then headed into Charleston.  We walked thru the 'Market street' market for a while, then stopped and had lunch at Barbara Jeans Restaurant.  Very good food, and then we were set for some more walking.  We ended up walking around town for about 4 hours, then headed home.  We just had some left overs for dinner, I talked with Lynne for a while then watched some TV and off to bed.

Tuesday was a lazy kind of day....ok, just a stay at home day.  Two loads of laundry got done, Brad was up on and off the roof playing around with the TV antenna.  I in the mean time, worked on restringing a blind I had broke about 2 weeks ago.  Well between helping Brad, doing laundry and restringing the blind....it was a long day.  The blind did get done,  now we just can't get it hung up right.....quit for the night, we can work on that another day.  He did manage to get both the satellite and antenna working, inside and out, and the laundry put away.  We worked on getting things cleaned up and put away and then have chicken on the grill. As we were getting ready to start the grill the neighbors came over and after about on hour of talking, we just had sausages on the grill. It was already 7:00 and a little too late for the chicken, oh well, that didn't matter just have the chicken another day.

Well here I am to today.  We got ready and headed out to the Magnolia Plantation in Charleston.  We were a little late in the season for the Magnolia's, but the place was still beautiful.  A lot of history involved with the place and miles and miles and miles of paths to walk.  One thing is that it was severely damaged in Hurrican Hugo and they thought it would not be opened again.  But here we are almost 25 years later and the place is beautiful.  There are still reminanates of Hugo as a lot of the tall trees had no tops and you could still see where some had been twisted, but all in all they did a pretty amazing job of getting it back together again.   They did have a lot of tours you could take, but we walked for about 3 hours and then Brad had had about enough with his leg.  I am sure that the pictures won't come close to doing it justice, but I have added a link to the pictures we took today....I hope you all enjoy.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115574168101787483704/MagnoliaPlantation?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCODy-oTPodqOgAE&feat=directlink

Diane

Georgia

Hello,
 


Turtles

We got up Monday and did a nice walk around part of the lake, saw our first Georgia Gator, turtles and bald eagles.  The gator looked pretty big, so I'm glad he was across the water from us.  Back to the RV, did some laundry and loafed most of the day.  Brad did go to the Post Office, and Camp Office to check on mail we are expecting.  We didn't really go anywhere today and just had dinner here at home.  Brad called Camping World and our key is scheduled to be there tomorrow, so we are planning a road trip....yea.

Tuesday we had a lite breakfast at camp then headed to Jacksonville about 10:30.  We drove to Kings Land, stopped at the visitors center and got some information on the Okefenokee Swamp area, maybe a trip there on another day.  We got to our exit about noon, so stopped for lunch at a local BBQ spot, Monroe's Smokehouse.  The sandwiches were wonderful and until we left, the place was full with the local policemen, emergency responders and other local business men were there, that I think makes a statement for itself.   After a bit of a fiasco at CW, we finally got our key and headed out.  We didn't hurry home, stopped at the exchange, where I got my hair cut (never again), back home about 5:00, dinner on the grill and a lazy evening.

Water Lilies, taken before we
saw there were gators in the water



Gator....a little too close

Home made bike rack
at the Homestead trail

Wednesday we headed out for breakfast and then over to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.  We walked around some of the displays and then headed out on our bikes down Swamp Island Drive.  It was about an 8 mile ride, flat and level with gators (too close),  an old Homestead to walk through and a few other trails you could walk.  It was a nice ride and on the way back Brad got the scare of his life.  We passed a water hole where we knew there was a gator, and found him....ok, but just about that time, a gator that was in the weeds right beside Brad jumped in the water with a great big splash.  Brad did wobble a little on the bike, and we both just kept on peddling.  We stopped a little further down the road for a little break, but again there was another gator, just a little guy, but he started making noises, so we are off again, not knowing if he was calling to mom or his youngsters.  Back to the car at 4:00, and on base by 5:00.  Dinner in since we are both starved with sausages done on the grill.  Another shower to clean off the bug spray and a lazy night at home. 

Diane





Out of Florida

Hi, I'm back.

Wilderness RV Resort

Thursday, 4-4, we didn't do much, just kinda of hung out at the CG and did some cleaning of the RV. I did manage to do another load of laundry :-). We ordered a key for the RV (to replace the one we threw away), made camp ground reservations for Memorial Day weekend.....didn't want to have no place to go. Then around 5:00 we headed out to this neat looking restaurant for dinner 'Horse and Hounds'. We looked att he menu on the internet, sounded good, but ended up being OK. It was nice to go out, but we were both hoping for a little better food...we did OK.

