Final trip of the year 2013

11/16/13 Saturday We decided to go to our river lot for few days and begin work on a small storage building that we need there. We departed about 10:30AM for the 22 mile drive. After setting up the MH I uploaded the building materials that I had loaded in the truck. We decided where we wanted to build the building and laid out the corners but decided to wait until Monday to begin digging the post holes. We set up our chairs on the river bank and read for a couple of hours before driving the truck back home so we could attend church Sunday morning.

11/17/13 Sunday We returned to the river lot about 5:30PM after attending church and visiting with some of Lena’s family. Her Aunt died Saturday afternoon so we will be attending the funeral on Tuesday.

11/18/13 Monday After our 1 mile walk and breakfast we got started on our storage building. I dug 10 post holes 2’ deep and poured concrete around them and then we added the 2 x 6 framing followed by the plywood floor. Then I installed a vent in the pump house to get some circulation in there to get some of the moisture out. The remainder of the day was relaxing and reading.

11/19/13 Tuesday We drove the truck home and I went to the local ACE Hardware store for building materials, then we went to Lena’s Aunt’s funeral.

11/20/13 Wednesday We decided to stay home today and go back to the river tomorrow so I prepared some used lumber I had so I could use it on the building we are building at the river.

11/21/13 Thursday We returned to the river about 10:30AM and had the walls finished by about 2:30PM. We will return in a few days when our son can help me install the rafters and get it ready for the sheeting. We relaxed by the river the remainder of the day and read. It was totally quite except for the birds singing and the sounds of leaves and acorns falling. We truly enjoy relaxing at our river lot.

11/22/13 Friday We did our morning walk, had our homemade fresh juice and breakfast and then packed up and headed home. This will be our last camping trip this year. When we got home I washed and dried the MH and then winterized it.

We have taken 6 trips in 2013 for a total of 81 nights and traveled just a little over 6,000 miles. One trip was for 33 nights and one was 27 nights.A

North Carolina Seafood Festival

10/3/2013 Thursday We departed home at 1PM and drove to Morehead City NC to attend the NC Seafood Festival as a vendor. We arrived approximately 3PM and setup the MH on a parking lot owned by Port City Motors. They let us and one more vendor park our motor homes on one of their lot for the weekend so we can walk over to our vendor spot. We don’t have any hookups but our MH is self contained.

10/4/2013 Friday After breakfast we drove the truck over to our assigned spot and unloaded to truck and then I returned the truck to the parking lot and walked back to our site and we setup everything up and were ready when the festival opened at 12 noon.

10/5/2013 Saturday The festival opened today at 10AM so we walked over to our spot about 9AM to get ready for the day.

10/6/2013 Sunday The festival opened today at 11AM so we walked over to our spot about 9:30AM to get everything ready. We had perfect weather all weekend and a large crowd so it was a good weekend. Plus we ate some great seafood from one of the vendor booths. We were supposed to leave here after the festival was over at 5PM and go to Cedar Island National Park Campground for 8 nights but with the US Government shutdown the park was closed. So we decided to stay one more night in Morehead City and leave early the next morning rather than driving part of the way home in the dark, plus we were both tired.

10/7/2013 Monday After breakfast we drove back home. This was the first time that we had dry camped since we had the residential refrigerator installed. We did not have any extra batteries installed so we were curious as to how they would hold up running the refrigerator all day while we were at the festival. I cranked the generator for about 2 hours in the morning while we prepared breakfast and got ready and then for 2-3 hours in the evening to keep the batteries charged and they did just fine. They never dropped below 12.2 volts even though we went between 10-11 hours between running the generator.

Marion NC

09/03/13 Tuesday We departed Cool Breeze CG at 7:08 AM and headed for Tom Johnson’s RV Sales and Campground in Marion NC to attend their Customer Appreciation Days. We arrived about 10:30AM and was assigned site S56. Then we took the MH over to the service center to get a state inspection done. There was a Flea Market going on as part of the Customer Appreciation Event so after getting the MH back we set it up and then setup a couple of tables of my woodcrafts and Lena set up a rack of her handmade scarfs.

09/04/13 Wednesday Happy 65th Birthday to Lena. We did our morning walk and had breakfast then setup our crafts again and some excess tow bar equipment. For lunch we drove to Marion to eat at the Countryside BBQ for Lena‘s birthday. We have ate there several times and they have really good food. Later in the day we packed up our crafts and stored them away. We had not sold one item. A flea market is just not the ideal places to sell handmade crafts. I did sell one piece of the tow bar stuff.

09/05/13 Thursday We did our 1 mile + morning walk and had our fresh made vegetable juice and then ate breakfast. We rode our bicycles around the sales lot and looked at a few of the motor homes just to see what they looked like. Later we rode the bicycles over to the service center lounge to use the free WiFi. Then we checked out some of the flea market stuff people had setting out for sale. The remainder of the day was relaxing until 7PM when the Troubadours began playing blue grass music at the pavilion. They are a local band and one member is the grandson of Tom Johnson.

09/06/13 Friday We did our morning walk and then rode our bicycles over to TJ’s Café for breakfast. I attended several of the free RV related seminars throughout the day. After supper we went to the pavilion for the evening entertainment by singer Emily Minor.

09/07/13 Saturday We did our morning walk and then we lined up for the breakfast provided by Tom Johnson’s RV Sales and Campground. It was amazing how fast they served the very large crowd. Later in the morning we went to the car show at the service center. There were some really nice restored old cars shown. The next thing on the agenda was the golf cart parade, then we went to the sales showroom for a magician show and bird of prey demonstration. A BBQ supper was provide by Tom Johnson’s RV followed by the evenings entertainment was provide to Too Much Sylvia. AT 9:30 there was a fireworks show to wrap up the Customer Appreciation weekend. We had a great time and the weather was almost perfect.

09/08/13 Sunday After breakfast we departed for home at 9:08AM and arrived about 3:30PM. It was a great trip.

Galax VA

08/25/13 Sunday We did our morning walk, had breakfast and left the CG about 10:30AM and headed to Cool Breeze CG near Galax, VA. It was only about 25 miles away. I registered and we selected site 42 and set up. It is a nice CG with 51 sites. It has several pull through sites. The roads and sites are all packed small pea gravel. The are all full hookup, cable TV and WiFi for $30 with FMCA discount.

