April 16--Kingston to Home

Well, I guess it's time to go home. We roared up I-75 like someone was chasing us. For once in our lives we actually got through Louisville before the PM rush hour, and no potholes. We'll be able to enjoy two or three Spring's this year since its just now getting nice up here in the good ol' Hoosier state. Part of me is ready to be home, but another part is asking why. I think for our first extended trip we did well. The only real nasty travel day was the first.
We ended up with a total truck mileage of 3,000 miles which is about 500 more than I expected. But we took a few side trips without the trailer. I purposely didn't keep track of how much we spent on fuel or other items. This was the one trip where I just wanted to enjoy it. Tomorrow we'll start to unpack the trailer. We'll take special note of items packed but not used on the trip. Next time we won't take them. What's next? We would like to re-visit some of our Indiana state parks. We love being able to camp during the week instead of the busy weekends. In mid-May we want to attend our first Tin Can Tourist rally up in Michigan. I want to see all the other vintage campers and see what their owners are like. They are probably nut's like us. Then in July we're going to Colorado and hopefully hook up with John for some fun. In October we'll head to AZ for the birth of Amy and Jim's baby. Haven't decided on whether we'll take the trailer with us on that trip or later in the year. It sure was a great trip. We both felt that The South has to be the most beautiful spot in the US during the spring season. We might have run into warmer weather if we had started about a week later, but that would have prevented us from leaving Tipper in the truck during some of our side trips. We ran into two people who loved our old Avion. We even gave them tours, at their request. I'm sure the other 99% just thought we were poor or odd or both. I loved pulling into a campground and seeing that most of the RV's were huge motorhomes or 5th wheels. Those people never used the showers or toilets in the bathhouse. Must be a status thing. We saw very few class C units in the campgrounds or on the road. Don't know why. We got very lucky regarding RV parks. The only one that we really didn't like was the one in Canton, MS. It was the one that advertised wi fi but didn't have it, had punch pads on the laundry and bathroom doors and didn't tell you the combination, and the permanent campers were just a wee bit scary. I was a bit concerned about finding a place to stay each night, but we never had a problem. However, we always started looking at the directory about noon and were off the road by 3:00 PM. I am amazed at Betsy's cooking skill and the variety of meals that she prepared using the stove or oven in the camper or the grill that we carried with us. I think we had more variety on the road than at home. The seafood at Edisto was fantastic. Tipper was a trooper all during the trip. At first he would climb up on the center armrest and pretty much stay there. Then he would start out on the armrest, but after a few minutes would go curl up in his backseat bed, but everytime he heard the turn signal he would come back to the front seat. At the end he didn't bother coming up whenever I turned the turn signal on. We think he became a little road weary as indicated by the final picture. So I guess it's back to everyday normal life. Tomorrow I'll pick up a months worth of mail, and start the yearly campaign to stamp out chickweed. Jamie
We made it back home with lots of wonderful memories and the thrill of our first successful trip. We both knew we wanted to travel however, we were unsure if we would take to the "traveling life." The adventure of a new place every day was great. I had a ball taking pictures and am now looking at digital scrapbooking. That may prove to be too much of a challenge, we'll see. In the end we did find you can get everything you need at Walmart! We are both looking forward to the next trip. Betsy

April 15--Salisbury to Kingston, TN

The sun has returned and we're off to Jane and Sandy's for a visit. A couple years ago they sold the old house that they lived in for years and moved into a newer home. We saw the newer home just before they purchased it, but not since they redecorated. To get to Kingston we went around Asheville, NC and stopped at the NC Arts and Crafts Center which is located on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway. Betsy went in to look at the stuff while Tipper and I waited outside. I started reading about the Parkway and learned that it's very much like The Trace--50 mph speed limit, no commercial traffic. It goes from the Great Smokey Mountain Park to Roanoke, VA. It was constructed as part of the 30's work programs. Could be another trip for us next year.
After our brief stop we got back on I-40 and headed to Knoxville and that took us through the mountains. Our little rig did just great. We finally found the mother load of Redbud trees. They are all along I-40 around Knoxville. Beautiful. We arrived in Kingston and parked the truck and trailer in Sandy's law office parking lot since their driveway was not big enough. Their new house is way up on a hill overlooking the town of Kingston and the Clinch River. Wow. What a view. I could sit up here all day and watch the river and the mountains off in the distance.

