RV Rally and Heading Home

We want to thank all of our friends and family that have followed our blog.  I hope you enjoyed our pictures and discussions.  We are now home safe and will begin to plan our next trip!

Day 30 – (Sunday, 11-4-12) Rally over and heading home…

We awoke earlier than normal, since Daylight Saving Time had changed overnight! We both decided to ride our bikes around the speedway track, as this was allowed prior to 9 am.  There were many people walking and riding bikes around and it was amazing to realize up close how steep the track is around the turns. The rules were not to go up onto the track above the flat lane; but Kurt (the breaker of all rules) just HAD to ride up the slope, which he found quite difficult! I was able to get some pictures of him on the track. We both took pictures and Kurt videoed his ride around the track.

After the ride and breakfast, we both again attended seminars. I went to one on RVing to Alaska and Kurt attended one about making money as an RV delivery driver. Kurt decided that the money is not worth the time and cost involved, so he won’t be doing that job in retirement!

After noon, we packed up the RV to head home. It was an easy 3.5 hour trip, with one stop for diesel fuel. We arrived at the house about 6pm, it was already dark….  Ugh hate this time change.  Anyway, we are home safe, the boys were so excited to see their home again!

What a wonderful month-long trip we had.  We are looking forward to our next extended road trip. Hopefully, in late spring we will head up to Wyoming!

Day 29 – (Saturday, 11-3-12) We bought a new RV!

On Saturday morning we both attended more seminars. I went back to the Geeks on Tour and listened to their presentation on getting and using internet access on the road. Most of the information I was already aware of, but I did learn some new things that will help in our travels. Kurt attended a seminar on RV battery maintenance. It seems there is always something new to learn about. After getting some lunch back at the RV, we went to speak with the Camping World RV dealer to talk about the RV pricing. After much discussion and negotiating, we made an offer they accepted. So the bottom line was a special order new RV with an upgraded electrical system with 50 amps. The delivery time is 4-6 weeks, so we should have it by Christmas. Well, I guess we’ve blown our Christmas budget! Actually, we got a better deal than we ever expected. So our old RV will be on the market immediately, as soon as we get it cleaned up and maintained.

After returning to the RV, we celebrated with Happy Hour and snacks. We then prepared to go to the concert for the evening. Reba McEntire was performing and we are fans, so we were looking forward to the concert. We walked to the Main Stage, which was facing the grandstand of the Speedway. Reba sounded great as usual and we truly enjoyed her music!

Wow, what an exciting day for us! We celebrated with a late evening Happy Hour and some dinner. We’re so excited about the new RV and can’t wait until we get it! 

Day 28 – (Friday, 11-2-12) Good Sam RV Rally

After a chilly night, we awoke and made coffee to get our morning rolling. We looked over the Rally program to finalize the seminars that we each wanted to attend.  I went to a techy seminar on using trip planning software, presented by a husband and wife couple, who call themselves ‘Geeks on Tour”. The seminar was very informative and presented three different trip planning software packages. This will definitely help me in planning our future journeys. Kurt decided to attend a seminar on Trailer tires, brakes and suspensions. He was able to learn a few new tips that will help him in the future. Next, we then both attended a seminar regarding kitchen stocking, efficiency and proper use of appliances. This lady was very knowledgeable about electrical requirements for appliances in the RV. We both learned a lot about the electrical issues with RVs. Since we were camped inside the speedway, we were able to go back and forth to our trailer.

We were glad to have the bikes to move around as we needed, since the trams they ran were slow to get to the main events area. The Speedway is so huge, it’s hard to imagine watching a NASCAR race there. We went back to the trailer to fix lunch and let the dogs out. They were happy to get out and run a little.

After lunch we decided to spend some time in the exhibitor’s tent to look at supplier’s goods and services. We found lots of items that we wanted to purchase, but decided to try to find them at better prices online. After awhile, we went out to the RV dealer’s lots to look for our dream RV. Since we have been researching the perfect RV for us, we already had a brand and model that we knew is perfect for our needs. We looked at various RV travel trailers that were similar to the one we liked, but none of them met all of our requirements. We found the Keystone Outback dealer and was able to find the exact model that we want! The travel trailer is an Outback 277RL, which means it is almost 28 feet long, has a rear living area (with kitchen), separate bathroom and separate bedroom. We had been hoping to find a used one or last year’s model that had been unsold.  But to our disappointment, there were none. The Camping World dealer made us a great offer on a new 2013 model, but we wanted to discuss this more between us and sleep on it. After doing further research online for this model, we decided the deal they offered was VERY good, but Kurt always negotiates further. We decided to go back to see them the next day.

After going back to the RV and fixing some dinner, we went back to the events area and attended a concert by Kenny Rogers.  Well, he was okay, but his singing talent is not what it used to be. We left the concert early (it only lasted an hour anyway) and headed back to the RV for the remainder of the evening.

