Monday, August 29, 2011

Time with friends

As we headed for Atlanta GA we called ahead to Stone Mountain Campground and RV park for reservations.  Our called was made just in time as there was only one site left that would accommodate a MH of our size.  We were not in the shade but were surrounded by trees and as a result we could not get any satellite service and for some reason our over-the-air antenna was not bringing in any signals either.  We had no TV for that week in Atlanta.  Not a real problem since we were there to visit our best friends, Nita and Paul Crowder.  As it turned out Nita and Paul surprised us with a short 2 day trip to north Georgia and a mountain cabin for a couple of days (their treat, that's really good friends).  We had a wonderful idea as the pictures below will show.  We took short day hikes to visit waterfalls and hanging bridges.  The weather was nice and the exercise did us good.  We had been couped up in the MH for too long. We needed the fresh air and sunshine.  We have been friends for over 40 years and our children are all the same age.  Nita and Paul moved to Atlanta to be close to their grandchild and two daughters.  We really missed them back in Texas.

Sherree relaxing and enjoying the morning view.  The evening view was even more stunning .
Best Friends forever.  The hanging bridge.  Sherree overcame her fear of heights.  Keeping a man down & on the trail.
A long walk up
At the end of the day, it is all about relaxing.

We left Atlanta and headed up to Bald Ridge Campground on Lake Sidney Lanier.  It is a Corp of Engineer Park and is the nicest park we have visited since we started our journey.  We were surrounded by trees and near the water.  School had already started in Georgia so there were very few campers.  We almost had the whole park to ourselves.  We spent some time with the camp hosts and they gave us some information that will help us if we decided to pursue a camp host position at some of the Corp of Engineer Parks.  It involves a bidding process that requires some preparation so we are just discussing the opportunity at the moment.  One more week without TV.  Still too many trees.

We left Bald Ridge and headed for Gaffney to have the computer replaced in the MH and to have the annual service done.  While there we visited Cowpens National Battleground.  We have seen the signs for Cowpens along the interstate for several years and just assumed it was a Civil War battlefield.  Not true.  It is a Revolutionary War battlefield.  It occurred on January 17th, 1791 in the latter part of the southern campaign and became known as the turning point of the revolution in the south.  We were fortunate to meet up with a volunteer that conducted guided tours but since no one else was visiting at the moment, Sherree and I received our own personal lecture on the battle and its combatants.  He was very interesting and if he had been my high school history teacher I probably would have enjoyed that class much.  Sherree and I were both struck with the realization that very little is ever said about the Revolutionary War in the South, and as it turns out without the victory at Cowpens the outcome of the revolution could have been much different.  






Thursday, August 18, 2011

Tragedy on the Interstate

Back on the road again, heading for Atlanta to visit our good friends, Nita and Paul Crowder, with a short stop over in Gaffney at the Freightliner service center as discussed in the last post.  After a night in Gaffney we headed out for Atlanta.  After a short period we started seeing highway signs warning of an accident at mile marker 22.  Sure enough at about mile marker 30, traffic came to a stop.  From that point on it was creep time.  We were getting frustrated and complaining about the delay until we came upon the accident.  It was terrible.  It involved two 18 wheelers and 2 other vehicles.  Needless to say there were multiple fatalities.  We took the following pictures, and now when the traffic slows or comes to a stop we think about this accident and traffic becomes a minor annoyance.  We give thanks for all our blessing and our chance to travel as we do.  After viewing the photos below, we feel sure whoever reads this will feel the same.

Approaching mile marker 22.  Traffic as far as the eye can see.
First thing we saw was the tractor of an 18 wheeler with the top shorn off.
Second  was this scene.  The tractor of the second 18 wheeler had gone over the edge.  A black pickup was stuck in the side and underneath the trailer was a gray SUV.  From the tracks (just to the left in the picture) it appears that someone crossed over the median.


After passing the accident scene we could see all the approaching traffic stopped for miles.
We discovered later from the news that there were 4 fatalities.  We said prayers for everyone that evening.

Next a more pleasant post.






Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Catching Up Part 2

We had a terrible scare on the 5th of July.  We had returned to the MH for a night's rest when we got a call from our daughter, Wendy, in Lubbock, wanting to know what was happening with Erin, our youngest granddaughter.  It seems that shortly after we left Tonya's for the evening, Erin experienced a seizure and Donnie had Tweeted that they were in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.  Since we did not have a Twitter account, we did not know what was happening, and in the rush to the hospital know one had called.  In this modern world of social networking, tweeting was the quickest way to let friends know that Erin needed their prayers.  We rushed to the hospital and they were already in the ER and everything was going well.  It appears that she had a febrile seizure.  These are seizures that are brought on by a rapid rise in body temperature.  Erin had been a little under the weather, but it did not seem serious.  For reasons known only to God, Tonya went upstairs to check on her after putting her to bed.  Tonya brought her downstairs just as the seizure began.  After a long grueling night in the ER and after pee'ing in a cup (Erin is very advanced for a 9 month old), everyone is doing well.  All the prayers were answered and they now know that Erin needs medication as soon as she develops fever for any reason.  It is a condition that is normally outgrown, thank goodness. 

