December 29, 2007 (Sat)
Home to Winchester, VA, ST (292/292 miles)
We got off at 8:30 (50°). It always seems strange to turn "North" on the Garden State Parkway when our destination is south. It really isn't that much out of the way and the traffic and lack of congestion are worth the extra mile or so. The GSP actually goes Northwest from Red Bank and I-78 goes West - the direction we would have to go at some point anyway. A short way after crossing the state line into Pennsylvania (10:10am, 46°) we learned the answer to the long pondered question - what happens when a flatbed 18 wheeler with a load of heavy road building equipment not properly tied down takes an Interstate ramp too fast. Answer: The load slides off and gives the driver a bad day. It must have just happened because there was no one around except the driver standing there looking at it and scratching his head.
When Mark checked the tires at the Flying J in Carlisle, PA the gauge read 0 on the right rear inside tire, 0? but the tire seemed hard enough when "kick" tested. Rather than take a chance, we called our road service provider to let them check it out. After a half hour they called us back. "We wanted to let you know that can't find anyone available to help you within a 40 mile radius. We're continuing to try." "Never mind. The tire is probably alright. We'll get back on the road." To be sure, Mark connected our compressor to it and, while it was operating, it showed the proper pressure. The gauge quickly dropped to 0 when the compressor was turned off. But the tire remained hard. Even so, the kick test was administered off and on for the rest of the day.
We crossed Maryland state line at 2:51, the West Virginia state line at 2:59, the Virginia state line at 3:26, and pulled into the Winchester, VA Walmart parking lot at 3: 45. This is the third time we've stopped here and by far the most crowded. The cars slowly thinned and several more RVs pulled in to keep us company as the evening went on. It was a quiet night in spite of the generator running for a while nearby.
Q040026 Camp Walmart, Winchester, VA
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December 30, 2007 (Sun)
Winchester, VA to Mars Hill, NC (393/685 miles)
Although it was quiet, we didn't get much sleep due to first night adjustment, the security lights coming through the curtains, Joy struggling to fight off a pending cold, and being slightly chilly just before dawn. The temperature had climbed all the way up to 33° by the time we got off at 8:45 and struggled to make it to 40° as we drove South. I-81 follows the Shenandoah Valley west of the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge Mountains. It was misty and rainy most of the way into North Carolina - when it wasn't raining heavily - and the clouds and wisps of fog and mist filled the low areas of the mountains making for a beautiful, if somewhat dreary drive. We filled up with gas at a Flying J in NC - 2.83/gal.
Painted as as subtitle on the back of a Sheets gasoline tanker truck that passed us: "Driver does not carry sandwiches"
We dreaded turning East to cross over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Tennessee as last year we ran into snow through the passes. But I-26 was clear and even dry in areas as we topped the 3750 foot pass. And quite fittingly, NPR (National Public Radio) had a program featuring North Carolina mountain music (bluegrass) as we came down the mountain back into NC. It felt like being part of a movie or TV scene. And it was raining heavily again by then.
Bob & Pat saw us pull into their driveway and came out to greet us. It was great to see them again. After hugs, talk and dinner we all enjoyed a rousing game of dominoes - which Joy won!
Q040419 Bob & Pat's yard
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December 31, 2008 (Mon) Mars Hill, NC (2) - With a somewhat sleepless night on Saturday and the prospect of a late night (New Year's Eve) tonight, we took the opportunity to sleep in this morning. So by the time we'd eaten breakfast, showered and downloaded email, it was time to head for Asheville with Bob and Pat. While they visited a friend in the hospital (ICU) we wandered the "Hip" section of the city. Small and very interesting shops abound. Street musicians dressed - as were many of the wandering youth - as if from the 1960s, played folk songs and ballads in hopes of appreciation in the form of folding money in their guitar cases. Red Bank, which likes to think of itself as "Hip City" should take a lesson from Asheville, North Carolina.
We all had lunch in a Mexican restaurant where we'd been before and knew was good and came home to naps and catching up on the email that we'd picked up this morning.
North Carolina Cold #81-01
My Energy Was Gone
I've not been feeling well lately and my energy's been fading. Monday
Mark discovered it completely gone! I suppose it could have been the
real reason for my generator being so hard to start but I don't think so
- there were legitimate other reasons for that. And my life blood didn't
just suddenly disappear. I wasn't full of youthful energy one day and
dead the next, I've been showing symptoms for months.
I hadn't been rebounding as I should last winter as we traveled and I'd
felt lethargic when we got home from Florida in the Spring so Mark kept
me connected to the house most to the Summer and Fall. Luckily he didn't
reconnect me when we got home from the generator hospital a couple of
weeks ago and less than two weeks later my battery level was down to
10.2 volts - that's more than dead! Mark did discover that the folks at
the hospital had left the refrigerator on after finishing a recall
repair but that could not have accounted for my total loss of energy -
my automatic shut-off circuits would have kicked in long before reaching
that level.
Long story short - I have two brand new house batteries. Both were bad
and both were still under warranty. One was replaced free because it was
less than a year old. The other just over a year old was prorated to a
replacement cost of $42.33. It worked out well but for reasons I won't
go into here now, we won't be going back to Sears for batteries or much
of anything else for a long, long time - if ever. -Q-
Refrigerator and Generator
Last summer Mark joined a couple of Chinook owners forums where folks with a lot more knowledge than he has (most of them any way) about RV maintenance in general and Chinooks in particular discuss their problems, experiences, solutions, joys with what most of them consider the best motor home on wheels. It was there that he learned that my refrigerator is on recall. It seems there was a potential to catch fire when operating on propane. That was scary information considering I have logged nearly 40,000 miles and many many nights dry camping (without hookups). I'm happy to report that I've been in the shop and am now save and ready for our trip South.
While I was in the shop, Mark had them look into why my generator was getting so hard to start. It would start and run well once started but getting there was as real struggle. He had thought that probably all it needed was some routine maintenance - cleaning, adjusting, and maybe a new spark plug and air cleaner - but it turned out to be the starter solenoid going bad. Now I'm not only safe but ready to provide electricity when needed
The adventure continues at the end of next week. -Q-
Passports
For years registering a vehicle and getting a driver's license in our part of New Jersey has been a nightmare - a long line to get a number, another long line to process the paperwork and still another to pay the bill and pick up the plate or license. It could take most of the day! A few years ago the computer age hit the NJDMV and we could renew these privileges online. Then came 9-11. Now we have to renew our driver's licenses in person and prove who we are with an arm load of paper documents. Then we can look forward to doing it all over again in four years because a driver's license isn't considered valid identification. To be fair to NJDMV, they have become a lot more efficient. Shorter lines and wait times have reduced the time investment to a half day. But it's still not a pleasurable process!
Government bureaucracies being what they are, getting a passport had to be worse. The same redundant proof of existence and citizenship is required and if past experience is any guide - we had to make several 30 mile trips to our county seat - there was bound be as much hassle as getting a driver's license - or more. But if we wanted to do any traveling outside the country, which we are planning to do, we needed passports. Yesterday we bit the bullet and made our way through sleet and rain to the US Post Office to apply for them. What a pleasant surprise! 20 minutes after walking in the door we were walking out with the promise that we would have our passports in about 6 weeks. Unlike the State of New Jersey, the US State Department accepts a New Jersey driver's license as proof of existence and citizenship. The only other document we needed - we'd come armed with the works - was our old passports, 20 years expired.
