Day 1 Monday April 1, 2024
We needed a short break from our normal routine and also needed to test everything on/in the motorhome before we start traveling this Spring/Summer.
So we reserved 5 nights at Raleigh Oaks RV Resort in Four Oaks NC. This is near Four Oaks and Smithfield NC. We stayed here a few nights in 2022. It is nice RV Campground with all level gravel sites with all hookups in the correct location and all but the sites on either side are pull through sites. It still amazes me how unlevel some campgrounds leave their sites. The sites costs a little more than some campgrounds we stay at but we have noticed in the last couple of years that most campgrounds are raising their rates. We don’t mind paying a little more if the campground is nice but some charge the higher rates but do nothing to earn it.
This was the warmest day we have had this year so we got a chance to run the air conditioners but will probably have the heat on by Wednesday based on the weather forecast. But that gives us a chance to test them out.
We did get a Check and Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) to come on in the dash about 20 miles into the trip. I pulled into a parking lot to check the Fault Codes in the dash computer but there were none listed. So we went on to the campground. About 20 miles down the road the Check light went out but the MIL stayed on. The lights were amber in color not red so it was okay to continue to drive. I hope it was just a fluke since the motorhome has been setting since January 21st.
We got our lawn chairs out and set outside for a few hours and read on our iPads. Sure seems good to be outside in nice temperatures.
Day 2 Tuesday April 2, 2024
We decided to do some exploring today. When we go to the mountains we drive through some small towns after we exit I95 such as Angier and Lillington NC. We have never stopped since we can’t find anywhere to park the motorhome. We have seen some murals in Angier and wanted to photograph them. We try to take as many mural photographs as we can on our travels.
After checking Google Maps we found a coffee shop in Angier named “thanks a latte”. When we were traveling through Arizona in 2022 on the way to Alaska we stayed near a small town name Camp Verde and there was a really good coffee shop there named Thanks a Latte. We decided to try the one in Angier this morning. They make a good Latte and the Coffee Cake was also good. It is in one end of a large brick building. It is rather large compared to most coffee shops and for a small town on a Tuesday it was very busy.
After enjoying our coffee we walked around town and took some photos. This is a small town or at least the older downtown part is small but highway 210 runs through the downtown section and there is an unbelievable amount of traffic coming through town.
The farm land between I40 near McGees Crossroads and Angier onto Lillington is being gobbled up for housing projects and apartments at an amazing rate. We have been taking this route from I40 over to Highway 421 at Lillington to bypass Raleigh to get back on I40 in Greensboro on our way to Stone Mountain State Park for about 9 years and there has been a major transformation of the landscape.
We left Angier and drove past Lillington to checkout Raven Rock State Park. We have seen the road sign for the park as we travel highway 421 but not had a chance to checkout the park. We knew it had a campground but was not sure if it had large enough campsites for our motorhome. We were a little surprised to find out that they have 24 campsites and everyone one of them could handle two motorhomes the size of ours. But only 9 have full hookups (water, sewer and 50/30amp electric). All were level with gravel surface, large tent pad, picnic table and firepit. They also have 6 cabins that can be reserved. There is a baththouse but we were surprised there is not a dump station. Normally there is a dump station in state park campgrounds. If anyone with an RV reserves the sites that don’t have hookups they have nowhere to dump their holding tanks. I think the planners for this campground messed up with that decision. They have a sewage system because 9 sites are full hookup plus there is a bathhouse so why not have a dump station.
We checked out the Visitor Center which was really nice and then drove through some of the country roads before returning to Angier to eat at Ed’s Family Restaurant. We pass by it every trip through Angier and we thought it probably had good “comfort food”. And we were correct. The place was bussing with people and the cooks and waitresses were hopping. I got baked turkey with mashed potatoes and cucumbers/tomatoes. The plate had four large 1/4” thick slices of really tender turkey. I couldn’t eat but two of them so I got a takeout box. Lena got a large piece of meatloaf with blackeyed peas and coleslaw. She said it was delicious. Then we returned to the campground for the day.
