Riding Out Hurricane Sandy, (Posted Tuesday)

Virginia Beach, VA. (Tuesday morning)

41 deg. overcast, SW wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Overcast with a chance of rain. High of 52F. Windy. Winds from the SW at 25 to 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph. Chance of rain 50%.


It’s about 7:00 AM Monday morning as I’m writing this on a word processor. Can’t get on the Internet this morning, so this will have to do for now until I can copy and paste it to Blogger.

It stopped raining for just a short time Sunday morning, so Jim went outside just to check things out. About the only thing he found was that there was a small branch from the tree to my left, laying on my roof. It’s small enough that he’s pretty sure it didn't do any damage.

In the afternoon, it started raining really hard and it got real windy and didn’t let up until sometime in the evening, although I don’t think it ever completely quit raining. Then, sometime in the middle of the night, it started raining really hard again, and hasn’t let up since.

The winds have been quite strong at times with gusts in the 40 to 45 mph range. There were a few gusts yesterday afternoon that I think were even higher than that. At times the rain was going completely sideways just like you see on TV when there’s a reporter standing out in the storm, trying not to get blown away.

It’s still dark out as I’m writing this, so I can’t tell of there’s any water standing in this park. There were some pretty big puddles yesterday already, but nothing to be alarmed about.

They’re saying that it’s going to keep on storming all day here in Virginia Beach. Then, tomorrow, things should start to improve.

I sure hope so. I've had enough rain and wind for awhile!!! : (

_____________________

It's now Tuesday morning and I think we're just about through with the storm.

By about 8:30 yesterday morning, the winds seemed to die down some but the rain kept coming down, very hard at times. On the news the whole report was about the high tide coming at about 9:30 in the morning with Hurricane Sandy's winds pushing the water onto shore, plus a full moon, which also raises the tides normally.

All morning long they had been showing flooded streets and businesses and then as the tide rose, they were showing the waves coming over the Virginia Beach Boardwalk!!!

By high tide, they had closed down some of the bridge/tunnels in the city and were showing more closed roads, some of them Interstate Routes. By noon, the water levels from the high tides were dropping and some of the streets and roads were beginning to reopen. Then, sometime during the afternoon, the temperatures started dropping and the winds switched to the west.

Meanwhile, we were still having heavy rains and some strong wind gusts.

The winds seem to have calmed down overnight and so far this morning I haven't felt any strong gusts hitting me. Hopefully the worst of it is over. Today is the last day of our 2 week stay here at the park and Jim needs to get outside and get me ready to travel.

So, was the decision to stay here and ride out the storm the correct one? Well, it appears that we've weathered the storm OK, but Jim says that if he had it to do over again, we'd head inland. We were lucky in that Sandy stayed well off shore, but there was the fear that it could turn and come on shore at any time. The winds were fierce at times, the downpour of about 24 hours was unnerving, being that we didn't know if we were going to get flooded out or not.

I think that both Jim and Linda feel that it just wasn't worth the stress to hang around in the area see Joe, Nancy and the girls, one more time. It probably would have been worth it to head inland for awhile and then come back out here after the storm was over, if they wanted to visit some more with them.

Did you know that every second, a large hurricane releases the energy of 10 atomic bombs?

Riding Out Hurricane Sandy (Posted Sunday)

Virginia Beach, VA.


About 12:15 on Saturday, it started to rain. Not hard, but a steady drizzle at first. Then as the day wore on, it rained harder at times and towards evening, the wind picked up noticeably.

Many of the RVs here in the park left in the morning and some left in the afternoon after it started raining. There's still quite a few of us here though and I doubt if very many more will attempt to leave before the storm is over.

Right after dinner, Saturday evening, Jim pulled in my slides as my awning toppers were already starting to make some noise and the forecast was for the winds to pick up overnight.

As I write this, (Sunday morning at about 6 AM), it's 60 degrees outside, the wind is blowing out of the North at about 15 mph with gusts around 30 mph. It's raining, but not real heavy at this time.

This is the forecast for today. (Sunday)  Overcast with rain. High of 64F. Windy. Winds from the NNE at 35 to 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph.

This is the forecast for tonight. (Sunday Night)  Overcast with rain. Low of 52F. Windy. Winds from the West at 40 to 45 mph with gusts to 65 mph.