08/26/13 Monday We did our morning walk through the Deer Creek RV Resort that is adjacent to our CG. This is a gated RV Resort with a small golf course and perfectly manicured grounds around the resort. After breakfast we drove to Fries to checkout Fries New River Campground. It is a small CG with only 14 sites. I had tried to get reservations here but they were booked but today there were only about three of the sites occupied but one of the campers told me there were fully booked for the weekend. It is a nice CG but the roads getting to the little town of Fries is rather crooked and a little narrow. We drove back to Galax and had lunch at Scoops, then walked around town and checked out a few to the shops that were open before returning to the CG.

08/27/13 Tuesday Happy 65th Birthday to Me. We did our normal morning walk of a little over 1 mile and then had breakfast. We drove to Galax and paid our $2 at the parking lot for the New River Trail. We road 5 ½ miles down the 57 mile route and then returned for a total of a 11 mile bike ride. The bike trail was created from the Norfolk-Southern railroad right-of-way and the part we rode ran beside the Chestnut Creek. It was a nice ride through some beautiful scenery. We returned to the CG, ate lunch, took a nap, then a shower and returned to Galax and ate dinner at the BBQ Smokehouse on Main street. The BBQ was okay, not the best I’ve had and the hushpuppies were pitiful. We walked down the street to the Stringbean Coffee Shop to listen to a bluegrass music jam session. One of the fiddle players saw me admiring his fiddle and he handed it to me to get a better look. He had made it from some fiddle back sassafras wood from West Virginia. It was a beautiful fiddle.

08/28/13 Wednesday We walked, had breakfast and left for a day trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our first stop was near milepost 204, Fancy Gap VA at the Peaceful Heart Alpacas Farm. This is a working Alpacas Farm that also has a store in an old farm house selling handmade products from the Alpaca fur. These are very gentle animals that have the most amazing feeling fur. The owners of the farm make many of the products they sell. I was able to get several photos of the animals. We exited at milepost 199 toward Hillsville to checkout Sunnyside Store, that is supposed to have everything. As I was getting out of the car and putting my glasses on the left lens fell out onto the parking lot. Lucky for me the screw stayed in the frame. I wondered where am I going to find a screwdriver tiny enough to turn the screw. We went inside and asked and they had an eyeglass repair kit for $1.50. How lucky for me. I guess they do have everything. Before we got back on the parkway we checked out a KOA campground. Then it was on to the Puckett Cabin exhibit, the home of Orleana Hawks Puckett at milepost 189.9. She was a famous midwife in the mountains and lived to over 100 years and helped in the delivery of over 1000 babies. She also had 24 children herself but all died in their infancy. From there we checked out Meadows of the Dan Campground near milepost 177.7 before stopping at the Mabry Mill Restaurant for lunch. After lunch we toured the mill and all the authentic building that the Park Service has moved to the site of the mill to depict life in the early years. The mill’s waterwheel still turns but the machinery inside is not hooked up to work. The mill was used as a sawmill, grist mill and wheelwright shop. I am a wood turner so was surprised to see a water powered wood lathe that was used in making of cart wheels. Then it was on to milepost 165.2 to the Harvest Moon Food Store in Floyd. After we left they we headed back to the CG but stopped and checked out Daddy Rabbit Campground. We had a great day on the parkway, did not like any of the campgrounds we checked out but saw some incredible scenery along the parkway. Over time we have driven most of the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway but had not driven this section.

08/29/13 Thursday After our normal morning routine we drove South on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stopped at the Brinegar Cabin and then rode thorough Doughton Park Campground at milepost 238. It is a National Park CG without any hookups or facilities  except for restrooms. Most of the sites are too small or unlevel for us but we think we could get into sites A9, A12, A19 and A20. From there we drove on South exiting the parkway at milepost 247 to checkout Miller’s Camping. We didn’t even bother to drive through the CG even though it is just off the parkway. Most of the sites were filled up with seasonal campers. Then we exited at milepost 248 and drove several miles to get to RiverCamp USA CG right beside the New River. It is in a great location but it is not somewhere we would camp. Most of the sites were bumpy and lumpy, the roads through the CG were a mess of potholes and just not appealing at all. Too bad considering the location. It could be a prime campground if it was done right but they probably get people that want to canoe or kayak the New River so they get plenty of business as is. From there we meandered through the mountains to West Jefferson where we stopped at the Hillbilly Grill and had a “Possum Sandwich”. No, not really - it was a Filly steak sandwich with beef- we think. After lunch we meandered back to the parkway and returned to our CG for a bowl of ice cream and reading.

08/30/13 Friday We skipped our morning walk, knowing we would make up for it later in the morning. So we had breakfast and drove North down the Blue Ridge Parkway and exited at milepost 199 for Hillsville VA. During the weekend of Labor Day the VFW puts on what is know as the world’s largest Flea Market. It runs from Friday through Monday. We parked and began walking through it. The VFW area had paved walking lanes between all the vendor booths but across the town street it was gravel walking areas. Lena purchased some Alpaca material to make her a scarf from the lady that we talked to on Wednesday at the Alpaca farm. I purchased a cell phone case to replace the one that tore up Wednesday. After about 3 hours of walking we left, stopped to check out another campground, had lunch and returned to the motor home. A few hours later we drove into Galax and attending a music event that was being broadcast live on 98.1 FM radio from the historic Rex Theater. The Java Brothers were playing bluegrass music. Several of the audience got up and flat foot danced.

08/31/13 Saturday We walked, had breakfast and drove about 45 miles to Grayson Highlands State Park just past Mouth of Wilson VA. The Albert Hash Memorial Bluegrass Festival was going on from 10AM to 7PM. Several bands played for 1 hour each. It rained lightly for awhile and the temperature dropped several degrees on the mountain, so we left about 3:30PM, checked out the campground on the way out. It is a nice campground but mostly for travel trailers, popups and tents. We could get in sites 72 and 73 okay but probably will not come back. Highway 58 up the mountain is really curvy and a fairly good climb. It is a pretty park with lots of walking trails and they have a separate campground for people with horses also.

09/01/13 Sunday Today was mostly a day of relaxing, so after our morning walk and a breakfast of pancakes we relaxed, read and Lena washed a couple loads of clothes. Then we took an afternoon walk in between a couple of rain showers. I did a little battery maintenance by topping off the water levels in the house batteries.

09/02/13 Monday We did our morning walk had breakfast, then went into Galax to get some groceries. Later we took a ride through some of the country roads along the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw some really beautiful mountain/valley views. Later in the day I packed up all the stuff I could in preparation for an early Tuesday morning departure.

