A shaky start finished well

It was a tad bit windy as I took Emma for her first outs this morning.  That always makes me a little wary on a scheduled departure day.  I checked the forecast before packing away the computer, and the gusts were forecasted at 20 mph, so I decided to head out.  Were the gusts in the 30-40 mph range, I would have waited a day.  I don’t like driving in high winds.

As I finished up my preps for departure, I noticed that the steps were not retracting all of the way.  Phooey!  Even though I’m about eight miles away from the nearest salt water sound, the rain and dew from the last three months had obviously had a salty effect on the outside of the rig.  I unpacked a can of silicone spray and lubed up all movable parts.  After putting the stairs in and out several times, it seemed to do the trick.

I hooked up the toad, and just made it past the electric fence before the leveler alarm starting going off indicating the levelers were still down.  Obviously, I stopped immediately.  After retracting the levelers before I drove off the alarm had shut off.  It turned out that the back two levelers were mostly up, but not quite.  They had about an inch to go.  Luckily, George was still around so between the two of us we got them fully retracted.

Okay, so a half hour later than planned I finally made it out to US 64.  About a half mile down the road as I looked in the outside rearview mirror on the driver’s side, something was not right.  Ugh!  I put on my hazard lights and tried to pull as far as possible to the side of the road.  There are no shoulders on this section of the highway.  Somehow the cover over the hot water heater had worked loose and was hanging at a 90* angle out from the side of the rig.  I gingerly made my way out into the roadway on foot, and managed to get the cover secured while only one truck had to go around me.  Phew!  What next?

Thankfully, the rest of the 135 mile drive went smoothly and I arrived at Kampers Lodge Campground in Wilson, NC, in one piece.  What a friendly place this is!  One of the things that I really appreciate when arriving at a private campground is being escorted to my site.  Not having a navigator along, it’s sometimes hard to keep my eyes on the roads as well as the map of the campground to figure out where to go.

I have a nice long pull-through site with 50 amps and full hook-ups.  As the lady (Mouse) left in her golf cart after leading me to the site, the owner walked over to help detach the toad, and hooked up the water and electric for me.  I’m not used to such service!  They both stressed to me that I should let them know if there was anything else they could do for me.  They think of their campers as family.  In addition to the tent and RV sites, there is a swimming pool, miniature golf course, playground, horse shoe pits, and cool fire rings.  It’s a Passport America park, so two nights cost me $35.

After settling in and getting everything set up, Emma and I went for a little walk around the campground.  That’s when we visited the four donkeys in a very large penned area on the south side of the park.  The donkeys are quite friendly and came right over to me and a slightly leery Emma.

We continued our walk around to the front so I could get a picture of the entrance.  I was standing behind that batch of pampas grass and Emma was out in front of me.  I was watching a beautiful horse and rider across the road when a group of four ladies by the office started calling to Emma to get her to come to them.  When I stepped out from behind the greenery they all clutched their chests were your heart is.  It turned out they were all worried that Emma would run into the highway since they couldn’t see me standing behind the tall grass.  Sorry ladies, but it was nice to know they were so concerned about what they thought was a loose dog.    Like I said, it’s a very friendly place.

Later, as I was sitting out at the picnic table at my site with Emma, a couple walked up and asked if we were Judy and Emma.  Jan and Bill Maas then explained that they had been reading my blog for a couple of years, and wondered if I would be stopping at this same campground in Wilson.  These kinds of encounters always amaze me.  They have been fulltimers for 12 years, come from Minnesota, and have their residency in South Dakota just like I do.  Before going on the road they lived in Owatonna, MN, only about 30 miles from where I owned my house.  What are the chances that we’d cross paths in Wilson, NC??  Crazy!

So even though I had a rather rocky start this morning, the day turned out remarkably well.  What a hoot life is!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy