Manassas, Virginia

July 29, 2008





Today started at a leisurly pace. Last evening before dinner, I stowed all of the awnings on the Silver Lady and put away the outside chairs and table. This morning, I got up to make muffins to go with our tea and coffee. By the time that we actually started getting dressed, it was almost 9:00 am. Sue walked Pooh Bear while I started the project of checking fluids in the coach, hooking up the tow dolly and putting the bicycles on their racks. This was followed by the ususal flushing the black water tank and putting everything away for the trip home. While I was doing this, Sue cleaned the inside of the coach, stripped the bed and packed away all of the loose items that must be stored before we can travel.We both showered and changed clothes before heading out. After we were off site, I loaded the Chrysler on the tow dolly. washed up and we finally headed away from Ocean Waves Campground with mixed feelings about 11:40 am. Before we departed, we obtained the reservation forms for next year's visit.





We stopped for fresh vegetables at one of the roadside stands along Route 168 north of Nags Head and then stopped at Pierce's Barbeque in Williamsburg. Pierce's is a place we visit on every possible occasion. It is by far the best barbeque we have ever had. In addition to a very satisfying meal, several pints of meat and a bottle of Pierce's sauce made their way into the Silver Lady for the trip home. Our last stop on this trip was for fuel just north of Kings Dominion above Richmond. Overall, it was a pleasant trip. The front A/C that failed in Colorado was still not working and the front of the coach became somewhat uncomfortable during the trip. I looked over at one point and Pooh Bear was sleeping near the door, with his face smashed up against one of the air vents to benefit from the fresh air. Although we had the generator running, in hind site, I think that none of the rooftop air conditioners were running and we were relying on the dash A/C. The fan on the top of the windshield on Sue's side quit. I sure wish that I had Uncle Bud's knowledge as I need to get that repaired before our next trip. We also discovered that there was water dripping from one of the light fixtures near the refrigerator. I think, for some reason the drain tube fore the middle rooftop A/C has gotten plugged and that this was a condensation overflow. In any event, I will have all three rooftop A/C's serviced before our next trip.





We arrived home in Manassas about 6:30 this evening. It was good to be home. It was great to see the house and everything that is familiar, but at the same time, we have had such a wonderful time on this trip that it was sad to see it coming to a conclusion. Sue and I have been very blessed by our time together, by the adventures we have experienced and by the remoteness from issues we routinely face in Manassas.



During the day today, we reflected on what we had seen and what we had done. We decided that on the next trip, we will shorten each day's travel so as to give more time to treasure each day. We both clearly want to go back again to visit Durango, Colorado and Asheville, North Carolina. In the process of this, we began thinking about and discussing the next Excellent Adventure! I think that is a true reflection of the impact and enjoyment of this now completed Excellent Adventure IV as we look forward with anticipation to the next opportunity to explore this great country together. We travelled 5621 miles in the coach and probably another 400 to 500 miles in the Chrysler while we were gone. As a time together and an advneture, it was everything we had hoped for. Remembering that this trip was originally planned for 2007 and was postponed by my surgery, we counted ourselves blessed to do the entire trip in 2008. This was a special gift from God.

We reflected many times during the trip about the people who went across the country in the late 1800's and stood in awe of their courage and determination. For us, the Silver Lady was our "conestoga wagon" and the sites were our adventure. We are a very bless country and a blessed people. Sue and I count ourselves fortunate to be Americans and children of the God of the Universe.

Ocean Waves Campground (2)

July 28, 2008

This final stop at Ocean Waves Campground was just what we needed. We have spent three more wonderful days walking the beach with Pooh Bear, taking much needed afternoon naps and long swims in the campground pool.

We have pushed our walks along the beach a bit father each day. When I recall that during last summer's visit, I had all I could do to walk to the water one time and stand their looking out, I realize how blessed I am. I am extremely thankful for opportunity to be here again and particularly for the rest.

Sunday, we walked with Pooh Bear to the local Dairy Queen where he had his own bowl of DQ ice cream. He make quick work of the bowl and looked longingly at Mom's cone. Afterward we walked over to Pamlico Sound and watched lots of people on their small surfboards attached to harnesses and large kites. These kites pulled the riders at trememdous speends across the water. Sue and I were amazed. Years ago, I brought my sunfish sailboat to this very site and sailed across the Sound for hours at a time. Those were great memories.

We were up early on Monday morning as Sue had an appointment for a massage in Avon about 20 miles south of Waves. This was a Birthday present from Brent and Jen and much appreciated. While Sue was being papered, I visited an Ace Hardware store, a bike shop and finally the local Food Lion. Sue certainly had the better task but we both had fun. Afterwards, we had lunch at Bubba's Barbeque in Avon and then headed back to Ocean Waves.

