Getting Warmer!

Sorry for the late post but we hit the road early this morning and I didn't feel like getting up earlier to write. I need my beauty sleep you know.
Yesterday was a cold and rainy day in Charlotte, NC and we ended up staying inside most of the day. We did go out last night to watch the Redskins game since our campground didn't have great TV reception. We decided to go out and see what Coyote Ugly was all about. You might remember the movie. The drive into the city is pretty at night.
The bar was not in the best part of town. It was very slow but it gave us a chance to talk to Amy, our bartender. She got up on the bar along with another girl and did their little dance that they are so famous for. At that point I couldn't help but notice what great support this bar had. There were tons of bra's strung up in the rafters. I can't imagine what would make someone take their bra off and put it up there. Terrible, just terrible. I wish my guys could have been there to see it.
Well, Amy did tell us her life story, which we didn't expect, but it seems that everyone in these parts is an aspiring country music song writer. Here is a picture that I took of Amy in case you were wondering what she looked like so that you will recognize her on American Idol.


Hey, the Redskins won!

This morning was very cold when we woke up. Anything left outside was frozen. We were happy to be heading south where hopefully it will be warmer. Next stop - Charleston, South Carolina.
This trip was uneventful, sorry that nothing exciting happened. The Pick Up behaved itself and stayed in its lane the whole way down here. We did enjoy listening to the truckers on our CB radio. I took a couple of pictures while Reta drove. The one on the right is me with the laptop open checking email and directions with the GPS system. Did I mention I had my feet up with the Lazy Boy chair? Nice.

We found this great campground in Mt. Pleasant, just a few minutes north of Charleston. When we pulled up to our site this is the view that we have.

It will have to do. The weather so far is great, 63 but they say it will get colder. We set everything up and went out for a little walk to explore the area. I found an indoor swimming pool that I will hit tonight. The water is about 80 degrees. Bath water...

A couple more pic's of the area. Got to run now. Have to help Reta prepare stuff for Happy Hour.

One of those days to relax.

This is it! Charlotte, NC. We drove around the city yesterday to see what there is and it really surprised us. We drove through downtown in, really, minutes! The downtown area is nice but there isn't a whole lot. I think today we are going to walk around some since the weather is going to be better. The only thing is that we have to drive by the Panthers Stadium and there is a 1 o'clock game today. We ended up coming back to RH and watching the movies we rented from Blockbuster. It was a good day to sit on the couch and lazy boy and relax.Skyline of Downtown Charlotte, NC

On the main drag, downtown

Home of the NFL Panthers

Home of the NBA Bobcats

Black is Gray & Gray is Black

Sorry to disappoint but yesterday was an uneventful day. We drove around the Charlotte beltway to a RV center to buy some parts for the hitch. Everything checked out OK and the whole issue of towing should be done. We've learned our lesson. (Famous last words)

On our way back home we were both starving so we decided to stop by this place called "Bojangles". Its where Colonial Sanders and Popeye's met halfway and shared receipts. Great food! We set up our little picnic out front since the thermometer on RH said it was 88 in the sun. Our kind of weather!

There were still a few things that needed to be done around the RV because it is worse than owning a house. While Reta went for her afternoon jog I stayed back and took care of it. One thing we did yesterday morning, before our drive, was dump the Gray tank. (Let me break down some of this RV jargon and sorry if you are eating.) The gray tank is where all the water from the sinks and shower goes into. The Black tank is where all the "stuff" from the toilet goes into. Not the nice one. So, we had dumped the Gray tank because it fills up much faster than the black and you only want to dump the Black tank when it is more than 1/2 full. Something about having enough liquid in the tank to help get the solid pieces out. OK, so last night we are getting ready to take our showers when I hear Reta say "Elton, are you going to take a bath? because the tub is full of water!" We were wondering why after we dumped the Gray tank in the morning the system still said that the Gray tank as full. Now we know. The labels on the tanks had been placed incorrectly. They're switched. Black is Gray and Gray is Black. When we went outside and dumped the tank labeled Black the water from the shower had disappeared and the system said empty. All I have to say is thankfully it was the Gray tank the overflowed and not the Black. You know what I mean?

