Fall in the Southeastern US

There is always something mechanical or electrical that requires my attention just as we are departing for any RV journey.  More often than not it catches me by surprise, but there are times when it is something that I did.   This was one of those “I did” times.  There is a 30 watt electrical umbilical cord connection that I failed to disconnect when separating the TC from the truck. I got distracted and managed to pull the receiver receptacle out of the truck, necessitating a run to my favorite RV repair facility 25 miles away to get it replaced. They took pity on me and got me right in. Two hours and $300 later we were on the road (lesson learned, I hope).

On the road again in the TC

Heading East

But first a little story....

Due to the short travel day, we stayed overnight just outside of Cuba, MO, but not before I was pulled over on I-44 by a MO State Trooper, 15 minutes before we reached the campground.  I had observed the two patrol cars in the median of the interstate just as a fast car whisked up beside me, saw the troopers, slowed down, and pulled immediately in front me. One trooper quickly jumped out, and due to the heavy traffic, pulled in to the only spot he could go, immediately behind me.  Traffic was so heavy that there was no place to go. For 5 minutes it was a stalemate until an off ramp appeared and at the last moment the fast car made a quick departure and caught the trooper off guard. 
 I am sure the TC blocked the trooper’s view of what was happening until it was too late.  Another 3 minutes passed and the next thing I knew is that the trooper pulled out and turned his flashing red and blue lights on for the big, slower-moving, vehicle that had blocked his pursuit—me!   We were in a construction zone so it took a little while for me to find a safe area to pull over.  Daisy pulled out the registration and my driver’s license and we waited.
 After 5 minutes, the trooper approached on the passenger side and tapped on the window.  I noticed he was looking at Daisy with interest while asking me for identification. When he inquired if I knew why he had pulled me over, I did not tell him it was because he could not catch the real offender.  I shrugged and said “it was not for speeding.” He gave me a look and said it was for weaving over the white line in the 4-lane divided highway. He stated he wondered if I was intoxicated or ill and had pulled me over to check. He wanted me to walk back with him to his patrol car in order to fill out the warning he was going to issue me.  
 He had me walk in front of him to his car, get in on the passenger front side and he rolled up all the windows.  Next he quizzed me on the information on the driver’s license he was reading. I readily complied. He asked where I had started from and where I was going. He then asked several questions about who was the woman riding in the vehicle and her relationship to me. I am not making this up. If this had been 20 years ago I would have been more nervous, but all of my warning bells still went off.   I then interrupted him with polite but assertive and intelligent questions and statements of my own. He was taken aback and took a more respectful posture with me, then indicated he had to get the VIN number from my truck and told me to stay in his car.   
Daisy said that he asked her the same questions as to her relationship with me and our travel plans as he read the VIN number.  When he got back in the car, an “officer needs help at a suicide attempt” radio message came across his car radio.  I asked him if he was the closest resource to respond. He paused, again gave me a questioning look, told me to drive more cautiously, put his lights on, and sped off with me standing at the side of the road.  The funny thing is that all Daisy saw was his car speeding away with the darkened windows up and no Chip in sight from her rear view mirror. You should have seen the relief on her face as I opened the door. 
So what had happened and why? No definite answers. Stereotyping? Possibly.  An alert out for a missing woman? Maybe.  A zealous trooper with a quota for issuing warnings?  Could be anything. You tell me.

Anyhow, I started the truck for the short 15-minute journey to our campground for the night with another strange life adventure to write about.

Bev with Dave's stand-in...

Our road home next to Dave's shop

The next night we stayed at Bev and Dave’s in LaGrange, KY. They live in a new house on wooded acres just outside of town.  Bev hosted us, but unfortunately Dave was working in another location.  They were my neighbors when I lived in New Mexico, and this was Daisy’s first time to meet Bev. We had dinner at a local “down home” restaurant and spent the night parked next to Dave’s workshop.  The next morning, Bev extracted our promise to return, promising a 30 amp electrical hookup next to the workshop when we return.  Cool!

