The final leg of the trip home

April 17, 2008, our eighth day on the road!
Today we are parked at the Oaks. When we awoke Frank asked Kay if she wanted to go to Denny’s for breakfast for eggs to which Kay said no so Frank had cereal again.Later Kay did the laundry while Frank read his book, though Kay swears he was sleeping. When Kay was finished with the laundry we took a walk to the store to get milk. On the way we saw the lean mean 13 ft alligator but were not able to get a picture of the critter, rather at another lake we saw a lean mean smaller alligator swimming in his own lake and Frank took his picture. We came back to the campground and had dinner.

After we dinner we walk around the campground and saw a 23 ft Award trailer so we stopped by and said hello. The couple was eating dinner but told us they would stop by and pass the time of day, which they did. They were a nice couple even though they were nudists. Kay found that out and told Frank after they left!

April 18, 2008, our ninth day on the road!
It is moving day! The WiFi has shut down and South of the Border does not have it. We left The Oaks after ten again and found that the SC roads are in deplorable shape. Frank said that they should raise the gas tax so they can fix the roads. He said that is the normal governmental fix for whenever the government does not do it job, namely raise taxes to cover the waste and sloppy spending of the revenues they receive. Kay just looked at him seeing as we had just spent $108.xx dollars for diesel at mile fifty-three in SC. We continued on to South of the Border, SC where we camped at Camp Pedro’s. Once Frank had connected the electric we went to the indoor pool in the Motel and enjoyed a swim. Both of us were disappointed because they had filled the hot tub with cement.

We spent more time roaming through the shops looking at the junk that is sold as souvenirs and noting that the evenings were getting warmer. Maybe it will be warm when we get home!

April 19, 2008, our tenth day on the road!
Once again it is moving day! Up early and on the road by 9:10AM as Frank was heard saying "Unreal". The roads in NC are better than the roads in SC, but not by much! NC has planted wild flowers in the meridian and they are "just beautiful". It should be noted that on the whole drive along I95 we never hit a traffic backup. That is a record for us and we could use more of them.

We got to the Lakeside Resort on Gaston Lake in VA and parked the rig on a paved lot. Frank hooked up and in doing so pulled all the pop rivets out of one of the compartment door hinges. He will not tell Kay how he did this! He went and got his pop rivets and found that he had forgotten his pop rivet gun. He was able to borrow a neighbor’s gun, which was lucky seeing as nobody was living in an Airstream meaning that they properly don’t have a great use for one.We then proceeded to rest before dinner! After dinner we walked the park, looked at Lake Gaston, and neighbored before retiring for the night. Frank noted that for being a resort the sites were very close together, but the view of the lake was great for those who had one. It should be noted that we use to come here when were going to Myrtle Beach on long vacations so the resort is not new to us. The resort is made up of two resorts in one, "The Club at Lake Gaston" and "Lakeside at Lake Gaston". When we first came we went to The Club and had the full use of the park, now you go to Lakeside are limited as to what you can use. We enjoyed neighboring!

April 20, 2008, our eleventh day on the road!
And the rains came as we are parked by Lake Gaston in VA, so it is off to Mass in Roanoke Rapids, NC just eighteen miles down the road. Once we got to Mass but before we got out of the truck the downpour began. We waited but to no avail so we got wet as we walk to the church door. When Mass was over the rains had stopped so we drove to Wal-Mart and did some shopping before heading back to the campground. Then we rested and talked on the phones before heading to the Kennon House for Franks Pork Chops. The restaurant has changed hands since the last time we were there in 1998 and the menu now has a French flair to it. Frank ordered the pork chops which were good but not as good as those he first had in 1994 and wrote about in that years Christmas letter. In 1994 we paid $12.30 for our meal while in 2008 we paid 36.34 for our meal, both prices included our tip. Now the restaurant is just another pricey restaurant in Frank’s mind. Oh yes the rains are back with a vengeance.

April 21, 2008, our twelfth day on the road!
We awoke to a cloudy day, so we had a leisurely breakfast before Frank went out to hook up and then the rains came. Frank got the black tank empty, and us hooked up but he got soaked. Frank got the black tank cleaned so he will be able to work on the toilet when we get home. Kay worked inside and stayed dry. We left the campground at 9:10AM only 10-min late but very wet. We drove down the road through a drizzle, which cleared up until, just before we got to Suffolk, VA where Frank wanted to get fuel. At that time the downpour came again but Frank was under a canopy and kept dry. We drove to the Bay Tunnel Bridge with out getting lost and crossed to DelMarVa where the rain quickly diminished showing us how great DelMarVa is. We arrived home after filling up once again at the outrageous prices that are being charged for diesel. Good to be home even if we are poorer!

Now the agenda will be to unpack the trailer, fix the toilet, buy a new TV for the trailer, by a Mac laptop for Kay and have Frank work on Kay’s list before heading to MN to see Cathy, Dave, Molly, Sarah, Kayla, Zack, and Emily in June. This will be the subject of another blog at a later date!