060430 - Fair Play, South Carolina

4/30/2006
Fair Play, South Carolina

Since our week long stay at Lake Bruin, LA, we have been hip-hopping across the south. Our east coast target of Hilton Head, SC has been cancelled due to some unavoidable scheduling conflict of my friends Herb and Ruth. The new destination has been chosen in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, located in the western part of the state. More about that in a few minutes.

We usually keep track of holidays and special events and occasions, because in the past, we have almost been stuck without a place to stay because of advanced bookings and over crowding. Leaving Meridian. Mississippi didn't seem like anything but an ordinary day, and to most of the country it was an ordinary day, but if you’re a race car fan, it isn’t.
We set our sites on a park in Lincoln, Alabama and as we approached to where it was supposed to be, ... it wasn't!!!
We look up the road and down the road, and across but no sign of Dogwood RVP. A phone call revealed that they had gone out of business 6 months ago, and sold their phone number to another park, Unfortunately, they were full. It just so happens that the neighboring town of Talladega was having some kind of auto racing and apparently the whole country drove in to see it. After a few more phone calls, we found a park with one site left - and because we are not a huge bus, with slides and toad, we fit just fine.
Ironically, the name of the park, Safe Harbor, turned out to be just that.
We spent a pleasant evening watching some young boys fish off a dock, while a herd of ducks swam (paddled?) back and forth across the lake.

This morning we awoke feeling good, planning an overnight stop in Georgia on the way to Rutherfordton.

The weather was overcast with rain in the forecast, so we thought we'd make some distance. We drove thru Atlanta, up i-85, stopped for lunch, and felt a little drowsy. We pulled into a rest stop, took a snooze for 45 minutes and felt refreshed and recharged. We drove, and drove, past many RV parks, and before we know it we had run out of Georgia real estate, entering South Carolina.
Just across the state line, in a town called Fair Play, we selected a state park on Lake Hartwell, and had a very pleasant shock.
The overnight fee was $11.67 (I get a discount for disabled - who knew) and the campsite is right on the lake, completely level and paved, and it is serene and beautiful, with no one else around.. Sort of a Walden Lake atmosphere.

I put a few leads together and Peter had lots of room to roam and explore.
Too bad we have to leave in the morning.

Okay, so what's so special about this park were going to you ask? Some one sent Peter an email with an advertisement for this park called Four Paws Kingdom.
It's billed as the "first" RV park for dogs. I guess they don't recognize the fact that cats have 4 paws too. Anyway, ever since he saw this email, he has been pestering me everyday with "can we go, huh, can we go, please, can we go?" What does he care, he's not driving or paying for gas. Believe it or not, with our change in plans, it turns out to be doable, and I made it happen. Now he has changed his chant to "are we there yet, huh, are we there yet?"

We have reservations for a week starting tomorrow. I guess the next travel report will be from Peter.

Till next time,

060419 - ARCADIA, LA

4/19/2006
ARCADIA, LA

We’re Leaving Fort Worth and making a run for the border. 3 hours later and we're finally out of Texas.
Our target park is the Isle of Capri Casino and RVP in Bossier, LA. The roads are a bit busy, but there's no construction or congestion so we're moving along at a pretty good pace.
The 18 wheelers like to play hopscotch on busy 2 lane highways, and we are not about to impede their progress. They are working folk, with schedules and deadlines, so we let them jockey for position and try to keep out of their way.

According to our RVP "Bible" this place charged $18 last year. Sounded good to us. Unfortunately, and with no explanation, their current rate was $34. Now I have to admit, Peter and I were really looking forward to a good casino "all u can eat" buffet, but we didn't think we were hungry enough to justify the $34 tab, so we stumbled back to the Beast and aimed it for a RVP about 30 miles down the road. It was just going to be an overnight stop so we had no allusions or expectations. We got there just after the office closed, but that's not a problem at campsites. They usually have a night drop box where you fill out a registration form ... and put it in an envelope with a check, and pick a site.

This was the first time we ran into a park that had ALL 50 amp sites,(we have a 30 amp rig) and we didn't have a "dogbone" adapter to attach to our 30 amp plug. Let that be a lesson to us. We have added adapters to our shopping list. No sense in hanging around, so we pulled out the book and map and 30 miles ahead was our next alternative. The name of the park gave us pause, but when we arrived, we were really surprised. It was a sprawling, grassy meadow, sectioned off into an area with sellers booths, a small crawfish restaurant, a lake, and RV parking. No one was at the entrance, so we rumbled in, found the RV section, with only a handful of rigs in attendance. We picked a site, and to my amazement, it was spot on level.