Good Sam Rally - Daytona Beach

Day 27 – (Thursday, 11-1-12) Arrive at Good Sam RV Rally

After having a wonderful breakfast prepared by Stephen (good old southern biscuits and sausage gravy) we enjoyed spending some more time with my family. Kurt and I got ourselves and the RV ready to roll on down the road to the Daytona International Speedway. We arrived there around 3:30 and drove into the infield. We completed our registration and received all the details of the Rally, trade shows and events. The RV was setup as usual and we were ready for Happy Hour and some dinner. The dogs were worn out and hit their beds early. We are “boondocking” here in the infield (that means our own water & power). This is the first time we have used our generator to run the main power. So far, so good. We’re looking forward to tomorrow, the events and RV show.

Day 26 – (Wednesday, 10-31-12) Heading to Daytona Beach

We finally made it out of camp in Savannah, and headed to my sister’s house just south of Daytona Beach. We arrived there around 4:00 pm. Suzi, Stephen, Steve and Derek (Stephen’s sons) were all there. They have a very nice home way out in the boonies (sort of like our situation). The 2.5 acre lot is really nice. We enjoyed Suzi’s pot of chili for dinner, along with drinks and lively discussions. We all enjoyed our evening together and it was great to see them again, especially at their home. We stayed in the house with our dogs, who were pretty well behaved. After a late evening, we went to bed around midnight.

Last day in Savannah

Day 25 – (Tuesday, 10-30-12) Errands & Relaxation

The morning started very cold and windy. It must have been in the upper 30s last night. Thank God we brought the portable electric heater; we’ve used it several times on this journey. But it seems to be cool just about everywhere. But, we’re enjoying it and will be ready to “winter” in Florida.  Neither of us are cold weather people! Kayaking was still out of the question and it was still too windy.

We had some errands to do that required us to go into town to shop. Dog food, our food, banking, etc., we got accomplished and then headed back to camp. We did some housekeeping, gathering wood for a campfire, etc. Kurt decided to go trail biking for awhile to unwind, it’s scary how much he and Kody can’t sit still for very long… I decided to relax in my style and actually sit out in the sun (with all my winter clothes on) and read my book. While I was sitting out there, the wind was whipping and suddenly a huge dead branch fell down from one of the trees! Glad I wasn’t hit by it, but the weird thing is just a little earlier we were discussing how we could get some firewood! Wow, Kurt just had to break it up a little…

Dinner was prepared, grilled chicken thighs (one of our favorites). We began getting some of the camp chores done early to prepare to leave. We want to get an early start tomorrow, as we head toward Daytona Beach. We will be staying with my sister Suzi and her husband Stephen. We are looking forward to seeing them; it’s been awhile, and they have a new house that we haven’t seen!

We sat around the campfire for awhile before the fire waned and it got too cold to sit outside. We went inside and watched TV for awhile, then got ready for bed and our journey tomorrow.

Exploring Tybee Island

Day 24 – (Monday, 10-29-12) Tybee Island!

This morning was colder than it’s been since we have been here, it was in the low 40’s¸brrrrr….  Kurt and I decided to go for a hike with the dogs in the morning, and then just the two of us will drive over to Tybee Island to explore that area.

We took the boys on a hike here in the park, the Sandpiper Trail.  The boys enjoyed getting out for a run/walk in the cool morning air. We just wanted to get some of the energy out of them so that they would sleep when we left them in the RV. It was also a very nice hike and we all enjoyed it. We took the boys back to the RV and got ourselves ready for the trip to Tybee Island.

Tybee Island is about 20 miles from Skidaway. It’s an easy drive and very scenic. We also took our bikes as the map showed a bike path on the island. We parked on the beachside near the pier and found a restaurant that served fresh seafood. Both of us had been craving local seafood. We sat on an upper outside balcony and had a wonderful lunch! I had a fried shrimp basket and Kurt had a blackened grouper sandwich. It was all wonderful! The view was great and the atmosphere was perfect. After eating, we went back to the truck and got our bicycles ready to ride. We rode north on the island bike route, until we reached the Tybee Island Lighthouse. We decided not to pay admission to go up into the lighthouse (we're on a fixed income now!), but we took some great pictures from the outside. There was also a small fort on the beach side, which was used during the Civil War. There is so much history in this area, it’s amazing. We then decided to ride our bikes back down the beach to the pier where our truck was parked. It was actually quite a nice ride, as the wind was at our backs and the beach is hard packed sand. We then headed back to the campsite, after making a couple of shopping stops.

After dinner, we were all tired and went to bed early. It was very cold outside and we buttoned up and turned the heater on.

Savannah & Skidaway Island State Park

Day 23 – (Sunday, 10-28-12) Exploring the area!

After breakfast, we decided to ride our bikes around the park and the nice trails! The trails were well maintained and took us by the salt water marsh area of the park. There were displays with some historic information about the island and the area. We went up into an observation tower to see the marshes and water channels. The weather was beautiful, but with a slight chilly wind. It made the bike ride even better.

Since the kayaking here is limited to the salt water marsh, we decided to go exploring in the city of Savannah. We took the dogs as we were told that Savannah was very dog friendly. Our first stop was at the visitor’s information center in the city. We received great advice for a walking tour of the historic area and riverfront. The boys were with us and got their first “city hike” experience. The tour was very informative and we learned some historic facts around the city. The city was a “planned” city and has park squares every 3-4 blocks.  It’s very lovely and we were amazed at the huge live oak trees everywhere! The historic buildings and homes were magnificent. Looking at the original cobblestone roads and brick seawalls was amazing; making us think about how this city has been around since the early 1700’s.  After a couple of hours, we decided to head back to the campground.