09/03/13 Tuesday We departed the CG at 7:08 AM and headed for Tom Johnson’s RV and Campground in Marion NC to attend their Customer Appreciation Days.

Mt. Airy NC

08/18/13 Sunday We woke up to a gentle drizzle. After breakfast we began to prepare the MH for departure and our trip to Mt Airy, NC. We arrived at Mayberry Campground at 12:30PM and checked in. We were allowed to choose our site from any that was available, so we chose site 12 a pull through that was on the edge of a hill over looking most of the campground. This is a nice campground with full hookup, cable tv and wifi and is laid out in terraces due to the hilly land. There are several long pull through sites which would make it easy for an overnight stay. It is about 3 miles from Mt Airy NC and easy to get to from I74. It is owned by descendants of the Siamese Twins Eng and Chang Bunker and build on Bunker property.

08/19/13 Monday We woke to a light rain. After breakfast we drove the few miles to Historic Downtown Mt. Airy. We parked at the Post Office parking lot as suggested by our campground host and walked the streets. We checked out several of the open businesses. Most of them are named “Mayberry xxxx” using the fame of the Andy Griffith TV program. We worked our way back to the Snappy Lunch for their famous Pork Chop Sandwich. Then we drove to the World’s largest open face granite quarry and then to Andy Griffith Museum. Later we went back downtown for a Latte and Apple Turnover. After stopping by Andy Griffith’s boy home we returned to the campground for the remainder of the day. We were surprised how large the town of Mt Airy is. They have a very active downtown business community. Some of it caters to the tourist trade but not in a tacky way.

08/20/13 Tuesday We walked a mile around the CG and had breakfast, then drove about 20 miles to checkout Pilot Mountain State Park. The CG was being worked on so we could not see all of it. They are running some new waterlines and possibly moving the CG Host site to site 2. This would be a better place for the host site as it is the first one on the left entering the CG and now the host site is site 40 which is all the way around the back side of the loop. We got an application to fill out for campground host. We drove up to the parking lot at the Big Pinnacle (the top of Pilot Mountain) and walked the .8 mile long trail around the pinnacle. The views from there over the countryside below was just beautiful.

Then we headed for Hanging Rock State Park, stopping on the way in the small town of King, NC and the most unusual looking Dario fast food restaurant for lunch. The front looked like a very large drink cup with two straws sticking out the top. After a nice lunch we drove onto Hanging Rock State Park. We drove around the CG and stopped and talked to the campground host and one of the rangers. I gave him our name, address and telephone numbers and he is going to have the ranger that handles volunteer host send us an application. Of the two parks we think we would like Hanging Rock the best, It is a little larger CG and the host site is better. They also have a small lake with a beach for swimming and canoeing. Neither Pilot Mountain or Hanging Rock State Park could accommodate a large RV without some careful maneuvering. We returned to our CG and took a shower and relaxed until it was time to drive back into Mt Airy to listen to a music jam session of local musicians at the Earle Theater.

08/21/13 Wednesday After our walk and breakfast we drove to Stone Mountain State Park and then to New River State Park and then to Jefferson Mountain Natural Area. We really like the Stone Mountain State Park and will be submitting an application to work there as a Campground Host. It has one section that has water and electric hookups and two sections that do not. We liked most of the section B sites but took note of sites, 40-42, 47, 55, 65, 68 and 75. We had a nice talk with the lady in the visitor center and she gas us the application to submit and explained the duties of a host at the park. The CG at New River State park was ok but we don’t plan to submit an application for it. Even if we don’t get selected to work at Stone Mountain we plan to come back and camp there in 2014. On the way from Stone Mountain to New River we stopped in Sparta and ate at Brown’s Restaurant and it was excellent.

08/22/13 Thursday After our walk and breakfast, we walked up to the CG office to use the WIFI to get on the Internet. The WIFI signal at our site is to weak most of the time to use it. Later in the morning we drove a few miles down the road past Dobson to the Shelton Winery and vineyards. The winery was started in 1999 and is located on a former dairy farm. We paid $5 each for a short tour of the facilities and then had a wine tasting. We purchased two bottles of their Riesling. Riesling was one of our favorite wines when we lived in Germany. After the tasting we ate dinner at the Harvest Gill next door to the winery. The food was very good. Then we returned to the CG and relaxed until 6:30 when we drove back into Mt Airy and attended another jam session at the Earle Theater on Main St. They were playing/singing mostly gospel songs with a few pop songs thrown in. When we left 9PM there was a blue grass jam session going on down the street outside in an patio setting that the town has. We listen to their music for awhile before going back to the CG.

08/23/13 Friday We did our morning walk and had breakfast. Then we drove over to Stuart VA to checkout Dominion Valley Park where a Gospel Singing event is held the last weekend in August. We drove through some pretty country. After checking it out we drove back to the CG and relaxed and read the remainder of the day.

08/24/13 Saturday We did our normal morning routine and about 10:30AM we drove to Mt Airy and attended a live radio show at the Earle Theater from 11AM to 1:30PM that was being broadcast over WPAQ AM radio. The first group was The Gospel Plowboys. They were very good so we bought their CD. They were followed by Rich in Tradition playing Blue Grass and Gospel. So for $5 admission we got 2 ½ hours of live music. And we could of also toured the Andy Griffith Museum included in the $5 but we had already toured that. After the show was over we ate lunch at Barney’s Café. And then went down the street and bought coffee and two very large muffins with berries and peaches and sat at a table provided by the town right beside the street enjoyed our dessert. Before returning to the CG we stopped at an Organic Grocery store to pick up a few items.

08/25/13 Sunday We did our morning walk, had breakfast and left the CG about 10:30AM and headed to Cool Breeze CG near Galax, VA. It was only about 25 miles away. I registered and selected back-in site 42 and set up. It is a nice CG with 51 sites. It has several pull through sites. The roads and sites are all packed pea gravel with grass between the sites. They are all full hookup, cable TV and WiFi.

Marion NC

8/12/13 Monday We departed at 6:30AM and headed to Marion NC to attend the 39th North Carolina Bluegrass and Gospel Festival. We arrived at Tom Johnson’s RV Sales and Campground in Marion NC app. 2:30PM. We checked in at the office and set up in site 35 in the Service Center Campground. This is our third time attending this event and the first time to get a site in the Service Center Campground. These sites are all paved and have 50AMP FHU but are a little father from the pavilion where the concert is held but an easy bicycle ride. The prior two years we were in the Rally Park which is just across the road where the Pavilion is located. After supper we rode our bicycles around the Rally park and campground for awhile.

