March 3, 2024
04:00AM came very early. I got my first cup of coffee and headed inside to see what I could do and/or help in any way. Our first service went well. The guys were happy and full. One neat thing is that a blessing is said before each breakfast. Chris was tired as he has been getting up early all week. I told him I would handle the dishes and for him to go home. He was very appreciative. We also set a time to get together to prep tomorrow morning’s offering. As a side note, the dishes are all hand washed.
We checked online about the washer error code. It said to unplug and then then to plug it back in. That would be great if you could get to the plug. It is about 30” in the closet but there might be a total of 2” of space. Unable to get to it. So we decided the next best thing was to throw the breaker. We attempted this about 4 times. So we just turned it off and walked away. Contemplating what the next step will be. It is a total pain in the butt to take it out and then find a Camping World.
March 2, 2024
We woke up this morning and thought what a great day. We will finally be able to settle in and stop traveling. However, Mr. Murphy decided to show up this morning. When we came outside Nancy noticed a small puddle of hydraulic fluid on the ground. I then noticed that the right rear stabilizers were both raised. We packed up and headed toward Mountain View. Once we arrive, we will contact a mobile RV Tech and take it from there. That is not how a good day starts off.
And the day just keeps getting better. Keep in mind that we have a 42’ RV pulling it with a long bed (8’) for a total of 63 1/2’ long all told. We are not traveling Interstates now. We are on state and local roads. We plan our routes using a special program designed just for RVs, called RV Trip Wizard. It will sometimes not be real good if you have to change your route and there is a lack of cell signal. Or if the sun glares on the screen at an inopportune time. Yes, that’s right, I missed a turn. The roads were narrow and curvy. There was no finding a side street and turning around. Some of the roads that we were told to take were only driveways. We looked at a map and took a chance. I made a left turn onto one road. Not the best shape and not very wide. I prayed that I did not meet an oncoming car or worse, a truck. We were in a very rural area. After about 2 miles on this road, we made another turn and traveled another 2 1/2 miles. We finally found our way back on track. We arrived in Mountain View around 2:30PM. We had made contact with Chris, the owner, and he met us at the Wildflower Inn. His other bed and breakfast. We also met his wife, Karissa. She is deaf so we are going to need to brush up on our sign language. It has been a long time. They are very nice. They showed us around the Wildflower Inn. Very nice. They then took us to the Ozark Country Inn, our home for the next 4 months. We were able to walk around and got to see how we were going to get our RV into the provided site. Then they drove us around town pointing out certain interesting places and venues. We got backed in to our site around 4:30PM.
Having been on the road for four days, we had some laundry to do. We attempted to start but ran into an error code on the washer. Fortunately the Inn and the cottage both have washers and driers.
It has been a long day and the night will be short as well. Last week, Chris was able to sell out all 7 rooms to a group of US Forestry Service firefighters. They are from Tahoe, California and are here to assist with some prescribed burns. That is good news in that the Inn is making money. The bad news is that they eat breakfast at 06:00AM. That means in the kitchen by 04:30AM start the coffee and get the oven preheated and the food in the oven. The original plan was to be here before the 9th of March so we could kind of get our feet wet and gradually work our way into the routine. Guess not!
March 1, 2024
We woke to the sound of rain. By the time I had my coffee and we had the RV packed, the rain had subsided. It didn’t take us long to wrap up the electrical cord and water hoses and we were on the way. In addition to planning routes and stops, you also have to plan fuel stops. We have several discount cards to help ease the pain of fuel costs. Unfortunately Bucees is not on the list. As we drove by, it was enormous. Truly unbelievable. The word is that their BBQ sandwiches are good. I guess, we will find out when the one in Mebane, NC is built. There are no truck lanes so we did not stop. Around 11:30AM we stopped at a Loves Travel Center and fueled up. This will get us to our next stop and then some. Our tank holds 50 gallons but pulling the RV we get about 8.7 miles to the gallon. Our route today will take us through Birmingham, AL, Tupelo, MS and Memphis, TN. We entered Memphis from the south in the port area. Was not a nice part of town. Just after crossing into Arkansas, over the Mississippi River, we had only a few miles to go to get to our stop. Tonight we are staying at the Tom Sawyer RV Campground. We are on the banks of the Mississippi. Pretty cool. We get to see several large barges going up and down the river. Tomorrow we will be in Mountain View, our spring home. Again tonight we did not have to unhitch. It makes leaving easier.
