Home again

Arriving in North Carolina


I am happy to report that we arrived at the selected meeting point without incident where we met Randy and Kathy and unhooked the jeep. Randy then rode with Bob in the bus and led him into the Black Forest Campground. It was a tense moment as I watched the bus turn off the main road, but Bob did a good job at making the impossible turn with only one small back-up maneuver.

We left the bus there, packed a few things and have been staying at Whispering Oaks, Randy and Kathy’s paradise in the mountains. What a gorgeous spot they have. The views of the Blue Ridge Parkway and surrounding areas are breath-taking. Their newly construction home is totally awesome.

The first part of the tour is to attend the White Squirrel Festival in Brevard, NC. I guess that is a big deal around here, and Bob and I were amazed to discover that there are indeed real live white squirrels and we actually saw one! Anyway, back to the festival, they had live music and lots of people and food venders. We found a local pub for a refreshment, but then called it an early evening and headed back to Whispering Oaks.

Sunday and Monday we were given more of the grand tour. We enjoyed lots of beautiful scenery and learned about the area. We did a little hiking and a little shopping. Randy and Kathy are wonderful hosts and tour guides. Their accommodations were perfect and the food was great!

Heading for home

After spending 3 nights with the Theis’ we headed up and over the Blue Ridge Mountains. I am happy to report the bus and driver handled the hills, mountains and curves with seeming ease. Since we didn’t leave until late morning, we only got to Frankfort, Kentucky before we called it a day. We will be home tomorrow! Yahoo!

Home

Ah, the green green grass of home. We arrived at White Oak mid afternoon today. It is always good to be back. While we miss everyone from Florida, we look forward to seeing the Batavia family and friends again.

The blue bus is currently parked in our driveway as we continue to unload and clean it. Then it will go back into storage on Green Road. (Our life is so colorful!) No big plans for any extended trips in it before our return to Florida in the fall, but it is always ready and waiting in case our wanderlust kicks in. Bob will be taking it to the Chicagoland Nascar races in Joliet in July, but that is just a weekend excursion.

Thanks for sharing in our adventures!

Day 5: We left the beach at 9am today. I was amazed and relieved at the ease with which Bob was able to get out of our site. The campground was really full by the time we left with people taking advantage of the long weekend. Given the opportunity, we would go back to Beverly Beach for another visit sometime….but for now, I am not sorry to leave the sand and salt behind. I must say that swimming in the Atlantic Ocean was much more enjoyable in Florida in May than it was in Rhode Island in September! (other than not having any siblings along!)

We arrived at the Point South KOA around 1pm. Once again, it seems we are the biggest rig in the place – we get lots of stares from people in tents and pop-up campers. It is great to have grass and trees again. People are very friendly and have encouraged us back to the office/shop later to have pizza and local wine with them. Sounds like a plan.

On The Road Again

It’s late morning Tuesday, May 25 (Digger Dave’s) birthday and the journey back north is underway! It is always a relief to finally hook up the jeep and close the bus door and get on our way.

We drive a couple hours to Punta Gorda and park at a rest stop where our dear friends Bob and Doris Kinsella graciously pick us up and take us to lunch at the water’s edge. Great food and even better company. It is so good to see the them again, they are the first friends we made in Florida. They are such fun and they look younger than ever.

Back on the road again we run into rain. Just drops at first which turns into a downpour. I keep telling Bob not to have the bus washed!! It happens every time. Next time we are in a drought, just have Bob wash the coach and park it outside.

A thought on the road: let’s call these road thoughts - new word Bublus…..it is much easier to say….especially when pairing it with blog. Say Blue Bus Blog 5 times in a row. I’m telling ya, bublus bog will be much easier to say. (No, I don’t drink while we are going down the road.)

Arrive at Marathon around 3:34pm - just in time to see the place get locked up and the worker bees scatter. Bob calls AT&T and gets his Iphone to connect to the internet for the first time in a few days. I am stuck without internet access (am having withdrawal - better break out the cocktails) He also calls and gets the direct tv working - although we don’t get much of anything. Hard to see these old fashioned tv’s that are so small after getting 2 new ones in FL!

Bentley seems fairly content. He will be happy to have dinner and a walk and go to bed. Think he is comfortable enough to stay alone here while we hit the Mexican restaurant in town.

Let’s hope for a quick fix in the garage tomorrow - and that they can do all the things we need, instead of having to go to Apopka to have some silly piece glued on the outside on the bus.

