Our last post left you/us hanging in Fort Wayne awaiting final return of Lola 2. We checked out of the house on Friday, and headed to Decatur to see what was the latest. When we arrived, the coach was nowhere to be seen, evidently still in the shop even though we had told them we’d be coming over Friday AM to get the rig. Latest update was they were still working on the body damage around the step area (even though they had told us it would be done in plenty of time). We were told it would be ready “soon” but couldn’t tell us when. Jill decided to stay at the service center and do some laundry (in addition to free electric, they also provide free laundry machines) while Dan headed back to Fort Wayne to pick up Adele.
Upon his return and after lunch break, we checked with our advisor and were told they had gotten the new grill in and were now installing that! We were happy it had arrived but again, surprised no one seemed to know about it when we checked in the AM. Long story short, we got the rig back and even were able to take it over to a truck tire dealer to have a tire checked out that had been slashed. They measured and confirmed it was just a “flesh wound”, not deep at all and no risk to the integrity of the tire (yeah, some good news!). Friday evening, we settled back into the rig and got ready to make our escape from Indiana on Saturday AM.
Due to spending an extra week in Indiana, we had to make some changes to our planned itinerary. There had also been some flooding in one area we had planned to camp so we shifted plans accordingly. Our first stop was near the small town of Moorehead, KY. This was a new RV Park and we were only staying for two nights in order to get back on schedule. We were so tired from all the moving, the long drive (about 6 hours), and just the stress of dealing with repairs that we really didn’t do anything at this stop, not even take a picture of our site (a first since we started this blog!).
Monday, August 23rd, we headed out for our next stop, Kairos “Resort” sitting on the VA/WVA border near the town of Princeton, WVA. Note that I put the word “resort” in quotes. We’ve learned that campgrounds take much liberty in the use of this word but still, we usually expect to see a few upgrades at a place with this title. Well, that must not be the case when in West Virginia. We should have known things were a little sketchy when we turned onto a very small country road that soon turned to a rutted dirt road. Given it hadn’t rained in awhile, the back of Lola and all of Lolita were soon caked in a heavy layer of dust as we plodded along trying to avoid the worst of the pot holes. After about 2 miles, we came to the entrance and a very steep paved road (not for long) up the mountain to the “resort”. After another mile leaving a dust trail visible to the astronauts on the Space Station, we finally arrived for check in. They were nice enough to allow us to use a nearby hose to rinse off Lolita enough that we could see out the windows to drive the car!
They allowed us to select our site from a list that would be empty the whole week of our stay. And in fairness, our site was very nice, level, with some good tree cover.
The campground was pretty empty with the few occupied sites being filled by long-term renters, most with ATV’s or dirt bikes. And that is REALLY what the resort is about. They evidently have tons of trails that are wonderful for off roading adventures. During the week, things were pretty quiet. Come the weekend, the place was invaded by scores of trucks and trailers and the forest was filled with the sounds of engines. Other than that, not much in the way of amenities to make it a resort.
We got out to explore several times while in the area. We will admit that they area is very beautiful with mountains and rivers and trails all over. One very large river in the area is the New River. And up the road from us was the New River Gorge and Bridge. We took a day to explore the area. This included driving over the bridge that is still one of the highest in the world at over 800 feet above the river. We checked out views of the bridge and then took an old road that goes down under the bridge, eventually crossing the New River at the bottom of the gorge.
While down at river level, we stopped for a picnic lunch and then ventured to the now mostly deserted town of Thurmond. Back in the early 1900’s this was one of the richest cities in the Virginias due to the amount of coal and other mining that was done in the area. The town had several major rail lines that converged to ensure freight could get out of the gorge as needed. Today, it is preserved as part of the newest National Park in the system.
We always enjoy observing the various rules and practices and how they vary across the great country we live in. We have observed in the past that one of the most interesting things to experience are the variety of different rules and laws around purchasing beer, wine and hard liquor. In the state of Indiana, they seem to have gotten one thing right – you can buy all of the above at one place and that’s a grocery store. In almost every other state we have visited, you have to go somewhere else to get hard liquor. But even within the state of Indiana, the rules change as you travel across the state. For instance, in the southern areas, it appears that they just put it all in the store and let you buy and check out in the front along with all your other groceries. But up north in the Fort Wayne area, they may have hard liquor in the grocery stores but they have it in a section in the middle of the store and you have to go in and buy your liquor separately, get the bag sealed and labeled and then you can continue with your other groceries (including buying your beer and wine).
In contrast, West Virginia seems to have a different concern. To get liquor in that state, you’ll have to go to a special store that sells liquor. That’s not the odd part though. The odd part is if you go into the local Walmart and head to the pharmacy area looking for shaving cream, you’ll see that there is a section in the middle where you have to go in and buy it separately, get the bag sealed and labeled and then you can continue with the rest of your Walmart shopping (including buying your beer and wine). So, in Indiana, they may be worried about people stealing (or buying illegally) liquor but in West Virginia it’s all about safeguarding the shaving cream….
Our next stop was the town of Elkin, NC. This is a cute little town on its own but is also not too far from the city of Mt. Airy. And Mt. Airy is famous for one of its former residents – Andy Griffith. Mt. Airy is also the town that Mayberry was modeled after and thus, the city has taken on the look and feel of what Mayberry might have been like. Although none of the Andy Griffith Show was actually filmed in the area (all filmed on the lot in California), several famous locations have been recreated to give it even more of a Mayberry feel. This includes several police cars that look like the ones that Andy and Barney drove, a recreation of Wally’s Service Station, and a recreation of the City Hall/Sheriff’s office/Jail.
Jill & Squad Car 
New Sheriff in town 
Andy’s office 
Otis’ cell – with TV??!! 
Wally’s Service Station where Goober worked
There is also a museum dedicated to everything Andy so we stopped there to absorb some more history.
Barney’s fancy outfit to go out with Thelma Lou 
Andy’s Sheriff shirt 
Goober’s outfit 
Otis’ Outfit – didn’t know he dressed up but hat looks right 
Andy’s Matlock suit 
Just whistle along!
Oh, and in case you didn’t know, the Andy Griffith theme song that opens the show actually has lyrics, not just whistling… Here’s the link so you can get it stuck in your head.
Next stop on our return to reality was just outside Clemson, SC near Lake Hartwell. We had no idea that we happened to schedule this stop on the Labor Day Weekend of the UGA/Clemson game and at first were worried that it would be crazy at the campground given we were only 17 miles from campus but we soon realized the game was being played in Charlotte and most campers were families so no drunken crazy campers that weekend!
We splurged for a patio site which includes a deck and furniture. At KOA’s, especially the older ones, many sites can be in pretty bad shape (not level, tight to get into, close together, etc.) so we figured this would ensure a better site. Upon arrival, we laughed at the site as it was set up just for a Clemson fan (which we are NOT).
Our only excursion at this stop was to a working goat farm nearby. We visited with some of the residents and even bought some goat cheese!
On Sunday, September 5th (over the Labor Day Weekend) we completed our trip, arriving back at the Garrett’s property. As always, our time in the Atlanta would be filled with doctor appointments with a few visits with friends and kids thrown in.
Distracted drivers Savannah (left) and Skylar (right) 
Jill having fun with Savannah
That brings you up to date on our latest travels. Still no working dishwasher or entry steps…We depart for Orange Beach and then Navarre on September 22nd for a month and a half on the gulf. Looking forward to lots of fresh seafood and sea breezes.