We then headed for the Chicacomico Life Saving Station in Rodanthe just up the road from the campground. This is a place we have visited often and supported the restoration with some small gifts. We had not been for a visit to the station in probably five years. There were many new things to see. For the first time, we were able to visit the second floor of the Keepers House and to actually go up into the top most turrent. We were told that during World War II this station was manned by 42 people in a location actually intended for about 8 men. There is a tremendous history to this particular station and to the Lifesaving Service (predecesor to the US Coast Guard in this part of the Country). If you ever haver an opportunity to see this Station or to learn of the sacrifice of the men who labored there, I highly recommend it.

After this very inspiring visit, we headed again for the fish market to purchase red snapper which we relished for dinner. Sue finished reading Clarence Thomas' book and started onto another. I picked the book up and am truly enjoying it. This is a personal memoir written by him about his life up to the time that he was confirmed for his seat on the US Supreme Court. It is fascinating walking with him through the struggles in his life in search of himself and his world view. I have a new appreciation for Mr. Justice Thomas.

Ocean Waves Campground

July 25, 2008



Its Friday night and impossible to believe that we have been here for three full days. This place, the beach and the ocean bring such refreshment to our bodies and our spirits.



Wednesday, we slept in. After getting up, we took our coffee and tea outside to relax. Pooh Bear was with us and right beside me. Sue and I were talking and suddenly, we heard a commotion at the adjacent campsite. Pooh Bear had wandered next door and created quite a ruckus with a cat that was on a leash outside. I got him back with us and tied up when the neighboring camper came over very upset. His hands were bleeding apparently from trying to hold his cat. We got a stiff lecture about obeying the "rules" and apologized profusely. As you might imagine, Pooh Bear has been on a tight leash ever since. In the afternoon we went swimming in the pool and rode our bicycles around the neighboring areas of Waves and Rodanthe for several hours. We toured the nearby KOA Campground as well as a private campground called Camp Hatteras. The latter has much bigger sites and seems well laid out. We were both worn out when we got back and it was nap time.



Thursday, we awakened to rain. It rained off and on for a good deal of the day but we were able to sneak in a long walk on the beach with Pooh Bear and a swim in the pool. During the walk we watched a guy on a surf board being pulled along by a huge kite. The kite supplies all of the force and he is somehow able to control his speed and directions with his board and a harness that attaches to the kite. Its amazing to watch. The principles must be a lot like sailing, but the body strength and control required defy explanation. In the late afternoon we headed for one of the local seafood stores and puchased red snapper, vegetables and some fruit. I pan friend the red snapper with red peppers and onions in a butter and lemon juice sauce. We made caesar salad to go with the snapper and feasted like kings.



Today, I made cranberry orange miffins and we slowly emerged from the coach to face the day. Sue has started reading the recent book by Justice Clarence Thomas and I am reading the first of Joel Osteen's books. We headed for the ocean again and a long walk along the beach with Pooh Bear. The surf was really rough today. We watched several guys in a sea kayak going in and out of the surf and running with the waves. It certainly looks like something that would be fun, but not in today's surf. After the walk, we settled down under the Silver Lady's main awning with Pooh Bear and read for more than an hour. Later, we headed for the swimming pool and got some more exercise. Sue and I are both doing a lot of stretching in the pool as well as swimming laps. We are certainly getting more exercise on this part of the trip, but I'm not sure that our culinary delights are not offsetting the benefits of the exercise.



After the pool, we found our way for a late afternoon nap. I think we slept for more than two hours. I was awakened by a knock on the door of the camper. By the time I got to the door, I saw the campground owner driving away from our unit. She had left us a reminder about obeying the rules for dogs to be on a leash. Apparently our neighbor had lodged a complaint about the incident two days ago. In any event, Sue, Pooh Bear and I sat outside, talked, read and relaxed until almost dark. The neighbor headed out and later came back and actually smiled at us and I responded in kind. This little tift has created a stess none of us needed.



We took the ipod docking station outside under the canopy and were able to listen to "Beach Boys" music as the day faded. Life is tough. We are both really relaxing. The trip across the country and all of the driving was wonderful but this part of the trip with nothing to do and no where to go is much needed. Thank you, Lord.

Waves, North Carolina

July 22, 2008

Sue and I were up early this morning beginning our preparations for the day's travel. As I was packing chairs away, a gentleman came up and asked questions about the tow dolly. I was pleased to assist in his research. We checked the anitfreeze and oil in the Silver Lady and both were fine. She is still leaking oil and blowing some of that leaked oil from underneath all over the tow dolly and the car. My efforts as diesel mechanic the other day seem to have slowed the leak a little and the coating on the car and the dolly are not as bad as they were before I worked under the chasis.

We headed east on I-40 from the Asheville Campground a little after 11:00 am. As the day moved along and we travelled further east, outside temperatures climbed. With the front A/C not working we were both a little uncomfortable. We stopped just west of Durham, NC for fuel and a sandwich and pressed on into the coastal plain of North Carolina. We finally arrived in the Outer Banks about 7:30 pm and then headed south to Waves. We arrived at Ocean Waves Campground a little after 8:00 pm to greet our friends and long time hosts Clyde and Carolyn. It was good to be in familiar territory.

After dropping the car, we headed for our campsite. To my chagrin, I could not get the hitch lock on the tow dolly to work. Several other campers came along and helped me finish dropping the tow dolly and storing it at the back of the campsite. After that, I was able to back the Silver Lady into her site and complete setting her up. Sue and I have become experienced at this and everything went smoothly.

It was so very good to withdraw inside, sip a drink, listen to smooth music and relax. I said to Sue that I was looking forward to just doing nothing tomorrow. I can get up when I want, nap when I want, swim when I want but there is no adgenda. For the last 25 days we have been more or less on a schedule to be somewhere, see something or get on the road. Sue's plan for this break at the end of our trip was wonderful and much needed.

Asheville, North Carolina (2)

July 21, 2008

We have had two wonderful days in Asheville. Sunday morning, we got up, walked Pooh Bear and dressed for church. We attended Mountain View Baptist Church in Black Mountain, with our friends Bob and Susan Lueck. We first met Bob and Susan on our honeymoon in Cayman Brac and have become friends. They are wonderful Christians and we have had the privilege of fellowshipping with them in the Brac and now here in Asheville. We have been listening to Scott Leib's sermons on the trip but it was good to actually be in church. After service we went out to brunch and then back to Bob and Susan's to visit for an afternoon of fellowship and catching up with each other. They took us back to pick up our car as they were teaching a class at church at 5:15 pm.

After a nap and a swim, we headed out to find some barbeque. We never found any, but found a great greek and italian restaurant where we had a wonderful dinner on the veranda. Sue had grouper and I had a pasta dish with capers, shrimp. scallops, mussels and mahi mahi. It was a very romantic setting and a great meal.

On Monday morning, we walked Pooh Bear, went for a swim and headed off to the Biltmore Estate for the day. What an amazing experience. This "house", the largest private home in America, was built in the late 1800's by George W. Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius Vanderbuilt. It took over six years to build the house and to landscape the grounds. The Estate today is still over 8000acres. George W. Vanderbilt was a bachelor when the house was built. He later married and brought his bride to Biltmore. They lived there, a daughter was born to them at Biltmore and they lived together until George died. The house was first opened to the public in 1930 and remains open today. The property is a working farm as well as a tourist resort. Our tour of the house lasted almost four hours. We went on a self directed tour with an audio guide to about 40 rooms in the house. The self-guided tour allowed us to take as much time as we wanted at each location. I think there a a total of 225 rooms, but we saw only a small portion. Even with that, the house was absolutely overwhelming. Built into the house was electricity, a pipe organ, many, many working bathrooms with toilets and bathtubs, refrigerators, a complete lanudry facility, a two lane bowling alley and a heated indoor swimming pool with a ceramic tile ceiling and underwater illumination.

Afterward, we had a late lunch in the stables which were also finished in ceramic tile. Many of the booths were actually stalls for the horses, complete with feed troughs. It was a very delightful experience. We did some shopping and then headed out to see the gardens. We soon realized that the gardens were everybit as awesome as the house. There is so much to see here that we will need to come back again.

We returned to the Silver Lady exhausted and took a desperately needed nap. After the nap, we walked Pooh Bear, watched a movie and prepared for tomorrow's trip to the Outer Banks. The campground here in Asheville was really great. It lies beside a stream and around a large fishing pond. Mountains surround the area. It is a truly beautiful area we are anxious to visit again.

Asheville, North Carolina

July 19, 2008

This morning started early with concerns about the Silver Lady and her oil leak. Sue walked Pooh Bear while I crawled under the rear of the coach trying to isolate the leak. We have gone through at least two quarts of oil, mixed with the normal road dirt. The bikes, the tow dolly and the car were really a mess. I was able to isolate the area of the leak. I tried to use the tools I had with me to tighten anything and everything I could see. As you might expect, I had some tools, but not what I really needed. First I needed a set of 1/2 drive metric sockets which I did not have. I tried to make do with 3/8 s but didn't have a long handle ratchet so had a very hard time on my back trying to get any pressure. I did find several things that I could get some pressure on that were a little loose. I got back up from the job, not really sure if I had made any difference.

