Our Week in A Great Vacation Spot

I stepped up to tackle my convection/microwave that has intimidated me and kept me from using it.  The microwave part was ok.  It was the convection part that had me stymied.   So I used some of my Peach Truck peaches I peeled and froze to make a pie.  It turned out great!  Now I will continue on to more experiments!

Saturday morning found us at the Earle Theater for the live radio performance of the Merry Go Rounders.    It is second only to The Grand Old Opry in longevity.  We enjoyed the music, the cloggers from the audience and the workings of being on live radio.  

Eventually we left and went to lunch at Coppola’s pizza.  We returned home and Ted, Eileen,Tom and I all went to church.  The priest was saying his last Mass as pastor because he retires this week.  

From there we met up with Lee and Ira and headed to Pilot Mountain for the Hot Nights Hot Cars Cruise In.  We parked and walked Main Street looking for the music.  We found it but the guys had to walk back to get all six chairs.  It was a pleasant night, good music and lots of dancers to watch.  We danced one dance but that’s all.  

Sunday found us all ready for the Mt. Airy 4th of July parade.  It was so hometown, old fashioned patriotism it brought a lump to your throat.  I was kissed by a llama, caught candy I am saving for the kids, received a beer can cozy and fan from the Regional hospital.  

We returned home to a picnic right next to our campsite in a pavilion with tables. We had burgers and fried chicken with lots of trimmings.  After getting things cleaned up, we headed to Veteran’s Park for fireworks.  A terrific holiday!

Visiting Andy and Opie

Mt. Airy was Andy Griffith’s hometown and Mayberry RFD was based on it.  It is a lovely small town and they owe Andy a great deal for putting them on, and keeping them on, the map.

An interesting aside is the fact that our campground sits on property once owned by Eng and Chang Bunker, the original documented conjoined twins from Siam, thus the term Siamese twins.  They were joined at the chest by a cartilaginous flap of skin in which the liver was involved.  Their mother refused to risk either one’s life and refused surgery for them.  They became very wealthy, moved to the US, married sisters and produced 21 children between the two families.  Not sure how!  They spent 3 days with one wife, 3 with the other.  No one said what they did on the 7th day!  Today there are over 2,000 descendants in the area.  I plan to read up on them!

We went into town to visit some sights.  We toured the Andy Griffith museum, the Earle Theater (the second longest live radio show just behind the Grand Ole Opry)  and we plan to attend on Saturday.

The Gertrude Smith House, a real treasure, 

and had lunch at Snappy’s on Main Street.  We were 15 minutes late to order breakfast so we had an early lunch.  People were lined up outside waiting to get in when we left.

 

Opened in the 1920s to serve snappy lunches to workers of Mount Airy, Snappy Lunch hasn’t changed much as visitors will find the same diner that Andy Griffith ate at as a young boy while growing up in Mount Airy.

The restaurant is famous for its pork chop sandwich, a boneless, tenderized loin chop dipped in sweet-mill batter and fried until golden crisp. 

In an early episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” Andy suggested to Barney that they go to the Snappy Lunch, and Andy also mentioned the Snappy Lunch in his version of the song "Silhouettes."

Whit’s custard ended our day.  We all skipped dinner that evening.

The next day Lee didn’t feel up to going out so the four us drove over to Pilot Mountain, disguised as Mount Pilot on the show.  We drove up as far as we could, then climbed granite stairs to the lookout.  

Our next stop was the Horne Creek Farm.  This was the Hauser family farm from the 1800s and is being restored to the 1913-30 time period.  It is a working farm where sheep are raised, crops are grown and sold or used in cooking demonstrations, and apples and pears are grown in orchards.  There is a huge corn husking festival in the fall attended by thousands.  

I saw several things I had never seen.  One was a sorghum press where they made sorghum syrup with two horses turning the press and a fruit drying shed.  It was much like a tobacco drying barn.  They were industrious people and with 11 sons as farm hands (one daughter), they were quite successful.  They have several vintage and heritage apple strains and they are propagating strains for Africa to give them crops that don’t need constant attention.  

