Concord to Home

When we closed the blog on April 16 we fully expected to be leaving Concord by early afternoon on Thursday. That was not to be; we pulled away from Tom Johnson's at 6:10 PM.

With a later than planned start we revised our destination plans and looked for a Wal-Mart about 100 miles from Concord. We found one at Hillsborough convenient to I-85 and very pleasant. We called the store for permission and it was given. We were the only RV there that night.

Getting to Virginia Beach on Friday was an easy trip although it did get a little tense as we negotiated the roads around Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Norfolk. We found we had to go through a tunnel; that required us to stop and turn off the propane tank under supervision of an inspector. More significantly, Ms. Garmin chose this point in the trip to go off-satellite. Fortunately, we were not totally dependent on GPS. We still had a map, road signs, and some common sense.

Holiday Trav-L-RV park is very nice. It is adjacent to Oceana Naval Air Station and that means jet aircraft going overhead loudly and frequently. As one of our ODC members said, "Hey, that's just a price we pay for freedom." We ended up having 14 rigs attend the weekend. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was fun to catch up with each other after our winter separation.

Halsteads, Tolsons, Settles, and Parsons departed Virginia Beach together on Sunday. This was a dry run caravan for our later trips to West Virginia and Missouri. We did run into rain en route to I-95, but significantly for us, we discovered that we had no headlights. It was not dark, but in VA headlights are required driving in rain. We ended up driving with fog and parking lights on and got home without incident. Halsteads and Settles followed I-64 west of I-95 since they were going to Louisa. We should have followed them. Tolsons and we encountered major traffic at I-95. We crept along at a snail-pace for nearly an hour as the two interstate highways merged.

Rain was still falling when we arrived home so we made quick work of emptying the refrigerator and disconnecting the car. The coach was parked in its storage site before dark and we were wandering around our home getting use to so much space after four months in the motor home.

The days since our return stay busy. We are working with Richard at Tom Johnson's to get the headlights and other items on the coach repaired. All that was done during the four long days we spent in Concord was not done correctly. Therefore, we are frustrated at having to have re-work on our schedule. A decision will have to be made about going back to Tom Johnson or going to Elkhart, IN to the factory service center. Right now it seems like we are Indiana bound.

Florida is nice and we plan to return there next year, but Virginia is home, and we are very happy to be here. Today is a rainy day. Azaleas are in bloom, grass is green, and temperatures are mild. It is Spring and life is Good!

Carolina Blue Sky

We have had cool weather with beautiful blue skies since arriving in Concord, NC Sunday evening. Travel from Columbus was very easy. Traffic was never a problem, the coach performed well, and we cruised in comfort. We stopped for diesel fuel and lunch at a Flying J in Commerce, GA; acute heartburn caught up with us soon after.

Fleetwood Campground is part of Lowe's Motor Speedway. Full hook ups are $25 per night when there are no races at the track. During 'race week' the rates climb to $200+ per night. Tom Johnson's Camping Center is about 100 feet from the campground. We settled in Sunday night and noticed a need for the space heaters to keep the coach comfortable. By morning we were very glad we had the heaters.

We took the coach to the service area about 7:45 AM Monday. By 9:00 AM we had met with the service adviser Richard and technician Philip to discuss the list of needed repairs. We then left to find breakfast at a local Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Shopping followed and we sought ways to kill time until picking up the coach around 5:00 PM. This has been the routine for the three days of repairs. Each day has had its frustrations. Missing parts, defective parts, and stubbornness have had us praying for patience. Each morning we meet with Richard and Phil to discuss what will be done that day; each night we discuss why the morning expectations were not met.

On Monday we planned to leave Thursday morning for Virginia Beach, but we are now awaiting a key part that is to be overnighted and scheduled to arrive by 10:30 AM. We will be fortunate to get away by mid day. Sadly all the repairs will not be done when we leave. Hopefully, we will get an appointment at the Monaco Service Center in Elkhart, IN while we are en route to Iowa for the Monaco America Rally in May.

We have Internet access here at the dealer's location. It is helpful to stay in touch and to pass time. More later as the journey continues.

Florida to Georgia

We departed our winter home at Crystal Lake on a perfect day for travel. Traffic moved at posted speeds until we crossed into Georgia. Construction on I-75 in south Georgia continues, as it has for several years. This slowed us down, but was not a problem.