08/13/13 Tuesday We did our morning walk and then walked over to TJ’s Café at the service center for breakfast. They have a very good Café and the food is really reasonable. Two eggs scrambled, bacon or sausage and biscuit and gravy with coffee is $4.00. After breakfast we drove about 70 miles to check out Lake Norman State Park near Troutman NC. We wanted to check out the campground for a possible Workamping job. It is a nice 33 site state park on a large lake but we did not like the Host Site at all. It was the only site in the park that was not paved and it was gravel and not level and there were large pine trees that surrounded the area where our MH would have to set and we don’t want any pine tree sap on it. Then we took a leisurely drive back to Marion on Hwy 70.

Our friends from Florida (Hugh and Pat) arrived about mid afternoon and set up their motor home. We all drove into Marion for supper at the Countryside Restaurant that we had ate at last year. We all ordered their pulled BBQ. It was really good.

08/13/13 Wednesday As usual we did our morning walk and then ate breakfast. Then relaxed and rode our bicycles some around the CG. We invited Hugh and Pat over for supper and talked until bedtime.

08/14/13 Thursday thru Saturday 08/17/13 The festival started today at 12 noon and usually ended around 10:30PM each night. We all really enjoyed the music and singing. It began to drizzle rain mid afternoon on Saturday and continued until Sunday morning as we were preparing to depart for our next destination, Mt. Airy, NC. We said good by to Hugh and Pat as they were leaving the same time we were.

Tampa Florida and Georgia Trip

06/25/13 Tuesday We departed home at 7AM heading to Tampa Florida to the 2013 American Association of Woodturners Symposium. We stopped for breakfast at McDonalds. We arrived at Coastal RV Resort in Brunswick GA at 3:00PM for an overnight stay in site 709. We quickly setup the coach and relaxed after 8 hours of travel. Later we got a fairly bad electrical storm and some rain but it didn’t last long. Lena’s sister called to let her know that her mother had fallen in the yard and broken her hip and was in the hospital and was going to have to have surgery. Her sister told her everything was under control and there was no need for us to return home at this time.

06/26/13 Wednesday We departed the CG at 8:30AM and headed for Lazydays CG in Seffner Florida (just outside of Tampa). We arrived, checked in and was setup by 2:30PM. After a few hours of relaxing we drove across the CG to the nearby Cracker Barrel for supper. While we were eating another electrical storm with lots of rain came up but it did cool the temperature down some.

06/27/13 Thursday We walked about 1.5 miles around the CG and then drove over to the Main Building on the Lazydays complex for breakfast. They provide free breakfast and lunch with the campsite every day except Sunday and lunch on the day of checkout. The three days I am at the symposium I will not be able to take advantage of the free meals. Later in the day we drove into Tampa so I could pick up my registration package and meet with some of my fellow club members.

06/28-30/13 Friday-Sunday I attended the symposium starting at 8AM each day. Lena stayed at the CG Friday but she went with me on Saturday as we were both attending the banquet and auction on Saturday night. There were some amazing pieces of wood art at the event. The woodturning club that I am a member of, Wilmington Area Woodturners Association won the Collaborative Chapter Challenge, Best of Show and Fantasy awards with our entry.

07/01/13 Monday After breakfast we did a little shopping. It continued to rain off and on all day and night as it has since we got here.

07/02/13 Tuesday It rained off and on all night so I was not looking forward to getting ready to leave in the rain. I got up about 6AM and got everything ready to leave during a break in the rain. Then we pulled the MH around to the parking lot and hooked up the car and took the Lazydays trolley over to the café in the main building. We departed about 8:45 and arrived at George L Smith State Park in Georgia about 5PM. I checked in and unhooked the car and we drove to the camping area to select our site. The lady in the office was the most unhelpful CG attendant I think I have every dealt with. We selected site 21 and got the MH and setup it up and while we were eating supper it rained hard for about 10 minutes and got the grounds really wet. I wish we could send some of this rain to Arizona and Colorado where they are having so many wildfires.

07/03/13 Wednesday We did our morning walk and had breakfast and later rode our bicycles to the old mill/covered bridge that is near the campground office. The mill was once a sawmill, gristmill and cotton gin for the community. It was built in the late 1800’s and is still in good condition. The water from the 414 acre lake was rushing across the dam and flowing down the 15 mile creek on the other side of the mill. It rained off and on during the day so we couldn’t do much outside. I did try my luck at some fishing at the edge of the lake behind our campsite but did not have any luck.

07/04/13 Thursday We did a few laps around the CG before breakfast and then set our chairs up outside to do some reading. But about every hour a rain shower would blow through and we would have to put the chairs up and go inside until the rain cleared out. Around 4PM I put a rack of ribs in the dutch oven to cook for supper. It rained a little during the time I was cooking but was able to finish them but we had to eat inside since the picnic table was wet.

07/05/13 Friday We drove into Swainsboro to McDonalds to get a biscuit and Latté for breakfast and use their WiFi. The signal in the CG is kind of weak and with the rainy weather I can’t get much use out of it. Then we bought some peaches at a road side stand and went to Walmart to get some groceries. We returned to the CG and I lit the grill and cooked some chicken for lunch while it rained. After lunch the sun came out and it was clear the remainder of the day except for a few sprinkles, so I made a campfire and we grilled hot dogs for supper after we had a mid afternoon snack of fresh Georgia peaches and yellow pound cake and whip cream. Later we rode our bicycles for a couple of miles and then retired for the day.

07/06/13 Saturday We did our morning walk and had breakfast. It just sprinkled rain a couple of times today so we were able to sit outside most of the day and read and relax. I grilled steaks for lunch. Most of our fellow campers packed up and departed today.

07/07/13 Sunday We had breakfast after Lena did her morning walk and then we drove about 10 miles toward Swainsboro and attended church at Old Canoochee Primitive Baptist Church. We spotted the church on our way to Swainsboro on Friday.  We were warmly welcomed by the members and Elder Tommy Roundtree and were invited to stay and have lunch with them in the fellowship hall. The church was constituted in 1818. We talked to a lady that was a member there that was in her late 80’s. She remembered riding in a horse drawn wagon there with her parents when she was a child. After a delicious meal at the church we returned to the CG and put away some of our items in preparation for leaving on Monday.

07/08/13 Monday We had breakfast and departed the CG about 8:30AM and departed for home, arriving safely home about 4PM.