April 14--Raleigh to Salisbury

Alas, our time with Jeff, Lisa, and James has come to an end. We're headed to Salisbury, NC and Rowan County which is where my Rev War ancestor lived. We only found two campgrounds listed in our directory and selected Dan Nichols Park. I think we assumed that it was a state park, but it's actually a county park and absolutely amazing. It has a small lake, petting zoo, tennis courts, baseball/softball fields, plus all the other stuff like nature trails. There were only about 3 other campers in the campgrounds so we had our pick of the sites. We chose one down by the lake.
After unhooking the trailer we headed into Salisbury to find the library. I spent the next three hours in the genealogy section while Betsy roamed the town. The first thing I learned at the library was that the part of Rowan County that my ancestor lived in was split off into Davidson County. Luckily they still had a lot of records for Davidson Country. I didn't find much of anything new on the Rev War ancestor, probably because he was only there for 30 or 40 years and all his children moved south or west.
However I did find that his son, my great-great-great grandfather Jeremiah married into the elite of Quaker families, the Mendenhalls. That probably accounts for my easy going, kind and gentle, likable personality.
When Betsy and I met up she was just raving about how much she enjoyed her walk through town so we drove around and
it really was a neat place. Many old homes with a nice downtown area. It sort of reminded us of Columbus but older. jamie

I had a ball shopping knowing no one was waiting for me to finish looking at everything. Met a wonderful old man whose family owned the Okey Dokey General Store for the past 110 years. He said not much had changed in the store in all those years and I tend to agree with him. They had collectables, twine, toys, seeds, seed onions and potatoes and metal garden benches and art. An awesome collection! Salsisbury is a wonderful old town. Betsy
Picture The lake at Dan Nichols Park

April 10--13, Raleigh

Well, we're finally seeing the sight that stared the idea for this whole trip--James! My how he's grown since Christmas. He will be two years old on Sunday, April 13th. I'll tell you, chasing after a 2 year old all day is not easy. We have parked the trailer in the Wm. Umstead State Park which is within the city limits of Raleigh and about 10 minutes from Jeff and Lisa's house. We've basically left the trailer so that we can spend more time with Jeff, Lisa, and James. Saturday we attended James soccer practice. Watching fifteen two year olds running and crawling and kicking the ball was a hoot. I was amazed that the little one's were actually following instructions for the most part. The kids today are certainly doing more at two years than we were expected to do. When I was two I think my higher learning activities were sucking my thumb and eating dirt. Jamie (Grandpaw)

We had a great visit with the young Kimbrough's. Yes, it takes alot of energy to keep up with little James. We were excited to find he and Tipper have both grown up enough to co-exist. Lisa and I left the boys at soccer and took off for Ornamentea a very cool bead shop in downtown Raleigh for a day of beading/jewelery making basics. We had a great time and came home with some very nice jewelery. Betsy (Grammy)
Pictures 1. James playing soccer in the front yard 2. James enjoying his birthday gifts--boots, rake, gardening gloves, trowel

Day 21 and 22 - Edisto Island, SC to Lumberton, NC

Day 21 & 22, April 8-9, 2008
Wow, can’t believe that we’ve been gone three weeks. I thought I’d be sent home via
Greyhound long before this. One of our “to do’s” while we’re down here is to tour a plantation. So back to Charleston. We found a visitors center outside of town and looked at all the brochures and decided on Drayton Hall. It’s a National Historic Site and the oldest plantation house where the public can tour in America. We wanted colonial vs.
Antebellum. Had a great tour. The guide was somewhat pompous but in a funny way.

We headed back to the island via 174 which is the main road. Betsy had spied a giftshop several miles from the beach and thought it looked “artsy”. The day before we had stopped but they were not open. However I found the house I’d been looking for.
If I was looking for property down here this is what I would buy. It’s not on the beach, but it’s close. It’s got a little land. The plantings are spectacular. I’m sure it would be a money pit, but hey we’re dreaming here. A picture is above.

We looked in the gift shop and knock me down with an anvil, Betsy found something to buy!! We were paying for the item and the clerk looked up in shock and said, “I have no earthly idea what the date is today”. I looked at her and said, “I’m pretty sure it’s April, but other than that I haven’t a clue.” We all sorta decided that the 8th or 9th sounded okay.
She chose the 8th, and that happened to be correct. We’ve been to long without TV, newspapers, and a regular schedule.

We tried the Edisto Historical Society, but they were closed. We did however answer the age old question, “how many historical society members does it take to put up a small tent?” Apparently five, but they needed more so they could form an exploratory committee to determine the feasibility of erecting a small tent. Man, talk about some clueless looking people.