February 29, 2024
We arrived safely at the Safe Harbor RV Park in Riverside, Alabama. We get to add to add Alabama to our map. We place the state sticker on the map if we actually camp there. Today was a long day as we had to travel through Atlanta. I hate Atlanta. The drivers were crazy, weaving in and out. If you have ever driven a trailer you know that you need room and time to stop. Then the traffic was very heavy and of course with idiotic drivers you have accidents. We made it through untouched. The weather was overcast and cool all day. We have a nice view of the lake but it is supposed to rain a little later so we won’t be able to enjoy it much. We arrived mid afternoon and ready for some food. As we pulled into the campground, Chris, the owner came out of the office and showed us where our site was. He guided us in, a pull-through. He even helped us hook up our water as it was in a pit in the ground. He said that once we were set up, to stop in the office and pay. We talked about a good place to eat. He recommended the The Riverside Ark. We are only 10 miles away from Talladega and he said that The Ark was Richard Petty’s favorite place to eat when he was in town. Chris has owned the campground for 30 years. He said it was only about a 5 minute walk. Since we didn’t have to unhitch, walking was going to be our only means of transportation.
We got set up and walked to the office. We paid our bill and Chris explained the best route. He then offered to drive us to the restaurant. The Ark is known for its seafood. Neither of us had seafood and the dinner we had was okay but not impressive. We walked back home and just in time. We made it in the door and the rains came. Sometimes very heavy.
We also had crossed into the Central Time Zone. Our bodies were still on Eastern time.
February 28, 2024
Today we hit the road. This will be day 1 of 4 travel days. We got up and of course, I have to have my coffee. We were loaded and hitched up by around 11:00AM We pulled out and swung by the office to turn in our paperwork and Nancy’s vest. Then we headed out. Our stop for tonight is the Heritage RV Park in Augusta, Georgia. It is a pull through but we still were not level enough for me, so I decided to unhook to level for the night. It seems like a nice park. Good WiFi. Tomorrow night we will be in Alabama, if all goes according to plan.
February 27, 2024
This is our last day to work. We only had 20 to do. Since we traded days with Chris and Jim, we were on our own. Nancy thought it would be best if she worked by herself today and I could get some things done to prepare for our trip. So while she checked out the campground, I pulled the propane tanks to get them filled. I loaded them into the truck and took off. It took me a while to get propane. Chris and Jim had invited us to dinner with them and Jim’s brother. We decided that it was going to be some time before we could have a campfire again so we thanked them and made other plans. Nancy said, while I was out to pick up her favorite from Sea Captain’s House. By the time I got back from getting propane, she was just finishing up the campground. I reinstalled the tanks and at the same time emptied our black tank for the trip. I also was able to stow a couple of chairs and a table and generally get things ready to go. Once all of that was done, we had a few errands to run and we decided to go to Sea Captain’s House for one last lunch. Nancy ordered her usual, the Shrimp and Grit Cake and I had the Southern Burger again. The Southern Burger was cooked medium and topped with Gouda cheese, lettuce, tomato, and comes with a bacon jalapeño jam. It is awesome. Of course there were plenty of hushpuppies with honey butter. We ran our errands. I saw a store that I wanted to check out. It was Cannabetter Farms. Like North Carolina you can sell Delta 8 and Delta 9 and CBD oils and edibles. I found one edible that works really well for me for back pain. You can only get it out west. So the girl at Cannabetter looked it up and recommended one of their products that was very close. So I’ll give them a try. I only have 1 of my other edibles left. Cannabetter is a veteran run company. They also give a First Responder discount. It’s a small store with only a few products but it seems very nice.
Upon returning home, it was time to light the fire. We had about 1 1/2 bundles of wood left plus a half dozen logs we picked up doing our clean up duties. It was so nice to sit by the fire, have beer, or some mead, and listen to the ocean. I may have even closed my eyes for a few minutes. Once all the wood was gone it was time to go in.
February 26, 2024
Time has allowed us one more night of dinner and games. This time Chris and Jim hosted. Chris made Beef Burgundy. Wow. Excellent meal. Then it was down to some games. First we played Euchre. Jim and I started off great. We were in the lead. And then it was like hitting a brick wall. The cards went totally cold for us. Chris and Nancy won two straight games. Time to try something else. Next up was a new game for us, Jok R Ummy. It was kind of a cross between rummy and phase 10. You drew a card to decide what you had to have to lay down. I started off great. And then. Wall number 2. I believe Jim won that game. Next up was some cheesecake they had bought for dessert. Yum. Then on to Mexican Train Dominos. Another fun night.