N. E. Cape Fear River - 3

06/02/13 Sunday About 3:30PM we returned to our river lot for a few days. We took the farm trailer with the lawn mower and garden cart so I could mow the grass and then on Tuesday we are scheduled to get a pallet of centipede grass sod to place around the area where we park and set. I mounted a bench on the boat dock so we would have someplace to set when on the dock without having to take a chair.

06/03/13 Monday After breakfast I mowed the grass on the lot and the road coming into the lot. Then we trimmed a few of the small trees that were in the way of the MH coming in. Just after we had finished we got the first rain that we have had in 2-3 weeks. Maybe this will help the sod to grow when we put it down tomorrow.

06/04/13 Tuesday After breakfast we drove to the turf farm and picked up the pallet of centipede sod. It had 500 sq. ft. of sod on it. It looked like really good sod and was still moist from the rain yesterday. We returned to the lot and I used our Mantis tiller to till up each area where we placed the pieces of sod. There was almost 200 pieces of sod on the pallet. After getting it all in place we watered it really good. Then Lena went to a blueberry farm for two boxes of nice blueberries. I took a shower and relaxed under the shade trees on the river bank for awhile and read some before I got out the Dutch Oven and cooked a rack of  ribs for supper.

06/05/13 Wednesday I watered the new grass sod again, we had breakfast and then prepped everything and headed home. Just before we departed Lena said “it sure is nice here” and I agreed with her. We enjoy our time at the river.

N.E. Cape Fear River - 2

05/22/13 Wednesday After lunch we packed some food and a few yard tools, loaded the golf cart on the trailer and returned to the river lot for a few days. We moved the MH onto the parking pads that Robby and I made last week. They are going to work okay it looks like. I positioned the MH on the pads and they are level so I lowered the jacks in place and we finished setting up the MH. I had some dirt left over from making the pads so I scattered it out in some low spots in the yard, then Lena and I planted some iris tubers that she had dug up at the house. Then we relaxed and read for awhile before supper.

05/23/13 Thursday After Lena did her morning walk and we had breakfast we drove to town to get some groceries and then we went over to McDonalds and I got a Latte and we both got a dessert before driving back to the river lot. We temporarily installed a drop down screen onto our awning to check for fit and size. We took it down so Lena can adjust the size. The remainder of the day was just relaxing on the river bank and reading.

05/24/13 Friday Robby, Levi, our 4 year old grandson and Gregory Halso, Robby’s friend came with their boats to do some fishing early this morning. After breakfast I got my fishing gear and set on the dock and fished for awhile but did not have any bites. Later in the day Amber, our daughter-in-law arrived for the weekend with Jackson, our 7 year old grandson.

05/25/13 Saturday We awoke to a cool 49 degrees this morning after a cool front came through. Robby cooked sausage on the grill and then we cooked scrambled eggs in a skillet over the camp fire while Amber cooked biscuits in their camper. Later we fished off the dock but still no luck. For lunch Lena and Amber did the prep work for Hobo Hot Dogs and I cooked them over the campfire on a grate. This was the first time I had tried this and they were very good. You prepare the hotdog like you are ready to eat it, then you wrap each hotdog in aluminum foil and cook it over the campfire. Then we had brownies and ice cream. After lunch Gregory returned from a church trip and he and Robby set some catfish lines and fished for perch for a few hours before returning to camp to cook Gregory’s famous fish stew for supper. We all, except Jackson and Levi filled up on it and then set by the fire for awhile before bedtime.

05/26/13 Sunday After breakfast we all loaded up in Robby and Amber’s van and drove to our church (Muddy Creek Primitive Baptist Church). After church and communion, the congregation had dinner in the fellowship hall. Then we returned to the river lot for a relaxing afternoon while setting by the campfire. After a supper of leftovers I got the TV out of the basement and set it up near the campfire so we could watch the NASCAR race at Charlotte.

05/27/13 Monday Robby cooked hash browns and onions over the campfire while Lena cooked eggs in the MH for breakfast. Afterwards we relaxed by the river until a lunch of more leftovers. Then Robby and Gregory dressed 5 catfish they had caught earlier. One was over 32” long. The afternoon of sitting by the river and watching a few boats come by was very relaxing but all good things much come to an end so we gathered up our things while Robby and Gregory got their boats out of the water and departed for home. Lena and I decided to leave the MH and go home. We are hoping to get some centipede sod in a day to two to put down on the lot to improve the grass. We all had a great relaxing weekend.

N.E. Cape Fear River - 1

05/12/2013 Sunday After church and going out to eat for Mother's Day with Lena's mother and family and our son and his family, we departed about 4:45PM for our river lot to stay a few days and build 4 wood/concrete pads for the wheels and jacks to sit on. We were having trouble with the jacks sinking into the dirt when we set up, so I decided to make parking pads to stop that and make setting up just a little easier. I had built the forms at home in the shop so we have to dig the holes for them, get them level and then mix and pour the concrete. Lena followed me in the truck with all the tools, etc. We arrived and were set up by 6PM.

05/13/2013 Monday   Our son Robby arrived just as we were having breakfast. After I ate Robby and I started to work on the pads about 8:30AM. By 4PM we had finished the pads. We mixed 51 40lb bags of Sakrite in a wheelbarrow using a garden hoe. Lots of work but we didn’t have access to a concrete mixer. After Robby left for home I spread out some of the excess dirt from the holes and burnt the bags the concrete came in.

05/14/2013 Tuesday    After breakfast I finished spreading the excess dirt and cleaned up around the new pads and then used the weed eater to trim where I couldn’t mow last week. The remainder of the day was reading and relaxing.

05/15/2013 Wednesday    After breakfast we packed everything, closed the slides and departed for home but left the MH on site as we are returning next Tuesday or Wednesday for the Memorial Day weekend. The concrete should be cured by then so we will move the MH onto the pads and see if they work as planned. Our son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons will be coming also with their travel trailer for the weekend.

Multi-State Trip Last Leg

04/28/2013 Sunday  After leaving Nashville, TN we drove to Tom Johnson’s CG in Marion, NC arriving about 3:45PM. We were in site 27. We drove almost the entire way in rain, some hail, fog and with lots of 18 wheelers on the road. There was a 16 mile stretch of road before we got to the North Carolina state line that was very winding and the speed limit for trucks was 50 MPH and they had to stay in the right lane. I also stayed in the right line and drove between 50-55MPH due to the rain, fog and curves. The speed limit for cars was 55MPH. Near the end of this stretch we pulled into a rest stop to take a short nature break. I had the CB radio on and there was a trucker that was cussing me up a blue streak because (according to him) I didn’t let him pass and was trying to race him. I thought it was kind if funny since I was driving the speed limit and he was not supposed to even be passing in that stretch. Oh, well he will just have to deal with it.

