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.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 192

We had a lazy morning and just enjoyed the great weather. I could not have asked for better weather to be able to dry out the hole in the roof before I put a temp patch on it. It was very low humidity with temps in the mid seventies!

Ray and Melinda came over in the afternoon. We all just sat outside and yakked. They stayed for dinner and Jacob and I BBQed chicken. Cath made a nice potato and asparagus dish and a good meal was had by all.

After dark we spent some time in the camper watching Dish Scapes. It was fun trying to anticipate what was coming next.

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 191

This is one blog post I hoped I never have to write.

After the storms blew through last night I went out this morning to check for any damage. Here's what I found.

This stick is about 2" in diameter. And yes that is the camper roof!

Here's the hole when I pulled it out this morning. I'm actually glad the stick was still stuck (LOL) as it kept most of the rain out (think cork in a wine bottle).

Here's the part of the limb that broke off that little stick in the roof. This thing is about 10 ft long. It fell from a tree, speared the roof, then broke off. That's what shook the camper so hard last night.

 This is the ceiling inside the camper just over the fireplace. It was wet, but not soaked.

The entire campground looks a mess with branches, cones, and leaves all over the place. The Ranger came by to do an incident report. She also said there was no other damage in the rest of the campground.

I called USAA to start a claim. They were on it right away. I've been with them 44 years and would not even think of changing insurers! Their service is better than A+. 

I will give the hole a few days to dry out and then put a temp batch on it. We will get it repaired when we get home.

The rest of the day went much better. We left camp around 1230 to get Jacob. We spent the afternoon with Fergie and CC, then drove back to camp when Jacob got home around 1630.

Ray and Melinda had a nice dinner for us. Afterward we played SEQUENCE again until 2130. Back at our camper bed was in order. It's been one "helluva" day!

Winter Excursion 8, Day 190

We spent most of the day in the camper. The weather is so hot and humid you can hardly stand to be outside. We have storms forecast for tonight. That will break this weather pattern and we will have cooler temps and lower humidity.

We went over to our friends camper after dinner to play some more SEQUENCE. After about an hour we heard thunder, so I checked the radar. The storms were coming a lot sooner than forecast, so we headed back to our camper. The storm was very violent when it blew through and it shook the camper. After it passed I looked outside and there were tree limbs, branches, and leaves everywhere. I didn't see any damage, but will check in the morning when it's light.   

Winter Excursion 8, Day 189

We did a little food shopping this morning to get us through the weekend.

Our friends, Ray and Melinda, arrived early afternoon. They got all set up a few sites from ours and then came over for dinner. We yakked a lot and played our new game, SEQUENCE. A good time was had by all!

The weather continues to be miserable. Temps are in the high 80s to 90s and the humidity hangs around 90. Our ACs run full blast all day. Hopefully we will get some cooler, dryer weather soon. 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 188

We left camp around 0930 to do a little exploring. As soon as we left the campground we got behind this guy doing about 35 in a 55 zone. Checkout the jeans on the top of his vehicle.

There was no where I could pass him. It took us awhile to realize that they were indeed blue jeans! He finally pulled off to go fishing. "Fishy" I would say!

After that interesting start to the drive we headed to Moundville, AL. and Moundville Archeological Park.

We mainly wanted to check out the campground that is here.

A view of some of the mounds. There are lots of them here, all shapes and sizes.

Here's the steps on the largest one. We did not climb them...LOL!

From Moundville we drove to Cath's favorite Mexican Grocery Store near Oak Mountain State Park. She picked up all the things we needed for a fajita dinner. The have marinated fajita meat to die for.

We stopped at Oak Mountain State Park with the hope we could see the renovated campground. It is opening the 24th of this month and all sites are full hookups. We could not see the campground as they are still working on it. As much as we like Deerlick COE, we will be glad when Oak Mountain is open and we can stay there next year. The drive to see Jacob and CC is way shorter from OMSP.

We got back to camp around 1530, had a few toddies, a good dinner, then off to bed.  

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 187

After breakfast we did some camp chores and just hung out (inside). The weather remains hot and very humid. I think it's time to head north!

We played some cribbage in the afternoon. Cath is back to her cheating ways, but I beat her anyway!

We did get a walk in this morning before it got too hot and we had a "find of the day". On one of the lantern post we found this red bead necklace. We think it's from Mardi gras. It now belongs to George along with his winter ensemble and handcuffs.