As of right now, the storm is about 395 miles East of Charleston and 260 miles SSE  of Cape Hatteras and is traveling NE at about 15 mph. The problem is that it's such a large storm that the hurricane force winds extend around 105 miles from the center of the storm and tropical force wind extend out as much as 520 miles from the center.

As I've still got an Internet signal right now, I've decided to go ahead and post this. Don't know when my next post will be, but will post when I can.

A Good Decision?

Virginia Beach, VA.

66 deg. overcast, W. wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Overcast with a chance of rain, then rain in the afternoon. High of 70F. Windy. Winds from the NE at 20 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph. Chance of rain 70%.


Well, it's done.

"What's been done", you ask?

Yesterday, the decision was made for us to stay here in Virginia Beach even though they're forecasting some really nasty weather for this area. Was it a smart decision? Well, I guess time will tell. As I'm posting this, it looks like the main part of the storm, (now Tropical Storm Sandy) is going to pass to the North of us, but Mother Nature has a way of changing her mind.

Many people here at the park don't seem too concerned about the storm. In fact, there were quite a few RV coming into the park yesterday, and many, many RVers have put out all kinds of Halloween decorations!!! If we have any kind of wind at all, I really don't see how those decorations will survive!!

If we have much of a storm here at all, I don't imagine that I'll be posting on this blog. My Internet signal is already real flakey and I'm sure it will get worse as the weather deteriorates.

I'll post when I can.

Did you know that the word hurricane comes from the Taino Native American word, hurucane, meaning evil spirit of the wind?

Finally, CLT's Problem and Hurricane Sandy

Virginia Beach, VA.

58 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 75F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Well, Jim finally took photos of Joe and his family and got them downloaded onto this computer. So, I'm finally able to post them here so you can see who I've been talking about for the past week. : )

This first one is, of course, Joe, LInda's son.

Nancy, Joe's wife and our body building family member.

This is Sami, (Samantha), Joe and Nancy's oldest daughter,

And Amber, Joe and Nancy's youngest daughter.

 Tuesday, Linda called Walgreen's and was told that the rest of her medications were there, so she and Jim took CLT and headed over there and picked them up.

CLT (Cute Little Truck),  hadn't said anything, but come to find out, he's been having a problem with his brakes!! Jim caught it when he noticed a noise coming from CLT's left front wheel and was pretty sure that it was the brake pad wear indicator. I didn't realize it, but Jim said that he thought he had heard something over a week ago when we were in Apex, visiting Mike and his family.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  what to do?

Well, when Jim and Linda went over to Joe and Nancy's for dinner, Jim asked Joe if he had any recommendations of a place to get them checked out. Joe said that his friend Ray, (who Jim and Linda know), was now doing repair work on cars, and he would call him and see if he had time to look at CLT.

Well, to make a long story a little shorter, Ray said that he had time and would be glad to check CLT out. And, he could do it Wednesday afternoon!! So, soon after noon yesterday, Ray came over here, picked up CLT, took him back to his place, repaired both the front and rear brakes, and had CLT back here in time for Jim and Linda to head over to Joe and Nancy's for dinner again. : )

Talk about service!!!! : )

CLT says that his brakes haven't felt that good for quite some time now, and says that now, he'll be able to do a better job of helping me stop when we're traveling. : )

Today, the plan is for Joe and Nancy to come here for dinner. Jim also wants to do a few things outside as we're expecting quite a weather change because of Hurricane Sandy coming up along the coast.

Right now, Sandy is forecasted to stay well offshore  but you can be assured that both Jim and Linda are keeping a close eye on any changes in the forecast. In any case, we'll probably have quite a bit of rain with some wind and falling temperatures after the storm has passed.

Did you know that a lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court?

Nancy's Bucket List and A Disappointing Meal

Virginia Beach, VA.

50 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast =Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 75F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph.


My Internet signal here at the CG has been really quirky the last few days. As I'm typing this, the signal keeps dropping off and on, but I really wanted to post so that I didn't get too far behind.

Saturday evening, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed where Nancy was doing her fitness show. Well, come to find out, this was actually a local body building contest and many of the participants were really into the strength and body building thing.  

This was on Nancy's "bucket list" and it's the first time that she has done anything like this. She's been training for almost a year, practicing her poses eating only certain foods and doing all the other things necessary get ready to compete.