Day 3: Still here at Marathon. The good news is that they are able to address all of our needs. The bad news is that they can’t find a part we need for the ac in bedroom. Bob is off trying to pick up the part now.

This isn’t a bad place to be. I went out on my own yesterday while Bob stayed to crack the whip on these guys. (At the DISCOUNTED rate of $110 per hour, he needs to keep them moving!)

We tried a new place for dinner….a real seedy looking bar that we have been driving by for years. Not bad…and Bob liked the prices. Fried gator tail and chicken livers and gizzards!!! I can feel my arteries harden.

We have reservations on Beverly Beach http://www.beverlybeachcamptown.com/ for tonight and tomorrow. So, now I am getting antsy to get out of here. It shouldn’t be more than a 3 hour drive, so there shouldn’t be a problem. I can’t wait to get on the beach, but I can already hear Bob yelling about the sand in the bus!! Let alone the salt air!!

Day 4: Ah, the beach! This is a very neat campground. We can watch the surf right from the windshield. Moonrise last night was superb as was sunrise this morning. (I will admit, I just stepped out of bed for a couple minutes to watch it). Bentley enjoys running on the beach and chasing the waves….as do I. (Well maybe not running and chasing, but I do have to keep up with him.)

Nothing on the agenda for today other than food, drink, sun, surf and fun!! Yahoo! We plan to leave here tomorrow and head north for one night in South Carolina and then on to North Carolina on Sunday to visit Randy and Kathy Theis at their new home.

Country Thunder For Sure!!

Country Thunder again earned it's name this year. We arrived on Tues afternoon and set up camp in the "preferred" campground. It is actually a hay field that by Tues evening had dust blowing everywhere because of the traffic. Well that didn't last long! Stacey and Brian arrived shortly after we did and we arranged our site...after a couple of cold ones, of course! Tom and Sandy arrived later after I sent them on a wild goose chase to meet Jami and pick up his 10x20 shelter thingy. We then sat around and had a few more beverages and cooked some Brats for dinner. The dust keeps getting worse as more and more campers arrive.

Wed arrives and it's hotter than h3$4. About noon we all (6) pile in the Jeep and go to a local watering hole for a burger. Back to Country Thunder where the entertainment starts @ 4 and the VIP buffet opens at 5. After eating ...again.....we are entertained by Joe Nichols, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

Thursday again brings hot (90+) and humid weather with a chance of thunderstorms. The lunch buffet opens at 11 and entertainment begins at noon. Today's headliners are Emerson Drive, Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley......awesome shows.

Friday comes and it seems Pat has contracted the Avian Flu. The same weather forecast for today...only this time the thunderstorm part comes true. At least it waits until we have seen Randy Owen, Clay Walker and Sugarland. But then it dumps on us.

Saturday and finally there is no dust today....just a light drizzle.....and mud.....lot's of it. Actually the campground is closed to all traffic because of the muddy conditions. But that doesn't stop some of the "red necks" in their jacked up pickups from slinging mud everywhere. Nor does it deter the mud slide activities! Oh to be young again!

Entertainment today is, amongst others, Kellie Pickler, Jessica Simpson and Sara Evans.

Saturday night brings another thunderstorm giving us about 2" of rain over the last couple of days. Only Brian and Stacey would sit by the campfire, under an umbrella, in the pouring rain, drinking beer! Gotta lov em!

The hayfield has now turned into a swamp!

Sunday morning ( go home day) comes with overcast sky's that quickly clear. The entertainment today is provided by everyone attempting to pack up and leave. 2 big farm tractors are making the rounds pulling pickups, trailers and motor homes thru the mud to the road. We wait until about noon, for things to dry up, to give it a try and move about 3 feet before calling in the tractor! Once safely on the hard road the rest of the trip home is uneventful!

WOW.....what a weekend!

Off to Country Thunder!

Well, NASCAR weekend was a success, with the weather co-operating....... for the most part. A strong thunderstorm blew thru Thursday night right before Gretchen Wilson was scheduled to perform a free concert. Eventually the show was cancelled and moved to Fri afternoon. Good thing we were hunkered down in the "safety" of the Miller Lite Tent!

The night races were a different atmosphere this year and seemed to draw larger crowds than usual. We had a nice visits with old friends and met some new ones. Friday night I visited Speedway Ridge for the Nationwide race, compliments of Tommy D.

Sunday the weather was beautiful as we packed up and headed for home, only to get ready for Country Thunder!