Around 1600 we drove back to Hoover area to watch Jacob at his archery lessons. He is getting pretty good!

Back at camp it was a night cap then off to dreamland!

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 186

Jacob and I made a nice breakfast on the flattop. Afterwards we all got cleaned up, did the dishes, and spent the rest of the morning relaxing.

After lunch Jacob and Cath played some cribbage. I'm sure there was some cheating involved.

We all watched a movie and then headed to Jacobs house in a thunderstorm.

We had a nice dinner with Fergie and CC. Talked for awhile and then headed back to camp.

I've done very little night driving lately and it was "fun" getting back to camp. Once back we hit the hay. Sleep will come quick! 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 185

We finished our site set up this morning and then made the short drive to the grocery store. We did a little shopping and headed back to camp.

Jacob and CC arrived around 1000, with Jacob driving, and the yakking began! We burned some burgers for lunch and the yakking continued. After lunch we played a new game they had brought called SEQUENCE. We had a good time playing and Cath & I ordered the game for ourselves.

After CC left Jacob did some truck driving with our F250! He said it's too high and too big! He is use to an Forester!

We had a nice steak dinner and we all hit the rack early. It's been a fun day and it was great to see them both.

  

Winter Excursion 8, Day 184

We were up early and on the road by 0900 (EDT). It was a perfect travel day, no rain, but overcast. We drove the backroads all the way of the 300 mile, 5 1/2 hour trip, and arrived at Deerlick COE, AL around 1400 (CDT). Did a minimal setup as thunderstorms were forecast, but they never happened. Here's a pic of Site #11 at Deerlick.

I think this is our third time in this site.

It was pushing 90 deg when we arrived. We turned on both ACs and just relaxed.

We can't wait to see Jacob tomorrow! All is well in the Boss Camp!

 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 183

We woke up this morning to a power outage. Our EMS cut the power as one "leg" of the 50 amp was only 73 VAC (should be 120 VAC). I'm glad the EMS caught that, if the air conditioner would have tried to start it would have been damaged due to low voltage. I let the host know and the maintenance guys showed up a little later. Seems the 100 amp circuit breaker is bad. This affects our site and the one next to us. They did not have the part so we are running on the 30 amp plug now. It's really the first time our EMS has "saved" us! That makes it worth every dime we paid for it.

Later in the morning we drove through Macon, GA and went to Robins Air Force Base. This base is huge! We visited the commissary and the PX. They are also huge! Checked out the FamCamp and then headed back to camp.

As we are leaving tomorrow we had our traditional pizza for dinner. We got pick-up at a Mellow Mushroom. It was very good pizza.

We are headed to Deerlick Creek, COE tomorrow and Jacob!

Winter Excursion 8, Day 182

We headed for High Falls State Park just a few miles from here. We met Kathie the Assistant Park Ranger who is also in charge of Dames Ferry. She gave us the run down on Dames Ferry and our duties for next year. We are looking forward to volunteering for her.

High Falls is a nice park. We toured the park and all the campgrounds. It is a nice park especially the day use areas. The campgrounds are also nice but too big for us, no hosting!

The CCC had a hand in building all of this. This dam forms the lake.

There are two campgrounds above the dam and one below.

As long as we were in the area we headed over to Indian Springs State Park. We toured the park and campgrounds, but again, not our cup of tea as far as hosting (it's too big).

It also has a lake, a dam, and CCC involvement, but it also too big for us as far as hosting goes.

Back at camp it was 88 deg. We sat outside in the shade for awhile, but ended up in the camper with both ACs blowing.

We are going exploring again tomorrow. Stay tuned for more adventures.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 181

We were up early packing to head to Dames Ferry. It felt strange to be leaving GLS. We said our goodbyes to all the staff, our Co-hosts, and was on the road by 1100. We arrived at Dames Ferry around 1330. We did a minimal setup as we will only be here for three nights. Here's a pic of site #35 (50 amp, pull thru) at Dames Ferry State Park, GA.

Here's the view of the lake from the site.

It took awhile, but we got good satellite signal on this site.

After we got set up and were relaxing with a toddy when this little guy showed up.

It's a cicada! Since we arrived here we have been hearing a "noise". Turns out it is the cicadas emerging! This one bit the bullet at our site. After I ID it with google lens and told Cath what it was she asked, 10 minutes later, about the Casa-de-as (Quesadillas) I laughed my butt off!