After arriving back at camp, we took care of some housekeeping and getting ready for dinner and the evening. We prepared hamburgers for dinner and Kurt made a campfire. As the evening went on, we went inside the RV since the temperature was getting colder as the fire waned.  We settled down inside for some TV and updates on the hurricane. Bedtime was upon us and we were tired, as we did have an active day.

Day 22 – (Saturday 10-27-12) Heading to Savannah

Due to Hurricane Sandy’s weather effects in S. Carolina, we decided to cut out a day early and head to Savannah. We disconnected and shut down the RV in a misting rain and some wind. The drive south today is only about 3 hours, so we will arrive there late afternoon.  We drove mostly the back roads to see the local flavor of the south. The drive was uneventful, after a stop at Walmart to provision more food and supplies. We arrived at Skidaway Island State Park near Savannah around 4:30 pm. We were able to pick our RV site and found one that backs up to a natural area and the campsite was HUGE! The dogs love it, as we allowed them to run and roam free with our supervision. The campground was sparsely occupied, probably many cancelled due to the storm.  We setup quickly and got ready to make dinner; which was tacos and guacamole, one of our favorites!

We went to bed fairly early and wanted to be rested for whatever the next day had in store for us.

Exploring Huntington Beach State Park

Day 21 – (Friday, 10-26-12) Exploring Huntington Beach S.P.

We woke up early and took the boys to the beach for a morning run. They both enjoyed the walk/run, but Kody broke out in a B500 and was crazy! He really needs to get in a good run often. The weather was not as great as we had hoped for; due to Hurricane Sandy, which is heading up along the east coast and expected to cause rain and wind here by tonight through tomorrow. Tomorrow’s forecast is even worse, with more rain and wind.

After having some breakfast, we got our stuff together to go kayaking. Murrell’s Inlet is just a couple of miles north of the park. We took the kayaks and launched on the salt water marsh near the inlet. We paddled around in the marsh, which has many channels. There were many people fishing from small boats and also in the shallow waters clamming. The weather was not too bad, just overcast and windy. As we paddled against the tide and into the wind (one of these days we’ll do it the easier way), the wind was becoming stronger and we headed back to the launch after paddling about 2 miles. It was an okay paddle; at least we can now say we paddled the salt water marshes in S. Carolina.

We decided to head back to the RV and go for a bike ride. The park has several trails and one that heads north to the inlet. We rode the trail through the park until it crossed over the dunes to the beach. We then rode on the packed sand beach about 2 miles to the inlet (into the wind again). We walked out on the south jetty and watched the growing waves. We headed back down the beach until we were back at the park. By this time, we were ready for Happy Hour! The dogs were ready for another run, so we took our drinks, chairs and dogs down to the beach for another relaxing evening libation!

After returning to the RV, we began preparing a dinner of Kurt’s chicken chili. After dinner, we started a campfire to enjoy for the remainder of the evening. We were exhausted and went to bed fairly early. For once, we were more worn out than the dogs!

Day 20 – (Thursday, 10-25-12) Heading to S. Carolina

So we did get out of bed before 6am! We unhooked the RV and prepared for our trip south to Huntington Beach State Park. The first leg was to drive south on Hatteras Island and head to the ferry docks, where we would then get to the island of Ocracoke. From there, we drove down to the south end and the ferry docks. This ferry ride would take 2 hours and drop us off at Cedar Island. This part of South Carolina is very remote and predominately fishing villages. It reminds me so much of where Bubba Gump’s had his shrimp fishing boat. From there we headed toward highway 17 south, which pretty much follows the coastline. We drove through multiple small towns along the way, including Myrtle Beach, which was only about 10 miles from the campground. We finally arrived at Huntington Beach S.P. and setup the RV. We were all very tired after the 7 hours of travel. After having some dinner, we went to bed early.

Tour Hatteras & Ocracoke

Day 19 – (Wednesday, 10-24-12) Tour the Outer Banks

We awoke early and walked over the dunes to the beach. The sun was just beginning to rise and it was awesome! The weather was perfect and we walked down the beach with the dogs. It was a great way to start the day.

Next, we got ready to head down the road to Ocracoke. The drive took us to the south end of Hatteras, which is about 29 miles from our campground. The drive is a two-lane road down the US12 to Hatteras Bight, with the ocean on the east side and Pamlico Sound to the west. It’s mostly all preserve areas with some beach and sound accesses. The road is dotted with several small towns. At the end of the island are the ferry docks. We got in line and were able to get on the 11:00am ferry. After loading the ferry, we were on a very pleasant ride. It felt really weird for the truck to be moving and no one is driving! We left the dogs in the truck and we were able to walk around the ferry deck. The ride over was nice and the weather was perfect. Upon arrival, the ferry was unloaded and we drove onto Ocracoke Island and explored the Village of Ocracoke. We stopped at the lighthouse to get some pictures. It was lunch time and we found a great little café where we could eat outside and have the dogs with us. We then headed back to the ferry docks and made the return trip to Hatteras.