04/29/2013 Monday We walked across the CG to TJ’s Grill at Tom Johnson’s Service Center and had breakfast. Afterwards we returned to the MH and dumped the tanks and departed for home, arriving about 3:30PM. We had a great trip and were thankful for a safe trip without too many problems.

We drove a total of 3,432 miles and stayed 33 nights on the road. The Motor Home performed flawlessly. We did get a rock chip in the windshield that will be repaired on May 3rd.

Multi-State Trip Leg 7

04/23/2013 Tuesday We arrived at the Two Rivers Campground in Nashville, TN at noon and set up on site 110. The streets and sites are gravel and the sites have a small concrete patio pad with a picnic table. After getting setup we went back to the office and had them get reservations for us for Saturday night at the Grand Ole Opry. Then we walked next door to the Camping World Store to get a few items.

04/24/2013 Wednesday We got up to wind and rain, had breakfast and Lena washed clothes as we waited for the weather to clear. By the time we had lunch the weather had cleared so we drove into Nashville and visited the Country Music Hall of Fame. We had to pay $10 for parking and $40 for the Hall of Fame but it was very interesting and much more to see than when we came many years ago when it was in a much smaller facility. We returned to the CG and had supper while another load of clothes washed.

04/25/2013 Thursday After breakfast we drove about 45 miles to Marci Jo’s Mealhouse in Pottsville, TN about 20 miles from Franklin, TN. We had planned to eat lunch there but they were closed for renovation. This is owned by Joey and Rory’s sister Marci. Joey and Rory are country singers that we have seen on TV. The building is just a small old country general store that has been converted to a county eating place. Since they were closed we drove to Franklin and had lunch at H.R.H Dumplins on Maint St. We just stumbled on it beside the parking lot were we parked. I had Poppy See Chicken Casserole with garden salad and Lena had Chicken and Dumplins with a garden salad. They give you some of the largest yeast rolls I have ever seen and man were they good as was the other food and the servings were generous and the price was reasonable. $23 with tip and ice tea for me. We departed Franklin and headed back to Nashville, stopping at Opry Mills Mall and walked through it and got some batteries for the tire monitors and Lena got a Ninja Juicer. Then we returned to the campground for the remainder of the day.

04/25/2013 Friday After breakfast we drove into Nashville to the fair grounds to check out their flea market. It was huge. We walked over most of it for 3 hours and still did not see it all. We bought one item. We departed and stopped at McDonalds to get a Swiss Mushroom Burger. This is about the only thing we buy at McDonalds except an occasional Latte. When we sat down the local news was on the TV and they announced that the country music singer George Jones had died about 9:30AM. We returned to the CG and relaxed and read for the remainder of the day.

04/26/2013 Saturday We woke up to rain, which messed up our plans to go back to Franklin (also where George Jones lives) to their Spring Street Festival. We had breakfast and watched the news and watched it rain. We drove up the street to Caney Fork Restaurant for lunch. It has a rustic type of interior with a waterfall and fishpond inside and lots of stuffed animals, hunting/fishing type of décor and very good food and service. They brought us two trays of what they called fritters with powered sugar over them. They looked like southern hushpuppies but tasted more like a doughnut - either way they were very tasty. We finished lunch and went over to the Ernest Tubb Record Shop to check it out and get some CDs that are hard to find in most record shops at home.The tour bus that Ernest Tubb used from 1971 to 1977 was on display inside and was open to go inside. They put 3 million miles on it during the 6 years they drove it. It sure looked kind of rustic compared to todays tour buses. We returned to the CG and I packed up some of our stuff in the rain to get a head start on our departure on Sunday. Later met the bus at the CG office at 5:30PM that was to take us to the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry house was not but about 3 miles away but for $10 for both of us, they picked us up, dropped us off at the door and picked us up after the show an dropped us off at the CG and we did not have to fight the Opry traffic. The Opry was good as usual.

04/28/2013 Sunday  We ate breakfast and finished packing up and let the CG at 7:45AM.

Multi-State Trip Leg 6

04/19/2013 Friday Brandon finished washing and waxing the coach at 1 PM and we hooked up the toad and drove to Davy Crockett State Park  just outside Laweranceburg TN which is a few miles from the Natchez Trace Parkway. We began to set up in site 19 in campground 1 when I found that the water hydrant for the site had a hole in the water pipe. I contacted the host and they tried to do a temporary fix but was unable to, so the host gave me permission to put a “Y” on site 18 water hydrant until they can fix the bad hydrant. We went to the restaurant in the park. It was okay - I gave it a 2 on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best. I checked out the other sites in campground 1 and decided that sites 12, 17-20 are about the only ones that can handle our size MH. The park is really pretty and we are backed up to Shoal Creek which is about 1 foot deep with water gurgling over some rocks. Very peaceful.

04/20/2013 Saturday We had a cold night as the heater ran off and on all night. We had breakfast and drove to Walmart to get a few items and then drove down the Natchez Trace Parkway and visited several sites, including Meriwether Lewis Campground and the Meriwether Lewis memorial where he died and was buried. The campground is free and has 33 sites, none with hookups but all were nice, mostly level and most were large enough for our MH. There are water hydrants scattered around the CG but not to hookup to. If we are in the area again we will probably use this campground if we are traveling the Trace. All the restrooms were new. We drove on down the parkway and stopped at the Fall Hollow waterfall. Then it was on to a Tobacco Farm location. From here we drove down two miles of the old trace road and then got back on the highway and drove to Jackson Falls. It was down a long paved path and was beautiful. We drove back up the parkway and exited to drive across some of the local roads, stopping in Ethridge to eat a late lunch at The Red Rooster. There are about 300 old order Amish families living in this area and we saw a few of them riding their buggies down the road. We would have got some of their bread but most had already closed there roadside stands because it was mid afternoon.We returned to the campground and read for the remainder of the day.

04/21/2013 Sunday It was rather cold again tonight. We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then we walked a trail along the Shoal Creek looking for Crockett Falls. A little over 1.5 miles of climbing up and down hills we finally found it and the covered bridge that was on our park map. We decided to return by the road and not the trail. Finally after 4.2 miles we got back to the camp site and had lunch and then watched the Nascar Race. Later we called and talked to Jackson (our oldest grandson) and wished him a Happy 7th Birthday and then we relaxed and read until supper.

