Roughin it Easy

After leaving FL, we had a relatively uneventful two day drive to Pisgah National Forest south of Asheville NC.   Found Davidson River Campground, and secured two adjacent sites with electric hookups (one for Tom and Jill, who would arrive the following day).   The camp is along a lovely trout stream, and we saw several fly fishermen in the shallows.  The hike/bike paths along the banks lead to the area's famous mountain bike trails, which is the draw for the other Indy folks that we're joining us (a group of friends that call themselves "The Halfwheelers Cycling and Social Club of North South Central Indianapolis".

While not MTBers, Sallie and I enjoyed short trail rides on level gravel paths, and on two days I ventured on the long path into Brevard. This lovely town is home to good restaurants, galleries, coffee shops, and of course, two breweries.

The week was pretty relaxing, with dinners at some of the good restaurants, visits to several brewpubs, euchre tourneys with the Julians (split wins, as usual), and a couple of fine evenings around the campfire.    Sallie and I drove over to Chimney Rock one day, and I climbed the countless steps to the top.  Once there I found there were higher viewpoints yet, so I continued on. While the views were beautiful, my legs are still sore and achy 3rd day after.  This was not helped by our visit yesterday to Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  This is the enormous French chateaux constructed by George Vanderbilt in the late 1800s.  So you pay a lot of money to tour the castle and grounds and see how rich folks live.  Pretty interesting though, especially if you are a fan of Downton Abbey.  We did stock up on some of their very fine estate wines, and hope to enjoy those soon.

Overall we had a fun week in the woods and towns with great friends, enjoyed fine beers, and rode bikes.  Hey, we might have a residence a bit smaller than Biltmore, but I guess our week is about how rich folks live.

Next up, a blast from the past reunion with an old friend in Virginia.

 

Two weeks of the Full Time RV Life

Today is April 14, exactly two weeks since we pulled out of our driveway In Indianapolis to start our new adventures as full time RVers!  After a tenuous start, quickly corrected with the help of friends, Sallie and I were on the road.  She posted that we "camped" at he sister's in Jacksonville and we did have a great time! Boat ride/fishin', great seafood (Clark's Fish Camp was awesome,), hanging out and hot tubbing!  No doubt much of our RV life will be more sedate and ordinary, and nothing wrong with that, but we are really stoked that we had such a great start.

Here is a big tip for all you starting the "Life":  Spend your first outing at your brother in law's who happens to be not only a great all around good guy, but a mechanic to boot!  Dave is a helicopter mechanic/Senior Chief in these United States Navy.  We are very proud of him and his service.  I am in his debt for his help in no less that 4, count em 4, different Issues with Serenity.
1: bought a new rack to hang our bikes off the back of Serenity instead of keeping them in the the Jeep Liberty ("Jayne").   I was tightening a bolt on it and the poorly welded on nut broke off.  Showed Dave the damage and he promptly said he'd weld it back faster than we could return it to Camping World (CW).   So he did and reinforced the other 4 nuts too.  (I helped a little).

2: I was installing the net shield that goes  under the tow bar, and found on Jayne the safety pin assembly for the aux brake was loose. Went to tighten it up and the screw head broke off.  Showed Dave the damage and he promptly suggested tapping the hole for a proper bolt.  He proceeded to do so.  (I helped a little).  Now it is secure w a lock washer.

3: On way down to FL we pulled into a rest stop and I found the main hatch door was open! Thanks be to god we did not loose anything, especially several primo bottles of wine and beer!  I fooled around with the latch and while better, still the door would open when pulling the handle, even when locked.  So one afternoon I am still working on it, and can't for the life of me figure out why the catch  doesn't. Dave arrives home from his work at the base, comes over to see what I'm up to. I showed him the problem , he looks, and in two minutes says "ahh I see the problem", proceeds to close the door and gets it to latch properly.  We pulled the catch, drilled the attachment holes a bit bigger, and reattached it a bit higher.  Not perfect but easier to get latched.

4: Sunday evening, our last night at the "Cobb Farm" ( three acres of FL paradise).  Need to add air to the RV tires.  Dave of course has a big compressor.  A quirk on the rear wheels,, it is not possible to reach the valve stem on the outer rim without removing the wheel cover.  Can't quite get them loose with the wimpy tool that came with the RV, a lightweight lug wrench.  Of course Dave had a 1-1/8" socket to do the job.  He did the "heavy lifting" of running the compressor and messing with a semi faulty air chuck to get the RV and toad tires up to par. I helped a little.

I am quite certain that had we stayed longer I could have come up with more problems to highlight my inadequacies as a mechanic and provided opportunities for Dave to bail me out and be the hero he is.   Thanks, Dave!   When we go back in October I'll have to find a way to pay him back. Hope it doesn't involve roofing!

Camp Cobb--Relax and Have Fun

We are in Jacksonville, FL, at my sister, Renee, and brother-in-law's, Dave's, little farm!  It is so nice to relax and just have fun!  We went fishing yesterday on the St. John's river, in an area called Black Creek.  The water was indeed black--very brackish.  We had an awesome lunch at the Outback Crab Shack.  Saturday we went to Cattyshack a big cat sanctuary.  While they are only rescuing cats from inappropriate captive situations it is still hard to see such beautiful animals in captivity.  Housekeeping chores in order for today and relax, relax, relax!

FFDFT--First Full Day Full Timing

It is our first full day cause we got a late start yesterday.  Spent the night in Dry Ridge, KY, at a Cracker Barrel.

Now we are getting close to Knoxville, TN.  We will be leaving I75, going east on 40.  I can't wait to see my mountains, the Pisgah Forest.  They will always be mine, I get a special feeling there (no, it's not just my wars popping).  Serenity is moving about 50 mph up the mountains--that's ok cause we're not in a hurry.  Might look at stopping near Spartanburg, SC, for the night.  I remember a neat animal park there, lots of buffalo that you can feed bagels to.  I'll see if I can find it.  Do you remember it, Chloe?

Sallie (Kaylee) signing off for now...