We then decided that since this was the last night at the beach we would have shrimp.
Betsy went into our favorite seafood shop for the shrimp. She and the skipper/owner were small talking and she mentioned that she was from Indiana. The seafood guy says that he just sold one of his shrimp boats to a guy from Greenwood. The Greenwood guy was the roommate of the skipper/seafood market owners son at the College of Charleston. I’ll bet the skippers son was at the college to escape becoming a shrimper, and here comes Billy Hoosier a stumblin’ down the pike. Betsy said that she met the kid from Greenwood very briefly and he wasn’t much of a talker. Good luck Billy. Hey, if Forest Gump can do it, you can too.

Our Edisto Island interlude is over but we had some fun, met some nice people, laughed at Tippy at the beach, saw some sights, and enjoyed the seafood.

April 9th—Left Edisto and the plan was to take SR17 from Charleston to Wilmington and then find a spot to stay. As we got closer and closer to Myrtle Beach the traffic kept getting heavier and heavier and as we passed by campgrounds we kept seeing no vacancy sign’s. We decided to forget the plan and head inland to escape the spring breakers. We found a Good Sam campground in Lumberton, NC. We’re 92 miles from Raleigh whichis good, since we can’t arrive at our next campsite until tomorrow. Got an e-mail from Jeff saying James is going through a MINE period—everything is his. For some unknown reason James is taking possession of all gardening tools. Betsy suggested that since his birthday is coming up maybe we should stop tomorrow and buy him a little Mantis Rototiller. We’re sure that no harm can come of that!! Jamie

Soooooooooooo with a tear in our eye and sand in our shorts we depart our beach vacation…………………………. The seafood was great!!! The sound of the surf will have to stay with me till we are able to return. We also visited the Edisto Island Interpretative Center yesterday to learn more about the ACE basin of which Edisto is a part. ACE we found out stands for Ashepoo, Comachee, and Edisto River Basin. It is a system of fresh and salt-water rivers and marshes that house an enormous variety of plant and wildlife. We saw heron, pelicans and gulls soaring over the marshlands every day. I loved looking over the marshland and I think they just creeped Jamie out thinking about all those bugs and alligators! Betsy
Picture 1. Jamie's favorite house 2. Drayton Hall Plantation 1735

Day 18-20 Low Country, SC

Day 18-20, April 5-6-7, 2008, Edisto Island
After our lucky break at the dump we quit early today. Jane stayed at the house waiting for a repairman. Betsy and I took off and since it was actually sunny we headed for the beach. We put Tippy on a long, long rope and he had the time of his life running into the surf, chasing seagulls, and rolling in the sand. Betsy and I sat in the sun and just enjoyed watching the ocean.

Saturday Jane drove us into Charleston for a tour. We had already seen part of Charleston when we attended Josh and Natalias wedding, but Jane has been coming to the area long enough to know all the really neat area’s. For once Betsy and I could set
back and enjoyed the view. We did take a mansion tour and enjoyed it very much. This evening we didn’t have seafood, but opted for barbeque instead.

The longer I’m here on Edisto Island, the more I like it. Everyone is very friendly.
Of course we have the advantage of being with Jane who is accepted as a local.
We were talking with one of the owners of a restaurant who has been here since the mid 1950’s. He said that back then there were only about fifteen people at what is considered the beach portion of the island in the winter! You see all sorts of homes on the island.
I tend to like the old one’s that have some personality. And of course, as I mentioned before there are very few businesses.

Picture 1. Charlestown street scene 2. Edisto Island dirt road 3. Tippy at the beach!

Sunday-- Deputy Jane departed for home. Before she left she gave us our certificates of completion of the McPherson Work Release Program and said that we were now authorized to travel about the south. It’s a good thing we found all this work to do down here or we would never know about the “work rule of the south.” Golly gee, it pays to have people help you out and make sure you abide by all the unknown local laws. Funny thing is that I keep having these dreams about never ending crystal cabinets and mounds and mounds of shoes.

Since we failed in our attempt to see Beaufort on the way in, we headed back that way without Starship. Beaufort was established in 1711, which was before Savannah. Beautiful old homes. We did drive through the downtown area and it was packed so we opted just to look at the homes.

To end the day Josh and Natalia came down for dinner. Josh said that he was in the downtown Charleston area and saw a car bearing Indiana license plates from Bartholomew County. He engaged the couple in a conversation about being from Indiana and that he had relatives in Columbus and mentioned Amy and Jeff. The lady said that she was their 3rd or 5th grade teacher. We’ll have to try and figure out who it was.