04/22/2013 Monday After breakfast we drove into Lawenceburg to use the WiFi at McDonalds and then to Walmart to get a few groceries followed by a stop at a indoor flea market. The cell phone sign is not very strong  in the CG so my "hotspot" is not working very good. We returned to the CG and I cooked some chicken legs on the grill. Later we relaxed and read for awhile before I make a campfire later in the day. I put away some of our things to get a head start on leaving tomorrow. The new residential refrigerator and new microwave/convection that Brannon installed is working great. It is so nice to have water and ice in the door like at home and food that is not spoiled.

04/23/2013 Tuesday After breakfast we finished packing up, dumped the holding tanks and headed for Nashville about 8:45AM. If was a nice drive down the remainder of the Natchez Trace Parkway, very little traffic and we saw 24 wild turkeys out by the roadside

Multi-State Trip Leg 5

04/16/2013 Tuesday  We had a nice peaceful drive down the Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway runs from Natchez MS 444 miles to Nashville TN. We exited about milepost 298 and drove through Red Bay AL to the Custom RV shop owned by Brannon Hutcheon. After getting setup at his shop we went to Belmont to eat supper since most of our food has spoiled in the refrigerator. We will be glad when it is replaced with the residential refrigerator.

04/17/2013 Wednesday After breakfast we drove to Red Bay, browsed through McKinny's RV supplies warehouse, then we went to the Tiffin Factory to take the tour. After lunch we visited the Tiffin campground store and the scratch and dent store where Lena found the door awning end cap we needed. We returned to Brannon's shop and he began working on the mods for our MH about 3 PM. By 6PM he had installed a motion sensor LED light over the entry door, cleaned the air conditioner coils, replaced the microwave/convection oven, replaced the one flourescent  light remaining in the ceiling, calibrated the leveling jacks, installed new and much stronger windshield wiper arms and blades

04/18/2013 Thursday We ate breakfast and got the MH ready for Brannon at 7AM to begin installing our new Whirlpool residential refrigerator and 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter. He finished at 1:30PM. Brannon and his helpers did a very good job. We put all the remaining food that was still good in the new refrigerator and then drove about 20 miles to visit the Coon Dog Cemetery. The only one in the world. Then we went to the Rattle Snake Saloon for one of the best hamburgers we have ever had. The saloon is built under a large rock/cave looking place. They drive you down the hill in the back of a pickup truck. Afterwards we returned to the MH to wait for the impending storm that was coming our way. The storm provided LOTS of rain and high winds but no tornadoes, We brought the slides in prior to going to bed to protect the slide covers and help stabilize the motor home. The wind did not rock the MH very much.The new refrigerator was down to 36 degrees and had a full bin of ice when we got up. What a nice improvement from the "not so cold" Norcold.

04/19/2013 Friday We ate breakfast and drove the MH to Ricky Johnson’s house just outside of Red Bay to get it washed and polished at 9AM. While Brandon was doing this we drove back to Red Bay to get a latte at McDonalds and to use the free WiFi and pick up a few groceries.

Multi-State Trip Leg 4

04/09/2013 Tuesday  The trip across Texas to La Vernia was very windy with winds hitting us from the side of the MH most of the way causing the driving to not be as pleasant as I would have liked but we didn't have any major traffic problems even going around Houston. We arrived about 2:30PM and parked the MH under my brother's pole barn and set it up.

04/10/2013 Wednesday It rained lightly and was rather cool so we did not do much today except I tried to determine why the portable ice maker would not work but I failed to determine the problem. After lunch we all went to the H.E.B. store to get a few groceries.

04/11/2013 Thursday After breakfast Lena and I went shopping for a Digital to Analog Audio Converter for the front TV so the sound would play through the sound system. Then we met my brother and his wife and grandson for a seafood lunch at the Dixie Grill in Seguin. After lunch we returned and installed the sound converter and relaxed/read for awhile before supper.

04/12/2013 Friday After breakfast we all went to San Antonio and visited the River Walk. After walking for awhile we stopped at Casa Rio Restaurant on the river and had a great lunch of Mexican food. Then we walked along the river some more, visited a gift shop and then stopped at another restaurant across the river and had Fried Ice Cream. We were all tired of walking so we headed back to the ranch and relaxed the remainder of the day.

04/13/2013 Saturday At 7 AM we all went to Brietzke Station, a local grill for some very good breakfast tacos and coffee where we met several men that come in early for breakfast. Brietzke Station has a long history in the community, starting out as a car dealer ship and garage in the early 1900's. Now it is the gathering place for the locals to eat and catch up on the community news. Then we took a walk around part of Conrad’s ranch followed by a light lunch. After lunch we drove over to Wilson county to a Shrimp and Crawfish Boil at Kicaster Country Store that is owned by my nephew. Cher La ‘Bas (a Cajun/Tex) band was playing/singing Cajun music. The food was great and the music was good also.  This was our first time eating crawfish.

04/14/2013 Sunday We departed Conrad’s house at 7AM and went to their church for early church at 8AM followed by a small breakfast in the fellowship hall. Then we departed at 9:30AM to head back to Niblett’s Bluff Park in Vinton, LA. About 7 miles down the road a lady pulled up beside us to tell us the front tires on the Toad we not turning, so I pulled off at an intersection. The passenger side tire was torn up almost to the point of blowing out. For some reason the tire had been dragging and not turning. The front tires were turned to the right slightly, not straight as they should have been. I first called our roadside service Coach Net but then decided to put the donut tire on and go to a tire store about 3 miles away and get a new tire, so I canceled the roadside assistance call. After replacing the tire we hooked the car back up and took off but stopped and checked the tires several times in the next 30 miles and all was okay. We arrived at Niblett’s Bluff Park app. 6 PM and set up for the night.

04/15/2013 Monday We ate breakfast and dumped the tanks and departed about 8AM and headed for the Natchez Trace Parkway that begins at Natchez, Mississippi. We got on the parkway at the Southern most point and rode it to Rocky Springs Campground at milepost 54.8 and stopped for the night about 2PM. The campgrounds on the parkway are free with no hookups.We relaxed and read the remainder of the day.

Multi-State Trip Leg 3

We arrived at Coastal RV Park in Brunswick GA app. 12 noon and had an easy setup in site 708. Sometime while at Fort McAllister we picked up a hitchhiker (a small mouse). When I opened the wet bay door I saw him scoot by behind the panel in the wet bay and he had chewed my paper towels - I guess to make a nest. So when we got to Brunswick we bought some mouse traps and set two in the wet bay.