Prior to leaving Ocracoke, we discovered that we could continue our journey by taking our truck and RV on a second ferry ride that will put us further south, closer to our next destination. This will save us many miles of driving north on Hatteras, then west and south, making a huge loop. We made the plans to take our rig via this route and save us some time on our trip. The last ferry ride will also save gas for our route south.

After arriving back at the RV, we decided to have Happy Hour on the beach. We took our drinks, chairs and dogs over the huge dunes and enjoyed a little time on the ocean. The beaches here are very nice and wide. They also allow vehicles on the beach; but obviously, 4-wheel drive. Apparently, the fishing here is really great and many fishermen are surf fishing. We walked on the beach with the dogs and headed back to the RV. There is much to get ready for our departure tomorrow and the trip back to the ferries to head south. Our destination tomorrow is Huntington Beach State Park in S.Carolina. This is just north of Charleston and is right on the beach. This location will provide more opportunities to kayak in the marshes and swamps around that area.

We then prepared dinner and got ready for bed. We HAVE to get up early to catch the two back-to-back ferry rides to get us to our next destination.

Day 18 – (Tuesday, 10-23-12) Travel to Outer Banks

We woke up fairly early, around 7:30. Began final preparations to pack up the RV and hit the road again. We ate breakfast then finished getting everything in the truck and RV. After saying our farewells to everyone, we headed out for the Outer Banks. The route would take us due east toward the coast of N.Carolina. The drive time was about 7 hours, and we had a stop for lunch and then another Walmart stop for food provisioning. It seemed like the drive would never end, we actually arrived a lot later than we had anticipated. Our RV park is on Cape Hatteras, about midway down the island, right on the beach. We were able to setup and connect the RV in record time. We were hungry and tired from the long haul. We decided to first unwind with drinks and a walk on the beach with the boys. The evening sky was clear and the large crescent moon lit up the beach.  It was relaxing and felt good to have sand between our toes again. The boys really loved running on the beach, as they had been cooped up all day in the truck.

Dinner was again leftovers, which was just enough. We discussed our plans for the next day and finally decided to just tour the island and go south to Ocracoke. We went to bed early, as we were going to try to get up for sunrise in the morning.

Family time!

Day 17 – (Monday, 10-22-12) Another hiking day

After breakfast at my sister’s house, we decided to go on a hike. We drove up to Hanging Rock State Park in the mountains. The weather was beautiful, sunny and cool in the mountains. Tommy drove us up there in their van. The dogs went with us and really enjoyed the ride since they were laying in the back at window height. We arrived at the park and found the trail head for Moore’s Wall, a 4.8 mile loop. The trail took us to the crest of the mountain, which had spectacular views. Kirby and Tommy stayed back at the van, since the trail was pretty steep and we knew it was not a good idea to take Kirby. We truly enjoyed this hike, even though the upper half was strenuous and steep. But the view was well worth the climb, especially with the leaves still turning color up there. The trek down was easier going downhill, but tougher on the old knees!

We had a beautiful drive home, thanks to our chauffer Tommy. We relaxed at the house and Cindy prepared a wonderful salmon dinner. Later, we watched the final Presidential debate. We all agreed that Romney was the winner, in that he again presented solid plans and was calm and showed leadership. Obama simply came off as an angry man, who was rude and constantly interrupted Romney, with his typical attacks and no new ideas. God help us all that Romney is elected!

Off to bed, get some rest for our travels tomorrow.

Day 16- (Sunday, 10-21-12) Visit with family!

In the morning, we packed up the RV and prepared for our trip to Winston-Salem to visit my sister and her family. We had a pleasant drive from the mountains down to their home. It only took us about 2 hours. They live in the country northwest of the city. It’s a nice place with 7 acres.

When we arrived at their home, we parked the RV on the back of the property next to a large storage garage. We were able to hook up the electricity and water so we were able to stay in the RV at night. The whole family was there, Cindy and her husband Tommy, Cindy’s sons, Cliff and Jeremy. We had a nice evening with a great beef stew dinner and drinks! We all went to bed early, before 10pm.

Errands and hikes!

Day 15 – (Saturday, 10-20-12) Errands and hikes!

Our day started very chilly and windy. Kurt decided quickly that kayaking would not be a great idea with this weather. He discovered that one of the brand new RV tires had a slow leak, so we had to take the it off and take it to a tire shop to patch the leak. The nearest tire shop that could fix it today and do it while we wait was in Boone. On our way to Boone, on Highway 105, the opposite direction (west bound) was backed up from Banner Elk almost to Boone. We were amazed at such a HUGE traffic jam in a mountain town! We couldn’t believe the traffic! We felt like we were on PGA Blvd at Christmas time! We have decided that Boone is not our kind of mountain town…

After getting the tire fixed, we moved on to Plan B. There is a lake on the south side of Grandfather Mountain, Price Lake and Park that we had found out about. Earlier, we had planned to take our kayaks there and paddle for awhile. But, with our unexpected change in plans, we decided to take the boys on a hike at the lake. The park is right on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a great drive through the mountains. When we arrived there, we were shocked by the number of people there! We were able to find a parking space and tailgate in the grass. Kurt, the boys and I enjoyed a sunny, but chilly picnic. Afterwards, we went on a hike in the park that ran along a creek, with rapids and small waterfalls. We hiked with the boys for about 1.5 miles and turned around before going too far. Some of the people we spoke with mentioned that most of the traffic there were people just driving through the mountains to enjoy the fall foliage. It was truly amazing! The day at the park turned out to be quite enjoyable!