Day 17 - Edisto Beach, SC

Day 17, April 4, Edisto Island
Todays post is dedicated to Arlo Guthrie and his famous Alice’s Resturant recording which we all listened to back in the 60’s. Jane left for the big house early today to meet Leroy, her island handy man. Betsy and I followed a couple of hours later. The first thing on the agenda was for Leroy and me to clean out a first floor storage area which was just filled with Christmas wreaths and other Christmas decorations plus a few odds and ends. We filled the bed of Leroys truck and still hadn’t made a dent in the mess.
So we filled up my pickup too and that pretty much got it all. Leroy takes off for the dump, and I run upstairs to tell Deputy Jane and Inmate Betsy that we’ve gone to the dump. When I arrive at the dump I was surprised to see Leroy sitting just outside the gate. I pull up, get out, ask Leroy what the problem is. He tells me the gates locked.
I look at the gate and sure ‘nuff it’s locked. I look at Leroy, and he looks at me.
Then I notice a sign by the gate which says Days of Operation, Monday thru Thursday and Saturday. Hell’s fire today is Friday. I ask Leroy what we do now? He says, “Nev
heard of no dump bein’ closed on Friday”. So here we sit with about 550 Christmas wreaths in various stages of disrepair, a couple dozen broken Santa’s and a few Rudolph’s thrown into the mix. I start walking up the road to a cluster of buildings that house some town offices in hopes of finding someone who’ll let us in the dump. I hadn’t gotten very far when I heard a truck coming up behind me. I turn around and jump for joy when I see it’s a town owned truck with a load of leaves and branches. By the time I’d gotten back to the gate Leroy had already talked to the driver and gotten permission for us to dump our load while the town truck dumped it’s load. Man we roared into that dump and Leroy went to one dumpster and I headed to another dumpster and we had
a steady stream of wreaths flying through the air. As Arlo would say, “So if you’re ever on Edisto Island, on a Friday, with 550 Christmas wreaths, a couple dozen broken Santa’s, and a few Rudolph’s thrown into the mix, you better be damn lucky or there
ain’t a gonna’ be no dumping.” Jamie

The shoes are a tribute to yesterdays post!!! I'm just happy I didn't lose a eye to the 150 +spike heels I dug out of the top of a closet. Betsy

Day 15- 16 -Edisto Beach, South Carolina

Day 15-16, April 2 thru April 3, Edisto Island
We’ve been busy little beavers the past couple of days. The weather has been gray and rainy, but we’ve gotten a ton of stuff packed up in the house. Let me tell you, Imelda Marcos had nothing on Miss E as far as shoes go. Lord A Mighty. I’ve never seen so many shoes. I was working on getting the crystal packed up and happened to notice Tipper walking sorta funny. He’d take a step or two and stop and then put his nose back toward his right rear hip. Then he would repeat the process. I went in to find out what the problem was and discovered that he had somehow run across an old sticky trap for mice. It had attached itself on his right side and believe you me it was on there tight.
We tried to pull it off of him, but that didn’t work at all. We ended up have to cut it away from him. Consequently he has a little less hair on the rights side now. Jamie
note: The picture has nothing to do with the work camp. I didn't want to disappoint those who enjoy the beautiful beach! Look closely and you will see a sizable squadron of pelicans. Betsy

Day 14 - Edisto Island, SC

Day 14, April 1, Edisto Island
We are staying at the McPherson Work Release Program Center. Cap’t Sandy and Deputy Jane say that we get released when the work is done. Actually we agreed to help Jane clean out the big house that Sandy’s mother owns because it will be rented shortly. I don’t think we fully understood the scope of this undertaking. After seeing the house and it’s contents Betsy and I considered waiting until Jane was asleep and then quietly hooking up the trailer and heading off into the night. We worked most of the day today and got the kitchen done. Tomorrow Betsy and Jane will have a go at the closets.
The problem is that they have to try on every doggone item.
It’s hard to believe but we’ve been on the road for two weeks. I told Betsy the other day that it feels like we’ve been gone a very long time, but the individual days just fly by. She feels that everything has gone very fast. jamie
This beach town is wonderful and reminds me of my earlier teen years spent on the Jersey shore in the summer. Walks on the beach, cooking fresh seafood for dinner and getting sand between my toes. What a wonderful life. Betsy
p.s. Tomorrow I hear we only have to work half a day and then we get to go sightseeing once again, yippee!!!