Friday, we needed to Grocery shop for a couple of days of food and Shari and kids coming over for dinner. With that done and put away we headed over to this little town called 'Lynne'....don't blink or you miss it (that was for my sister Lynne) and then back home and wait on the kids. They got there about 5:00, burgers for dinner, then a nice walk around the park. (I think Shari was hoping to tire out Matthew.) We had hoped for a warm day so the kids could swim, but we made the best of the day we had.

Camp site, Kings Bay

Saturday is moving day. We didn't get up until about 7:30 and we finally headed up to the restaurant for breakfast about 8:30. Back home and movin' to get things packed up and movable for check out at 11:00. We managed to do it, 11:05 we were pulling out of our site. I headed up to the office to return our keys then met Brad and the RV outside the gate. We got the car hooked-up and then when Brad pulled out.....the opposite direction I had mapped...things got confusing. Well, maps out and little discussion and we got it all under control. We ended up taking back roads most of the way, which was actually nice and relaxing. We finally have to get on 295, then 95 but got off in Georgia at exit 1....hey we are out of Florida. We are at the Kings Bay Submarine Base...nice CG. We didn't get to the CG until about 4:00, but it took about an hour for Brad to get the RV registered and get in the gate. We had steaks for dinner and enjoyed the lake view....at least until the bugs ran us inside.


St. Mary's, GA

We got up today, went for a nice walk by the lake, had breakfast and headed into St. Mary's. We walked around for a short time then stopped at a great little restaurant for a lite lunch. After lunch we walked around about 1.5 hours, then Brad's leg started to bother him, so back to the car. We then drove around for about an hour, just touring the place, then stopped at the grocery store before heading back home. We had a nice dinner here at home, a long talk with sister Lynne and now just sitting around watching TV.

I hope all is well with you all,
Diane and Brad

On the Road

Hello again,


Ready, set......GO!

Well I lied a little bit, we moved the RV about noon on Sunday so pappy could enjoy a glass of wine and/or beer with dinner.  It was a quick move, packed, left, pulled into the campground, jacks down, slides out, elec. and water, back in the car and back to the O'Donnell's by 1:30, whew....  It was a beautiful day having Easter dinner with the O'Donnell's and Lucero's.  We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids, with the bigger kids helping the little one.  It really was quite the site.  We finally headed out about 6:30, back to the campground and one lap around the grounds.

 

Monday we were up by 6:00, showered and getting packed to head up to Camping World of Ocala to get our washer/dryer installed.  Brad was there by 9:00, I stopped at Wal-Mart for a few supplies and got there about 9:30.  It took us until about 10:30 to finally get organized and get out of there so we could eat breakfast.  I will cut them a small break, they did manage to find us a replacement door key.  We finally had breakfast, drove around a little bit, stopped at the Marion County SPCA, (no small dogs), and then headed back to CW.  We got there about 1:30 but they weren't finished yet, so we did a trip around their sales lot, then another, and at last they are finished.  It is about 2:15 when we head in, the vent cover stuck out at the top, so another vent cover was put on.  We headed in about 2:30 to get the receipt and get out of there, so we waited and waited, I left went shopping, back to the RV, but the stuff away, back inside where Brad is still waiting.  I hung out until about 3:45 then headed over to the Silver Springs CG to get us checked in, and Brad finally got check out of CW about 4:15, after all their computer snafu's, they finished the paper work and sent him on his way.  He finally gets to the CG , we get to our spot, set up and just sit outside to relax.  We had burgers  for dinner, watched Bones at 8:00 and then Brad headed to bed, with me following about 10:00.  Why is waiting so stressful and tiring?


My new Washer/Dryer

Tuesday we got up and really didn't move to fast, I guess we were still recovering from the day before.  We did a 5 mile bike ride (first one since Brad's been hurt), got cleaned up and finally headed out about 2:00.  We went to Lowe's for an air hose, and what ever else you can find there, then we drove around for about 30 min. looking for the grocery store, which ended up being about 2 blocks from Lowe's (go figure).  We did a little shopping then back home for dinner, chicken on the grill and a salad.  As it was, we didn't eat until 7:30, the day was shot and we actually managed to get nothing done.  Oh I almost forgot, I did do a load of laundry in the new machine....yea. 

Today we did a shorter bike ride, then I cut Brad's hair, got cleaned up and headed out about noon.  We stopped at 'Fat Boys B-B-Q' for lunch, not bad.  We then headed down to Shari's  to gather up the things we forgot and got rid of the shelves from the bathroom that were removed to install the w/d.  We headed back about 3:30 (a 1.5 hour ride), and watched the temperature drop 15 degrees as the storms blew in.  Now I know 68 isn't cold, but when you start out at 83, it sure does feel pretty darn chilly.  We got home a little after 5:00, had grilled ham and cheese for dinner and are just lazing around now.  We are to have severe storms tomorrow, so we are just staying put until Saturday, so I'll keep you posted on what happens.

Diane and Brad