So, how did she do??? Well, she came home with 3 trophies!!!!  2  4th place and 1  5th place. One was for the "novice class" category, one for the "tall women's class", and one for the "over 40 years old class" !!!  : )

Really great for her first, (and she says her last), competition!!!! ; )

Sunday, absolutely nothing happened except to watch all the week-end campers pack up and head for home. Linda worked some more on her family tree program and Jim watched football on TV.

Yesterday, was another slow day. About 4:30 or so, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Joe and Nancy's and then they and Joe, Nancy, Sami and Amber went out to eat at the Atlas Restaurant near their house for dinner.

The company was great and everyone had a good time, but in the last few years there has been a bunch of changes at the Restaurant and none of them seem to be for the better. Joe's food was cold, Sami's order was messed up and had to send it back, hardly any of the food really stood out and the service left something to be desired.

From what I understand, the Atlas used to be a very good place to eat and many times the restaurant was crowded. Now, there were only a few people in there and I doubt that Jim and Linda or Joe and Nancy will go back again.

Very disappointing. : (

The rest of Linda's prescription are supposed to be ready today, so Jim and Linda will probably be heading over to Walgreens. They also have a grocery list started, so they may pick those items up at a grocery store while they're out and about, but we'll see.

Did you know that on this date in  1915, The first U.S. championship horseshoe tourney was held in Kellerton, IA.?

An Interesting Day and Company

Virginia Beach, VA.

54 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast =  Clear. High of 72F. Winds from the WSW at 5 to 10 mph.


Yesterday was a very interesting day. Early on, RVs started coming into the park for the weekend and the parade of RVs continued all day.

Not too long after noon, a great looking 5th wheel pulled into the site beside me. After it was pretty well set up, Jim walked around behind me and introduced himself to the owners.  He found out that their names are Will and Tammy and they're from Canada!! They're on vacation and are in the area to see the sights in and around the Virginia Beach area.

Come to find out, their 5th wheel is a Newmar, so when they saw me, they were very interested to find out more about me. As Jim was talking to them, they asked quite a few questions about me, so after checking with Linda, Jim invited them over to see the inside of me.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  after they had their RV completely set up, they came over and took "the tour". : )

Will and Tammy seem like a really nice couple. They were very interested in my features and gave me some very nice compliments. They have remodeled much of their 5th wheel and seemed interested in the modifications that have been done to me. (Such as my hardwood type flooring, desk and recliner).

Not too long after they went back to their RV, Joe called and said that he and Amber were on their way out here and was wondering where in the park I was located. I didn't know if they'd be able to find me because I'm hiding behind that tree, but a little while later, they pulled up behind me.

I think CLT (Cute Little Truck) sitting out in the open gave me away!! ; )

Soon after they arrived, Jim fired up the grill and cooked some burgers. Then, after visiting for awhile, they headed back home.

Walgreen's still hasn't called, so I suppose that Linda will have to call them to see if the rest of her medications have arrived. Then, this evening, Jim and Linda are going to head over to Joe and Nancy's house and then go to some kind of fitness training show that Nancy is in.

Did you know that six Presidents' wives were born in Virginia? Martha Washington, Martha Jefferson, Rachel Jackson, Letitia Tyler, Ellen Arthur, Edith Wilson.

Prescriptions and Company Coming

Virginia Beach, VA.

67 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.

Forecast = Overcast with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of rain in the morning, then partly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of rain. High of 79F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Not a whole lot to report on for Thursday. Jim and Linda did go to a Walgreens to get prescriptions refilled and everything went pretty well. They were short on one medication though, so they'll have to go back again today or tomorrow to pick it up.

Being that I'm going to be here for a total of 2 weeks, there may be a chance that some of you may be in the Virginia Beach area. Well, I'd invite you to come and see me, but I really don't know if you'd be able to find me because I'm hiding behind a tree. CLT is out in the open though, so maybe you can spot him parked next to me.

Tonight, Joe and Amber are coming to see me and to have dinner with Jim and Linda. I think Jim is planing on cooking hamburgers on the grill if the weather co-operates.

I hope they can find me. ; )

Did you know that Virginia was named for England's "Virgin Queen," Elizabeth I?


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North Carolina To Virginia

Virginia Beach, VA.

52 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.

Forecasts = Partly cloudy. High of 75F. Winds from the SSE at 10 to 15 mph.


