AND WE'RE OFF.....

It only took us an hour to get everything secure at Clay’s before we finally took off. Hopefully this will get faster! Here are a few insights about our first two real days “on the road.”
• We had a checklist of at least 5 things that we had either forgotten or realized we weren’t sure we had packed before we got to Carowinds. The list continued to grow, but luckily with nothing critical.
• A true sign you are getting old: you break out the binoculars to check the license plates for our tally (19)!! Actually my eyesight is pretty good, but we are going the speed limit, so cars whizz by and get truly far, fast!!
• We pulled into the Welcome Center at South Carolina, just to check all the towing connections, and one of the truckers said, “That makes for a long rig.” And David realized we are as long as the big rigs! I am not driving yet. I told Dave I would do it on the interstate where I only had to pull off on the shoulder to switch and probably just have to infrequently change lanes, but he said HE would be too nervous. We had planned to practice in the empty Walmart parking lot near Clay’s, but never “got around to it”. This might move higher up on the “to do” list!
• My project while riding was to read through our RV Magazines and cut out articles that had places we might want to go and put them in our “Bucket List” notebook.
• While reading an article aloud to David entitled, “This Year’s Top Ten Bloopers”, a car pulled up beside us and told us we were dragging a hose (this was #6 on the blooper list!). After securing the hose, and finishing the article, we realized we had already committed 2 off the 10, and if we are really honest, maybe 4!!
• The campground we stayed at, Coastal Georgia RV Resort, in

Brunswick GA, was fairly stark (no trees) but it was close to I-95. It was fairly new and had everything we needed: sewer, water, 50 amp, internet, cable, etc. We did not set up a “full camp”… ie. No awnings and chairs outside etc.. IT WAS HOT and their pool felt great after getting hot setting up even the minimal connections.
• We met 2 families at the pool from Jessup and Waycross GA. They were multi-generational and staying there for a week. I couldn’t quite see the attraction for such a lengthy stay. The place only had a pool and a small fishing pond, and Brunswick isn’t exactly a tourist attraction. But as I thought about it, at $36/day, I guess it is a pretty cheap vacation, and the grandparents were definitely enjoying their grandchildren! Grandchildren and a pool, what else do you need! (And the just turned 3 year old could dive like the big kids, but with swimmys on!)
• After cooling off, we took the truck into Brunswick to eat supper and do our bit for the local economy (and China’s!) at Walmart. We are now loaded with fruits, veggies, better notebook supplies, and paint pens for my beach project (watch out Emily and Tracy!). Dave couldn’t find the battery chargers and connections he wanted there, so we will try to find a Sam’s Club or Best Buy later.
• Jack was NOT a happy camper while we were moving. The back of the camper gets hot and he hid and panted most of the way. But after we parked, he began to explore. Hopefully he will settle in soon. At least he wasn’t “vocal” about it!!
• Breaking camp in the morning was fairly painless, and as we were eating breakfast we noticed on the internet that the tropical storm down in Mexico is predicted to scrub the launch by 70%. As we drive into Florida (see next post about gas!) we hit several deluges!! We have a window to the launch until Monday and then they put it off til the 16th. Deb has to leave for ALA on the 19th, so she really needs to be back in CLT on the 18th, so that is a short window. Just pray they don’t scrub tomorrow AFTER we get on the boat. Then we don’t get a refund!! The weather looks better on Saturday and Sunday, so keep your fingers crossed!
• Luckily, the rain slowed to a drizzle while we set up camp. We are at Wickham Park in Melbourne, south of the Cape. It is a County Park and “semi-primitive”. We decide that the difference between it, at $21/night, and the swankier $50/night parks are, we have trees and they don’t, and they have cable TV but we are getting 17 channels on our antennae. We do have to use Dave’s phone as a hot-spot for internet.
• As we settle in, we decide that the Walkie Talkies are one of our best investments/ideas. When Dave drives off with the truck keys I can call him to turn around. But so far, the video camera in the truck doesne’t works. A trip to Best Buy and some more $$ should correct this!
• Dave has gotten the writing bug too and he will be posting his own blog. He complained that I wasn’t giving him enough room! LOL I’ll post a link here when he gets it together!