Day 13- Edisto Island, SC

Day 13, March 31, Ft. McAllister Historic Park to Edisto Island, SC
Before we get to Edisto Island we have to visit Beaufort, SC. The visitor center lady directed us to the marina area where she said there would be spots for RV’s. We got there and there in the 5 total spaces there were three huge tour buses, and a couple of RV’s. That didn’t work so we went back the same way and looked for a spot to park.
Nothing within reasonable walking distance. We decided that Beaufort would have to wait until another trip. We continued on to Edisto Island and arrived about 3:30 PM.
Beautiful, sunny skies. We parked the camper next to Jane and Sandy’s house, and headed to the beach with Tipper tugging on the leash. As we walked up the beach access path Tipper heard the roar of the ocean, but couldn’t see it yet. I saw his ears perk up but he never hesitated in his forward momentum. I thought he might get a little spooked by the sound but he wasn’t. We walked the surf line with Tipper trying to bite every wave that hit the beach. This is my idea of a beach town. Absolutely no commercialization.
There is a Piggly Wiggly, a couple of bars, some little eateries, a marina, and locally owned T-shirt stores. Jane says that the town board is always rejecting offers from hotel developers or McDonalds. Sandy and his father, who was a contractor, built the house
back in the 1950’s. It’s very cute and only two short blocks to the beach. JK
I broke the tradition of shopping only at Walmart today. I was forced to shop at the Piggly Wiggly which I call the Wiggly Piggly. Who every thought of that name? The beach is clean and there are super little shells and driftwood. As you can imagine I have already started my collection.
Picture 1. Jamie and Tipper on the jetty 2. The view down the beach

Day 12 - Savannah, Georgia

Day 12, March 30, Savannah
I’ve been wanting to visit Savannah for years and we’re here! We found the Visitors Center and ask one of the volunteer ladies if there was a map of a walking tour since we have our little buddy Tipper with us. She first apologized about the weather being so cool, and then proceeded to draw us an outline for a tour. We ask her if there would be any issues with having a dog with us and she said, “ no problem, if he doesn’t mind walking, we don’t mind having him”. We hadn’t even gotten out of the visitors parking lot and Tipper had already ticked me off with his constant pulling. Betsy and I looked at each other and it dawned on us that since it was cool and cloudy Tipper could survive in the truck. Our tour became a lot more enjoyable. We saw the City Market and the Wharf areas, both of which are nothing more than big tourist traps. We walked several blocks on Bull Street and it was awesome—the parks every couple of blocks, the houses, the flowering shrubs. I think our walk took about and hour and a half and we were pooped at the end, but boy was it worth it. JK
An absolutly beautiful city. I had a ball taking pictures of the homes, parks and the magnificent flowering shrubs.

Day 11 Lake Park to Ft. Mc Allister Historic Park, Georgia

Day 11, March 29, 2008, Lake Park to Ft. McAllister Historic Park
After leaving the RV park we headed to a do it yourself carwash that I had spotted on the way in. It was time for both the trailer and truck to have a bath. We were lookin’ a bit
Alabama-ish. Ever notice that the entrance of those carwashes are a lot bigger than the exit? We went in the exit just to make sure we could get out. All went well and we look a lot better than we did. Our drive today was not very inspiring. No pretty little towns, but occasionally there would be a glorious display of azalia bushes. Our campsite is at Ft. McAllister Historic Park just outside of Richmond Hill, GA and about 20 miles from Savannah. Richmond Hill was the brainchild of Henry Ford. Don’t know why.
Our campsite is absolutely HUGE! If we were staying longer we could put in a garden.
At our backdoor is a saltwater marsh covered in something they call wire grass. There are bugs here, but our repellent seems to work well. Tippy is on high alert since he’s spotted squirrels, and a raccoon has been seen lurking in the undergrowth. Looking forward to tomorrow and Savannah.
Since there were no highlights on the drive today I’ll let you in on a new skill development that I’ve been working on. For Christmas a couple years ago I ask for a fire making kit. The kit consisted of a steel striker which is shaped like a set of brass knuckles, a piece of flint, a bag of tow which looks like unraveled baler twine, and finally some char cloth which is charred linen. You make a little nest of tow and place a piece of char cloth in it. Then you start hitting the flint against the striker to create sparks. Once you get the hang of it it’s surprising how many sparks you can create. But the real challenge is to get the spark to land on the char cloth. When the spark lands on the char cloth it glows for awhile and if your quick enough you can blow on the ember and ignite the cloth as well as the tow. At this point the score is one out of four. The only time I’ve been successful was at David Crockett State Park in Tennessee. But every couple of evenings I’ll give it a go again. I’m just glad that having something to eat doesn’t depend on me making the fire.
Picture 1. The "nearly an acre campsite! 2. Our view out the camper door toward the salt marsh.