We visited the home too.  Much of the furniture was donated back by the grandchildren and great grandchildren that had various pieces.  When one granddaughter was questioned about how she came to have so much she said her father had it piled up to burn and she rescued it.  The original handmade cradle was in the parent’s bedroom but I didn’t take a photo!  I did take a photo of the docent who played this pump organ for us.  

We came home to a 3 family combined dinner of chicken breasts, teriyaki chicken tenders with grilled pineapple rings, leftover pork tenderloin with cherry sauce, rice, baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, green bean salad, cole slaw, cucumbers, fruit salad and homemade chocolate chip cookies, of which I ate none!  

It rained ferociously while we sat under the covered patio next to our site.  It rained all night but a nice weekend is forecast for the 4th!  

A Week of Travel, Maintenance and Fun

We left Daytona and at the next rest area hooked up with Eileen and Tom.  We traveled together to Walterboro, SC to spend the night.  The next day we continued on to Gaffney, SC to the Freightliner Oasis facility for the 5 year maintenance on our coach.  Believe me, this separates the motorhome from the trailer as far as costs go!  Since we had to unhook the cars to back in, we went into town for dinner.  

We were first on the list in the morning so we chose to go to Ace Hardware for an extension cord for our new Keurig coffee pot since the other one was not shutting off and just kept flowing!  The short cord did not allow us to pull it out from under the cabinet to lift the cover to insert a pod.  We found a gray strip with just enough cord to make it work.  We were so impressed with the helpfulness of everyone we encountered.  On our way home we saw our motorhome pass us on the highway.  It was being driven to ensure all was well after the services performed.  

We had stopped up the road to see the campground we had reserved and it was tight so we just opted to stay another night for free at Freightliner since space was not a problem.  

We had to stop in Monksville to have our magnets reinstalled on the replaced window that got broken last year.  It turned into a trying day!  First we had to dump our tanks in the rain.  No fun.  Then we drove and both GPSs told us to take 321 instead of the interstate due to delays.  So we did.  At one point one told us to go left and the other said right!  I knew we were headed north and the trucks were all turning that way so we followed.  Good guess!  It was a very pleasant drive on an uncrowded divided two lane highway.  We got turned around in Monksville but made our way.  It didn’t take long to have the magnets installed but Ted had to drop the Jeep, turn around, and hook up the Jeep before we could be on our way!   Then the fun really began!

Tom and Eileen had already arrived in Mt, Airy, NC and other friends, Ira and Lee, were there too.  Due to construction it took us 2.5 hours to go 38 miles!  They had been early enough to miss it!  We texted we were finally moving and they suggested a band for our arrival playing Hail, Hail the Gang’s All Here but I suggested The Day They Burned Old Dixie Down.  Lee had us all for dinner and the day “All’s well that ends well” came to mind.

A Week in Sanibel

We arrived and got all set up in a nice spot at Periwinkle Park.  It is a mobile home park with 84 sites set aside for RVers. The park is nice, the site is fine, utilities work. Those are the pros. The cons are NO visitors, no dogs, no cable, no wifi, no pool!  It is the only park on the island and thank goodness our time was spent at the cottages because I wouldn’t choose this park otherwise. 

We went to my brother’s condo for the first time. His son and daughter in law were still in town and another nephew had picked up his son in Fort Lauderdale and the 8 of us went to Bimini Bait Shack for dinner out on the deck. 

Saturday was a terrible travel day for those flying from the Midwest with the Cincinnati airport shut down from flooding. The Montana people arrived, the driving ones came in and eventually all the planes arrived safely.  The Southwest plane out of Cincinnati was the Lone Star painted like the Texas flag.  They knew Aunt Donna was praying for them and they would arrive safely … and they did. 

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Sunday we all gathered in the pool.  Nice shot of my back in black! And pregnant Amy looking sharp in her animal print. 

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Attending my sister in the pool. She has dementia and had to be monitored at all times. 

Later they ordered pizza but after an hour and a half wait we chose to go home and eat. They said the pizza arrived 5 minutes after we left.  