While all of this was going on, Sue and Pooh Bear returned, with a neighbor in tow. They struck up a conversation and soon the Husband joined us with his limited set of tools. They were from British Columbia and were taking 3 months to tour parts of the US. What wonderful people. The guys talked RV's while the gals talked about sites they had seen and still wanted to see. Their companionship took our minds and hearts off the difficulties we have recently experienced and gave a good start to the day. After they left, we backed up, broke camp and headed for a fuel stop before getting on the road.

Today was a 550 mile day the highlight of which was a stop at a rest stop where Sue made a picnic lunch for us. We took the lunch and our drinks and headed outside under some large oak trees and rested in the shade as we ate. This rest stop was just east of Nashville. We both have expressed a desire to come back to Nashville. We also didn't get to see any of Memphis so truly feel that Tennessee is a state we want to see again.

We stopped for fuel in Knoxville and continued on into North Carolina toward Asheville. We passed within less than 2 miles of the first campground on this trip in Newport, Tennessee. I-40 east of Newport and on into Asheville is very windy. I was pushing very hard driving this portion of the trip at the end of the day and our guardian angels were working overtime. We pulled into the KOA East Campground in Asheville just after 9:00 pm. They were still open and very graciously received us. KOA's give great personal service and for that we are very pleased. In this situation, we were taken to our site by a staff member in a golf cart who led us right to the site and helped with my layout on the site before he left us. This is a campground that we stayed at last year and I sure didn't want to find my way around with the Silver Lady after dark alone. All was well. We got set up quickly and Sue cooked a wonderful dinner.

We touched base with our friends and will meet them at their church in the morning for services.

We have been on the road now for 22 days. There have been many, many life changing experiences. There have been many - let's do that again experiences. There have been lessons learned and things that have frustrated us. Today at the second fuel stop, A trucker said to me, "you really handle that rig like you know what you are doing." I was so blessed by his comments, it helped put the last couple of days in perspective. Sue and I have become seasoned in all of this. Yes there are things we can and will do differently next time, but there will be a next time. We have learned so much and much of the operational things are becoming almost second nature.

I have truly treasured this time with Sue and the sharing that we have done, experientially, emotionally and spiritually.

West Memphis, Arkansas

July 18, 2008

About 3:30 pm this afternoon we finally arrived at the Tom Sawyer RV Resort on the banks of the Mississippi River in West Memphis, Arkansas. We were about 24 hours late in arriving.

We left the KOA just east of Oklahoma City yesterday morning about 10:00 am headed for West Memphis. Less than 20 minutes into the trip, a man passed me on Interstate 40 and frantically waved me over. I pulled off in a wide area just past an on ramp and just before some road construction. He told me that one of the wheel bearings on the tow dolly was smoking and about to seize. Checking, I found that he was absolutely correct. We had lost the wheel bearing grease cover and all of the grease on that wheel bearing had come out. We were most grateful that he recognized the problem and that he cared enough to stop us before the wheel had seized up completely. As it turned out, he was our first ministering angel of the day.

Sue, Pooh Bear and I ran across both lanes of the Interstate with cars and trucks rushing past us at 70 mph and headed for a gas station we could see about a mile away. There was no road service there but they gave us the name of someone to call. Call we did and we were told that they were too busy to help us but referred us to someone else, Billy. I spoke with Billy and he told me that he would be able to come help us but it would likely be at least 2 hours. I said OK and we started waiting. In the process, we called AAA and ultimately were told that the tow dolly was not covered by their services to us. We started to head back to the coach when one of the female employees came out to admire Pooh Bear. When she realized that we were going to head back across the Interstate, she became our second ministering angel and drove us back to the Silver Lady.

After waiting for Billy for about an hour and one half, he called to tell us that he had gotten tied up on another job and he would not be able to get to us. He suggested someone else who when I contacted him, he was also tied up and not able to get to us today. I called Billy back and he recommended another service company. I called them and they said they would come but it would be at least another hour and one half before they would get to us. Billy, again a ministering angel called back several times to check on us. We waited. Finally two trucks and two guys arrived. They looked at the wheel and concluded what I had already told them, we needed new wheel bearings. They took everything apart and headed out to get parts. Another wait. When they returned, they started to make the repairs. They ended up having to buy a while new drum assembly with the bearings already in place. Actually, they bought two for the price of one and we now have a spare for which I was very grateful.

