Great drive to South Carolina

Lousy internet connection so this will be short.

Great day, nice sunny weather.  Just a bit cool in the wind.  Nice place here in Aiken State Park in Windsor SC.  Got in shortly after 3 with time to do some personalization with the truck.  Getting the GPS, dash cam, a couple stickers, the & VT Strong plate installed where I had them before.

Carlene went for a walk with Cal down by the So. Edisto to River.  On out first trip down here we were camped at the mouth of the Edisto.

Off to AL tomorrow.

Happy day & gone tomorrow

We planned on going hiking in the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park today.  But on the way over there we got a call from the car dealer that the truck was ready.  So we figured it might be better to go get that instead.  😉

We picked up the truck, came back to Kinston, put the cap on it and loaded the stuff we had stored at the repair shop.  We are finally all in one piece again.  It may take some adjustment to get the camper towing level.  This truck seems a bit higher than the black one.

We also connected with David & Gale for dinner at La Terraza Mexican restaurant in Goldsboro.  Had a great time with them and look forward to camping with them somewhere around here on our way home in April.

So that also means we drove the truck about 130 miles without any issues coming up!  We'll pack up in the morning and head out of here.  Since it is too late to meet up with Sue and Rich in Big Bend this weekend we are not quite sure where we are heading tomorrow but Augusta GA is one possibility.

Taking up residence in Kinston

Thinking of putting up a mailbox here at the campground and getting mail forwarded form home.  Already have the name sign hung out front.  Then go register to vote.  We live here now, right?
Might talk to Capitol Chrysler about them leasing back my truck.  I've owned it for 10 days.  I have had it for two of those, they have had it for 8.

We went shopping for food, did laundry, we each got haircuts.  Carlene made chili for dinner tonight.

A few more campground photos, and I took some cultural photos in the grocery store.

Grilling Balogna!!

Pig Tails!!

Hog Jowls!
Can you say "We're in the South!"

View out behind the camper

Panorama of the campground from the riverside deck

Looking down the unused riverfront campsites.  The water is too high to use these.

Almost...

We got a call from the Ram dealer this morning that the truck was ready to be picked up.  So I run off to Garner to get it.  Sure enough, it feels great to have it back.  I drive off and just as I am getting used to it again... the check engine light comes on again. Got a whole 10 miles. 
Back to Capital Chrysler.  They looked pretty embarrassed and a bit disgusted.  They checked it back in and gave me back the same rental car I had just turned in.

Back to Kinston for another night, or more.  Paid a last visit to the old black truck.  Took off the cap, unloaded all the stuff that was s till in the back.  Put all the gear on a pallet and put the cap over the top of it all.  It'll be safe under there, just like in the truck.  It's a locked yard.  I had looked forward to putting all that into the truck and putting the cap on it.  The salvage folks want to come get the truck so I had to vacate it.

Went out to dinner tonight.  At camp we were talking with the neighbors about a local place and decided that we'd go too.  When we got there the couple invited us to join them so we had a fun time of it.  Good burgers & wings and some Mother Earth Beer, the local brew.

Touring Atlantic Beach to Cedar Point

Took another drive down to the coast near Morehead City.  This time took the road along the barrier island through Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Emerald Isle and Cedar Point.  Spent a few hours at the North Carolina Aquarium.  Pretty neat place.  Took the Behind-the-scenes tour too.  That took us out back of the displays to see how they care for the animals on display, what they do for research, rehabilitation, and a lot of extra information on the habits of various sea critters.  Stuff like seahorses mating for life, needing a special blend of salt water since the Bogue Sound water is too high saline so they blend it down to seahorse quality.  And in the photos you'll notice they are not 100% water dwelling animals.

The road tour of the island was interesting although it looks a lot like many other built-up barrier islands we have seen.  And a lot of building repair ongoing from the last hurricane season.

And finally we stopped in at the Cedar Point Campground to see if they were opening soon.  We got lucky and found a ranger at the locked gate.  Since they have been closed for the past month they are way behind on cleaning up, again from the hurricane season.  We camped there with David & Gale last spring on our way home.  We are still hoping to do so again this year.  They will open "in the spring" and can't say yet just when that might be.  But April is possible.  Theoretically anyway.  So far. 

Beach day!

Took a ride down to Morehead City on the coast and went for a 2-3 mile walk on the beach with Callahan.  Wonderful sunny day in the low 50s, gentle breeze.  Then wandered around the old part of Beaufort, the adjacent town.

It was very nice to get a real vacation day again.  We've been staying close in case the truck was finished.  Today was the first day that was not possible so we took advantage of it.

Did someone say "Squirrel"?

Beaufort, with some nice old homes

Same city, Same stuff

A bit of walking around, a bit of riding around.  Got some legal stuff done for the insurance company.  And did some shopping.
No word on the truck.  That means they still have not started to work on it and won't until Monday.  At best.
Not much else happening here.

More Kinston, more truck stuff

Around noon today we found out that they have not even looked at the truck yet.  Hard to predict right now just how long well be here.  Depressing.  But then I contemplate the situation.  While I feel abused we really are not.  We bought the truck As-Is, no warranty.  Bought some basic warranty on some big stuff but not the whole cover-everything package.  The engine light came on at 70 miles.  The dealer is treating this as a pre-existing condition and covering the repair at their cost.  I do not have an appointment, they are fitting me in where they can.  I took a place in line when all this happened.  They gave me a no-cost rental car to use in the mean time.  Aside from being stuck here when we want to be much farther west it is really not a bad deal.  

Well, that's what I keep telling myself.  It works most of the time!

We took a drive south for a bit, found an interesting sporting goods store to explore for a little while.  And the Visitor Center has a nice little museum dedicated to Civil War activity in the area.

Took a walk farther out around the campground this afternoon.  Some photos from that are below.

I set up the TV antenna and spent some frustrating time trying to figure that out.  I have one channel for sure and probably 3-10 more.  I just do not now how to find them!  We have not brought a TV on the previous two trips.  But this new camper has 3 TVs in it.  But did not have an antenna.  The owners must have spent all their camping time in RV parks with cable hook up.

Civil War medical instruments

Our campground at Neuseway

Cal is making himself at home

We finally got around to doing some basic tourist stuff.  First was the CSS Neuse II.  A reproduction of the CSS Neuse, and it's the only full scale reproduction of a Civil War ironclad gunboat anywhere.

CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center  A fine little museum about the building and exploits of the gunboat in this area.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g49259-d6034065-Reviews-CSS_Neuse_Civil_War_Interpretive_Center-Kinston_North_Carolina.html

There is also a Fire Dept. museum just down the block from the Neuse museum.  But it is only open on Saturday.  We looked in the window and saw some old gear and a fire truck that appeared to be from the 40s. 
Lunch was at the Whisky Pig restaurant and butcher shop.  It's a farm-to-plate kind of place.  Photos of the livestock on the wall.  The family farm is in it's 11th generation.

But alas, (or should I say @$^%&) still no truck.  Not fixed yet.  Presumably they had to order a sensor.  They did warn me it could be a day to get it after identifying the part.

But we did get the official word from State Farm that the old truck is a total loss, and arranged for the payoff with some cash leftover.  They gave it a higher value than I expected. 

For down here this was kind of a cool night.  Tonight it's 10 PM and still 58!

These are the original CSS Neuse, salvaged in the 1960s after 100 years underwater.

The day of 4 vehicles

The day started off simple enough.  We went over to the courthouse to see about the accident, that went well.  Then we got some more propane because we are burning so much of it in the cold weather.
There is a big chip in the windshield right in front of the driver on the new truck and the dealer had promised to replace it today.  So off we went to Garner.
So, some of you know the story about how we bought the black truck last March and the check engine light came on 7 miles after we signed the papers.  We made it 70 miles this time!  Yup, the !@$% check engine light came on as we were driving out for the propane.
Returned the rental car in Goldsboro on our way to the dealer.  That's 2 cars.  While they put in the windshield we had a loaner to go out for lunch.  That makes 3 cars.  The engine light is a sensor that they will fix tomorrow, but they want to keep the truck overnight.  And they gave us a free rental for the night.  That's 4 cars that we have driven today.  Nice to have variety.
And because the truck's issue is so new after buying it they are doing all this on their dime.  So you see it's not all bad.  It's just 70 miles from here to the dealer.
We had hoped to get the cap off the old truck and onto the new one this afternoon; and move all the stuff that is stored in the back of the truck.  That's really all we have to do to pack up and get on with the trip.  Trip?  Oh, yeah, that's what we're doing here!

Another day in Kinston. And a truck.

This morning was just bureaucracy.  Calls to insurance etc.  Then a run over to the repair shop where the black truck is parked.  Derrick had done the visual assessment and was doing the lengthy paperwork.  He is certain it is a total loss.  The frame rails are bent and that's $8000 by itself.  Plus everything in the front end.  So we began stripping out all of our stuff, the radio, siren, red light.  All those hours of planning and installing came out in 45 minutes.  Mostly because it was just above freezing and blowing a harsh wind.  Felt like home, except I know they are 30 degrees colder.

Brought it all back to camp and started putting the basics into the new truck.  Yup, new truck.  We bought the replacement!  A 2014 Ram 2500 Laramie diesel.  Essentially the same truck, one year newer and the opposite color.  White.  I never wanted a white truck but this had everything else I wanted, and then a bit.