Nascar Weekend

Well it's just about time for the BLue Bus to roll again. It is NASCAR weekend in Chicago and we're off to the races, so to speak. We dry camp in a farmers field named Prairie View Campground, which is about a mile walk from the actual track. Again this year we will be joined by "The Brews", Judy and Bart Pfanenstiel and Doug. Wes, the owner, has done a nice job of accommodating us and put us along the fence row with 3 spots all together. The festivities start tonight with a free concert followed by the Nationwide race tomorrow and finally the Cup race on Sat night. This is the first year of the Saturday night format and there seems to be a lot of excitement. Nothing to do all weekend but eat, drink and of course watch some rubbin and racin! Ohhhh..........Doug just called, he has scored tickets for us to the Miller Beer corporate tent and the Miller Party deck on turn four......awesome!
BUT FIRST..............the chassis batteries are dead...again. Guess it's time to replace them with four fresh Interstate 31-MHD's. Lot's of lead in these babys and boy are they heavy!
The weather looks beautiful all weekend, and the long range forecast is for good weather next week when we head to Country Thunder for another four days of rockin country music with some of the biggest names in the business.
Stay tuned!

KABOOM..........FLP,FLP,FLP,FLP,FLP.........

I guess it should have set the tone for the trip, when it rained within an hour of leaving with our spit polished Blue Bus!

We arrived at Marathon in time to retrieve our repaired shades, only to find the repair had been done incorrectly and the shades now won't expand to the edges of the windows. By this time Marathon is closed, so I repackaged them and will leave by their front door, with a note explaining the problem, when we leave in the morning.

Another bus pulls in and we soon realize it is Scott Campbell from Michigan, a Marathon Coach Clubber who we met and spent some time with on our Michigan/Canada trip. Scott was on a mission to get his father back home so he couldn't stay long, but did leave us some parts to leave along with ours.

After a quiet night we are off about 7 am and back on the road. A fuel stop in Georgia is in order as their taxes are lower and the fuel prices usually some of the cheapest. We stop at the Flying J at mm 320 north of Atlanta. The price is $4.59 and I get a .06 discount....we take on 160 gals so you do the math! Traveling north into Tennessee my low price theory is shot as I see some prices as "low" as $4.43! What next!?

We arrive at one of our favorite spots, Two Rivers Campground in Nashville around 4:30 and park for the night. I try to level up only to find the air compressor used for levelling is not working again. I have been having some issues with it and obviously haven't resolved them. Next weeks project.

We "sneak" out around 6:30 the next morning and head north. It's a sunny nice day and traffic is not to bad, even the construction zones are moving well. A rest stop north of Louisville and on the road again.

At this pace it looks like we should miss the Chicago traffic and be home around 2:30-3:00.

NOT

KABOOM............FLP,FLP,FLP,FLP,FLP,FLP,FLP....we have blown a tire. The truck that I am passing quickly realizes the situation and slows to give me plenty of room to get slowed and to the shoulder. Safely on the shoulder, I assess the situation and find the right tag axle tire completely disintegrated. The debris has ripped off a mud flap which is hanging, but otherwise no apparent damage. In that respect we are very lucky as their are vulnerable air, fuel and electrical lines that were in the debris path.

Where the hell are we anyways? After realizing we are in an area that I know Ozinga has some concrete plants, I call my old friend Randy. He asks if he can call me back, and I ask him to be quick, cause I need his help. Kinda rude! He calls back within a few minutes (Thanks Randy!) and I explain our situation. He offers to call one of his people in the area and have him call me. Shortly his guy calls and directs me to a nearby tire company. I call the tire company and drop a couple of names. They have a used tire (lucky cause it's kinda a wierd size) for a very reasonable price and can dispatch a qualified service guy immediately! (Thanks Randy!)

By now a motorcycle State trooper has arrived, along with a Hoosier Helpers service truck. I explain that I have help on the way so the cop uses the opportunity to run a little radar. Only a couple of minutes pass before he is off, siren blaring. The Hoosier Helper dude assists me in getting the mud flap off and putting it in the jeep. The Hoosier Helper guy explains that he was up the road getting fuel when his dispatch called and informed him of our situation. Seems they had seen the whole thing on camera!! The camera can be seen on the tower in the background of the picture on Pat's post. He said somebody sits and watches those cameras 24/7! Randy calls back to make sure everything is going to be OK. (Thanks Randy!)

After about an hour the tire service truck arrives and makes quick work of changing the tire. He checks the pressures in all of the other tires and we are on our way again! (Thanks Randy!)

Some slow traffic thru construction in Chicago and we are finally home.