Independence Day

Happy 4th of July everyone !  

Our day was filled with family, friends, food,fireworks and FUN!  Mikayla  made a fresh key lime pie to take. We arrived at Denny & Barbs house around 12:30.  They graciously hosted a feast with BBQ ribs hot dogs,burgers and all the fixins! We ate till we could no more.

After the feast the guys got comfy on the sofa and took a snooze while Mikayla, Barbara, and Debbie played a game of Scrabble.  Barb won and Mikayla came in second with Debbie tailing the end .  Chewy had fun playing with Gridly and Zoe.  We said our goodbyes to Denny & Barb then met up with  Dale & Pam for a bite and a beer at Hans & Frans.  We stopped by their beautiful home  decorated with some of  Dales amazing photography then all of us headed downtown Greenville for the fireworks!  Amazing show! Chewbaca came with us and we held him up like a kid so he could see the fireworks.  It was amazing how he watched the whole show, so curious about all those beautiful colors and booms in the sky, and not once did he flinch or bark.  After the fireworks we strolled down along the riverside of Greenville and walked on the foot bridge that's cantilevered over the waterfalls.  Such a beautiful place.  It was late and it was a long drive back to camp.  We were all really exhausted and so delirious that we got silly and laughed till our faces hurt!  I guess you had to be there to appreciate it!

It was a full fun day and tomorrow we were getting up early to head to next stop in VA.

Headed to Greenville, SC

July 2nd, 2017:

We left Savannah, GA on Sunday morning and headed out for Greenville, SC to visit my brother and stopped by his beautiful home in Pelzer, SC.  Barbara had a nice spread for lunch before we left to our campground for the next 3 nights.  My brother rode with us in the RV down South about 30 miles, it was the only campground we could find that wasn't full for the holiday weekend.  We finally arrived late afternoon, setup camp and drove back to my brother's house.  They wanted to take us downtown Greenville for dinner. Mainstreet downtown was really nice with lots of restaurants and shops.  They had made reservations at the Nose Dive, a great little place.

July 3rd, 2017:

On our 2nd day in the Greenville area we got organized and went swimming at the campground pool and explored the area down by the lake.  Its a beautiful area with rolling hills and lots of trees.  Our RV lot included a wood deck right next to us so we decorated it for the 4th of July in preparation for a visit from a Grade School classmate I went to school with from 1st grade through 8th.  I hadn't seen him since we moved to Miami back in 1963. 

Dale and his wife Pam arrived at our campsite about 5pm.  I'm sure we have aged quite a bit since 1963, but we both recognized each other right away and picked up where we left off so many years ago.  There were lots of stories told, most of them reminiscing about our grade school days and a few stories I can't repeat here. 

I cooked a pork loin on the grill and Debbie prepared the fixins to go with it.  It was a great BBQ out under the trees.  After dinner we went down to the lakeshore, Dale brought his drone, and he flew out and around the lake area taking photos and video.  He shot a selfie of our group standing on the shoreline, minus Mikayla, she was back at the RV making chocolate chip cookies for dessert. 

Dale spent a lot of years in the Army and Civil Service in Germany and became quit the bier connoisseur.  He brought several growlers of German brew and we drank it all.  The stories got better and better.  Preston & Mikayla listened intently about a couple of old Kansas farm boys and their young adventures and shenanigans in Harper, KS. 

That German bier was good, but I had to introduce Dale and Pam to a little taste of the Bahamas so we poured a little after dinner shot of Pineapple and Banana Rum.  That was a great end to a great evening with a long lost friend from way back in the day. 

Tomorrow is Independence Day and my brother is having us over for a Rib BBQ.  I'll let Debbie chime in on the next entry. 

Happy Birthday Chewbaca

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHEWY!  2years old today ! 

We packed up camp early as we headed for Grandfather Mountain!  On our way we drove the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway.  It was so amazingly beautiful! We also drove the Linville Viaduct which was also beautiful!  We arrived at Grandfather Mountain around noon.  We had to unhook the car from the RV  to make the drive up the mountain.  Up up and up we went till we reached the top of the mountain.  The kids were truly amazed what they saw.  It was such a beautiful site! We all walked the swinging bridge, 5,280 feet above sea level, including Chewy, and headed to the summit.  I believe the kids will remember this for ever.  We had some lunch and bought some fudge in their fudge store then headed down the mountain.  Drove through Boone then headed through Virginia.  Another  beautiful drive!  We arrived Lake Ridge RV Resort in Hillsville, VA where we will be for two nights.  Great park for kids.  Fishing, waterslides pool mini golf, big arcade craft room and lots of kids.  Set up camp, fixed an adult beverage while kids went fishing.  Not enough catch for dinner so we BBQ'd chicken and to bed by 10.  Looking forward to relaxing by the pool tomorrow.. 

First Day - First Stop

Debbie wrote:

As we pulled away from our condo, I had a bitter sweet moment and tears filled my eyes.   Happy because at that moment our long awaited dream came true.   We actually made it happen and are headed in  our RV for a trip across America .  Sad because I don't do well when away from family for anything much more than a week.   Thank goodness we have the grandkids with us for the next 2 weeks as we head up the east coast.  

After traveling for close to 7 hours, we arrived at our first overnight stay in Savannah GA at Red Gate RV Park.  Our lot was just beautiful under a huge oak tree with waterfront view of three lakes. 

 

Fishing dock right out the door.  Preston & Mikayla gave it their best cast only to have something eat the bait off their hook! 


We drove  to the riverside downtown and did some shopping and took in the sites.  Concerts along water and lots of good food and drink! 

Headed back to RV cleaned up then out to Mellow Mushroom for pizzas and meatball subs!

Great first day!  Off to Greenville SC in am to visit with Brent's brother Denny and wife Barbara for the next few days . 

The BIG Day - Departure from Home Live to RV Life

So here we are, after many months of anticipating our departure on a Trip Across America in our RV. I was up around 5am this morning wondering what we forgot to pack, but then it dawned on me, if we DID forget anything, there's always a store right down the road from where ever we are.  So our transition from Home life to RV life is about to begin.

We're planning to get on the road this morning around 8:30, headed for Savannah, GA, our first stop. Our Grandkids will be traveling with us the first two weeks with stops planned for Greenville, SC to visit my Brother for the 4th of July weekend.  Then we're off to see Grandfather Mountain near Boone, NC.  I always wanted to take my Grandkids there and stand on the mile high bridge as their Grandfather on Grandfather Mountain.

Then we will be headed up to Washington, DC for a couple of days to educate these young kids about taxes and where all the money goes, but more importantly, why we should be proud to be Americans and appreciate our freedom as citizens of this great country.

We will be stopping in Hershey, PA to meet with cousins from Allentown for a full day at Hershey Park with all the thrilling rides and a taste of chocolate.  From there we will be visiting Debbie's Aunts and Cousins and old high school friends for a couple of days, then we're headed West along the Northern tier of States until we reach the Pacific Ocean.

So stay tuned, we hope to write a little about each stop here, all along our Trip Across America.