Winter Excursion 8, Day 199

We left camp late morning to do a little exploring. First stop was near Pulaski, VA on US Rt 11 at a really nice overlook.

We ate lunch there and enjoyed the view.

We continued south on Rt 11 and checked out Hungry Mother State Park. We had been there before, but wanted to check it out again.

On the way back to camp we stopped at the Dutch Cupboard. We picked up some snacks and some scrapple.

From there we jumped on the Interstate as it was starting to rain. We got into a torrential downpour. Traffic on the Interstate slowed to a crawl and finally stopped for awhile due to an accident. We finally drove out of it.

Back at camp we had dinner and a movie then off to bed.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 198

We got up at 0630. We wanted to avoid the forecasted rain and we did! We were on the road by 0830 and did the short drive to our new campground. We arrived at 1130 and did minimal set up as we are only here for 3 days and rain is forecast the entire time.

We spent the afternoon in the camper reading and watching TV. We don't have the satellite set up so we are streaming or watching recordings.

Here's the new campsite at Claytor Lake State Park, VA. Site #D-21.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow we may do a little exploring.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 197

We woke up after a great night's sleep around 0830. A little camp clean up and showers were in order this morning.

Around 1130 we left for a day trip. First stop was the Lodge Cast Iron factory store. I checked it out in about 10 minutes and then sat with Kaylee in the truck. Cath came out sometime later. Next came Tennessee Legend Distillery. We did a little tasting and got a few bottles of some Good Ole Tennessee Whiskey.

We then drove to the Bush's Bush's Visitor Center and had lunch at the Bush's Cafe. It was very good and the fries were to die for. 

We got a few pics of the Smokey Mountains on the drive.

We shopped a little at the store, but was disappointed they were out of their Jalapeno Bean Dip.

Our last stop was not in the area last year, but was under construction. We gassed up at Buc-ee's!

This one is not your everyday Buc-ee's. It is the largest in the world! It is at the intersection of I-40 and I-81. They have 128 gas pumps! Here's a panorama pic to prove it (click on it to open).  It is not curved, that's what the panorama pic looks like. We had never seen any gas station like this. We did go into the store. It was the largest convivence store we've ever seen.

Back at camp we made sure the awning tube would fit into the camper. We got lucky!

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 196

One of our neighbors came over this morning and helped me remove the awning and hardware from the camper. We will save the "tube" as it is not damaged. It should fit in the camper for transport (keeping our fingers crossed). There was another camper right next to us that had their awning destroyed also. 

In the afternoon we did a quick trip to the grocery and then to SMKW (Smokey Mountain Knife Works). I think I wrote about it last year. The place is HUGE and has any type of knife you can think of. I picked up a new pocket knife I'd been eyeing online. From there we wanted to go to a distillery we had seen advertised to try some Tennessee whiskey. We didn't realize it was in Gatlinburg. It took us almost an hour to drive 20 miles. The tourist traffic in this area is nuts! We did not visit the distillery as the area was crowded and parking the truck would have been impossible. There is another distillery near us we will check out tomorrow.

Back at camp we had a few more rain showers (that were not forecast)! Had a nice dinner. Went to bed and will sleep like bears as last night we didn't get much sleep after the awning fiasco.

All is well, once again, in the Boss Camp! 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 195

The weather guessers were wrong again. We woke to dry weather and did our final pack up with no rain and no issues. 

It was a very long drive for us, 343 miles! We drove through three major cities, Birmingham, AL, Chattanooga, TN, and Knoxville, KY. Around these cities traffic was horrible. We got to our new campground around 1500 and were all set up by 1600. We have a nice site right on the Douglas Lake. Do you notice any funny about the pic of our site?

After dinner I hit the bed early as I was tired from the long drive. Cath did some reading and came to bed later. Right after she crawled in bed we had a storm hit. The forecast was for some rain tonight and light winds, but this was anything but that! Here's some pics of what was once our awning.

The awning and both "arms" are destroyed. The left "arm" separated from the camper a little, but the damage is not too great, it's repairable. I'll be able to get the new "arms" and new awning on Amazon to the tune of around a grand.

We are both hoping that bad things happen in threes. First the dump valve, then the roof, and now the awning. It's been a lousy last few weeks at the end of this camping trip.

The old "arms" and awning now reside in the dumpster at Douglas Dam Headwaters Campground. 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 194

Laundry Day...YUK!

We left camp after a quiet, but rainy morning and headed to the laundromat. We had been at this one before, but they have made some changes. It was clean, but EXPENSIVE! It cost us close to $60 for 5 loads. The machines were over $8 and the dryers were 4 minutes for each quarter.

Back at camp we put the clothes away and relaxed.

Left camp again around 1630 to go get our traditional "last night in camp" dinner..PIZZA! After dinner we packed up the inside. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather forecast is wrong. It says we have rain when we leave, rain the whole way, and rain when we get to our new campground. We shall see!

Winter Excursion 8, Day 193

Weather continues to be nice, but we will be happy to get back north.
Repaired the roof hole this afternoon. I'm sure it will hold until we get home and can fix it right.

Took Jacob home in the afternoon. We will miss him, but will have some more time next year with him. He is growing up fast! He is getting to be a super flattop cook!

Back at camp we got almost everything packed up as it forecast to rain for the next 48 hours. We hate to pack up or set up in the rain. Time will tell.

And BTW...Happy Mother's Day to all you ladies. You Gals are the best!

Took a quick bike ride this evening and got this pic of a couple of deer.

Zoom in a little. They could care less I was watching them.