We keep a bubble level on the dashboard and the counter to make sure we are not leaning too much to one side or the other. The fixtures that use propane need to be pretty close to level or the flame doesn't sit right in its chamber and can malfunction or cause damage.

The bubble is usually close to center, and if it isn't, we have to throw a chuck under a wheel to balance it. The big rigs have pneumatic plungers that come down from the chassis to level themselves. We aren’t that sophisticated.

This time, the bubble was dead center - and considering we are on a grassy site, it is incredible.

By the way, the name of the park is the Bonnie & Clyde Trading center and RVP.

The sign in front said "if office is closed, find a site and someone will come around and collect". We are a little wary, and Peter went thru the closet looking for his Kevlar bulletproof vest. No luck, but the grounds are really woodsy and green, and pleasant, and even my walker wheels don't complain on the level grass.

with daylight savings, it doesn't get dark till way past 8 Pm so there's plenty of time for a last walk for Peter and its also a very beautiful scene as the sun sets so late.

We're tempted to stay another day but we have to be moving along. Our friends in South Carolina have some plans that we will work around but we have to be there a few days earlier.

There's this park in North Carolina that Peter wants to go to - but more about that later.

We haven't had a knock on our door for the rent - so I guess they'll wait till morning.

I hope we don't wake up and find our tires encased in cement boots.

Till next time,

060418 - FORT WORTH, TEXAS

4/18/06
FORT WORTH, TX

We found this cute little RVP in the downtown area of Fort Worth and it was just right. About 3 miles from the stockyards and easy to get to by cab.
Small, clean, paved walkways and enough grass for Peter to water. We even get to park under a tree to throw some shade over us, and boy do we need it.
The plan was to go to the stockyards and play tourist.

Well, you know the old adage; be careful what you wish for, you might get it.
when we started this trip, 4 weeks ago, the temp was in the 30's in the foothills of Ramona, and when in Arizona, the weather took some time to warm up. When we got to Fort Worth, we found ourselves in the middle of a record breaking heat spell that sent natives running for the garden hose and swimming pools. We had planned on roaming around the famous "Stockyards" of Fort Worth, but with the temp hitting 100 degrees, we decided to wait till tomorrow. The night time temp was well in the high 70's to low 80's and we kept the a/c on all night. Unfortunately, the next day was trying to break the previous records of 102 but just missed. We stayed put.
The weather prediction for tomorrow is actually much cooler, in the 70's, but it may be accompanied by rain and thunder storms, so we are planning on moving on and try to stay ahead of any bad weather that will threaten us on the road.

GREEN VALLEY,AZ

060412 - Midland, Texas

04/12/06
Midland, Texas

Just the thought of going to Midland made us salivate.
Last time we were here we discovered a delicious Mexican restaurant that served a 5 item dinner for $8.50 and the food was delicious. Even the salsa was the best I've tasted.

With a little luck, we navigated the streets and found Charlas. We parked the Beast at the curb, and strolled in, delighted to find that nothing had changed - especially the menu.

With a big bowl of chips, salsa, a mug of beer and our order of relanos, tamales, enchiladas, and quesidias being prepared, we sat back and relaxed.

The meal was great.
Later on we checked into the RVP, took a walk, and settled in for a quiet evening of TV and sleep.

060410 - DEMING,NEW MEXICO

4/10/2006
Deming, NM

Left Green Valley this morning in very unpleasant weather. It rained overnight, and the sky is darkened, overcast with gray clouds and strong winds. Most of the time it seems as we are experiencing a tailwind so it can be deceiving, but occasionally we get caught by a cross wind which gets our attention.

As we stop for gas, the attendant gives us strong warnings about driving east and regales us with stories about truck accidents in winds like today. We thank him for the warning and progress slowly, but find it not as bad as it could have been so we're relieved. When we get out of the Beast, I actually have to leave my cap inside or lose it. I almost had my walker blown away when I let go of it. The weather has now turned to rain. hopefully it will be enough to wash off the old bugs to make room for the new ones.

We are aiming for Lordsburg, NM but as we get close, it seems we can go further and put Deming as a new target. WE pulled over for an hour to escape the winds and took a nap, so feeling refreshed, Deming here we come.