Last night for dinner we decided that we would go over to Blockbuster and rent a couple of movies and have some wine, cheese and crackers. On our return I started to hook up the DVD player and that is when I discovered that the 1997 state of the art system only takes the Coaxial connections. Now I have to go to Radio Shack and buy some sort of adaptor. We did still enjoy the wine and cheese but had to settle for regular TV.

That is about all the excitement for today but tune in tomorrow to see how our day in Charlotte will turn out.

If it makes you all up north feel any better the clouds are rolling in and it should get colder today.

Yeah, I see it!

The day started out great. We had our route planned and we were securing everything in the RV and attached the pick up to the hitch for our second leg of the trip. We had even planned out where we were going to stop for Diesel fuel.
The first surprise of the day came when we were filling up. Let me back up just a little. When we were looking at Road Hazard to buy, the owner was telling us all about her. One of the things he told us was the gas tank held 80 gallons. OK, sounded good. Fast-forward...we are standing at the pump filling up. Now, when we pulled up we had 3/8 of a tank, so I figured we would put in about 55 gallons. As you can see in the picture, we put in 98 gallons for a grand total of...drum roll please and get the paddle's ready to restart the heart...$322.55. Guess what? The tank is bigger than 80 gallons! We figure it must be 120 because some of our friends have tanks that big. That means two things. 1) we can go about 1,200 miles to a tank full and 2) prepare yourself when you finally do hit the pump.

Second surprise of the day... We wanted to put some more air in the tires so while at the gas station we saw an air hose. Hey, lets put some air in the tires! Put in the 75 cents and start pumping. It started at 100 psi and we wanted to get to 115. Reta kept filling it up and checking the gauge when she finally checked it again and it read 90. Those little pumps aren't intended for big rigs. We lost air! This wasn't good because at this point my lovely wife started to freak out. I mean, out there. I tried to reassure her and said (this is where I set myself up) "The tire is fine, something else will give before the tire." So we are heading out to the interstate to find a real place for air when the third, and last, surprise of the day happened. And this was a big one!


Have you ever been hauling something in your car, a roll of carpet, lumber, a Christmas tree and it is sticking out of the back end of the car? You know how you are constantly checking the mirrors because your worst fear is that you are going to see said item doing cartwheels down the road behind you? Well, my worst fear came true. As we were pulling into the on ramp of the Interstate we heard a loud crack. We looked at each other then...I looked in the mirror and there was the pick up. I could see the whole truck in my mirror. IT WAS TRYING TO PASS ME! ! !

Yes the big surprise is that the Pick up broke free somehow and was in the grass next to me. HOLY CRAP! We got out to inspect it, along with a couple of other cars and truck, and it seems that the brackets that attach to the Pick Up just completely sheered off.



The good news of all this is that there was just a little scratch on the pick up and ONE more scratch on the RV but other than that both vehicles were fine. Reta drove the pick up and I took the RV and we continued on our destination to Charlotte.



Now remember, we still had low air in the front tire. All we need is a blow out. So, I pulled out the CB radio and in my best southern trucker accent I said "Ah, breaker, breaker, this here is chewing tobacco does anyone copy?" That's the first thing that came to my mind for a name. I wanted to blend in. Long story short (might be too late for that) I got 5 different truckers that helped me out and told me which exit to take for air.

Last night, we both got on our Laptops to research what could have happened. It was a stupid mistake on my part that I think caused the whole thing. I was told to put the seat belt around the steering wheel to help bring the wheels back to center when you take a turn. What I didn't realize was that it was too tight. It was so tight that the steering wheel didn't even turn. So every time I took a turn the pick up tried to go straight and it put a tremendous amount of pressure on those brackets. They are not intended for any type of lateral stress and they snapped. Lesson learned but thankfully no one was hurt and it made for yet another great story. Hope you enjoyed it!

We are hanging out in Charlotte, probably over the weekend because the campground is nice and so is the weather.

I didn't think of this until now...ROAD HAZARD. What a great name because yesterday we were just that!

(new joke of the day. check it out on the right side)

Sing it again Willie!

Today we hit the road again. We are trying to stay away from this cold, nasty weather that is causing all sorts of trouble in the country. After studying the maps and charts we are going to Charlotte, NC today. It will still rain there but it will be much warmer. No chance of ice, so they say. When was the last time a weatherman was right?