We got up with Hugh & Pat Miller that we met at last year’s rally and also met their friends John & Joy Tucker. We all have a 2006 Phaeton. Later we joined the TRVN group for Fajitas at the Pavilion then we went to John & Joy’s coach and ate cake and talked for awhile.

04/03/2013 Wednesday - We did our morning walk and had breakfast, then I checked the mouse traps. The mouse got the peanut butter and one piece of the cheese but did not trip the trap. So I went back to the Dollar Store and got some sticky traps. We joined the others at the Rally for supper at the pavilion.

04/04/2013 Thursday - We had breakfast and I went to a discussion on Mods followed by a safety talk from a sales rep for a tow bar company. After lunch I attended a demo of the software program Picasa . The group gathered at 5PM for a Pot Luck Dinner where lots of good food was available.

04/05/2013 Friday - After breakfast I attended a discussion on electrical tips for motor homes and then Lena and I both attended a Healthy Eating seminar. Then we toured a few motor homes to look at the mods the owners had done. Again the group gathered at the pavilion for a BBQ and grilled chicken dinner.

04/06/2013 Saturday- We did our morning walk and then joined the group for pancakes and sausage for breakfast at the pavilion. At 10 o’clock we participated in a flea market at the pavilion. Then we went to Hugh and Pat’s site for hamburgers for lunch. Brannon Hutcheson of Custom RV came about 3PM and installed SeeLevel II monitors on the MH. By that time it was time to go back to the pavilion for supper with the group. After that we returned to the MH and I did all the prep I could for departing next day.

04/07/2013 Sunday - We ate breakfast and got ready to leave. We drove all the way to the Alabama state line (424 miles) and stopped at the Welcome Center and asked could we overnight even though the sign said No Overnight Parking. She said it would be okay as long as we didn’t bother anyone.

04/08/2013 Monday  - We departed at 5:30AM and stopped a few miles down the interstate at the Cracker Barrel and had a great breakfast, then it was back on the road again about 7AM. We drove through, Alabama, Mississippi and on to Vinton, LA. About 4 miles from the Texas border. We camped at Niblett’s Bluff Park/Campground. It is a nice CG right on the banks of a river. We got site 38 a pull through. The sites were grass with a hard packed gravel parking area for the MH. The campground is owned and operated by the local parrish. It has about 60 RV sites with 50 & 30 AMP service, water, fire ring, picnic table and dump station on the way out for $12 plus tax. Very quiet and peaceful. Probably on a holiday weekend it would be busier but there was only about 6-8 RVs there. It is about 6 miles off I-10 at exit 4 just  before the Texas border.

04/09/2013 Tuesday We did a morning walk, ate breakfast, dumped our holding tanks and departed the CG by 8:15 and headed to La Vernia, TX to visit my brother for a few days. We arrived about 2:30PM and parked the MH under his pole barn and set it up.

Multi-State Trip Leg 2

03/29/2013 Friday - We departed the Freightliner Service Center camp sites app. 9AM and headed for Fort McAllister State Park near Savannah GA. We had a nice easy trip except for one fool driver that whipped out in front of us when the traffic slowed down, I had to almost stand on the brakes to keep from hitting him. I let him listen to my Hadley air horns. Then about 50 miles or so from Savannah the traffic was stop and go, I guess due to all the Easter weekend traffic. We arrived at the park an hour behind schedule unhooked and drove the toad around the campground to select our site after we checked in. We set up camp on site 20 on Raccoon Way street and then I cooked a steak for supper.

03/30/2013 Saturday - After a morning walk and breakfast we drove to Pooler, GA. to the Camping World to pick up a few items and then to Wal-Mart to return an item. Then we went to Uncle Bubba’s for lunch. He is the brother of Paula Deen and we ate at her restaurant when we stayed in the area last year. The restaurant sets on the bank of a marsh and has views out to a waterway. The food was plentiful and excellent. We had to ask for two “doggie boxes” as we could not eat it all. The server was very good and gave us extra corn muffins and butter to take with us. It seem the traffic in the area of Savannah has been terrible since we got in the area. It makes me appreciate living in the county were we don’t have much traffic. Then we returned to the Fort McAllister and read for a couple of hours and enjoyed the nice weather.

03/31/2013 Sunday - After spending a little time riding around the campground looking at all the sites I think the sites on Possum Trot street would be my preferred sites as they are father apart and all are easy drive through sites. The campground has a nice concrete boat ramp and a pier for fishing and places to tie up a boat. We spent the afternoon reading and riding the bicycles around the campground. Then I cooked some corn bread in the Dutch Oven.

04/01/2013 Monday - We woke up to rain coming down. It rained until about 10AM so we did not get our morning walk in. After the rain stopped I wiped all of our outside items down so they would dry quicker then we did some reading. I cooked some ribs in the Dutch Oven for supper while we read. The gnats got really bad again while eating supper.

04/02/2013 Tuesday - We did our morning walk and had breakfast then we prepared to leave for Brunswick GA for the Spring 2013 TRVN Motor Home Rally.

Fort McAllister campground is nice but we did not like the gnats.

Multi-State Trip Leg 1

I de-winterized the Motor Home on 3/22/2013 and we departed at 8:30AM Wednesday 3/27/2013 on a 35 day multi-state trip. Our first stop was Freightliner Service Center in Gaffney, S.C.  to get the MH serviced. We backed into our parking spot for the night at the service center and when I lowered the jacks the rear ones came down on a parking lot concrete bumper and damaged the rear jacks. We forgot to check the jack positions before I lowered the jacks. When the jacks came down the pads on the bottom of the jack piston came off the end of the pistons and slide to one side. Hopefully the service techs here can fix them tomorrow.

03/28/2013 Thursday - We had the MH ready at 8AM for service, so we left to get breakfast and then we went to the Freightliner Plant to take the factory tour. The Freightliner Plant is just a few miles from the service center and at 10:15 AM they give plant tours that takes about an hour. We found the tour to very interesting. They assemble the chassis for several types of vehicles here including motor homes. I recommend the tour if you are in the area and have the time. The plant is just 2 miles off I85 at exit 90. We returned to the service center around 1:30 PM and they soon had the MH ready. We were lucky as the jacks were not damaged and they didn’t even charge us to put the pads back in place. They just charged the regular labor rate for the M2 service. I tested the jacks after we got the MH just to be satisfied they worked okay before  the service center closed for the day because they were going to be closed on Friday for Good Friday.