Lake City, FL seemed like a reasonable destination when we began the day, but we adjusted to Tifton, GA for our Wal-Mart overnight stop. Fortunately, we were able to buy gallon jugs of water at Wally World; we discovered en route that the water pump had quit.

Ms. Garmin had an easy day: I-75 from Naples to Tifton. We use the Garmin to locate Wal-Mart stores and to get the store phone number. A phone call tells us whether overnight parking is allowed, where to park, and how to get permission. This saves much time and potential grief.

We continued north toward Perry, GA before turning west toward Columbus. SR 96 and US 80 are excellent. We arrived at Lake Pines RV Park and Campground in early afternoon wanting a hot shower and relaxation after coach set up. It was not to be.

We wriggled into our site (a difficult turn) with the help (?) of our neighbor who was determined to help Janice direct. We made it with no damage to coach, site or relationships.

Our neighbors were full-timers who had been here six months and leaving the next day. They had 'stuff' scattered throughout their site and our site to pack in their 5th wheeler. The job was completed the next morning, and they headed toward northern Wisconsin where they planned to spend the summer. They may be here again in October.

Imagine our surprise when, after all hook ups were done, we had no water in the coach. The spigot was good, the hose was good, nothing had change since we disconnected in Florida, yet we had no water flow inside. After multiple tries to fix the problem, fatigue and frustration convinced us to wait until morning to try again.

Janice spent much of Thursday visiting her mom while Ralph worked on the water system. The only available manipulation not addressed on Wednesday was the filter system. Filters were removed, canisters replaced and water turned on. Shazam! Water flowed. How filters suddenly cease to allow water to pass is a mystery, but it happened. By Thursday afternoon, we were back to normal.

Once settled down, we were excited to find that we have excellent Wi-Fi here at the campground. The owner told us they have a hot spot in the laundry room and no coverage throughout the park. We are able to get a good connection right from our coach, so we are taking full advantage.

Stormy weather is approaching from the west with thunderstorms and winds creating havoc in Mississippi and Alabama. We expect Saturday to be wet, and hope the storm will be over when we depart on Sunday.

So far we are having a great visit. We will spend our time with Janice's mom between now and Saturday evening and leave for North Carolina Sunday morning.

Leaning Forward

Karen was happy to enjoy the sun and relaxed life style of Crystal Lake. Her job had been more stressful than usual in the weeks prior to her vacation so she welcomed the slower pace of activity. We very much enjoyed her being here and let her set the daily agenda. Good Friday and Easter services at our church were special for all of us.

We did eat our way around Naples during Karen's week here visiting some old favorites and an occasional new discovery. Such is the way of "Wrinkle City", as our neighbor Bob has dubbed Crystal Lake. Eat, sleep, eat, and repeat.

We took a scenic route to return to the Tampa airport. The Florida Skyway and the beach road took us to St Pete Beach, Treasure Island, and Medeira Beach before we turned eastward to the airport. Like most cities, traffic to and from airports are usually challenging; Tampa is no exception. Karen was there in plenty of time to prepare for her flight. All went well and she arrived home early Tuesday evening.

During our ride back to Naples, we began the 'what next' discussion, and the reality of going home to Virginia was upon us. Our plans include a trip to Columbus, GA to see Janice's mom and a stop in Concord, NC to get coach repairs. We also decided we would attend the April ODC camp out at Virginia Beach directly from North Carolina. All this means is that we will arrive home April 20.

So much to do, so little time. Now we remember all the stuff we moved into the shed from the coach back in January; it now goes back in the coach, but where? Farewells are never easy, but cannot be missed. We had our last BLG party at the church last night. Tonight we have our last neighborhood block party, and tomorrow our last church services. Our neighbors are departing daily, and most will be gone within next week.

We planned to leave Monday until we realized that the NCAA Basketball Final is Monday night; we will be going on Tuesday. We will take two days to drive to Columbus with a stop overnight at Wal-Mart. Our home in Columbus will again be Lake Pines Campground. We will not have wi-fi there and Internet access is difficult. We are sure to suffer withdrawal. Hopefully, cell phone coverage will be good, and we will not have a total communications blackout.

Our season in Florida has been different this year and very enjoyable. We have been talking with the Lohmans and Bodens about trip plans for next season. There are many things we will miss here as we head north, but it is time to go. We have so much to look forward to in Virginia and the other places we plan to be during the rest of this year.

We will be On the Road Again, Tuesday April 8.