February 25, 2024
After working today I worked on the blog and started our taxes. Meanwhile, Nancy took Bree to the beach for one last romp. Bree was exhausted. But she had a good time.
February 24 2024
Nice Saturday morning. We have plans after work to meet Donna, Karen and Bobby (my nephew) and Beth at the Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom. We had arranged this via text a few days ago and I had set the time at 1:30PM. However, I, for some strange reason, was thinking that the time was 2:30PM. We were just relaxing and then I see a text from Bobby that they were going to be a few minutes late but they were on their way. Ooopppsss! I then double checked and yup, 1:30PM. So we hurried and got ready and took off. I texted everyone to let them know I messed up. Naturally I heard about it once we arrived. Despite being late, we had a great time. I felt sorry for Nancy as all of us except her were from New Egypt. A lot of the conversation was about the people and the way it used to be. We had a great place to grow up at a great time.
February 23, 2024
Another dinner and some games with Chris and Jim. I made the Loaded BBQ Baked potatoes. They were a big hit. Delicious! We ate around 3:30 PM which would leave plenty of time for games. We played a couple of games and then we had dessert. We opted to introduce them to Nothing Bundt Cakes. We bought 4 small cakes and quartered them so we could try four flavors. We had Snickerdoodle, Strawberries and Cream, Red Velvet, and Carrot Cake. Good food, good friends, and a great time. Going to miss these nights.
February 22, 2024
Other than working today we had one small project. We have to repair our door in our bathroom that closes off the washer/dryer. It is a sliding door so the first step is to get the door off. After several minutes of fiddling with it, a couple of the screws fell out and we were successful. Once we had the door off we were able to attempt a fix. The first option was to use toothpicks to fill the holes. That did not work. So we took the screws out and moved them to fresh cardboard. I think one reason for the door failure was that we leave the door open when we do laundry. Through the last couple of years I think the vibration worked everything loose. We put the screws back in and put the door back on the track. Works great.
February 21, 2024
Only a week left here. Today we wanted to go to the Sea Captain’s House one last time for lunch. As usual the food was delicious. We even got to bring some hushpuppies home! After lunch we ran a few errands.
February 20, 2024
This is one of our last days off. We decided that we needed to play tourist today. Our first stop was the Nature Center. We strolled out on the boardwalk as far as we could. It is blocked off. In September 2022, Hurricane Ian struck and destroyed a lot of the boardwalk and other parts of the infrastructure here at the park. They are in the process of rebuilding but it will take time. The Nature Center is small but has a lot of great information. It was very neat to look at the various animals that they had on exhibit as well. After the Nature Center we ventured, via truck, down to Sandpiper Pond. It was a very short walk out to the observation deck. It was very cool to look out over the pond, then just above a sand dune you could see the ocean. Very nice view.
February 18, 2024
Busy day at work today. 57 sites to clean. But Chris and Jim have half and we have half. Not too bad. We stopped at Heather and Israel’s site. They were hooked up and ready to leave. We said our “see you laters” and cleaned the site. By coincidence, the next people in that site is another couple of our friends. They had planned to come down before they knew we were going to be here for this month. We have known Marie and Denis Schoone since we were first married in New Jersey. Nancy and Marie worked together back in 1975/76. We last saw them in Williams, Arizona for lunch last year. They’re coming down from Pennsylvania.
February 17, 2024
Feeling better today but very weak. The alarm went off and we got up. We had no power. Most RVs have 2 power systems. A 12 volt system that powers your slides and most lights and your furnace. And then a 110 volt system that powers a residential fridge, fireplace, TVs, coffee pot, etc. Nancy started work and found one of the guys from Maintenance that just happened to be the electrician. He came over to our site. He tested things and it was determined that we had not thrown a breaker either in or out so he went to the next breaker box in the system. Yup, the breaker was thrown. So he reset that breaker. Meanwhile, I’m sitting in the RV waiting to get power so I can have a cup of coffee. As I’m sitting there I here this loud electrical sound and see a poof of smoke. I immediately grabbed our fire extinguisher and headed to the electrical box. The plug end of our 50 amp service was smoking. John, the electrician, pulled the plug. We blew on the small fire and it went out. We pulled the plug out of the surge protector and noticed that the ground prong was loose. Now this has not been unplugged from the surge protector in over two years. Not sure how it happened. So the main breaker was turned on again. We tested our surge protector. It showed no power. John tested with his multimeter. There was indeed power. So I got dressed and headed out to WalMart to get a replacement plug and a new surge protector. WalMart had neither. My next stop was Camping World. I was able to get the plug but not the surge protector. John was nice enough to come back and he replaced the plug for us. We had power.