Everything went well and by 8:50 we were pulling out of the Dickens RV Park and heading the 3 or 4 miles back to US 1. Once on 1, we took it NE and up to the Raleigh area, where it joined up with US 64. We then took US 64/I-440 around the city until 64 headed East from the city. Then we followed 64 over to Rocky Mount, where we tuned North on I-95. 95 took us up into Virginia where we stopped at a Love's Truck Stop near Skippers, VA. to get me a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel. : )

Again, everything went well at the station and soon we were back out on I-95 and heading to Emporia, where we turned East on US 58. 58 took us to Portsmouth where we turned South on I-64 and took it around the South side of the City. After 64 took us around to Virginia Beach, we turned East on I-264 and took it East towards downtown Virginia Beach. When we came to 1st Colonial, (exit 21), we turned South on it and followed it down to the Holiday Trav-L-Park.

It was 1:15 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us 4 hours and 25 minutes to travel 230 miles and stop for my drink.

Not too shabby!!! ; )

The Holiday Trav-L-Park is a huge park. When we were here a year ago, I was in site # 107 and this time I'm in site 255, but they actually have over 800 RV sites in the park!!

An RV could get lost in this place!!! : O

After getting me set up in my full hook-up site with 50 amp electric and after relaxing a little, Jim took a little nap. Then, about 4:00, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Joe and Nancy's. After all the h and h, (hugs and handshakes), and some visiting, everyone enjoyed a great spaghetti and meatball dinner that Nancy made.

After dinner, it was more visiting before CLT brought them back here to the Park.

Today, Joe, Nancy and the girls are going to be busy so Jim and Linda will not be going over there. It's time for Linda to get her prescriptions refilled again, so she and Jim are planning on getting that accomplished. Jim still needs to get me hooked up to the sewer connection, so I imagine he'll do that today.

As of this morning, I have a very weak signal on the AT&T air card here at the park. So far it has held the signal while I've been typing this post. We're in a different area of the park than we were a year ago, so maybe I'll be able to post regularly.

I hope so.

Did you know that the first peanuts grown in the United States were grown in Virginia?

Finally Finished, Internet, Hugs and Ready

Moncure, NC

42 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast  = Overcast. High of 68F. Winds from the South at 5 to 10 mph.


Jim and Linda finally finished going through all those albums yesterday, to get photos and information for Linda to use in her Family Tree program. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it because they found photos and information of both of their ancestors and relatives. Now, some of the photos will have to be enhanced as much as possible, and others will need to be cropped, but all of that can be done at any time, even without Internet access.

Speaking of Internet access, Yesterday, I was looking back at this blog from about a year ago, and I found the posts from the time that we were in Virginia Beach. Well, unless things have changed, it looks like I won't have much of an Internet signal. : (  I did post a few times, but it sounds like much of the time I wasn't even able to connect. : (

So,  ,   ,  ,  for the next 2 weeks, while we're in Virginia Beach, you may not hear too much from me. I'll be sure to post when I can though.

Yesterday afternoon, Jim finished getting me ready to travel. You know, dumped my tanks and added some water to my fresh water tank, secured everything in my basement storage compartments, rolled up all my awnings, and put away all the hoses.

About 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's. After eating, they visited for awhile, and then all too soon, it was time to say good-bye. : (  So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  after hugs, CLT brought them back here to the park, one last time.

After they returned, Jim and Linda were both talking about how great it was to see Mike, Gina, and the grand-kids again. Hopefully we'll be coming back through this way again in the spring.

Today, the plan is to leave here about 9:00 this morning because it's about 235 miles over there and we'll have to stop someplace along the way to get me a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel.

Jim and I are both thinking that it'll take the best part of 5 hours to make the trip.

Did you know that the oldest town in the North Carolina is Bath, incorporated in 1705?

 

A Little Repair, Dinner At Perkins and More Photo Albums

Moncure, NC

45 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 63F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.


Sunday was a very nice day, (once it warmed up a little in the morning), so Jim spent quite a bit of time outside doing "things".

One thing he definitely wanted to get done was to check my front clearance lights. These lights have leaked water into me before when it rains and after the last heavy rain we had, there was a small amount of water running down on the inside of my windshield.

Even before Jim and Linda bought me, one of my previous owners had put sealer all around each light, (the lights are kind of recessed into the panel over my windshield), and once before, Jim had added additional sealer to stop a leak. This time, he added a little more where it looked like the sealant had pulled away from the lights and we're hoping that this will take care of the problem.

