Our Road Trips: October 2015

10/27/15

10/13-26/15

We packed up and pulled out of Ft Boonesborough State Park and started out jaunt to Sutton Lake, W Virginia. Even though a lot of people had left on Sunday, the campground was still pretty full. Our neighbors were in for the duration, 2 weeks at a campground and sleeping at home just so you can celebrate Halloween with some like minded folks from Kentucky...whatever. And everyone has a fire going constantly that they pay no attention to until it is almost out, so the smoke hangs about 12' off the ground constantly. We had to keep our MH closed up to keep the smell out. One night we sat outside...we could see 8-10 fires from where we sat and not one person was outside...weird.

We arrived at Sutton Lake mid-afternoon and got set up. Only one section of the park is open and that section less than 25% occupied. We got a site on the water with water, electric & sewer for $28 so we decided to just stay 2 nights and move on. The leaves have started but the wind has stripped a lot of the leaves, so a lot of bare branches. The road from I-77 is pretty narrow and is 12 miles...an interesting drive with the motor home. We have satellite TV and no internet, so we drove back to town to check emails and make a reservation at our next place for another night & get some dinner and went back to the MH and watched some TV and turned in early. Very pretty spot for the night.

We got up early and went for a loop Barb found on the map: First stop was Sutton Dam and a nice conversation with an Army Corps Ranger, filled us in on the area and all about the dam. Then we were off to Webster Springs (had lunch for under $10) and then Monterville, Marlinton, and a very cool road across the Allegheny Mts. to Nettie & into Summersville. Then it was US 19 north back to Sutton and back to our camper. It turned out we drove almost 200 miles through the West Virginia mountains and it took us most of the day...very pretty ride. We saw a lot of small towns, colored leaves, beautiful streams & rivers and very fun roads. Fun day!! We got back shortly after dark.

The next morning we packed up again and started our route to N. Wilksboro, NC. Last time I was there, about 1986, NASCAR had a race in this little town, which is also the headquarters of Lowes Home Improvement stores. Our campsite is in the woods, so we have internet and no TV...one or the other, seldom both. We are again in a ACE park, so we are again on a reservoir behind a dam...pretty spot which will be our home for 3 nights. We drove to the old racetrack, still being watched by a local like he expects it to be used sometime in the future, although he says that is doubtful. The town has moved on. The track was purchased in 1995 by Bruton Smith and he moved one date to New Hampshire and the other to Texas, and there it sits, rotting away. It stands as a memorial to the folks from this small town who lost their livelihood to the folks in Texas & New Hampshire. It is sad.

We drove to Welcome, NC to tour the Richard Childress Museum at the racing complex. It is a pretty amazing place, a ton of history in one place...6 Winston Cup trophies (7 other championships) and 105 Sprint Cup victories and a total of 106 wins in 2 other divisions for 211 total wins. From there we drove the 6 or so miles to the Childress Winery, and very first class operation. We got a tour, did some wine tasting and headed back to the camper. We thought about stopping in Salisbury for a concert but when we thought it was going to be outside, we discovered neither of us had enough clothes with us, so we headed back. We stopped at a sports bar in Wilksboro and had a great sandwich while we watched some of the late college football games...then back to the camper.

Sunday morning, we packed up and drove to Edisto Beach, SC, about 40 miles south of Charleston on an Island in the Atlantic Ocean. We are again in the woods, no TV, but we do have internet. It is a very pretty area, beach front camping, lots of old Live Oak trees and a river dealing with the last remnants of the devastating floods in the Columbia, SC area from a remnant of a hurricane. The flooding never got too bad this far south. The folks in Columbia weren't as fortunate. We did a lot of exploring, but most of the roads end on Private Property.

On Tuesday, we drove the 4+ hours south to St Augustine and a spot at Anastasia State Park, our last stop before home. We went out to dinner with Tom & Lynne Marine (a friend from my OFD days) and spent the evening sitting next to the river enjoying their company and catching up. While we have been doing lots of traveling, so have they...been to Europe and took a Viking Cruise up the Rhine River, so they had stories too...it was a fun evening. They are also building a new home, so we got the nickle tour of that as well...lots of catching up to do. The next morning, we drove south from St Augustine in the car to Matanzas Nat. Monument and got signed up for a free boat ride to the Monument, a small fort built in 1742 by the Spanish to protect the back entrance to St Augustine. It has been there for 273 years and is still in fabulous condition...pretty cool place to visit. We drove back to St Augustine and met up with Tom & Lynne again and went for dinner again...it was nice being able to spend that much time with them...did a lot of yakking. Then it was back to the camper.

The next morning we packed up and made the 2+ hour drive home. Everything is good at home. It is always fun to go on the road, but also always good to get home. We got the camper unloaded and put in its parking place...let it rest until it is time to go to the Florida Keys in April. We have lots of small adventures coming up during the rest of fall/winter/spring and we will stay quite busy. Our grand-daughter Kaylee turned 16 2 days after we got home and that is always a big deal...seems like yesterday when she was born...time sure does go by quickly. Then it was Homecoming for Hagerty High, so we went to the game and saw the big win and all the girls & guys all dressed up. So it is a time for Dr appointments, get some minor repairs done on the camper and get ready to be home for a while. Stay tuned!!