We also had friends that live near our community at home, Sharon & Mike, who have a family home outside of Boone. They arrived at the house yesterday and asked us to stop by for a visit. They live near Valle Crucis, which is only about 4 miles from our campground. On our way out of Boone, we stopped by their house to see them and their home. We stayed for about an hour and had some drinks and conversation. They have a really nice, remote home that the whole family uses. We headed back to the RV to get the heater on and have some dinner. Tonight was another “clean out the fridge” night. We watched an old movie on TV and went to bed early, so we can pack up and head to my sister’s house near Winston-Salem.

Grandfather Mountain Day!

Day 14 – (Friday, 10-19-12) Grandfather Mountain Day

We woke to a sunny, chilly morning. The plans for the day were to drive up to Grandfather Mountain to see the views and do some hiking on the mountain. The dogs were loaded up and ready to go. The drive up the mountain was very pretty, with the leaves all in autumn colors. It had been at least 30 years since I was here, and it felt great to be back. The road was long and winding up the mountain. There was an admission fee to the G.F. “attraction” since it is owned by a non-profit preservation organization. The main attraction is at the top of the mountain, where there is a gift shop and a swinging walk bridge to cross over to another rocky peak. The pictures we posted show how awesome it is up there.

We parked in a lower parking lot and hiked up to the higher level. The dogs and us enjoyed this hike, even though it was rocky and a little steep. It was only .4 mile up. We went up to the bridge crossing. The wind was blowing pretty strong and the bridge was slightly moving. The bridge is 1 mile high and quite scary for a person with a fear of heights. The dogs and Kurt walked in front of me and were excited about the walk.  The movement of the bridge kind of creeped me out, I had to hold onto the rail. Once on the other side, the boys and I sat on a rock wall and waited while Kurt walked out onto the rock ledge to take pictures. As usual, the dogs got so much attention from people up on the rock, especially the kids.

After crossing back over the bridge, Kurt and Kody went on a short hike on the Grandfather trail. It seemed too steep to take Kirby, so we waited for them on a bench in a sunny place. Again, Kirby got tons of attention! We hiked back down to the parking lot and rested there with snacks and water. Then we decided to go on another “moderate” hike, “Black Rock”, that started from the parking lot. The hike was more challenging than we thought (well for me and Kirby anyway). We hiked back in about 1 mile and I decided to turn back at that point, since Kirby seemed to be tiring and my left knee was hurting. Kurt and Kody continued, but also turned around later, as Kody wanted to go back too. I think we have totally “worn out” the dogs. They are just not used to this much activity, especially since they are used to sleeping most of the day. We then headed back down to the campground.

Later, we drove into downtown “Banner Elk” to check out the setup for the weekend’s “Wooly Worm Festival”. The town traffic was already in gridlock, we turned around and went back to the RV. Kurt built a campfire and we grilled chicken. It was getting very chilly outside and we went inside the RV for the evening.

On to Grandfather Mountain

Day 12 – (Wednesday, 10-17-12) Heading to Grandfather Mountain

The RV was packed, unhooked and ready to go by 10:30. We headed out on our trip to Banner Elk, NC. The drive was beautiful, mostly on 4-lane highways through the mountains. The last 30 miles of the trip was on a two-lane road, going through small towns and mountains. It was one of the best drives yet. We had to stop in a tiny little town to refuel. Kurt went into the store to pay and the people were so friendly and asked where he was heading. These are the best towns in this country. Most small town people are very friendly and genuine. It’s such a breath of fresh air to find people like this.

We finally pulled into the Grandfather Mountain Campground. We were quite surprised to find such a beautiful campground. It was setup in levels, going up the hillside. Our site backs up to a huge grassy field, our backyard that the boys totally love! We also have a wooden deck for a front patio and a camp fire ring setup behind our space. The leaves up here are at peak fall foliage change. This area is a series of small towns. Banner Elk is a nice area and Boone has changed SO much since I was up here about 30 years ago.

The weather here is so much colder due to the higher altitude, about 4000 feet. It was about 45 degrees over night.

Day 13 – (Thursday, 10-18-12) Chilly, dreary day; great hike!