Since he had to get his folding step ladder out to reach the lights, he also used it to spay a little silicone spray on my main awning joints and roller tube ends. When he sprays these areas, it seems to make the awning open and close easier, putting less strain on the little electric motor.

While Jim was busy outside, Linda was digging through the last box of photo albums. In this box, she has found a whole bunch of photos plus a whole bunch of birth announcements and other papers that have important information about family members.

As planned, for dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Perkins Restaurant in Apex, to have dinner with Mike and his family. CLT says that everyone seemed to enjoy their meals, but of course the main reason for being there was to spend time with family. ; )

After eating and talking for awhile, CLT brought Jim and Linda back here and Mike and his family headed back to their house.

Yesterday morning started out with a pretty sunrise. Jim took this photo from my site here in the park, so I thought I'd share. ; )

As soon as Linda got up, she and Jim continued going through more albums. They found a whole bunch of family photos in one of the albums that Jim's mother had put together many, many years ago, and spent the better part of the day working on them.

During the morning, the clouds started moving in and for a good part of the afternoon we had showers, some of them quite heavy. Then, about 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed back to Mike and Gina's for dinner and to visit some more. After a yet another nice meal, they visited to around 7:30 and then headed back here.

Today, being that it's our last day here, Jim and Linda have to get done with the photo albums. Jim also needs to dump my tanks and add a little water to my fresh water tank. Then, I'm quite sure he'll put all the hoses away so he doesn't have to do it in the morning when it's cold and those hoses are stiff as a board!  : )

Did you know that North Carolina has 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams?

Moncure, NC

40 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear in the morning, then overcast. High of 72F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 10 mph.


Almost the whole day, Friday, was spent going through old picture albums. I didn't know that there were so many photos of Jim, Linda, their kids, grand kids, parents and ancestors!! Altogether, there are 5 large boxes of albums with probably, on an average of 12 to 15 albums per box!!!  Some of them are very large with many pages and some are smaller with fewer pages. Most of the photos are from the 1940's to present but there are some with photos going way back to the time of Jim and Linda's great grandparents!!!

Of course, not all the photos are labeled, so then they have to try to figure out who the people in the photos are. This is especially hard with the very old photos, and there's really no way to find out because there's no one left who could identify them. : (

So far, Jim and Linda have gone through 4 of the boxes and have just the one more to do.

So what do Jim and Linda do with the photos when they find some that they want to use?  Well, first they tried scanning them, but that was taking forever and was almost impossible to do without destroying some of the older albums. Then Jim got the idea of taking digital photos of the photos with his camera. This seems to work pretty well. They are laid on the kitchen table where there is natural light coming in through the window, and then as long as he can rest his arms/hands on something to steady the camera, the digital photos come out quite well.

Of course if they don't turn out well, he can quickly delete them and try again.

Once he gets the photos, he downloads them  onto the computer using Picasa, crops and edits the photos if necessary, and then saves them in a file for Linda to use later in her Family Tree program.

Yesterday, Mike and Dillon came out here to the RV Park to see me. Jim forgot to take pictures again, so these photos are from earlier in the week and taken at Mike and Gina's house.

Friday, was Dillon's birthday, so Jim and Linda gave him the "Batmobile" that they had bought and a book.

He seemed to really enjoy both presents and even had Mike read the book to him while they were here. ; ) They also walked over to the little playground that they have here at the park so that Dillon could swing on the swings and bang the tether ball around. ; )  

Today, the weather is supposed to be nice, so Jim is planning on doing some things outside. He needs to check me out to make sure I'm ready to leave here on Wednesday, check the air pressure in CLT's (Cute Little Truck's), tires and check on a leak up at my front clearance lights.

Then, this evening, the plan is to meet Mike and his family at the Perkins Restaurant in Apex for dinner.

Did you know that on this date in 1926, the book "Winnie-the-Pooh," by A.A. Milne, made its debut?

Reservations, Groceries and Dillon's Birthday

Moncure, NC

38 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear. High of 70F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.


Did you happen to notice the temperature posted this morning for Moncure? Yep!! 38 degrees!! You know what that means??? It's time to start heading to a warmer area of the country!!!!

I'm hoping that it'll be a little warmer in Virginia Beach, when we head over there on Wednesday, since it's right on the coast.

Jim and Linda didn't go get groceries Wednesday so I really didn't have anything to write about. They did go to Mike and Gina's for dinner though and did enjoy an very nice pork roast meal. The only other thing that I could possibly have written about was Jim dumping my tanks, and who wants to read about that?