"Roll out the barrels"

Daisy and I have taken the interstate route many times as we journeyed from VA to AR.  We have a list of places to see, and this time we noted that Kentucky was featuring the distillery tour on billboards. So we detoured to see what all the mash was about.  There are 8 distilleries on the Bourbon Trail.  We toured two distilleries in Lawrenceburg, KY—Four Roses (which was small and more informal) and Wild Turkey (which was much larger).  Kentucky is mandated by law to make bourbon in a very distinctive way using its limestone water. No other state can use the name bourbon to describe its product.  There are three grains used in official bourbon making process: corn (at least 51%), rye, and barley or wheat. To begin, the corn is ground into a meal.  The meal is mixed with limestone spring water and cooked at a high temperature in a "mash tub." At the Four Roses plant, the water is not heated for this cooking process while at the Wild Turkey plant it is.  In the next step the temperature of the mash is lowered and ground rye is added for a second cooking. The final step is lowering the temperature and adding barley to the pot mix for the final cooking.

These are hot tubs filled with corn mash at Four Roses.

Fours Roses uses cypress wood vaults

Yep, we were allow to stick a finger in the tub and get a taste.

Daisy opted for this kind of tasting.

Aged 4 to 8 years

Yeast is then added to the mash for fermentation.  In the Four Roses plant large tubs, made of the traditional cypress wood, were used.   In the Wild Turkey plant, the much larger tubs were made of stainless steel. It is in the fermentation process that the grain sugars, from mixing and soaking of the grains, are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. After three to four days of fermentation, the mash is ready for distillation.
Distillation is the process by which the alcohol is separated from the mash by heating the mash and collecting the vapor. The mash is transferred into a series of stills for heating, where the vapors are collected and cooled for conversion back into liquid form, or "low wine." The spent mash is then dried and given to the local farmers to use for cattle, pig, and chicken feed…I found out that horses will not eat it.
Most bourbon is distilled a second time to produce a higher proof spirit and to improve the quality. This crystal clear liquid at 160 proof is called “white dog.” The white dog is then barreled in new, charred white oak barrels from the Ozarks.  The barrels can only be used once. As the liquid expands and contracts in the warehouses due to temperature changes, the bourbon flows in and out of the charred wood pores, picking up taste and color.
Four Roses controls the range of temperature changes by limiting the height of its barrel storage building to one story.   Wild Turkey has 6-story buildings in which they rotate stock. Seasoning can range from 2 to 8 years, depending on the variety being produced. Water is then added to get the desired selling proof of 80 to120.

Daisy and a Kentucky version of a spirit Hokie bird

Wood oak barrels can only we used once for bourbon then sold.

Wild turkey uses 30K stainless steel tanks

Each tour ended with a product tasting. Given that I would be driving, and was still wondering about my recent trooper experience, Daisy was designated as the official taster for us.  I just got to smell. Of course we purchased a product at each distillery for my end-of-day enjoyment.

This one is too hard, this too soft, this..

Daisy lines up the Wild Turkey samples for the taste test.

We stayed that night at Renfro Valley RV, adjoining an historic village in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky.

This area is known as the "Country Music Capital" of Kentucky.

Fall colors were starting in Kentucky

We took a tour of the Bittersweet Village and learned about Appalachian life in in the early days of Kentucky. There was a music performance occurring that evening, but we chose to not to see it this time.

Appalachian Village

Dinner is set

Saddle and  boot maker's shop

Laundry and other items in the general store

Need a hammer?

School room

Weaver's shop

When we arrived in Blacksburg, VA, we picked up a rental car, then got settled at the New River Junction Campground. Cousin Jean came out for dinner with us.  Daisy and I were back at Virginia Tech (VT) for fall football games – 3 of them to be exact.  We had planned the first one for the Corps of Cadets Reunion game in which us old timers, mostly military veterans, marched on the field following the current cadets. It was a great game and VT beat Marshall 29-21 in the third overtime in the rain.  

John and I were hall mates for 4 years

Now, for you old guys, remember that when the flags move you are to do something...

I used to march onto this field for every home game as a young cadet. I get the same thrill as an older veteran.

What an honor to be here with other 'D' squadron members saluting our country's flag that we have served in uniform.

Did I mention that this was a three overtime game in the rain? It set a school record.

 

Wet but not too cold, we stayed until the end. VT won!

The next day, we started out on our journey south to Alabama with stops in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida before going back for 2 more VT football games. Visiting family and friends is a major purpose of our travels, and we never have as much time with anyone as we would like.

That first Sunday, we went to Winchester and stayed at my brother Bruce and his wife Ann’s, with our truck camper parked in their cul de sac. The next day we saw my sister Kaye and her family in Petersburg. As the “patriarch” of the family, I have to check on my siblings occasionally!

With my brother Bruce, Ann, and granddaughter Jessie

Our campground in Petersburg

Dinner at Golden Corral with Kaye, Gary, “Punkin,” “Little Angel,” Jayln, and Tony.