Day 3 Wednesday April 3, 2024
We ventured into Selma this morning to visit Coffee on Raiford. We discovered this coffee shop in 2021 when we were camping near Selma and we have visited it several times since.
As we were leaving our campsite this morning I noticed a rabbit(s) had visited our site and left some “bunny honey” in two piles on the grass. I guess it didn’t read the rules about cleaning up any droppings.
A brother and sister team opened Coffee on Raiford after doing a major renovation on their part of the building in the old downtown section of Selma. It is just down the street from The Rudy Theater that has a variety of entertainers throughout the year. Jimmy Fortune will be here two nights later this month. And also the Malpass Brothers.
After enjoying our coffee we departed and went to the Carolina Pottery in the local outlet center. We got a few items, checked a shoe store for a pair of shoes I am looking for and then drove on through Smithfield. Many years ago I drove through Smithfield every Friday and Sunday night on my way to and from home from Raleigh where I worked at a drug wholesale supply company. I40 was not built at that time so I traveled highway 70 from Raleigh to Goldsboro and then onto home from there.
I was surprised to see a grill still in business in town on the main road through town that was there when I was going through Smithfield in 1967. I don’t know if the old mobile home they use now is the same as was used then but someone is still running a busy grill there. It is called Cricket’s Grill not sure if that is the original name. No inside dining, you just walk up to the window and place your order and eat standing up, sitting on one of the two benches or in your vehicle.
To give you an idea how times has changed when I worked at the drug wholesale company I was paid a small fee to deliver drug orders to drug stores in Wallace and Rose Hill when I went home for the weekend. I could leave the orders outside the drug store doors on Saturday morning. Sure wouldn’t be allowed to do that now.
It was getting close to lunch time and we wanted to checkout The Red Neck BBQ Lab near McGees Crossroads we had heard so much about. I order the 1/4 lb pulled pork and Lena ordered the 1/4 lb brisket. It lived up to all the good comments we had heard. Their pulled pork is really pulled pork not chopped by a machine like so many BBQ places. To me that ruins BBQ pork.
After stuffing ourselves we took the backroads back to the campground.
Day 4 Thursday 4/4/24
Lena wanted to try the new coffee shop, Bon Voyage Coffee Company, in the small town of Four Oaks this morning. They had good reviews but for us it is another “one and done”.
We have ridden by the Bentonville Battlefield turnoff on highway 701 past Newton Grove many times and never took the time to check it out until this morning. It was very interesting. The guide was just starting a tour of the Harper House when we got there. The Harper House was used by the Union Army as a field hospital during the battle. Over 500 wounded Union soldiers were treated at the house plus 45 Confederate Soldiers. The Harper family moved upstairs while their house was occupied by the Union Army as a hospital. The guide said it is rare to have an original building like this still standing that was used during the Civil War. He explained the triage that was used to treat the soldiers and showed us the medical instruments they used to do the amputations that was used to save as many lives as they could. The medical expertise during the Civil War was primitive compared to today. Basically if a soldier got a bad gunshot wound to an arm or leg the surgeons just amputated it and threw it out the window in a pile of other arms and legs. After being treated the patient was taken outside and placed on the ground to recuperate unless he was an officer then they were placed on the floor in one of the rooms of the house.
After the house tour, we toured the Visitor’s Center and watched a film about the Bentonville Battle. Then we followed the route of the driving tour that covers several miles. Most of the battlefields are on private land but there are pullovers and markers to mark the important areas.
After finishing the driving tour we went to Newton Grove and had a good lunch before returning to the campground.
Day 5 Friday April 5, 2024
We had a cooler night as predicted the first of the week. But the sun is out bright today which seems good. We didn’t do any exploring today, did a few minor things around the motorhome and just relaxed before heading home tomorrow.
Day 6 Saturday April 6, 2024
Cool again this morning. We got everything ready and departed the campground at 10AM and got home at 11:30AM. It was good to get away for a few days. We still have the MIL light on the dash. I will be looking for the cause in the next few days.