Lots of RVs on the road - probably the Snowbirds returning to their homes in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Maine, etc. who checked with neighbors and found out that the snow is starting to melt.

It seems strange that we are in desert country but the altitude above sea level is about 4000 feet. In fact, somewhere between Lordsburg and Deming, we crossed the continental divide. In this part of the country its just a sign, but in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado it is more exciting. The road surface in New Mexico has been smooth ride and a pleasure. It must have recently been resurfaced.

We love the yellow warning signs in New Mexico.

WARNING-Dust storms ahead for next 15 miles,
do not stop in travel lanes,
ZERO Visibility POSSIBLE,
SPEED LIMIT 70 MPH –
ENJOY THE SCENERY.

Every 15 miles these signs repeat. Why don't they just put up one sign at each boarder that says

DUST STORMS NEXT 400 - DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DRIVE THIS ROAD?

Forgetting that Arizona does not honor daylight savings time and New Mexico does, we didn't reset our watches at the boarder crossing, so of course we arrived an hour later than expected and will have to get up an hour earlier tomorrow. Even Peter is confused. He keeps asking "is it time to eat yet?"

The Little Vineyard RVP sounds a lot nicer than it looks - but we have been here before and its OK for an overnight.

060409 - GREEN VALLEY, AZ

4/9/06
Green Valley, AZ

It's our last evening in Green Valley and we are ending our stay with a final game of Mexican Train with Marilyn, Buck, Maureen, Barry, Rod and Judy.

Green Valley is a beautiful, small but growing area just south of Tucson.
We found it by accident when we were returning from our Mexican Caravan trip 1-1/2 years ago and were befriended by Barry and Maureen who were staying at the same park. Maureen was visiting her sister Marilyn and Buck, and Peter and I were graciously invited to join them. That was our first exposure and experience to Mexican Train (a variation of a domino game -which has no relation to anything Mexican). We had next visited them last Christmas on our way to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and now again.
We spent some wonderful evenings together, some with fine home cooking, and always with "The Game".

Thanks to Nat, a Temple member, we were told that some former temple members, Murray and Margie Falk, were living in Green Valley as well and we made arrangements to meet and play catch up.

Margie picked us up at our park, and back at her home made a terrific breakfast soufflé. Peter even got to meet and play with a new friend, Frosty, a cute little bundle of white fur who tried to teach him how to play as she flirted with him. I will say he did try and he was a perfect gentleman. We had a great time visiting and covered many subjects about ourselves and our common acquaintances.

This is the kind of place you make plans to return to.

060402 - Maricopa, AZ

Sunday, April 02, 2006
Maricopa, AZ

The Cocopah Golf Club and RV Resort was a mixed blessing. If you like golf, I’m sure it is a great treat to have the fairways and tees at your door step, but if you are someone with a disability and a service dog, it loses lots of its glamour.

The grounds were pretty, with tennis courts, shuffleboard, horseshoes and a very nice pool with grassy lounge areas, and the weather was really nice and warm most of the time.

The roadways were kind to the Batmobile and Peter seemed to find lots of places to water and fertilize. All in all, it was a good vacation spa.

Getting back on the road, especially in the west is always a thrill. Everywhere you look there are mountains, and behind them are more mountains. Here we are, in the catbird’s seat of a big rig, speeding along on a flat, smooth, clearly marked modern highway, and wondering what it must have been like for the settlers hundreds of years ago, confronting wilderness, forests, mountains and rivers, without so much as a map or road marker. It must have been awesome and extremely challenging, just to choose a direction of travel and stick to it. Hell, we have trouble when there’s too much gravel or loose dirt for the walker or Batmobile to function on. As you get closer to the foothills of these great mountain ranges, it boggles the mind that people crossed them with primitive wagons, filled with their life’s possessions and families. I must admit that some of the mountains I have driven in and crossed have delighted me with some of the most spectacular views of our country, not to mention some of the most beautiful valleys and lakes that I have ever seen..

Our country is vast, with pockets of civilization, but mostly devoid of steel and concrete structures and two legged intruders. I must admit, I would rather be the navigator than the driver on most of these roads, but since I don’t trust Peter to drive, I will have to accept the compromise of seeing everything thru a large windshield over a steering wheel. I hope someday you can experience what we have seen and heard and felt. Peter has a mantra that says it all: “So many trees, so little time”.