Monday we went to the John “Ding” Darling wildlife preserve and took a 1.5 hour tram tour and saw gopher turtles, an iguana, spoonbill roseates, tree crabs, jumping mullets and mangroves. We came home to eat the spaghetti and meatballs I had made that were still waiting!  

Tuesday was the big group dinner!  We were going to swim a bit before but we were all packed and ready to go when the heavens opened up.  By the time it stopped we had to dress to go to dinner at Nervous Nellie’s.  We had a whole room to ourselves on Estero Island overlooking the bay. Afterwards we took photos, watched dolphins and manatees in the bay, and returned for the kids to crab hunt on the beach.  

One night we went to Pop Strokes, a Tiger Woods miniature golf course and it was beautiful.  I chose to help pregnant Amy with the kids in the playground.  Ted and Ed tied with a score of 40!  All the kids got free ice cream!  No wonder Ed offered to buy!

We spent our last day at the RV and left early enough to help dress Karen for dinner.  We had invited her and Ron and my brother Dan and Sue.  There was some mixup and Vicki and Ed did not realize they were also invited.  Or maybe they just wanted to hang with the young folks!

We left Thursday morning a few hours after six of the fellows left for a 5 am fishing expedition.  They caught about 80 fish including a 150# shark!  They had a video of it before they cut it loose.  The plan was to take it to a restaurant that cooks your fish and sells you a plate with sides for $10 and kids ate off the children’s menu for free.

While they were all doing that, we traveled to the other coast to Daytona Beach.  We waited for Kristin to arrive and went to dinner.  Larry was coming separately and they stayed in the Hampton Inn.  Neighbors  from Ohio who moved to The Villages came the next day but it poured rain.  We stayed in because of the rain until we decided to make a break for it to go have a late lunch.  The sun was shining when we came out.

Kristin and Larry came over in the evening.  We discussed maybe taking a fall cruise to celebrate his 50th birthday and my 76th since my 75th was a small dinner due to the covid restrictions.  

We and Willie “0n the road again.”

 I just noticed I didn’t post my last post.  Sorry!  

We stopped in Baton Rouge after a hectic day of construction, traffic (!) and lousy roads.  Also, Louisiana has two rest areas open on I-10, one at the beginning, another at the end.  Good thing we have our own along.  

In the morning our air brake would not air up beyond 65 and you can’t put it in gear.  We called my nephew Danny who runs two Freightliner dealerships.  He said tap on the compressor or governor, lots of time that fixes it.  There are so many safety things built in you have to be a detective!  But he did not know where ours specifically would be located.  I found photos on the internet, Ted found it, tapped with a screwdriver handle and voila, it worked!  We lost a bit of time but that’s all.  It has been ok since.  Ted thinks he turned the key to ACC too soon when dumping the air the night before.  

So we traveled on through AL and MS without incident.  Our next stop was Cottondale, FL.  It was right off I-10, a Passport America park and had full hook ups.  It was rustic but we had a very long pull through which was easy to pull into.  The next morning we pulled straight out and hit I-10 again.  Next up was Bushnell, FL.  This was a high end resort but also Passport America so not expensive.  We went in the pool for awhile and walked to Walmart to get a few groceries.  There was a wooden bridge right behind us and Walmart across the street from that, we saw some cranes on our way over the bridge.

Today we will finish this part of our odyssey at Sanibel Island, FL where about 50 of us are gathering.  My brother has a Ft. Myers condo, we have our RV and the rest have rented every cabin at Mitchell’s Sand Castles, cute little cottages in pastel colors.  It reminds me of Curacao.  I hope we have good weather.  All my sister’s kids, grandkids and great grands are so looking forward to the week.  

Countdown to Take Off

Ted drove to Dallas to check in at the Dallas Morning News before we take off.  He tried to rent an Enterprise car because that is actually cheaper on his expense account than the mileage the company has to pay when using a personal car but they had NO cars within 100 miles!  So he drove the Expedition. While he was gone I did things around the house and made some more preparations for departure.  He came home around lunchtime on Tuesday.