I got a couple of pics yesterday that I didn't post, so here we go.

This sign was at the coffee/pizza/bakery place where we picked up our dinner last evening.

This big guy (18") was crossing the road near the campground.

He was definitely taking his time. I hope he made it by tomorrow..LOL.

It's nice to be campers again. We will be really relaxed very soon.

  

Winter Excursion 8, Day 180

"The Life of a Camp Host" is over until next year. It's been wonderful for our third year as Hosts here at George L Smith State Park. We will be Hosting next year at Dames Ferry State Park in GA just north of Macon GA. We have made lots of friends in the park and the local area here, but it's time to move on. If we don't enjoy our new job next year we will return to this area.

Here's the end of the saga of the broken black tank handle.

I woke up this morning at 0600 and drove the 45 minutes to the Claxton GA (think fruitcake) Ace Hardware store. They had two Camco dump valves in stock and I bought them both (think spares). I prefer the Valterra valves, but could not be guaranteed that the one I ordered would be delivered today. Back at camp I tried the procedure I saw on YouTube. It did not work. When I hole-sawed the valve it messed up what was left of the broken valve closure paddle. I was glad I had decided to move the camper to the maintenance area instead of trying to repair it in the campground. The maintenance guys backhoed me a pit and we crowbarred the valve open without any dump hose attached. It worked great except of the SMELL! One of the new maintenance guys almost gagged. I told him to get used to it as every dump station in every campground has that smell. Later in the day the pit drained, the odor left, and the pit got filled back in. All went well with dumping! I towed the camper back to our site, installed the new valve, tested it, and all is well once again with the BCBTDV (Boss Camper Black Tank Dump Valve) by 1000! Horray!

Here's a side story. 

When I left our site with the camper and headed to the maintenance area, I left Cath and Kaylee sitting at the site with no camper. Cath said it was just like the Clampet's saga (Beverly Hillbillies). She also said (and our Co-Host backed it up) that Kaylee was distraught, sad, and moping, that Dad had left them. It was like she thought her house and Dad were leaving! When I came back her tail was wagging!

We did a lot of food and supply shopping in the afternoon. Got some Pizza for dinner as is our tradition for our last day in a campground.

We will say our goodbyes to all the staff tomorrow and head to Dames Ferry for a few days before we get to see Jacob in Birmingham.

It's been a long few days. Sleep will come easy tonight.     

Winter Excursion 8, Day 179 The Life of a Camp Host

Today was our last day as Hosts and it was a busy one! The campground was full last night and we had 13 leave today, but had 13 arrive. I spent the whole morning cleaning sites. As all these campers were leaving they all wanted to chat. By the afternoon we were all talked out, so we sat in the shade and said nothing to each other!

I'll post the results of my black tank valve issue tomorrow after I get it fixed.

The find of the day is all the finds I've been "banking" in case I didn't find anything. But that was not the case, I had extras! 

I'll be danged if I can remember what they all are, but it's quite the collection!

It is nice to be Campers again. We are looking forward to some relaxation for the next month. 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 178 The Life of a Camp Host

It was for the most part an easy day hosting. We had two campers leave and two arrive. We cleaned the bathhouse and then started packing up. Cath has been working on the inside getting ready to travel. I took down the "gazabo" and got the truck all packed. It's like putting a puzzle together, but I'd taken some pictures when we got here so I did have a reference for packing. We had a few of the campers stop by to chat and our local friends, Bob & Deb stopped by to say their goodbyes. We will see them next year at Dames Ferry.

I think I may have found a solution to my black tank valve issue. After searching the internet I found a YouTube video where the guy cut out the valve sidewall with a hole saw to gain access to the "guts" and was able to open the valve with the sewer hose attached. We will see tomorrow how this works. In the meantime I was able to order a new valve from Amazon and it should be here on Monday. If I can get the tank dumped it is a simple job to replace the valve. Time will tell. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The find of the day was this sign at the local hardware store where I went to buy a hole saw. 

What can I say!

Winter Excursion 8, Day 177 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a very busy morning. We have 17 new campers arriving and six leaving. That means almost every site is "turning over". By 1100 we had all the sites finished and tackled the bathhouse. We relaxed in the afternoon and chatted with many of the new arrivals.

