Hi.
The third week of June we finally felt like we were “on the
road again.” It was really nice to start to see a change in scenery as we traveled down the highways. The only minus
was the 100 degree weather.
Our first stop was off of the highway in South Carolina. We stayed
at a Comfort Inn RV Park that was quite nice. We expected a concrete, no frills site and were pleasantly surprised by the
grassy area with pampas grass and a level concrete pad with full hook up.
In Salisbury, North Carolina we stayed at Bass Lake RV Park. It only
had 30 amp but we were under beautiful trees overlooking the lake. The zoo in Asheboro, NC is terrific. The animal enclosures
are spacious and well thought out for the comfort of the inhabitants and for the visitors. The polar bear did his best to
entertain and seemed to like the attentive audience. Wear good walking shoes. We walked three plus miles.
We stayed in Charlotte, NC for a couple of days. The Atherton Market
has some interesting booths such as Pickleville, Dukes Bread (yummy cinnamon/cranberry) and a chocolatier in between farm
stands. The Charlotte Museum of History was okay but the 1774 Hezekiah Alexander and Rock House tour was excellent. The tour
guide was so informed and gracious that the tour gave a sense of living history.
Another impressive museum is the Levine Museum of the New South. It
covered segregation, sharecropping and the KKK with great sensitivity. Across the street is the Fox and Hound restaurant.
Skip the fish and chips and the Philly steak.
The next two weeks we spent with family and friends. Our first of
these visits was with Debbie, Mitch’s older daughter. There was a lovely family dinner and I met some family members
for the first time. We spent a short time with Nita and Moody Harp, friends we met at Ponderosa RV Park in Florida. Then we
drove to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to see our grandchildren, Carly age 14 and Ian age 9 and their parents Barry (Mitch’s
son) and Johna. This is one of the reasons we like our travels. We get the opportunity to see family and friends more often.
During our Harrisburg stay Mitch saw a nephrologist. All of the tests
showed that Mitch’s numbers concerning his kidney function are stable. We breathed a sigh of relief and headed out on
a southern route toward the west.
Traveling through Virginia on I-81 a car slowed down on our left and
pointed to our tires. Mitch pulled over and sure enough we had a blow out on the fifth wheel. While he was calling AAA with
information on our location Officer Fore, a Virginia State Trooper pulled over to check us out. When he determined that we
had a spare tire and a jack he changed our tire for us. We were so grateful and surprised that we wanted to send a letter
of commendation. He replied that he was simply doing his job and would I dust him off before he left. I patted his back but
he asked me to hit him harder to get all of the dust off. I can now honestly say that I smacked an officer of the law and
he didn’t arrest me.
Still amazed by our good fortune we continued down the road. After
we fueled up and started back out on the highway the engine light came on and we exited into Crossville, Tennessee. A dealership
was near by and we drove over. They found a loose wire and let us spend the night on their property. We drove around the next
day and thought that everything was fixed. On the 17th of July we were not in Dallas but in Little Rock, Arkansas
with the engine light on. The next day Mitch drove to another dealer and he correctly identified the codes and ordered the
part. With a properly repaired vehicle we did some exploring in Little Rock. The Historic Arkansas Museum has a huge section
dedicated to the movie Gone With The Wind. At the River Market we bought watermelon and a cranberry/nut bread. The Clinton
Presidential Center and library is very impressive.
On the 20th we arrived in Plano just a hop, skip and a
jump from Richardson, Texas where my sister, Susan and her husband, Jack live.
We did some touring and ate too much. La Madeleine Buffet was good
and my sister stuffed us with homemade goodies.
We did an overnight stay in Midland/Odessa and then spent a day in
El Paso visiting Donna Sibal. I have been friends with Donna since 1968. The next day we drove to Socorro, New Mexico to see
another friend, Darlene Johnson. Our kids went to kindergarten together.
The next stop was in Albuquerque to see my niece, Rachel and her husband,
Duane. Again, we overindulged at restaurants…first Chinese and then Mexican. At El Sombrero I inadvertently ordered
a whole tilapia. It came fried and decorated with fresh lime. The menu was a little deceptive and the owner graciously replaced
the meal with a fantastic fish fillet after looking at my surprised face. The whole meal made it a place to return to for
a great meal.
When we were in Alaska we met Art and Sandie Million. We met up with
them once in Florida. This time they drove down from Colorado and we spent a too short evening with them. While we were in
Albuquerque we went to the Rio Grande Zoo. In case you are wondering, we are member of the American Zoological Association
and we get discounts or free entry to zoos and aquariums across the country.
August 2nd we arrived in Williams, Arizona. It was a long
drive but we were so close to the Grand Canyon. We unhitched the fifth wheel and drove to the National Park. We stayed through
sunset. The clouds obscured the skyline but we enjoyed it anyway. The late afternoon sun on the canyon walls was spectacular.
Mitch and I were exhausted but we relished the experience.
Our last stop for this segment is Las Vegas. The day that we arrived
it was a piping hot 111 and coincidentally so was the interior of the fifth wheel. It took a really, really long time to cool
down. Mitch had another appointment with a nephrologist with the same news. He hasn’t improved but he also hasn’t
lost any ground.
We saw one show in Las Vegas. It is called Zumanity and is one of
the Cirque du Soleil shows. More correctly, it should be called Sex du Soleil. The dance and acrobatics have high energy but
there is a lot of frontal nudity. The overly modest should skip this one.
The last day before we left we went to Acacia Springs to see all the
wonderful senior citizens that my mother knew during her stay there. During my many visits I have become very attached to
these dear people and the terrific staff.
This brings us to August 9th. Our next portion of our trip
will start in Utah. Thanks to everyone we saw for wonderful and enjoyable visits.