Wednesday was our annual cardiology appointment.  Mine is to monitor me due to my DVT and PE from 2017 and Ted’s is because our PCP said anyone 76 should have a cardiologist!  So he started going with me!  They want us both to have a stress test and ultrasound plus a vein exam for me but it will wait until September.  She also asked for latest blood work that I have but Ted does not so that too will be done in September.  We had a PA this time and she was amazed at Ted.  She questioned his BP and we said usually it is always in the standard 120/80 area.  It was 113/79 with no meds.  She questioningly said "I see he only takes one antacid a day" his only medicine.  Both our EKGs were fine.  

Ted’s friend John bought a 28 gauge reloader so he came to see Ted’s and learn how to use it.  They took us to Joe’s for an early dinner because we took them there once when we invited them to the theater and they had really liked it.  

Friday Ted went shooting in Huntsville on Friday at Tal’s club and then shot in a tournament at his own club on Saturday.  It gave me lots of time to get things done.  Ted was home in time to get ready for church and one last Mexican dinner with Terry and Carol.  They will be gone by the time we return.  Still no definite decision on where yet.

We developed a drip from the drain in the soffit onto the deck which means we have an AC clog somewhere.  We put Clorox down the pan drain, plunged the guest bath drain where the main AC drains and used the wet vac to suck whatever out of the soffit drain, all to no avail.  We just had our spring inspection done.  Two weeks ago the AC went off and we determined a door in the housing was not closed and locked properly and normal vibration caused the safety sensor to lose contact.  That was an easy fix.  Now we have this new problem.  I wonder about paying for these inspections when they caused one problem and didn’t catch the next!  

Well we are off!  Yesterday was spent making several trips to first get the MH to the campground and then several more getting frozen and cold food into the refrigerator/freezer, clothes, meds, toiletries, paperwork I will need, etc.  Last trip was to HEB to finish up on food.  I went to bed before the news and was out like a light!

We took off and left Nancy in charge of the AC guy.  He said everything has been done properly and the water dripping onto the deck is normal runoff.  It hasn’t run off in 20 years from either this unit or the old one!  Like my SIL Bill said ‘If it didn’t leak before and now does, something has changed.”  There’s a float in the pan that would shut the AC down if it filled.  I will just keep my fingers crossed.

Construction has been a PIA!  Here we are descending into Lake Charles off the bridge over the Sabine River.    

 

Hang In There

We are close to hitting the road so hopefully my posts will get more interesting.  New places, new faces for you to meet.  

Tuesday we played cards and with a total of only 4 other points, got knocked out of the money with one bad hand.  Such is life!

Our Israeli neighbors were heading out again and invited us over for a visit.  We are like ships passing in the night.  They spread their time between here, California and Israel.  So with our coming and going we are seldom here at the same time.  I had to print out some Covid things they needed for travel.  Their printer broke.

The landscaper came to put in the French drain which was an all day job.  I had to leave midday to get a haircut and I stopped by Irene’s to pick up my half box of peaches from the Peach Truck.  It poured rain and I had to finally just make a run for it.  When I arrived home two large trucks were trimming the house next door’s live oak and magnolia trees and our guy had his truck and trailer parked too.  Took some doing to get into the drive and the garage.  And … it was still pouring down rain!  I just wanted to get inside!

Nancy stopped by Friday to pick up some peaches I shared with her.  I had dusted all the blinds and shutters, replaced the sensor for the sprinklers on the back fence and Ted changed our shower head.  So every day we had a little extra something to do.  I have been gathering my clothes and paperwork, gave Nancy paperwork she will need, went to Kroger’s and put it all in the motorhome.  We are getting ready!

We went to Mass and out with Terry and Carol for dinner.  They have sold their house and are moving … but where remains the big question.  Personally I would have figured that out before selling my house but to each his own.  Alabama is at the top of the list I think.  They have a son, daughter, and two granddaughters married and with children there.  However, they all live in different cities.  But we know by the time we return, they will be gone.  And once again our closest relative will be a sister in law in Slidell, LA.  Thank goodness for great friends.

