March 24, 2014 (Mon) Mars Hill, NC (2) 29/42° - Well it's back to cold mornings! And it didn't get all that much better as the day went on. It was good to be where we could hang out inside a warm house - with a warm fire. And that's pretty much all we did. Joy went shopping with Pat in the morning but that's about it.
March 25, 2014 (Tue) Mars Hill, NC (3) 34/47° - Woke up to a winter wonderland - not so welcome really.
Other than the adventure of wading back and forth through a couple of inches of wet snow several times, we had another do-nothing day in front of the fire. Bob and Pat's grandson Wesley and family got here in the late afternoon and the addition of two small children livened things up quite a bit.
March 26, 2014 (Wed) Mars Hill, NC (4) 24/43° - Bob and Pat's grandson Christopher and Melissa came this morning after having driven all night from New Jersey. There was a time when we could have and probably would have done that. Not any more! The addition of two more people did wonders to increase the level of activity. We had known Chris and Wesley when they were young children but not seen them for many years. It was great to begin to get know them now as young men.
In the late morning Bob and Mark went out to deliver Wednesday's Meals-on-Wheels to some elderly shut-ins in the area. We found one client bundled up against the cold and sitting in her wheelchair on the ramp outside her house trailer home. She was waiting for a medical transportation van to take her doctor appointment which was 45 minutes late at that point. Bob called the transportation service company to insure that she wouldn't have to wait much longer. They may have forgotten her!
Chris spent most of the afternoon making (finishing actually) kilts that he and Wesley plan to wear when they go to Disney World in a few days. Melissa may also be wearing something exotic. We don't know about Kecia or the kids.
March 27, 2014 (Thu) Mars Hill, NC (5) 24/57° - This noon the whole gang - well most of us anyway - went into Asheville to dine at The Mellow Mushroom. This is a funky pizza place that makes and serves very good pizza and has almost every beer imaginable on tap. We chose a large house special pizza (shared with Bob and Pat) and a pint each of the Celtic amber ale. The Mellow Mushroom is a small chain with several restaurants across the South and, we were excited to learn, one is now under construction in Mt Dora, FL. We'll be checking it out next year.
The younger folks spent the time before and after lunch exploring Asheville. The old folks took the opportunity to slow down in front of a fire at home.
March 28, 2014 (Fri) Mars Hill, NC (6) 25/57° - Wesley and family left for Florida at 5:00 this morning (we assume because that was their plan and their car was gone when we got up) and Christopher and Melissa, also left for Florida, later at 7:30. The rest of the day was devoted to rest and waiting for word that the travelers had safely reached their destination. They did.
At about the time things quieted down nicely Mark discovered he'd lost his glasses! Luckily he has another pair along for such emergencies and was able to function (i.e. read things). The intense search lasting well into the afternoon, was interrupted only by the men's breakfast with Bob and friends and, later, lunch. The search included removing one of Q's cabinets to look behind it - neither easy nor fun. Not there!
There must be something in the air this week because Bob's wallet went missing sometime Wednesday. While Mark had Q torn apart, he got a text from Joy in the house that Bob had found his wallet. After Q was reassembled, Mark finally found his glasses - in a bag hastily closed up and put away in the morning.
And all lived quietly ever after the rest of the day in front of a warm fire.
March 29, 2014 (Sat) Mars Hill, NC (8) 42/62° - Papa's and Beer is our favorite Mexican restaurant in Asheville. The last time we were here we heard that another, by the same owner and to be called Mama's and Beer, was being built, we thought with a slightly different cuisine, i.e. Texas vs California style. We went there to check out their lunch menu. It turns out it's the same menu. in fact the menu says Papa's and Beer. Apparently there are already three Papa's and Beers in town, the limit for one franchise in Asheville. the Mama's and Beer name makes the fourth legal. How was the food? About the same as far as we could tell albeit a bit more expensive. That is to say very good. Joy and Pat spent a while in the Black Mountain Yarn shop up the road in Black Mountain, a community that would be fun to spend some time in some day, lots of arts and crafts
Another quiet day followed - except for the rousing game of dominoes in the evening.
March 30, 2014 (Sun) Mars Hill, NC (9) 33/52° - Once again it snowed during the night. Have we started north too soon? Anyway, after church in the morning it was another quiet relaxing day in front of the fire. More dominoes in the evening. We're on the road again tomorrow.
Q97612 Bob and Pat's yard (x10)
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March 31, 2014 (Mon) Mars Hill, NC to Winchester, VA (394/2776) 31/67° - We had a small amount of concern that there might still be snow or ice on the road over Sam's Gap (el. 3760 ft) in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Small because we know that surface conditions are well managed up there and the snow was gone where we were. We took off about 9:15 and headed up the mountain on I-26 and into Tennessee. There was no snow - not even along the roadside, although it accented the mountains above and around us.
The Walmart in Unicoi, TN usually has the least expensive gas anywhere on our route. Not today. While it was the best, other than Costco, to that point, $3.25/gal, we saw plenty of other stations with that price and even some below, through Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia.
Signs along the way
Billboard oxymoron: "The Factory Antique Mall"
Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Service: "Fairy Dog Mother"
Q093006 Camp Walmart Winchester, VA
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April 2, 2014 (Tue) Winchester, VA to Home (296/3072) 43/61° - A pick-up came in close beside us last night just as we were thinking about going to bed. Attached was what at first looked like an animal carrier fifth-wheel. It deserved a much closer look and a possible move if, in fact, it was carrying animals. The smell would have made sleeping impossible. No animals. Just crates of some kind of machinery. The guy ran his diesel engine on and off during the night though. So much for a nice quiet night's sleep. Oh well, it's part of the parking lot camping experience.
Even though our noisy neighbor had left by the time we got up, we decided that the dining ambiance would be better in the rest area up the road so we took off before breakfast. Rest area parking spaces for long rigs are limited at best and especially so when crowded. We ended up between two big idling diesel 18 wheelers. Ugh!
Most Cabela's (The Worlds Foremost Outfitters) stores have RV dump stations. Rather than using the one at the Flying J where we got gas which was crowded we chose to go on to the one in Hamburg, PA. After taking care of that necessary part of RVing we moved into the wide open parking lot to eat our lunch. Then it was back on the road. Another unpleasant part of RV travel is enduring less than well maintained roads. The rough Winter really did a job on an already broken up I-78 through Pennsylvania. It was good to cross the border into NJ.
Q093302 Home at last