Late afternoon the fun started. Cath had washed the shower and sprayed it down with wet-n-forget and then rinsed it all down. I decided to dump everything as she had used quite a bit of water. When I pulled the black tank handle the entire handle came out and the valve did not open! I'm going to have to figure something out, but not sure how to get the valve open without a huge mess. I'll post the results when I figure it out.

The find of the day was brand new dump adapter someone left at the dump station.

How ironic was that find after the events of the day! It now lives with my RV sewer parts.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 176 The Life of a Camp Host

It was a very easy day for us. A few departed and only four arrived. We will make up for this tomorrow (Friday) when the campground will be full. We expect 17 arrivals tomorrow.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and doing a little camper maintenance in preparation for our move. We are slowly packing up.

The find of the day was this thing.

Even with a google search I've no idea what it is! The green thing is just the handle on my picker-upper.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 175 The Life of a Camp Host

Nothing unusual with our hosting duties today. We have noticed this year that the camping crowd is mainly older folks. We have had very few families (children) here this year. 

Spent the afternoon starting to get ready to pack up the camper. I cleaned and inspected the roof. After 7 years it is still fine, but we are getting a new roof coating next year. I finally found the secret to removing pine pollen. Mix some isopropyl alcohol with water in a spray bottle, spray it on and wipe the pollen off. It's like magic!

The find of the day was in the women's bathhouse shower.

I was particularly interested in the White Tea & Honey. I'll have to give that a try to see how it tastes!
 

Winter Excursion 8, Day 174 The Life of a Camp Host

Back at camp and back on duty. There were only four campers in the campground when we got home yesterday. We had a few leave this morning and about eight arrive. The campground is really quiet (no Kiddos). That will change this weekend.

We had an older couple with a new fifth wheel pull in this afternoon. They had just picked it up from Camping World (1st mistake) and wanted to try it out. Their first question was why the site was not 50 amp. I explained that the site they were on was 30 amp and the 50s were all full today. They did not like that as they wanted to run both ACs. Next came a water issue. When the camper was hooked to city water there were two "leaks" under the camper. One was the fresh water tank drain, I closed that. I have no idea what the other "leak" was, but water was just pouring out of a line with no shutoff valve. I asked if they had the owner's manual, but they had left it at home. I guess they called Camping World and decided to take the camper back. They left a little while later. I felt bad for them, but a good PDI would have caught all these water issues.

Had a complaint this morning about a lady smoking in the women's bathhouse. I think I know which camper it is. We will be keeping an eye open .

Had another camper arrive and want to buy some firewood. He wanted two bundles at $8 each and wanted to pay with a $100 bill! We keep some change, but not that much. I gave him a ride in the cart to the office and he paid with a card.

The find of the day was this wheel bearing grease cap.

I hope they don't drive through any rain. That might ruin your day.

It's been a "fun" first day back "on". We are "on" for the next 5 days then hosting is over for this trip and we are campers again!

  

Winter Excursion 8, Day 173 The Life of a Camp Host

Nicole, Cath, and I met our Maine friends at Big Bad Breakfast after the Kiddos left for school. It was good to see Terry and Kathryn again. We all had a good breakfast and there was lots of gabbing. We said our goodbyes and Cath and I headed for "Home" (GLS).

The drive was nice and the weather was perfect. We got back to the camper around 1400. After we got everything put away we drove to the grocery store.  There is a good chance we will be "On" for the next six days.

Back at camp we sat by the campfire and had a few toddies. Clam Chowder for dinner as we ate enough this past weekend to feed an Army!

A few TV shows then off to bed. It's been a fun, fast, four days off.

Winter Excursion 8, Day 172 The Life of a Camp Host

Another lazy morning (day), but we liked it!

Nicole got home late last night from visiting her Dad. He is doing great!

We (the Kiddos, Us, & Nicole) relaxed after all the goings on yesterday.

Brian got home early and the cribbage matches began again.

Tennis matches were in order for the Kiddos but got cancelled due to weather.

We went out to dinner one last time and had a great meal (hamburgers) at a local joint,

Check the signs! LOL!

Back at home we took in a movie. "Strays" was an absolute hoot!  But do not watch it with Kiddos, it is very explicate, but absolutely hilarious. Even some of the Kids were tired.

Notice good old Ringo in the forefront.

It's been a fun weekend with the Kids and Kiddos.