We attended the Tomball German Festival Sunday afternoon.  It was extremely hot so we visited three entertainment venues, had a pretzel and the flattest Coke I have ever had but it was cold and wet!  We walked up and down looking at the food and merchandise vendors but it was too hot to each anything else and there was nothing we needed.  They had free parking, free shuttle service and no admission so it didn’t matter whether we stayed a short or long time.  We returned home about 5. 

Ross playing Edelweiss on a saw.   

This group was so entertaining.

We plan to return for the German Christmas Markets we are familiar with from our trips along the Rhine, Mainz and Danube Rivers.  They will be hard to duplicate. 

Not a Fun Trip Home

 Because we had to vacate the house at 10 and Gus and Melissa wanted to be in Charlotte for Ethan’s soccer game, we were dropped off very early at the Savannah airport.  Since we were 4.5 hours from flight time, we had to wait in the lobby for the 4 hour time limit to check in.  Then we went to find a place to eat lunch.  There is a Burger King without seating and one sit down restaurant with four options ... burger, turkey, quesadilla and one other I can’t remember!  It was a small space so the line was very long.  We had nothing but time so it didn’t matter.  I went to sit in a rocker while Ted stood in line.

We were served our $38 selections and eventually made our way to our gate.  Then we were alerted our flight was an hour late leaving Nashville and it was drizzling in Houston.  Finally about 3:45 we were on the plane and had a quiet flight home.  Despite the time lag our luggage was there and had not taken off to destinations unknown.

The parking lot bus was waiting and in a matter of minutes we were at the garage.  The receipt Ted had received did not have some reservation number they needed and they could find no record.  Despite proving we had already paid, they were not going to let us out until it was found.  I offered to pay again and take it up with the credit card company as a duplicate charge but they said that would cause a problem at Corporate.  After a half hour I showed them the charge on my credit card statement.  It had a vendor address of www.way.com.  The lady said "Oh, it is Way."  Then she turned to the back of the binder and there were the sheets with WAY written across the top.  She asked who T. Rogers 9/27 was.  Geesh!

Then we drove home in a driving, blinding rain!  We didn’t even bother to stop to eat despite knowing there was nothing to eat at home.  We just wanted to get there.

I guess it was a small price to pay for an excellent South Carolina adventure!

Sunday I opted to watch Mass on TV simply because I had lots to do and didn’t want to take the time to get dressed for church.  Ted went and I set the timer to give myself time to bring up the livestream Mass.  It was such a pleasure to see the church filled almost to capacity, most without masks.  Afterwards, Ted stopped at the grocery store buying a roast, potatoes, carrots and celery to cook with it.  I peeled the potatoes and sliced the other things and put it all in Ted’s grandma Rogers’ cast iron Dutch oven to bake.

With not going out and getting dinner in the oven at 1:00 I was able to do all the laundry, go through the mail and unpack both bags and put them away.  I can start the week on an even keel!

At the beginning of the week I was pretty much at home except I left to have my nails done.  There were bills to pay, some cards to send and the check book to balance.  Finally on Wednesday I left to play mahjong with a Newcomers group.  It was the first time using the new card so I didn’t win any games but it was a good start to getting acquainted with it.  

Thursday was our neighborhood monthly birthday lunch ... but there were no birthdays!  But we had a group of eight and had a good visit anyway!

We were invited to Ted’s best shooting buddy’s home Friday for a BBQ.  I made deviled eggs and Gary asked who made them, saying they were delicious!  OK!  Tal and Cindy have been part of our lives for several years now.  We had not met the other women but things turned out well.  The ladies all got along together and the guys talked guns!  It was raining the whole time we were there.  Enough is enough with the rain!

We went back to our normal routine of going to Mass at 5:00 on Saturday and the Mexican restaurant after with Terry and Carol.  This was their first time back to church in 14 months.  We started back last June but we didn’t let the masks bother us.  Carol refused to wear one.  They have their house for sale.  Right now there is a contract on it but with a contingency so it is a waiting game unless another buyer comes along and the contingency people can’t move forward.  

Sunday I stayed home!  Yay!  I have to say the pandemic taught me that inserting an "off" day into busy weeks can be a welcome relief.  

