20:55 4/20/2003
Oops! Two days into our trip and no trip log started yet. Well, we left
Palm Harbor 4/18 about 14:00. Headed for Ginny & John's in Crystal River.
Got there in a couple of hours without any problem. Borrowed a ladder from
John to get up on the roof so that I could replace the TV antenna. Winegard
had sent us a new one because our old one didn't only receive signals, it
sent them out as well! Didn't bother us but it did bother others. Had a
lovely dinner & left Scotch, the cat, with them. We did have to promise
to come get him!
We got going about 10:00 on 4/19 headed north and drove as far as Folkston, GA on the back roads (mostly US 301). Stayed at the Okefenokee RV Campground. The camp was ok; nothing special but nothing really objectionable either. There was a guy out in front smoking ribs. We ordered some thinking they were almost ready & he said he'd bring them to us in about 30 minutes. I paid him - stupid move! He apparently gave our ribs to others then got some for us about 2 hours later. Stupid Don! Plus, of course, I think the ribs are dry, fatty and not all that good. Fortunately, Judie likes them ok. Of course there was darn near nothing else to eat in the whole town. It struck us as an almost dead little town. We talked late and drank wine.
Drove on today. Got out about 10:00 again. We were thinking of staying on the backroads all the way to Pinehurst, NC but about 13:30 figured out we'd have an awfully long day that way. The towns were mostly really dead but occasionally we found one we liked. One town had a nice little square around the courthouse and lots of pinwheels on the lawn celebrating something. All along the road, people had placed yellow ribbons on trees hoping for the safe return of our GI's from Iraq. Got on I-95 at Orangeburg (or something) about mile marker 95 (Santee). Stayed on I-95 until we got into North Carolina! Traffic was amazing! It is Easter & there were lots of people trying to get somewhere fast. Then we still had about 50 miles to Pinehurst. Stopped at some campground in the TL directory. They claim this is the golf capital of the world; 1 country club and 9 other golf courses are listed on the campground map. The camp is pretty but they couldn't even get the sites level. This is the first time we've had to park on the 4x4's since we stayed with Joanie & Hank at Havasu Springs! I was looking forward to using my Escapee's card for a discount but 'we stopped all that the first of the year'. (Funny you are in the 2003 directory then but.....) They still do Good Sam though so we got the site for $21 rather than $24. Got in about 18:00; had some leftovers & early to bed.
08:11 4/21/2003
Nice morning but not sunny. 55 degrees makes a nice change for us Floridians.
(63 degrees in here.) Took Sammie for a walk and now Judie's up & the
coffee is steeping. We are still doing a little re-arranging of things.
Every trip we bring different things so have a short learning curve. This
time we brought the telescope hoping to see the stars at Bill's. It is a
big hard lump to store though!
This should be a fairly easy day. Not too far to Bill's and all country roads. We have directions and we've been there before so shouldn't even get lost.
07:52 4/26/2003
Well, as the curse goes, may you live in interesting times! Time to catch
up with our travels. We did arrive at Bill's about 14:00 after a fairly
direct trip. We even met a friendly game warden who asked if we needed help
when we pulled over to let him pass.
Had a great time with Bill. Monday we just talked & Bill took us out to dinner at a local restaurant. Not a fancy place but ok, his favorite Italian place was closed because it was Monday. We all had pork chops! Tuesday we went to Appomattox (Appomattox Court House really); very nice. The old village is kind of recreated and you get quite a feel for the surrender. We walked around quite a bit. One part that was particularly touching was where the Northern Virginia men were actually turning in their weapons and the Union army stood at Port Arms in salute. The Army was all truly volunteer in those days and I think the Southerners were kind of expecting catcalls and being treated like losers. When they got only the respect due an honored countryman, it started the country back on the road to unity. There was a display about the number of blacks who fought on both sides and another on one of Grant's advisors, a Brig. Gen. who was a 'Native American'. We came home and Judie made burritos. We'd brought some salsa for Bill & some a little hotter for us.
Wednesday we all went to Charlottesville to see Monticello. It was quite the place. Teaming with visitors but well organized. You pay to get in ($13 each, courtesy of Bill) and get a ticket that has the time when you can view the house. In our case the wait was about an hour. We took the time to view the remains of the slave village. Judie and I went down to see Jefferson's gravesite while Bill took a little rest. Then we all viewed the house; it's really quite a place. It makes me want to read more about Jefferson. He was really young when he drafted the Declaration of Independence and went on to do so much more. Of course, he started out inheriting debts from his father and did nothing but increase the debt during his lifetime. The guide said he was in debt to the tune of $3 million in modern currency. All was sold to pay his debts when he died. A family named Levy, father and son, are responsible for saving Monticello until the 1900's when a foundation was set up to administer the place. Tauna called while we were wandering around; just checking up on us. On the way back we stopped at a restaurant Bill really recommended but the main part was closed until 16:00 so we ate in the takeout part. (See a pattern here?)
The bad news about Wednesday is that our digital camera disappeared. We had it throughout the tour and I took several shots of the yard after the house tour. Then it just disappeared. I thought I remembered throwing it in the back seat of the truck before leaving Monticello but it sure wasn't there when we got home! Bill & Judie only remember seeing it while we were on the lawn. We did have to take a bus back down the hill and perhaps someone stole it then. I called and asked about their lost & found but they hadn't found it. I'm feeling pretty foolish because I hadn't even uploaded the shots from Appomattox so ended up with no shots of Bill or that portion of our trip.
Thursday we had a stay at home day. Judie and I washed the trailer & I got Protectall on half of it. We walked with Bill & just generally relaxed. Ginny called early in the morning and told Bill that the cat is doing fine. There is an Earthlink local number in Keysville so we got a little time on the net. Nice note from Bob saying they are leaving for Detroit on the 29th, then to Denver about the 11th then home by the 28th or so. They aren't headed for Germany until late in June so we'll get to see them when we all return. We wanted to take Bill out to dinner but he got the idea of cooking a venison neck. It was ok, pretty muscular venison (and really almost fat free) but tasty.
We had fallen into two habits. One was I'd get up about 07:00 to walk Sammie. Bill would make me some 'real' coffee & I'd talk with him for an hour or two. Then Judie would get up and we'd start our day. The other habit was sitting and watching a little TV with him until maybe 21:00 when we would hit the sack. Being able to use his shower and bathroom meant that we didn't need to dump blackwater. We did dump the gray and the water that has been in our fresh water tank since January. Added some of his water to replace it. I guess the only real downside to Bill's is that there was next to no cell signal. We'd get a call but couldn't hear; would try to make one but it wouldn't go out. Well, it is really just radio after all!
Sammie loved it at Bill's. She got to run around like a dog! Well, always under voice control but otherwise free enough. She was REALLY interested in the steers across the road but managed her disappointment at not going and playing with them. Don't think the farmer would have understood letting her do that.
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