Breaking News…

I wrote my last blog post the night before we were leaving Bull Run and headed south. A lot happened on our trip to Mount Pleasant so I'm doing this update on our progress from Virginia to Florida.

On Tuesday morning I woke up at 7:30 AM (very early for me) and noticed that it seemed to be unusually light outside. I peeked through the blinds next to the bed and saw what I've been asking for--snow! Five inches of soft, fluffy snow. The weather report the night before said that there was a chance of snow for Tuesday but that if it did (and it was a big if) there would only be an inch or less. Well, we had five inches at 7:30 AM and it was still snowing.

Even though we had done some of the work needed to get us on the road by 11:00 AM or so the snow whipped us into high-gear (after having coffee). First thing you'll learn about traveling with dogs is they come first and if they don't you're going to have a problem. We got Charlotte and Gracie up and out the door into the snow knowing that the novelty of snow wouldn't be lost on them and that it might take a little longer to get around to business than it usually does. They did not disappoint. Gracie looked around at the snow and decided to dig a hole. I guess she was wondering what happened to all of the sticks, leaves and dirt she usually has to play with. After tugging her around for a while trying to get her to finish her morning rituals we got her back into the trailer. Charlotte wasn't much better. She loved the snow and was running back and forth, spinning and slipping, and having a good time. It took her a few minutes to get down to business. Once they were taken care of we went about the process of getting the truck and trailer cleaned off so we could hook everything up and get on the road before much more snow fell. Getting ready took a little more time than usual. Everything was cold and doing things with gloves on slowed us down but we got hooked up and were soon on our way. We also broke part of the trailer hitch in the process of getting things hooked up--more on that later.

The Bull Run Park guys had already been through the park clearing the roads so once we got out of our spot we had good roads in the park. Regardless I had the 4WD engaged and we chugged right along up the hill to the entrance of the park. Of course when we got to the park entrance the road hadn't been plowed or even really driven on so the 4WD became a necessity. We hauled Mabel Rubain up the hill, slipping and sliding a little, to the main highway which was totally packed with morning commuters, none who wanted to let a travel trailer get in front of them on a snowy highway. It took a bit but someone finally took notice and let us in.

Remember that part of the trailer we broke? Well, part of it was hanging too low for safe clearance on the highway so we had to get it fixed before we could go too much further. Everyone at Bull Run told us that if we had any problems, questions or needed anything RV associated to call Restless Wheels. This is now going to sound like a Restless Wheels promotional piece but these guys really came through for us. We got there and within 30 minutes they had the part replaced with a used one and were only charged for the labor to put it on. Here we were in the middle of a big unexpected snowstorm with a broken RV and a 6 hour trip down south ahead of us and these guys totally made it as simple as they could. Thank you Restless Wheels in Centreville, VA. They certainly lived up to their reputation. I plan on doing something I rarely do and that is give them a great rating on YELP.

With our trailer fixed and still in the midst of the unexpected snowstorm we got back on the highway and headed towards I-95 south, then over to I-85 south and finally into Charlotte. It took us about 12 hours to get from Bull Run Regional Park to the KOA in Fort Mill, SC.

The KOA was a welcome sight for all of us. Matt and I were both tired from the day's events and the dogs were tired of being cooped up in the truck all day. Finding the KOA was pretty easy as they have giant yellow KOA signs on the road. We pulled into the parking lot and it appeared that the office was closed. It said on the website that they were open until 11:00 PM and it was just a little past 9:00 PM. The sign on the door of the KOA directed us the gas station next door to check in after hours. Apparently the KOA, gas station and a little bar were all owned by the same family and housed in the same building. Registration was quick and we paid for a pull through site so we could avoid having to back into a site late in the evening. The pull though wasn't exactly what we expected. We were at the top of a hill on uneven ground and ended up jockeying back and forth to try and get as level as possible. After a couple of attempts we decided to let it go and packed it in for the night.

The next morning we were up fairly early and headed 45 minutes back up I-85 to Kannapolis, NC to see my mother. She took a bad fall about a month ago and fractured her neck. She was sent to a rehab facility and will hopefully get to move back to assisted living soon. The rehab hospital is small and cars are parked all over the campus on the grass, up on curbs, on the side of hills and just about everywhere else you could park a vehicle. We pulled in assuming that delivery trucks must deliver equipment and supplies to the facility and so the driveway on the side of the rehab facility must logically go all the way around. With that in mind we found a spot where we could pull the truck and trailer off to the side of the road and still leave plenty of room for people to get around us. That was not a very smooth move but I wouldn't know that until after visiting with Mom. When we got back out to the truck we did what we should have done first and looked to see if the road actually went completely around the facility. Imagine our disappointment (and sinking feeling) when we discovered that the road was a dead end and the only thing back there was a loading area and two dumpsters and, of course, more cars parked in every conceivable spot.

We thought we had a plan and could back the trailer into an empty spot near where we were parked and turn around that way but after 30 minutes of back and forth we realized that we were stuck. We were attracting a fair sized audience and causing some problems for staff that were trying to park and get into work. One of the staff members watching us came out and told s there was a truck turnaround behind the facility that we could use. Thinking that we'd be good as gold we drove further down the road into the facility to find that with the length of our vehicle and the fact that there were cars parked in every little slot that could be parked in we weren't getting out that way either.