We had a terrific time in Winston Salem, NC yesterday. It was about a 1/2 hour up the road on I-40. The drive over was nice. Did you know that there are parts of I-40 where the highway is 12 lanes? It's huge!

When we arrived in Winston Salem it looked like a lot of small, historic towns. Like a Harpers Ferry or Gettysburg. The homes were typical from the late 1800's and the streets small and narrow. We worked up a good appetite walking around and had lunch at "Old Salem Tavern". The food tasted so good. We ended up taking the left over bread and muffin's by putting them in a bag of stuff we had bought earlier. All those times that I would laugh at the "elderly" for taking stuff from the restaurants and here I am doing it. Hey, I'm on a fixed budget. I paid for it! ITS THE NEW ME, BABY!

Hope you enjoy the pictures. If you click on the box it should take you to another site where you can see them bigger.

Our drive today should only be about 2 hours but we are heading south and this time of year south is good. South is warmer and for these two homeless, wandering, bread taking and rig driving couple, its what we need.

Greensboro Nachos

Tuesday was a great day for us to mess around the RV. No, not like that...
I spent most of the day organizing the "basement". Putting all the gear in place and getting rid of a couple of things that we will never use. It's amazing how much space we still have down there. I hooked up the TV we brought so now when we are outside enjoying a cold drink we can open one of the doors and watch TV as well. Comfort, that's what it's all about. I also looked into a couple of issues that had come up while we were in Solomons. There was a leak in one of the water hoses that I fixed. It just needed to be tightened but the challenge was finding where. Its like I need to stretch before I get into some of these tight places. I am sure someone walking by was wondering what the hell was happening because all they saw were a couple of feet sticking out of the doors underneath.
Reta had a chance to test the Washer/Dryer and see how well it works. Not bad if you have a small load. As expected it doesn't dry the heavy cloths that fast. We ended up walking down to the lodge and finishing up the laundry there. It was interesting. It gave us a chance to talk with the locals.

Last night we headed out to explore the night life in Greensboro, NC. Nice little city. It is pretty this time of year because main street is all lit up with lights for the holiday's. We ended up getting drinks and appetizers at "Natty Greene's". A local brewery with a great seating area outside. We ordered "The Big Nasty" which is a huge plate of Nachos with chili. We were excited to get these because while we were in Solomons, we were promised by someone that she would make this for us and, well, it never happened. Thanks Kendall, we were thinking of you while we ate this.

Today we are off to explore Winston Salem. It's about 15 minutes up the road.
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In the mean time, the cold front that is heading this way and is going to hit this area tomorrow has our attention. It should bring some rain and maybe light snow. Let see what happens.
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Hey, enjoy your day!
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(new poll...check it out)

On the Road Again!

We have worn out the tape of Willie Nelson singing - "On the Road Again". Remember we have the Hi-Tech 6 cassette tape changer in the RV. Seven if you include the radio!

We finally got out of the mud with help from Deb, Charlie, Richard and Elle and their truck. (Another thing we need to buy is tow straps. Write that down, its important.) After we got out everyone was checking out the tire marks. It looked like a whole CSI team. Walking around, looking down, stopping to pick something up to investigate it closer.

Thanks again to everyone for getting Road Hazard on the Road again.

After hooking up the Pick Up we hit the road heading south. I drove for the first leg and Reta took over after a pit stop. We stopped to put some Diesel in the rig. We didn't fill it up the whole way but put enough to get us where we needed to go.

This makes Chuck's Hummer look very gas efficient. Not the best place to stop because of the price but it looked like an easy place to get in and out of. The Pick Up makes any maneuver more challenging. Remember KISS? (Keep it Simple Stupid) That is my driving style.

While we were getting gas this truck pulled into the station. I then realized that we were in Southern Virginia and in Red Neck country.

The drive down here, to Greensboro, North Carolina, was good. There were some pretty views along the way. This is a quick picture I took of Lake Gaston.

Its a pretty big lake. This is the part when Reta was driving and I had the Lazy Boy reclined, taking pictures, and surfing the Internet on the laptop. Life is good!

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Today we're just going to hang out in Greensboro and will explore the local area. Looks like it will be great weather for us. I have started to include our local weather on the right side column.

Enjoy!