I looked on Amazon and found the exact same surge protector. It served us well for 7 years. I was not about to pay $200 to $300 for one. Nancy thought she remembered seeing one at Camper’s Inn. So we opted to wait until Monday after work and go check it out.
As this is Israel and Heather’s last night here, we decided to have a campfire and cook dinner over the campfire. The Carters were in charge of dinner. We had steak and baked potato. I was able to eat a little bit but was very cautious. It was very good. After dinner and a little campfire time, we went in and played Mexican Train Dominos again. Hate to see our friends leave.
February 16, 2024
Oh what a night. About 2:30 I woke up with horrendous heartburn. I have been trying to wean off of Nexium the last couple of weeks. I thought I was doing okay. I got out of bed and decided to sleep in the recliner as sitting up felt better. I could literally feel the acid in my esophagus. To make a long nasty story shorter and more pleasant, I had a terrible night and felt like garbage. I basically did not sleep and about every hour I was in the bathroom. Needless to say I did not work today. I did not do anything. Nancy handled all the sites today and then she went to Sea Captain’s House for lunch with Israel and Heather.
February 15, 2024
The weather was sunny and chilly this morning but it was very nice. We stopped by to see Israel and Heather and made arrangements for dinner and games for tonight. While working we had to go to Maintenance to put gasoline in our golf cart. Maintenance is toward the front of the park. When you come out of Maintenance, instead of turning left to go back to the main route, we opted to go straight. This path took us straight toward Ayala. Along the way we looked for trash and found only a few pieces. But the best part of our trip was that we were able to see a little bit of wildlife. This path takes you past Mallard Pond. In the pond we spotted some turtles sunning themselves on a log. We saw some birds and the best part, we saw a few baby alligators. Very awesome. The Carters will be coming to our place for lasagne for dinner. The game for this evening is Mexican Train Dominos. We had a lot of fun. To top it off Israel and Heather brought Crumbl Cookies for dessert. Plans were made to go to The Sea Captain’s House tomorrow for lunch.
February 14, 2024
Happy Ash Wednesday and Happy Valentine’s Day everyone. This morning we had plans to go to breakfast with some friends from our church. It worked out the Ruby and Gordon Johnson were on a brief vacation down here at the same time as us. We made arrangements to meet them at the Sea Captain’s House for breakfast. The weather was beautiful. Nancy made sure that we got a window seat to be able to look out over the ocean. Unfortunately, today we did not see any dolphins. This is another of our favorite restaurants. We had a wonderful breakfast and sat and talked to Ruby and Gordon for a couple of hours in the restaurant and then we continued to talk in the parking lot. It was a fabulous morning.
After leaving Ruby and Gordon we came home. Later this afternoon, some more friends of ours, will be arriving at Huntington Beach to camp with us for a few days. Heather and Israel Carter pulled in around 2ish. We jumped on the golf cart and went over to welcome them. This was their first trip in the fifth wheel they just purchased. We assisted with a little of the set up and answered any questions we could about RVs in general. Tonight we opted to hit Highway 55 for a quick dinner with them. They had a couple of items they wanted/needed to go shopping for afterward and we just came home. We would make plans tomorrow morning when we stopped while making our rounds.
February 12, 2024
It was a very rainy day today. We finished work and warmed up a little and dried off. We had some definitive dates so we planned our 4 day trip to the Ozarks. We are working on 2/27 for Chris and Jim and they are working for us on 2/29. This allows us to leave a couple of days earlier. So we are pulling out of here on Wednesday 2/28 and after 4 days on the road we should arrive in Mountain View, Arkansas on March 2 to begin the next leg of our adventure. We had already had plans for dinner tonight. I made a pot of chili and Chris and Jim came over late afternoon for dinner and games. Tonight was a Phase 10 and Mexican Train Dominos kind of night.
February 11, 2024
We worked this morning and finally finished around 12:30 PM. The plan was to go see Karen at here car show. The show was being held at the Cheesesteak Factory. So we decided to eat lunch first then walk around the show. The food was good. We had a chance to see some very cool cars. The car show started to wrap up a little early as the rain was headed in. After we left the car show in Murrells Inlet we got back to the campground in time for Nancy to take Bree out on the beach for a few minutes. All before the rain. To say she was one “tired pup” would be an understatement.