Oh!! I almost forgot!!! Jim called the RV Park that we stay at down in Florida and made reservations for me to arrive there on the 14th of November. But,  ,  ,  ,  I also heard him ask the lady if it would be OK if we came in a week earlier than that if we could get down there sooner.

From what I heard Jim tell Linda, the lady said that it should be OK, but to be sure to call as soon as possible to let them know if we were wanting to come in early.

Hmmmm!!! I wonder what Jim has in mind now????

.Yesterday, Jim and Linda did finally go to the Food Lion Grocery store down in Sanford, and I couldn't believe how many groceries they bought!! I was sure that they wouldn't be able to get everything put away in my cabinets and refrigerator, but they did!! : ) Then after resting up a little, (Jim took a nap), they headed over to Mike and Gina's for another nice meal and more visiting.

Today is Dillon's Birthday, (he's 5 years old today), and Mike and Gina have a party planned for him, (and 16 of his friends and classmates), tonight at one of those places where the kids bounce and play on different  things. There's also going to be pizza served for the kids and I'm sure he'll have a great time. ; )

Jim and Linda have decided not to go though, as both Mike and Gina said it would probably be pretty wild with all those screaming kids running around and playing.

So, instead, Mike is planning on bringing Dillon out here to the Campground tomorrow!!  : ) Dillon has been asking questions about me, so Jim and Linda don't think he really remembers me too well from last year. This'll also be an opportunity for Jim and Linda to give him the birthday present they bought.

The plan for today is to get me cleaned up inside and go through some more of those photo albums to find pictures of family members. There's still one more box of albums at Mike's and he's going to be bringing it out here tomorrow. That means that Jim and Linda will need to be finished looking at these albums so he can take them back home with him.

Did you know that on this date in 1920, construction of the Holland Tunnel began? It opened on November 13, 1927. The tunnel links Jersey City, NJ and New York City, NY.

A Quick Trip To Wally World

Moncure, NC

53 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 70F. Winds from the West at 5 to 10 mph.


Well, Jim and Linda did not go to the grocery store yesterday, but in the afternoon they did go to a Wally World in Sanford to pick up a few items. One of the main reasons for go there was to find a birthday present for Dillon, (Mike and Gina's youngest child and Jim's Grandson), who will turn 5 this Friday. While they were at Wally World, they also bought a few H & B items that they needed.

Then, since it was getting close to dinner time, they headed over to the Brass Kettle Restaurant where they had another very good meal.

Other than that, not a whole lot happened yesterday.  It was still only in the 50's, overcast, and it was misting rain much of the day, so it wasn't very pleasant outside.

Today is supposed to be much nicer. ; )

So, since they didn't get groceries yesterday, Jim and Linda will need to go grocery shopping either today or tomorrow. Linda has more laundry to do, plus go through some more of those old picture albums to find photos for her Family Tree Maker program and Jim has some things he wants/needs to do outside, so they could go either day.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. ; )

Did you know that today is "International Top Spinning Day"?

More Visiting, The Weather and Progressive Industries

Moncure, NC

48 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Overcast with a chance of rain in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 73F. Winds from the NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20%.


Sunday, Jim and Linda went to Mike and Gina's during the afternoon and early evening. The weather was not too good or they would have come out here to the RV Park to see me. You see, we've had a cold front got through the area, and it has brought rain, thunder, some wind and much cooler temperatures than we have been having.

Being that the weather was still not good yesterday morning, (cold with drizzle), Jim got on the phone and called Progressive Industries.  I don't know if you remember or not, but last winter the Electrical Management System, that Jim had to protect all my electronics from surges, low voltages and any other electrical problems quit working and he had to buy a different unit at a Camping World store when we were in Alabama.

The unit that Jim bought at that time was a Surge Guard that seemed to work fine, but he always thought that the Progressive unit was better. We were on our way to Oregon at that time though, so the old unit was stashed away in one of my basement compartments.

Well, yesterday, when Jim called Progressive Industries, which is located in Morrisville, NC, (about 25 miles North of here), and told them about the problem with the unit and explained that we were in the area. They said that he could bring the unit to the factory and they would be glad to check it out.

So, about 10:30, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed up there.