We have moved from campground to campground a couple of times.  The KOA where we were staying was not the best.  We have stayed there in the past and it was very nice and well kept.  Things have gone down hill however, so we started looking for another place.  We found it at Cane Creek Campground in Waxhaw, NC which is closer to my daughter's family in Indian Trail.  It is a very nice county run facility on a small lake and is very woodsy, as you can see from the picture.


Of course the move was not as easy as it sounds.  We decided to wash the MH before we moved and as luck would have it, the campground owner stopped by and informed us that there was a 50% chance of rain that day.  Too late we had already finished.  We decided to wait until the skies cleared and the roads were dry.  Well that didn't work either.  About a quarter mile after we left, Sherree noticed we had left the small awning over the entry door out, but she was able to bring it in on the fly.  Thank goodness for remotes.  Then the skies opened up and we were drenched and the roads were wet.  Fortunately the rain did not last long and we made it to Cane Creek, but not without incident.  Surely you didn't expect this to go smoothly.  I must say the NC road signs are terrible.  We were following the GPS and came to a T in the road.  We were on Cane Creek road and it T'd into Cane Creek Road.  Left or right???  The GPS was no help so I guessed left.  Wrong guess.  Now it takes some room to turn a 40 ft. MH and towed pickup around.  I found what I thought was a good place.  Second wrong decision.  We managed to block the road and Sherree had to direct traffic as I unhooked the pickup.
Notice the flashing light.  Not a good place to hold up traffic!

We are getting so good at unhooking it, that little time was wasted but we got a lot of inquires offering assistance.  The roads may not be well marked but the people were nice.  When we got to Cane Creek we backed into our spot and in extending the driver's side slide we discovered we were too close to the trees.  We had to bring in the sides and the leveling jacks and move the MH over about 2 feet.  Finally we were successfully hooked up.

We have not gone unscathed as far as the "Peek Luck", or curse as my daughter says.  We had some problems with our satellite dish and had to have some parts replaced, but that was covered by warranty.  We had an opportunity one day to do a little riding on our scooter to see the countryside as we were checking out camp sites to move too.  We missed a turn and in making a u-turn in the road I managed to lose it and the bike tipped over with us on it.  It was at the bottom of a hill and the adrenaline was flowing as we picked up the 600 lb. scooter.  Actually I think Sherree could have picked it up by herself.  We were not hurt, nor was the scooter, but I was embarrassed more that anything.  In 42 years of riding I have never done that.

I have mentioned the overheating problem in previous posts so we decided to stop by the Freightliner manufacturing facility in Gaffney, SC to have it checked out.  They discovered that the computer that manages all the gauges was mismatched to the engine.  Of course, as our luck would have it, the part was not available.  It has been ordered and we are stopping by as we head back to North Carolina from Atlanta where we have been visiting our close friends, Nita and Paul Crowder.  More about that in a later post.  There was one last "Peek Luck" episode however.  After fueling up in Gaffney at a Walmart, we pulled in the parking lot to hook up the truck.  We had left it unhooked due to space constraints at the Walmart fueling station.  We hooked up the truck and the Easy Brake, our supplementary braking system, said we had blown a stoplight fuse and it would not work.  Replaced the fuse and it still did not work.  Now what?  We decided to head on into Atlanta without the Easy Brake and check it out when we arrived.  Turns out it was not blown fuse nor a bad bulb, but a loose connection in the tail light .  It's now repaired and Easy Brake is happy.  Next stop, Atlanta, GA and our friends, the Crowders.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Catching up

It has been quite a while since I posted our adventures.  We have been busy visiting with our daughter, Tonya and her family in Indian Trail NC.  We arrived on June 29th and checked into the KOA in Fort Mill SC which is only about 20 miles from Tonya's.  We made a visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and had a wonderful time.  Even if you are not a NASCAR fan, it is a really interesting place to visit.  There is an amazing amount of science that goes into racing.  I would recommend a visit if anyone is in the Charlotte area for a few days.  The pictures below are just a taste of what is there.

That's me in the left most picture trying my hand at driving.  I'm lousy.  I don't think I made it around the track one time without crashing.  I'm better at driving the MH but it is also a lot slower.

The grandkids had a great time.  Joshua tried his hand at changing a tire.  It was a timed event and for an 8 year old I thought he did a great job.  Check it out below.

Future Pit Crew Member
 

Future Drivers
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