Everyone in this neck of the woods speaks only in terms of cash. We shelled out almost $400.00 for the road service and parts and were extremely grateful. While I was settling up with the man he said to me that he thought we needed two new tires on the tow dolly. He was sure that we would not make it back to Virginia and felt sure that we would not make it out of Oklahoma without a tire failure. With my OK, he tracked down a tire shop in the next town. These two ministering angels lead us to first an ATM to get more cash and then to the tire shop. We were extremely grateful. The guy in the tire shop stayed open and waited for us. He had what we needed and promptly put them on. You guessed it, cash, another $140.00. He was a ministering angel. At 6:30 pm yesterday evening, we finally headed east again on I-40. About an hour later we stopped for fuel and dinner. Both of us needed out of the unit at that point so we sat down and had dinner at a truck stop.

We learned many great lessons today. We had water on board and the generator produced electricity to run the A/C's that allowed us to survive in the stiffling outside heat for almost 5 hours. We also learned that on this type of trip, we need to carry more spare parts. We learned as well that our God takes care of all of the details.

Sue suggested mid-afternoon that we contact the KOA in Little Rock and make that our goal for the night. We arrived at the Little Rock KOA at about 12:30 am, 14+ hours after leaving Oklahoma City.

This morning, we took our time, went for a long swim and finally headed for West Memphis about 12:30 pm. We had an uneventful trip with a Wal-Mart shopping trip along the way. Driving the motor home on the Interstates is relatively easy. When you need to get off and find your way around town or get to a campground, that can be a little more frustrating. We finally found the Tom Sawyer RV resort and checked in. It was everything they had advertised - right on the banks of the Mississippi River. We have a wonderful site with a great view.

After "lunch" at 5:00 pm, we walked Pooh Bear along the River. A nap was the next order of the day followed by washing the car, the bikes, the tow dolly and the back of the Silver Lady. The Lady has developed an oil leak and she is spitting oil all over her rear end, the bikes, the tow dolly and my car. We spent almost two hours working on this, fully realizing that they will all get very dirty and oily on the trip tomorrow. Sue was wisely concerned about the car and the effect of all of this oil on the finish long term. We were so exhausted when we finished that a trip out for Memphis Barbeque at the "Rendezvous" will have to wait for another trip.

Tomorrow we are off to Asheville, North Carolina to see some friends who own a home two doors from our house on Cayman Brac. They are great Christians and we have learned so much from them. With each passing experience, we learn more about the details of operating a vehicle like the Silver Lady and all of the things that you need to check daily. God has covered us at each step, mostly in spite of my efforts. The situation yesterday could have been very destructive. God took care of us. Praise His Name.

Oklahoma City

July 16, 2008

Today, with a wistful glance, we headed out of Durango, Colorado heading southeast towards I-40. The trip today was about 560 miles and we were exhausted at the end. We found the KOA with no difficulty, got checked in and set up the coach. Afterwards, we headed for the swimming pool for almost an hour.

The owner uses saltwater in his pool. There was no chlorine taste or smell. We both felt very refreshed when we got out and rejeuvenated. I'm going to have to check on this to see if we could do this with the hot tub and what's involved.

We have praised the Lord very day for a safe trip, but today we have a special reason to praise Him. Just west of Oklahoma City, after driving about 8 and 1/2 hours, I saw an orange pickup truck run off the road coming in the opposite direction. He was running through the grassy median and headed right for us. As if in slow motion, I watched him fight for contol of the truck and to try to keep from coming back on the road in our lane. It was only the Lord that steered the truck along the grass and past us as I continued forward. I looked in my mirrors immediatly after and saw one vehicle in the grassy median and a large cloud of dust on the right side of the road in a gully. I can only assume that he came across our lane right behind us and went on across our lane into the gulley. None of this was in my hands, nor could I have done anything to prevent an accident. We are so very blessed and thankful to our God.

When we went online this evening, we had a second blessing for the day. One of the men who had gone on the white water rafting trip with us, Mark Lewis, sent us an Email and shared a number of pictures he took on the trip. We have downloaded several to include with today's Blog. We have sent Mark an Email thanking him and asking for other of the pictures as he is willing to share.

Tomorrow we head for West Memphis, Arkansas. Our trip is all east at this point and it feels as if we are heading back to Manassas. Several times today, I had to remind myself that we still have almost 2 weeks of this Excellent Adventure ahead of us.

Since Excellent Adventure III was given a nickname, The Recovery Tour, we have decided that this trip also needs a nickname. We have called this our Rocks, Rapids and Railroad Tour.