We woke up to a cold, cloudy, foggy morning. After discussing the plan for the day we decided to just go on a hike. We wanted to drive up to Grandfather Mountain and hike to the top. However, with the fog and clouds, we wouldn’t have any view. The trail we took went up to Grandfather Mountain, from the East side, is called the Profile View Trail. The trail was 2.7 miles one way, but very steep and with a major altitude change. We went from 4000 feet up to 5200 feet during the hike. It’s tough with the altitude, you wouldn’t think that it affects your breathing that much, but it does.  It was also very windy and chilly. The boys stayed at the RV while we hiked, due to the strenuous nature of this hike. When we reached the Profile overlook, we realized that this is the great vantage point to see the “profile” of the “Grandfather face”. We saw the rock face profile and got a couple of pictures before the fog rolled in thicker and we couldn’t even see the face.  We decided to head back down the mountain as the weather was deteriorating quickly. As we went down the mountain, the weather was much different. When we got back to the RV, the skies were clearer, but it was still chilly.

Arriving back at the RV, the boys were very happy to see us. They came out for a run around our grassy “backyard”. We ate lunch and then Kurt wanted to take a ride up to Blowing Rock to check out the area and hike up to the actual craggy blowing rock. With the weather getting worse, we decided just to drive to Boone and look around. There is a fairly new mountain bike trail in that area. We drove out there and Kurt looked around the course, thinking he might be able to go bike there within the next couple of days.

We drove back to the campground and Kurt built a camp fire. Later we prepared a dinner of leftovers. After dinner and watching some TV, we went to bed very tired. The weather is supposed to be sunnier tomorrow, but still a high of 60. Tonight is supposed to get down to 37 degrees. 

Last 2 days in Franklin

Day 10 – (Monday, 10-15-12) Hike the Appalachian Trail!

Let’s try hiking again! This can’t be that difficult!!  Not finding an awesome hiking trail in NC is like not finding a dive site in the Keys. We decided to try a section of The Appalachian Trail (AT) which crosses a major highway just west of Franklin (no forest service road). We drove out to the trail head and took the dogs with us. They really do enjoy hiking with us. We took the trail side that heads north. It was a beautiful sunny, but chilly day. When we started up the trail, we warmed up quickly. The boys actually liked the chilly weather; it seems to get them all excited. Kirby really surprised us and was more active than Kruzer (Kody). Kruzer wears a backpack and carries water bottles for both dogs. (He needs the extra exercise, as he could lose a couple of pounds.) The trail was so beautiful and the fall foliage made it even more awesome! The trail was mostly uphill, but the hike back was mostly downhill (just the way it works). We crossed a couple of creeks and the boys took advantage and drank from the creek. There was one nice little waterfall that fed the creek. We stopped at a couple of campsites that AT hikers use, and we rested and drank water there.  Also, met a couple of guys who had just embarked on a week-long hike on the AT with their dogs.  We hiked in for about 2 miles, which was perfect timing. Kruzer always wants to lead the pack and Kirby follows. We hiked for about three hours total, including the return trip. When we got back to the truck, we were all pretty tired.

When we got back to camp, Kurt decided to kayak a part of the Little T, just upstream of our camp.  I dropped him off at a nearby put-in and he paddled upstream for about 1 mile, then headed back to the camp.

Day 11 – (Tuesday, 10-16-12) Tsali again!

OMG!!! We are going to Tsali Recreation Area again. We got up fairly early; well, early for this crew, 7:30.  The plan was to go to there and spend about half a day, then come back to the RV, drop off the dogs then ride the Greenway Bike Trail, which goes thru Franklin along the Little Tennessee River.  Well, we get to Tsali mountain bike parking lot and discover we forgot our ice chest (contained lunch, water drinks, etc…) AND the change of clothes we were intending on using. So we decided that we would just make the best of the situation and work with it… We did have snacks and water, so we could survive! Kurt went on a trail ride and I hiked with the dogs.  No new pictures, since this was a repeat of Saturday at Tsali. The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed the day.  We were all ready to go back to the RV and have some lunch. After lunch decided to go for the bike ride that I wanted to do all week. We left the “tired” dogs in the RV, then Kurt and I went to the Greenway trail to ride the river front path through 4 miles of Franklin.  It was very nice, mostly paved or packed trail alongside the Little Tennessee River. There were various river crossovers and bridges. The trail was more than what we expected; we both actually enjoyed the ride very much. It was even an easy respite for Kurt, who had busted his ass on the mountain bike trails. (Some day he will learn that it’s not all about “balls to the wall”.)  We returned on the same route and 1.5 hours later we were back in the truck and heading to camp.

We realized we had a lot to do before leaving in the morning. We prepared and packed as much as possible to save time in the morning. After having a “leftover” dinner, we were ready for some rest.  Again, the boys were in bed long before we were.

We finally made it!

So we finally got caught up on our daily journals/blogs.  Here's our first 8 days in chronological order. We have setup an album of pictures on Picasa. Here is the link that you can use ongoing. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/Trip23October2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCLGhtZCl5q2_KQ#

Also, here is the link for our blog site. Check in whenever you can to follow our daily adventures.

http://www.alreadygoneontheroad.blogspot.com/

Day 1 (Saturday, 10-06-12) – Travel to Savannah for overnight RV stay

Left home around 9:30 am, our first day of official “Retirement”. Traveled north on I-95 heading towards Savannah. The drive was uneventful, with the exception of one accident that only delayed our progress about 20 minutes. There were some coastal storms that did slow down the traffic, but we got out of them south of the Savannah area.  We arrived at the RV park about 4:30.  Were able to select the site we wanted and setup for the night. We didn’t even unhitch the truck, leveled the RV and made all connections. We had a simple dinner of salad with lunch meat and cocktails, of course. We were tired and were in bed by 10:30.