Monday Carol had us for a terrific steak cookout.  She is a very good cook.  We played cards and despite getting down all 6 games and not having been stuck with big numbers I came in third!  

We had a problem with our AC before we went over Monday for dinner.  It just stopped working.  We tried turning it off and back on, flipping the breaker, replacing two fuses, all to no avail.  They could not come until Wednesday so I called our son in law Bill who can fix anything.  We told him all we had done, including flushing the drain pipe.  The technician had been here two weeks ago and put vinegar water down the drain so that wasn’t it.  Ted was in the attic and Bill was telling him things to look for.  Ted was looking for a light to let Bill know where power was going and said "this door is not on right, let me fix it."  As soon as he pushed it, the AC started.  Bill said that was our problem, that door has a safety switch and not being closed properly let it break contact from vibrations!  That was it!  It has been working fine since.  Finding two containers and an empty water bottle in addition to the not properly seated door, I had a few choice words when I called to cancel the appointment that was going to cost $80 just to show up.  

Our Week Begins

On  Sunday, Captain John rented a pontoon boat and we took a 3 hour tour!  He allowed each of the 3 boys a turn at the wheel!  They loved it!  

Isaac at the helm.

See Peter peeking out driving!

The young Chen’s headed for Charlotte leaving we six seniors unsupervised in their house. We ate at Crab Shack and the hush puppies were the best ever. 

In the morning we headed to Harbortown to visit the lighthouse and the beach.  I thought these were jellyfish but have been told they may not be. 

“Small, gelatinous balls are washing up by the thousands this summer. Often called jellyfish eggs, they actually aren't related to jellies at all. They're called salps, barrel-shaped creatures that pump water through their bodies and filter out the phytoplankton that is their food.”

Never too old to learn something!

Tuesday was an awesome day for us.  Friends who have moved from TX and now live on the GA/SC border drove up to visit.  We went to an outdoor restaurant on the water for lunch where boats were being lifted in and out of storage on forklifts!  The food and company were great.  We talked for hours.  They had been invited to have dinner and spend the night.  They did stay for dinner but needed to return home later in the evening.  It was a most enjoyable day!

Our next outing was to Bluffton where we enjoyed a terrific breakfast with great wait staff.  We visited the Church of the Cross and Heyward House, neither of which were open due to Covid.

Tybee Island was our destination on Thursday and we drove through beautiful Savannah to get there!  What a beautiful beach area.  And it was crowded!  We visited  the lighthouse complex where half our group climbed the stairs inside the lighthouse.  We viewed a film on the history of the 4 lighthouses that served this area.  The current one is still in operation and can be seen for 20 miles.  

Special to me was the bedroom set in the keeper’s house.  It was exactly like the set, still in use by a great niece, that I grew up with.  Ours had a round stool at the vanity that I would reach out for through the bars of my crib and pull it over to climb out!  It was all veneer wood and the only other one I have ever seen.

We ate at Fannie’s on the Pier and then visited the Battery which served as a Fort and other things throughout the years. We returned home to fix a “fend for yourself” dinner to empty out what was in the refrigerator.  There was still a lot left!  

On Friday, Deborah and John left in the wee hours of the morning.  Gus and Melissa were up at 5:15 to send them off.  We slept through their departure.  When everyone was up again later, we drove back to the Skull Creek Boat House restaurant we had been at with Jacquie and Al on Tuesday.  The outside seating along the May River with the boats being removed from and to storage had been so entertaining that we wanted to share it with our hosts.  

Storage levels, empty forklift, at the water’s edge, moving a boat to the water.  It will be lowered, started and driven out from the dock.  The forklift is then lifted, driven backward and gets the next boat.  

We stopped at a small store in a strip mall on the way home.  Then after drying and folding the two loads of clothes we had in the laundry, everyone but me took a nap.  I have enough trouble sleeping without taking a nap!

We are leaving for the airport in the morning.  It has been a terrific week.  This has been our second time to be invited to this lovely Hilton Head mini mansion.  There are three master suites and a bunk bed kids’ room.  We have lots of room to spread out in the public rooms and have enjoyed playing cards each evening!