When they arrived, the unit was checked out, and guess what?  Yep!!! The unit worked!!! But, after describing how the unit was acting, (a chattering sound coming from inside of the unit), they said that they have seen that condition before, and handed Jim a reconditioned unit, in a box, that looked like brand new!!!

Now, by this time, Jim had already told them that he had bought the unit way back in 2005, and he didn't even have the sales receipt any longer. They said that it didn't matter, they were now covering all of their units with a lifetime warranty, even though the original warranty on the unit that Jim bought was only for 1 year!!

Wow!!!! What a great surprise!!!!  They are definitely one of the "Good Guys"!!!!

Now, I have to ask you, what other company can you think of, (other than maybe Fantastic Fan), that has a warranty this good and takes care of it's customers any better?  You can be assured that Jim will recommend Progressive Industries to anyone who is looking for an (EMS), Electrical Management System for their RV and tell them what a great company it is and how well they take care of their customers.  : )

Yesterday evening, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed back over to Mike's. After having another nice dinner, they visited until about 7:30, (time for the kids to start getting ready for bed), and then came back here to the park, without even seeing any more deer on the road. : )

Today, I think that Jim and Linda may go grocery shopping. The last time they went was when we were back in Rantoul, and my cabinets are starting to look a little empty. ; )  Mike has to work late and the kids have activities to go to, so Jim and Linda won't be going over there today. : (

I know this is a day late, but, Did you  know that Columbus Day first became an official state holiday in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal holiday in the United States in 1937, though people have celebrated Columbus' voyage since the colonial period?

Old Photo Albums, Change Coming and A Close Call

Moncure, NC

54 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny, high temp. 82 deg. SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.


Not a whole lot to report on this morning, but I thought I'd check in.

The main thing that happened was that Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's yesterday evening. Linda had asked Mike if he could dig out the old family photo albums and he had brought them out of storage for Linda to look at.

You see, the Family Tree Maker program that Linda is using, allows you to insert photos into the program so that you have a record of what people looked like. And, buried in those boxes of albums are the photos that Linda would like to use.

After having a very nice meal of Polish Sausage, baked beans and salad, some of the boxes were opened and most of the rest of the evening was spent looking through some of the albums.

Jim and Linda brought 2 boxes of albums back here, and today I'm sure Linda and Jim will spend some time going through them and trying to decide on which photos need to be scanned onto the computers hard drive. Then, in the next few days, they'll take these boxes back to Mike's and bring some more back here.

Today, Mike and his family will be busy. The kids have some activities that they need to go to and Mike has some chores that need his attention at the house.

Mike and Gina were planning out coming out here to the RV Park on Sunday, but all the weather reports are saying that we're in for a big change in the weather. The current forecast is for rain, falling temperatures with highs in the lower 60's and fairly strong winds. : (  So, they will probably wait until next weekend and Jim and Linda will go to their house instead.

Oh, and just one more thing.

CLT had a real close call on the way back here to the RV Park last night. 2 deer rain across the road right in front of him!!!!   He said that it surprised him so much that his oil pressure went up a few pounds and his temperature rose a little before he finally calmed back down.

I think Jim will let him go a little slower on the way back here to the CG from now on. There's lots of deer out and about this time of the year.

Did you know that North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation?

Plan "B" and A Few Photos

Moncure, NC

58 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny, high temp. 79 deg. W. wind @ 5 mph.


It rained most of the morning yesterday and while Jim was sitting outside under my awning and enjoying a cup of coffee, the phone rang.

It was Mike, calling from work, and he was wondering if it would be OK if Jim and Linda did not come over to his house for dinner. You see, he needed to go to some kind of business meeting at a restaurant and wouldn't be home until late.

Of course, Jim told him that would be fine, and he and Linda would see him and his family Friday night.

So, that meant that Jim and Linda would have to come up with a "Plan B".

While Jim was talking to Mike on the phone, the rain let up so he decided he'd try to get a few photos of the RV Park. This first one is of the entrance to the park.

This is a shot from near the entrance looking into one of the sections of the park. As you can see, there's not much vegetation in the area where the sites are located.

This is a photo of me in my site. That's a light pole right next to me, so I'm really lit up at night. ; )

By noon, the rain quit and it ended up being a very nice day. It was pretty warm though and the humidity was quite high, so other than hooking up the rest of my utilities, Jim didn't spend a whole lot of time outside.

Linda had gotten way behind with the laundry, so she spent much of the day trying to catch up.