Day 2 (Sunday, 10-07-12) – Travel to Seneca, SC

Unhooked the RV around 9:00 and hit the road. The weather was nice and made the drive more enjoyable. The dogs are not used to riding in the truck for so many hours, so they would get antsy quite often.  We stopped for lunch in Georgia along the way and ate KFC, not our favorite, but it was quick and easy.  We arrived at the Wagner’s home around 4:00. The dogs were really ready to get out and run. They found a new doggie friend, as Sharon& Jim have a mixed breed sweet little girl, Remi, who has more energy than Kody! They all became best friends and had a great time visiting there. On Sunday evening, they had a very nice dinner for us, with neighbors and their son and his family. Sharon prepared a wonderful meal, Low Country Boil, which is like a crawfish boil, only with shrimp.  It’s a S.C. favorite. We had an enjoyable evening getting caught up with Sharon & Jim. We slept downstairs in their guest room, which we felt like we were in a 5 star resort!

Day 3 (Monday, 10-08-12) – Hanging around the Wagner Resort!

We woke up to a chilly, blustery morning. Not like the forecast that said it would be sunny and 70 degrees.  We went down into Seneca and had a wonderful southern style breakfast at a local Mom & Pop restaurant. When we got back to the house, we decided to take a short pontoon ride around the lower part of Lake Keowee. It was windy and cold, but we made the best of it. Sharon brought thermoses of coffee laced with Bailey’s. It was a warm and welcome treat. We had all three dogs with us, and we were all bundled up with jackets and blankets. The lake is awesome with very nice upscale homes. Sharon is a realtor and specializes in the lake homes. We headed back to their house and decided to have some lunch and play poker for a couple of hours. Later, Sharon made a wonderful roast dinner and we enjoyed that tremendously. After dinner, we went downstairs to their home theatre room. We watched the musical movie, Mama Mia.  It was very cute and enjoyable. Kurt slept through most of it. Bedtime was upon us, as we had all played, ate and drank too much!

Day 4 (Tuesday, 10-09-12) – Pontooning on the Lake

Sharon prepared a nice healthy breakfast. After that, we loaded up and prepared for our lake tour. Even though the weather didn’t cooperate, we decided to go for it anyway and hit the lake. We took a lunch of chicken breasts to grill and noodle soup. After motoring up to the northern end of the lake, we went back into a cove that has a beautiful waterfall.  Jim beached the pontoon up on a nice sandbar. There we setup our chairs, coolers and food. We had a great lunch. Kurt and the dogs hiked up around the waterfall. We got some nice pictures. After returning from the pontoon ride, we later decided to go out to dinner at a local restaurant on the Lake, called Tiki Hut. We ate chicken wings, fried grouper fingers and drinks! It was a fun place, with karaoke entertainment. After getting too full, we headed home. Later, we went to the home theatre and watched a DVD of an Eagles concert. It was very enjoyable, as we are all Eagles fans. Thus, the name of our RV rig, Already Gone!

Day 5 (Wednesday, 10-10-12) – Heading to Franklin

As we had a fairly short drive to Franklin on this day, we decided to go out for breakfast before taking off.  Sharon & Jim took us to a small local area town, Pendleton. Went to a local restaurant/bakery and had another scrumptious, southern style breakfast. We drove through Clemson and got a tour of the Clemson University campus.  What a wonderful place! After going back to the house, we packed up our stuff and loaded the RV to head to Franklin. We had such a great time visiting the Wagner’s; we want to go back again soon.

The drive to Franklin was awesome, beautiful and very challenging. It was only about 60 miles (Hwy 28), but the road went through the mountains, two-lane and mostly winding switchbacks. Kurt was nervous the whole time due to the traffic, it was pretty busy. During this ride, we were beginning to see many of the trees changing colors. It was a very pretty sight to see. When we arrived in Franklin, we stopped at a local grocery to pick up a few items that we would need for the coming week. Then we finally arrived at the Great Smokey Mountain Fish Camp, where we would be camping for 7 days. It’s a great place right on the Little Tennessee River. They are fishing and paddling outfitters. We got the RV setup and ready for our stay there. We made tacos for dinner and enjoyed the meal.  Kurt made a campfire and we ended the evening enjoying the cold weather and warm campfire.

Day 6 – (Thursday, 10-11-12) – Great Smokey Mountain Fish Camp

We woke up later than normal; I guess you could say on retirement time. After a light breakfast, we spoke with the camp outfitter about doing a kayak shuttle the next day, as the weather forecast was looking very nice. So for the rest of the day, we just hung out around the campsite and checked online stuff and reorganized our already mess of things in our RV. With so little storage space, it’s most important to stay organized. We usually end up with a “salad” of stuff just strewn about, either in the RV or the truck.

We decided to take a drive northward to look at the fall foliage and check out the Little T (Little Tennessee) River, which the road follows most of the way. It was a beautiful scenic drive and we stopped a couple of places to let the boys out and take short walks. We headed back to the RV to make some lunch.

