We went to the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennesee. On the trip down, we stopped in Virginia at at Camping World Store to return a front curtain that was mail ordered. It was an ugly color and it could not be hung using the apparatus we have in our rv, so a return was in order. The good thing about the stop was that there was a REI type store next to Camping World and Gin found a jacket she had been shopping extensively for. It was kind of a bright pink and looked good on her. I tried to buy a matching one, but couldn't find my size - NOT.
With towed vehicle, our rv measures about 50 feet in length. We took great care whenever leaving interstate 81 to make sure that the gas stations or places we stopped could facilitate our navigation without having to back up, which is impossible without damaging the towing system. This has always been somewhat of a hassle, but success has been experienced - so far, so good as the optimist said as he passed the tenth floor after jumping off a twenty story building.
We stayed the first night in a very nice rv park. Gin and the dog took a long walk all over the park, which took almost a half of an hour, while I connected the essentials. The car was left attached in the pull-through to avoid some of that chore of hooking up the tow bar, etc.
While places like this advertise the internet, it is glacial in its speed. Rv places generally are not up to speed, pun intended, in the technology arena.
It was a very quiet location - no train whistles, airplanes taking off/landing and other, many noises we have encountered. I am reporting this because it news. My belief is that it has to be something unusual to be reported and this was definitely in the unusual category like man bites dog sort of.
Driving these days has become much easier as reported previously and compared to the initial days of nail-biting and Malox. We were anxious to try out some sites in and on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We visited a mountain type farm display and took the dog with us. It was pretty interesting. Of course, mountains are scenic without even trying.
What was interesting also was trying to leave the Blue Ridge Parkway. Without much consideration, we elected to take a connecting road back to I81. Little did we know how steep, winding, and hard to navigate it was going to be. It seemed like our rear-end passed us on some of the hairpin turns. I seemed to be standing up at times and only the seat belt kept me from sliding right into the windshield - okay, a little literary license here. The picture does not do justice to the experience. We will take care to avoid that sort of road in the future, I hope. We wanted to stop at one of the major attractions, but missed the turn and it was miles before finding place that we could turn around. It was not worth it.
We stayed the second night in a rv park that featured hundreds of cows practically surrounding us. Again, thankfully, it was quiet, another uncommon event.
We arrived at Boone, NC the next day in early afternoon. The rv park was tight and crowded, but there was really no other choice. We had to honk our horn to get someone to move their truck out of our spot, but it was done fairly quickly.
We decided to head out and do some things right away without doing a complete hookup. The long way, a wrong way, was used to get to our destination. It was probably the most consistently curvy road I have ever driven on and includes the creek beds in West Virginia.
We went to a unique shopping area in a small town named ?. I got scent of potpourri right away. My general rule is that any store that has scent is not for me. It was everywhere, so I went to a park and sat to wait on Gin. I am sure she would say that the whole place was "so cute." This is another general rule - well, you know by now.
We found and visited the famous general store once back in Boone. Gin got a couple of things and I bought some food - my kind of place. Afterwards, we went to eat at one of the recommended restaurants. I almost ordered the shrimp and grits, just to see what it is like, but chickened out and ordered their signature dish, which I have forgotten what it was now. Wish I had ordered the grits. Anyhow, it was pretty good and it was a nice ending to a long day - or not...
Back at the park, it was dark. Just dark, not a dark and stormy night. I got the remainder of the rv hooked up items completed, but could not find the cable connection for tv - CRISIS. A kind man in the office showed me where it was and the night was saved.
Our next stop was Ashville, NC. We wanted to see the Biltmore Estate. After visiting the AAA office, we continued to say that we have gotten more than our money's worth by belonging. A kind, young lady pointed us toward some local sights and places to eat. Some good advice for the Biltmore was given also.
On the way to Ashville, we pulled into a gas station behind a car and sat waiting for the car to leave - and sat and sat. Finally, I went into the convenience store attached and asked whose car it was. Nobody knew, GULP. Backing up is impossible with a towed vehicle as noted above and there was not room to get around the car in front of us. The only possibility was to unhook the towed car and then manuever both the rv and car past the obstruction. Talk about a real time consuming tenuous process... One of the ladies in the store thought that the owner of the car might be in the restroom and had been there for awhile. Sure enough, after about ten minutes, a pale looking young lady appeared and moved her car. She was obviously not feeling well. Case closed. By the way, gas prices were approaching three dollars a galleon in this region or Tennessee, I don't remember.
Because the Biltmore is a most of the day sort of experience, we went to the Grove Inn in the afternoon we got there, which is on a hillside above Ashville. Although it is a working hotel and a very large, busy one at that, it is also a tourist attraction. It was as advertised and a good experience. We really enjoyed it. From there, we went to a shopping area that was recommended. Despite getting lost and turned around, we found it and enjoyed this area also. Gin bought a unique soap dispenser and I bought pumpkin spice fudge and chocolate fudge - my kind of place. Gin has a thing about pumpkin spice coffee and the fudge seemed like a good idea - and it was! Gin would NEVER buy something like the fudge for herself, but somehow, it is okay for me to get it and than she enjoys it. Go figure.
The Biltmore visit is in the next post....