Just running around Kinston

Went out to breakfast for a change.  Had to.  Carlene didn't have any milk. 😄
Then out shopping for some odd parts and some groceries.  And a walk around the park when we met a couple who live in their RV.  Alan and Becky keep their 5th wheel at their son's house near here and take it out for some change-of-scenery camping when the mood strikes.  They come here quite often.  She had an instant-pot full of chili cooking and invited us for dinner.  It was pretty good.  They are originally from NH and MA so we had a good time talking about familiar places and how we are glad to be in NC this weekend!
We spent a good part of the afternoon getting the camper settled.  Between my shoulder and the cold weather a lot of stuff got thrown into the garage (the open rear of the camper where the motorcycle is) and was a disorganized mess.  A lot of gear and food was put away in the big cabinet we put in the garage.  There were empty bins in the cabinet and many bags of stuff on the floor.  Sure is nice to have things where they were always intended to be but had not been out there before. 

Here are some photos from the campground today.

These birds are recovering from injuries here at the Neuseway Nature Park

Kinston and vic.

Cloudy and occasional sprinkles did not keep us in the camper.  We went out wandering and truck shopping.  I spent a few hours on the computer looking for another truck.  Last year I did that from Phoenix to Florida before I found what I wanted.  I was surprised to find a dozen within 75 miles of here.  I narrowed that down to four and went to take a look at some. 
We'll let you know how that works out.

Hanging in Kinston NC

Had a very pleasant quiet evening and night in the Carstar lot!  Probably a new in down low camping.  Sort of an urban boondocking!  Except for the occasional train passing next door it was as quiet as could be.

Today we explored a very little bit.  We scouted out the campground in Kinston at the Neuceway Nature Park.  We could not find anyone by phone so we just drove over and checked it out.  Found out they don't take reservations so I stayed at the camper waiting for Derrick to tow it to the campground while Carlene and Cal staked out a claim on site 17.

About 3:30 our busted truck arrived at Carstar just in time for me to get a few items out of it to bring to camp.  We got the camper here about 4 PM.  Then went out to BBQ dinner.

Well, that's about all for today.  Derrick won't get to my truck until Monday, but at least they are not taking MLK day off.  I have been browsing the internet looking at Ram 2500 diesels in the area.  Might go do a bit of looking over the weekend.

Auto body shop camping at it's finest

Our Riverside campsite is a bit more like camping

Spotsylvania VA to Kinston NC

Beautiful sunny day for a drive south.  We ended up in Kinston NC.  Looks like a nice place.  I think we'll stay a while.  Not that we have much choice.  You see, we had a little misadventure here.  We wrecked the truck.  Yup.  Made a heap big mess of it.  Quite likely totaled, at least I hope so.  WE are ALL OK!!  Carlene, Callahan and Andy are just fine.  Not a scratch.  And the other guy involved got one band-aid. So the human/canine factor is feeling fine!  I had recently named my frequently-ailing truck "Calamity Joe".  Maybe he took exception to that.  Anyway, he may be totaled.  Huge front end damage as a van came across in front of us and collided with our front end.

So tonight we are camping in the back lot of a body shop, the owner hauled the camper over here with his own truck and let us stay here tonight.  We;ll find a state park or something tomorrow and he will again haul us over there.  We'll stay here until something gets resolved.  Until the insurance company decides the fate of Calamity Joe  we won't know what we are doing next.  From the damage I can see I know I do not want it repaired.  We have a rental car but it won't pull the camper very far!

Well, that's about all there is to report today!  Maybe tomorrow I'll send some photos.

Stroudsburg PA to Fredericksburg VA

It seems that we left the bare ground and came south to get back in snow country.  Yup, snow covered ground in Virginia, and I do not mean up in the mountains.  We are about 20 miles north of Richmond VA.  You might have seen my comment about not coming down here this past weekend because it was going to snow.  It did; and it’s still here.  We had not seen this much since Albany NY.  The guy at the KOA here said they haven’t had this much in six years.

We came down US Rt 15 from Hassisburg PA to Dumfries VA.  It is all 4 lane but not interstate.  It is a nice route, scenic, unpopulated because it bypasses the few small towns along the way, not very crowded on the road.  Just a pleasant drive.  But there is a distinct lack of any place to pull off and change drivers.  I ended up driving all the way for lack of a place to switch without leaving the  is ][[highway and going into town.

We made a quick stop at Cabela’s this morning.  Those are such great stores to just admire the decor!

In Cabela’s

Bridge over the Potomac River 

Snowy Virginia

Our campsite in Fredericksburg