Around mid-afternoon, I shuttled Kurt and a kayak to a put-in site just upstream of our camp. He did an exploratory upstream paddle and then floated back to the fish camp. The Little Tennessee River has a strong current and is very rocky, with many Class 1 rapids. We were looking forward to the next day’s downstream paddle.

Later, we fired up the charcoal grill and made steaks for dinner. Kurt made a campfire and we spent the evening around the fire with the boys. We hit the sack early, as we were tired. However, the boys were way more torn up and they went to bed way before us. We think they are having a more difficult time at this retirement transition than we are! They are used to sleeping and lounging all day long while we WERE at work!

Day 7 – (Friday, 10-12-12) Paddle on the Little T

We awoke around 8:00am. After breakfast, we decided to drive into Franklin and visit the Chamber of Commerce. There we were able to get local maps, information and brochures. Then we went to a local bicycle shop to get more details on the mountain bike trails. The business owners were very helpful and provided some more trail maps. BTW, we LOVE Franklin!

We returned to camp and made a lunch of sandwiches and snacks to take on the paddle. Kurt and the outfitter took our truck to the take-out site. When Kurt returned, we put the kayaks in the water and headed downstream. The river is wide and beautiful, but the rapids are another story. We are not used to having rocky rivers and rapids. The paddle was very fun, but we had to negotiate the rocks/rapids to keep from getting in trouble. A couple of times we got stuck on top of rocks, but were able to work our way out. The worst rocky area was right before the take-out. We both got stuck, but I was behind Kurt. I maneuvered my kayak off the rocks, only to be turned around backwards. I knew at that point, that I would just go with the flow and was able to turn the kayak around. Whew! Made it to the take-out without anyone getting dumped! All in all, it was a great paddle and was a new experience for us!

Day 8 – (Saturday, 10-13-12) Tsali Trail!

This day was special for Kurt! We drove north toward Lake Fontana and the Tsali Recreation Area. This park is known for the excellent mountain biking trails. Since we had the boys with us, Kurt rode one of the MB trails while I hiked with the boys. Kirby, Kody and I headed out on a horse trail, as the bikers and horses alternate days on the designated trails. The boys were having a great time and with the cooler weather they both enjoyed the hike. However, the trail map didn’t look as long as I thought, so we were over 1.5 miles into the trail when Kurt called to say he was back at the parking lot.  We were already 1 hour into the trail, so we turned around to head back. Kurt went ahead and rode his bike on the trail and met us halfway. We all headed back to the parking lot. We had brought a little grill and cooked hot dogs and had lunch. Kurt advised me that it was not a good idea for me to ride these trails, as they were more difficult that any I had ridden.  Especially, when I can crash on a packed rail trail and break my shoulder, I decided to stay at the picnic area with the boys and just hang out. Kurt rode another mountain bike trail and was gone a little too long..  I was concerned about him, since he didn’t take his cell phone, the battery had died…  Did I mention that he is the most cell phone challenged techy person that I know…? Anyway, he finally showed up one hour and 45 minutes later.  He had wandered off the main trail and got kinda “lost”… (He’s also very directionally challenged) He made it back safely and we decided to head back to camp.

We had made plans to go into Franklin and have dinner at a restaurant that was highly recommended. But prior to dinner, we attended a local “Pickin’ in the Square” on Main Street in Franklin. We brought our chairs and “camouflaged cocktails’ (we are in the Bible belt) and listened to a local blue grass gospel band. They reminded us of the “Darlings” on the Andy of Mayberry show. Then we went to dinner at Caffe Rell, a popular place with excellent French food. Amazing, since it’s located in the back side of a large gas station.  But, the inside of the restaurant was very nice and the food was excellent. I had the NC fresh mountain rainbow trout, with a side of awesome steam veggies! Kurt had a beef ravioli dish with truffles and brown sauce, and steamed veggies. We truly enjoyed our dinner, even though Kurt claims he doesn’t like French food!

After heading back to camp, Kurt made another great fire and we enjoyed the evening watching the flames until we got so tired we had to retire for the night.

Day 9 – (Sunday, 10-14-12) Wasted day!

Let’s go hiking!! So we decided to go to some place called, Coweeta Hydro Lab/Albert Mt. Fire Tower . Not a lot of information, just a map.  This area is supposed to have some awesome waterfall hikes that everyone would enjoy.  So we follow the map that leads us to a gravel road (forest service road… uh oh).  So for 10,000 miles we go UP this single lane, very steep gravel road to a point where it comes to a fork in the road with, NO SIGNAGE, as to what goes where.  We make a decision to go to the left…  another 10,000 miles DOWN an even more treacherous road that leads us to a DEAD END in the middle of nowhere!  AHHHHHHH!!!! With banjos playing in the back ground we proceed to unwind this trip from hell.  Three hours later we end up back at our RV on the river wondering… What the hell…  That SUCKED!!! 

For the remainder of the day we had a party on the Little Tennessee River which included fishing (5lb carp… no we didn’t eat it), drinking, eating and the nightly bonfire. Maybe back to Tsali tomorrow…