day_1

yeah, i know.  you’d think that with a six thousand mile trip still quite fresh in my memory would temper my urges to travel and live in the casita.  but no, and i find myself in the croaton national forest on the coast of north carolina.  specifically we’re in the cedar point campground on loop a and campsite seven in case you care to drop by.  this was not a whim trip.  six months ago i’d decided that it would be great fun to revisit buck hall as a guest and try to make life difficult for the camp host.  actually it was to be a sentimental trip back to a place i’m very fond of.  anyway, that was the plan. a plan that came to a screeching halt with a cancellation of my booking due to campground closure brought on by a total lack of water.  well, these plans were made with my good friends clancy and jake both of whom have brand new trailers and were very receptive to a trip.  so…clancy came up with this alternative and i’m always ready for an adventure so here we are.  we’re just oustide of the city of cedar point, north carolina.  very near the camp lejeune marine base which i can only assume is the source of some very noisy helicopters overhead.  it is however, a very nice campground.  small, well spaced sites and flat places to park the rig.  there’s electricity service but no water.  my site has a communal water source conveniently located next to my driveway.  not a bad arrangement.  there’s a good public radio station with contemporary music that i don’t know but it sounds great.  there’s a great signal from verizon and six or so over the air television choices. 

the drive of a bit over two hundred fifty miles was a long one.  several freeways and a road that was a freeway wanna be.  those took us to us highway seventeen and thru a lot of cities.  thirty five miles per hour cities.  the final forty miles took forever.  adding to the stress of all that driving was that stupid tire pressure warning light on my dashboard.  the damned thing has been doing it’s glowing orange warning every now and then since i’ve owned the truck.  my reaction early on was to, well, panic.  pulling over to check my tire pressure and never discovering a problem.  well, that reaction has tempered over the years and now i generally ignore it.  today it was overactive.  giving me several warnings and then one that lasted longer (in my mind) than ever before.  i don’t need to tell you that this triggered some serious anxiety.  not only was i keeping an eye out  for a spot to stop for some air pressure checking i was planning for the impending disaster of a dangerous tire incident.  then the light went away just like always.  i knew that dreadful device had a history of “crying wolf”  but….

that’s it…i’m tired and am heading the the super bag. 

day_3

it’s friday morning on the coast of north carolina (and a lot of other places i would assume).  lovely spring weather.  why, the temperature swing yesterday was practically nonexistent.  mid sixties during the day and low sixties during dark.  dry and mostly clear skies…what more could you ask for?

yesterday the final member of our trio of camping geezers arrived.  clancy, jake and your interpid traveler.  both jake and clancy are on their maiden camping trips.  now both of them traveled a long distance getting home after they acquired their new memory makers but this is the first time out from home base.  there’s a difference.  they’ve both chosen “big rigs” (well, compared to mine) and i’ve toured both.  they are very spacious and equipped with four season accoutrement.  double pane windows, insulated holding tanks and a bevy of other things that make for comfort in weather extremes.  while i do envy their luxuries i’m not tempted to swim upstream in the creek of change.  my little rig suites me fine.  the one bone of contention being the fridge.  that’s going to change soon.  as i sit here pecking on the keypad there’s a new unit headed my way.  a fridge that requires twelve volts or hundred twenty volts (shore power) to keep things cold.  no gas!  i’ve always had a nagging distrust of the act of burning propane to make cold.  my experience with that is evidence of the viability of that distrust.  you can expect to read all about the results of this grand experiment right here.

tonight we dined at a local seafood eatery for a meal of fried.  fish, shrimps, and hush puppies.  i did make an attempt toward “healthy” by ordering a baked potato.  all of the more than ample servings were quite good.  after that it was time for some rv super bag slumber.

day_4

nearly all of yesterday was spent sitting around in the clam with my pals telling camping (and other) stories…most of them were at least partially true.  the day flew by.  around dark time we dined on clancy’s delicious chili while continuing our banter until we felt the need to recline and headed to our respective trailers (i had the shortest walk).  that was our friday…how was yours?

in addition to my shampoo i’ve forgotten the battery charger for my camera.  so, i’ll be forced to fall back on my phone for images and steal some shampoo from someone.

day_5

well, i’d written a great report of out trip to emerald isle beach however, that report was eaten by the cyber beast that lives in this laptop.  so, i’ll just post some images from there and you readers will be left to imagine the things we did.

day_6

tuesday morning and our last day here in north carolina.  i’ve discovered that having pals around to hang with has seriously limited my reportage output.  now, i’m not complaining…quite the contrary since having folks around to interact with is a pleasure.  just one i’m not accustomed to.  sunday we made the drive out to look at the atlantic ocean.  that trip took us to emerald isle,north carolina.  a place that my kids and i, along with a lot of friends, spent the y2k new years event.  that was most likely the biggest non event ever.  the world didn’t end and there was still money in my bank account (altho it remained meager).  the anticipation, however, had just a bit of an edge.

yesterday we enjoyed sausage biscuits for the morning meal.  jake and i watched clancy hook up for departure and as soon as he left began wondering what we were going to do for supper since the chef had left.  his cheerful presence as well as his culinary talents left a bit of hole in the trio.  jake rose to the occasion with grilled hamburgers accompanied with pork and beans.   the burgers were tasty and those beans reintroduced me to a treat that i’d long ago given up.  they’re really pretty darned good.

between the biscuits and the burgers i spent  some time prepping for departure by packing up the clam and a some other stuff so today the remaining packing will be less of a chore.  it’s been a great week here in north carolina.  a nice campground and pleasant weather spent with old friends who were enjoying their maiden adventure with new rigs.  i, of course, was the resident “expert” with my nine year old rig which was by far the smallest.  i must admit that those larger trailers are great with all that additional space for dining and hanging out indoors…but, i was always glad to retreat to my little house and the comforts it provides.  different strokes for different folks.

this will most likely be my last post from this adventure.  i’m hoping to move the blog to a new site and that may take a while.  hopefully there will be a “new and improved” version for you faithful readers soon….