Sometime during the afternoon, it was decided that for "plan B", they would go out for dinner instead of cooking here, so about 5:00, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Sanford, NC, and to the Brass Kettle Family Restaurant. They found this restaurant last year when we were here and the food and service were very good, so they decided to try it again.

And, again, they weren't disappointed. : )

It was about 7:00 by the time they returned, and soon after that, this is what they saw out of my windshield.

/Today, Linda wants to do more laundry and Jim says he has a few things he wants to do outside. And then of course, they'll head over to Mike and Gina's for dinner, and to visit some more.

Did you know that on this date in 1921 - The World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time? The game was between the New York Giants and the New York Yankees.

Forest City To Apex and Visiting With Mike And Gina

Moncure, NC

68 deg, mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy, high temp. 80 deg. W. wind @ 5 mph. 50% chance of rain


It was 10:10 by the time left Forest City yesterday morning and headed North on US 64. We followed 64 up to I-40 near Morganton. Then we followed 40 all the way over to Greensboro, where we turned off on I-73, took it down to I-85 and then took 85 east to US 421, where we turned SE on it and took it down to Sanford. At Sanford, we turned NE on US 1 and followed it up here to Moncure and the Dickens RV Park.

It was right at 2:00 when we pulled in, so it took us 3 hours and 50 minutes to travel 212 miles.

The Dickens RV Park is nothing special. Most of the sites are out in the open and there's no grass or trees anywhere near. I do, however, have full hook-ups with 50 amp electric and it's only costing about $15 per night with the Passport America discount. : )

For Jim and Linda, it's the best park to stay at while visiting Mike and his family.

It was really hot and muggy when we arrived yesterday, so after getting me positioned in my site, Jim just hooked me up to electric. Today, he'll hook up the rest of the utilities.

About 5:00 CLT (Cute Little Truck), took Jim and Linda over to Mike and Gina's house. Both Jim and Linda said that it was really good to see them and the grand kids again. It's been a year since we've been here and they both said that all 3 of the kids have really grown. : )

After a very nice meal, everyone visited for awhile and then about 8:00 CLT brought Jim and Linda back here to the park.

Both Jim and Linda were tired, so after watching some of the news, they headed to bed.

This evening, they'll be heading back over to Mike and Gina's again.

Did you know that Moncure once served ast the western-most inland port in North Carolina, linked all the way to the coast by steamships? 

A Great Visit

Forest City, NC

63 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = partly cloudy, high temp. 79 deg. SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.


I've been having a great time visiting with Big Herb. I think I've been able to pick up his spirits a little. Like I said, he's had to stay in his RV port for most of the summer, and now it sounds like he'll have to stay here all by himself through the winter. : (

There is some good news for him though. It sounds like Roland and Louise are planning on taking him on an extended trip to the Midwest next summer and he may even come and visit me in Rantoul! : )

Jim and Linda have been visiting with Roland and Louise these last 4 days. Louise had to go a doctor's appointment in Charlotte yesterday, but they weren't gone too long. Linda put together a casserole one night, but  Louise has made most of the meals with Linda bringing side dishes to contribute, and last night, Roland cooked brats and hot dogs on his grill.

They sure smelled good!!!!!! ; )

These last 5 days have really gone by fast and it's been great to see Roland, Louise and Big Herb again, but today, we'll be leaving here and heading for Apex, NC to see Mike and his family. (We'll be staying  at an RV Park in Moncure, NC. which is close to Apex).  In fact, Mike called yesterday to make sure we were still coming today and arrangements were made for Jim and Linda to head over to their house for dinner tonight.

Did you know that October is "National Popcorn Poppin' Month"?

Visiting With Roland And Louise And Big Herb

Forest City, NC

69 deg. cloudy, rain.

Forecast = Overcast with rain. High temp. 72 deg. NE wind @ 5 to 10 mph. 90% chance of rain.


I've been having Internet connection problems here at Roland and Louise's house. Most of the time I have a weak signal, but then all of a sudden I'll lose it completely.

So, this is just a short post to let you know that we're all having a great time visiting. (Jim and Linda with Roland and Louise, and me with Big Herb. : )

Jim took a few photos the other day. In the photo below, you can see me backed up to Big Herb's RV port. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you should be able to see him inside, right behind me.

Not much else to report. We're just visiting and enjoying each other's company.

Did you know that October is "National Chili Month"?