That left one option--backing out. It turns out that one of our audience members was the head of maintenance. Rather than just stand and watch he came out to lend a hand. He told us that even experienced truck drivers can't get turned around back there and sometimes have to back all the way out. So that's what we ended up doing. We backed all the way around the building and out to the front entrance. From the time we started trying to get out of the rehab facility to the time we actually waved goodbye was an hour. That was one long hour.

Safely on the road again we headed back down I-85 and onto I-77 and finally onto I-26 and onto Mount Pleasant where we checked into the KOA at about 7:00 PM. We were tired, the dogs were tired and everyone was hungry. We got the dogs situated watered and fed and headed out to have a late dinner with our friends Mina and Sarah. What a day! What a trip!

This morning we woke up to no water. It got down to 20 degrees last night so we guessed that the hose had frozen and didn't think too much of it. When I took Charlotte out I realized it might not have just been frozen water hoses. There were multiple geysers throughout the park including our site. The overnight temps had caused some broken pipes which were spraying water into really cool ice sculptures. We had doctor's appointments today so by the time we were back the water issue was fixed.

Here's what we've learned. Restless Wheels lives up to their reputation. That is really uncommon these days. Always make sure you can get out of any place you can get into. I knew this in my head since it's just plain simple common sense but now I have a life lesson to enjoy with it. Gracie will pee in the trailer if you don't take her out as soon as she wakes up. She also has added digging holes to her list of activities she enjoys.

That's the update. We're in Mt. Pleasant for the next couple of days and then we're headed down to the Tampa area to warm up.

Til We Meet Again

We've been here at Bull Run in a camp host position since mid-September. It has been a great experience. The hosts were terrific, would help at the drop of a hat if you needed it, and on top of that were totally accepting of the fact that I have a non-traditional lifestyle (although it appears to be getting more traditional). We got to visit with my Aunt Dee and spent many Friday nights watching old movies and trying to remember who the actors were and what else they had done. We had a blast doing that and got to watch some very good movies. I would sometimes look up the movie on my iPhone to figure out some actor we were watching. After a while she wold ask me to look up an actor on my little computer. Always the technology maven. She usually has some little tidbit of information about my early life or some scandalous family history but not this time. She is the one who showed me a picture of my genetic father and spilled the beans that my great grandmother was an American Indian I don't know whether she's told me all she knows or there's some secrets yet to be revealed! I guess I'll have to wait.

My father's passing anniversary was on January 3rd. That was a little tough since he's only been gone for two years now. I try and have happy thoughts about him rather than feel sad. He was a remarkable man, a great father and that man had some serious math skills. When we would go to the neurologist he knew there's be a mental acuity test so on our way into the office he'd practice so he knew the date, who was president, where he lived, and what his children's names were. Most of the time they weren't hard questions he'd pass them with flying colors. Sometimes, just to let him show off a little, I'd ask him what the square root of 12 was and he'd spit it out like a calculator. That alway impressed the neurologist and I think made Dad feel a little less sick. He would love this adventure we're on.

It looks like our last night at Bull Run will be a cold one. We've got both heaters going and it's nice and cozy here in Mabel Rubain. We're headed to Charlotte tomorrow (Tuesday the 6th) to check on my mother and then to Charleston to see some friends and get in to see our doctors. This is one thing we haven't quite worked out. Our doctors want to see us periodically before renewing our prescriptions so we have to make sure we get by Charleston every 6 months or so. It's not a huge problem night now but if we decide to make a trip out West it could be a problem. So far our physicians have been good about calling in prescriptions for us wherever we are but we don't want to get to a point where we run out of something and need to see some random doctor to get a refill. They all know about our travel plans and are working with us. We are lucky to have some very good doctors. I had some work to do tonight so Matt is doing a some travel prep. Getting things properly stowed and ready to pull out in the morning. He just poured laundry detergent into the toilet and told me all the shaking as we go down the road would clean it out. I see a huge mess when we get to a park with a sewer connection. Can you imagine the bubbles coming from our sewer line as we empty our tanks. Reminds me of an I Love Lucy show. We'll see if it works. I'm skeptical. 

The weather for our trip out of here is supposed to be a wintery mix. Lovely to drive in but even better to tow a trailer in. We thought we were getting out of the cold when we head south but the cold front that is parked on the East coast is going to have nighttime temperatures in the teens in Charlotte where we stay first. We've gotten pretty good at cold weather camping. The water lines have frozen tonight so we'll have to deal with that in the morning but were warm. That's what counts. Tomorrow we drive from Bull Run to a KOA park in Fort Mill, SC. The mapping software says our travel time is 6 hours but since we're towing the trailer it will be more like 8 or 9. Charlotte and Gracie will need frequent stops to get out and stretch. They both are pretty good in the car. Charlotte sleeps in Matt's lap the whole way and Gracie finds some impossible corner to get herself wedged into for the duration. At one point, on the way up here, she was so out of it I was afraid she had died. She hadn't moved in hours--but no, she was just sound asleep. Gracie basically has three modes eat, sleep, and poop. Anything outside of those activities she doesn't like. She'd getting really fat and I know that Dr. Benton, our vet, is going to mention it. She's on phenobarbital for a seizure disorder and that is known to cause weight gain but she's really way too fat. We could all three spend a little more time on walks. 

Time to get out of the cold and back down to warmer weather. We plan on finally arriving in Dade City by the 14th or so and we'll be there for a couple of months. No camp host duties there so I can focus on work some more. I didn't say goodbye to the friends I've made in the park but told them that we hope we'd see them in another park along the way. So 'Til We Meet Again…