On the way south, we stopped in Cary, NC for dinner and an evening of music with Dennis and Kathy, who previously lived in Blacksburg and have been special friends and members of the same church as Daisy. 

We had dinner at an Irish Pub and then attended a Gilbert and Sullivan musical presentation at the clubhouse.

Bret and Cheryl with Daisy in Greenville

We spent the next night in Cheryl and Bret Johnson’s driveway in Greenville, NC. Cheryl, a former student of Daisy’s, is an excellent cook. She loves to entertain and, as usual, the results were outstanding. Cheryl and Bret are also recently married, so we have some things in common with them.

Cheryl is queen of the culinary arts.

Salad with blue cheese and fresh pears

After a quick lunch and shopping at Carolina Premium Outlets, we continued on to another sister’s home in Fayetteville, NC.  When we arrived, my sister Pam asked me what I was going to cook for her.  We got groceries and fixed dinner (pork chops and stuffing) at Pam and Brian’s.  Sister Debbie was there for dinner too, which added to the pleasure of the evening. 

After supper, we watched on TV as VT beat Georgia Tech 17-10.  We had plugged our TC into an outlet by Brian’s workshop building for the night.

My sister Debbie with sister Pam and Brian in Fayetteville, NC

The next day, we drove to Betty and Bill’s home in Bluffton, SC. They had been faculty colleagues and best friends of Daisy’s at VT for many years. We went for a boat ride on the private lake in their development and shared a libation at their clubhouse.  We concluded the day with a delicious dinner at Claude and Uli’s French restaurant.  

Bill and Betty's driveway works well

Dinner with Bill and Betty

We arrived at Shannon and Matt’s in Enterprise, AL just in time to help them prepare their trailer and driveway for a new arrival.  We were glad to be staying a few days with them, and especially to have time with Josiah and Levi, who are growing up too fast.  

the old (theirs)

the tried and true (ours)

and the new (Mercy!)

The following day after church, we helped them finish cleaning out their tagalong trailer and took it to Camping World—to be traded in on new Winnebago motor home! We got to see the Winnebago just briefly.

Josiah, the soccer master

"OK, Daisy, it's your turn" says Levi.

Grandparents' joys

Shannon and Matt were planning their upcoming move to Maryland, and we enjoyed time with the boys while they carried out necessary chores.  Levi stayed with us after Shannon took Josiah to school to “check out.”  Later, Daisy did laundry and I played with Josiah while Shannon taught Zumba and Levi went to his last day of preschool. Shannon, who has a degree in elementary education, will be home schooling the boys and they are all excited about the new opportunities.

Teaching Pop-Pop how to make PB&J sandwiches

4-year-old soccer players

Both boys play soccer, and we attended a soccer game for each.  Levi is just starting in this sport, and Josiah is becoming quite skilled.

At age 4, they do not operate as teams but as swarms of bees on the field

My daughter Shannon with her  boys. Major Matt was on the way home.

We wrapped up our stay with a visit to Camping World to do a thorough examination of their new motor home.  The grandboys took us on a personal tour to point out their bunk beds (each with a DVD player),  a half bath, and personal toy storage drawers.

Panama City Beach




Since we had come this far, we called our friend Florence (whom we had met in Texas) and arranged to meet her in St. Andrew’s State Park in Panama City Beach, FL.

A great time with Florence on the Gulf

Florence picked us up and we had lunch at Schooner’s, went to her son’s home, then did some shopping and had happy hour (with oysters on the half shell) at a local watering hole.

St Andrews State Park on the bay

Oysters on the half shell

Sunset in Florida






 It had been a whirlwind series of visits, but then it was time to head back to Blacksburg, VA for more football.  

We had one overnight in between at a quaint, older campground on a lake complete with parading ducks.

Hartwell Campground

In Blacksburg, we again stayed at the New River Junction Campground.  It is a great place to stay by the river, as long as you can stand trains and railroad crossing horns.

New River Junction Campground Blacksburg, VA

The next game was on a warm day, and VT beat North Carolina 27-17.

While in Blacksburg, we attended Daisy’s home church and met with several of her friends in their homes or at local restaurants. We forgot to take photos when we had a delicious dinner at Susie and Tony's home.  Sometimes we are having such a good time that we fail to document with photos!

With cousin Jean at an Asian restaurant

Dinner with Sue and Terry at the Blackstone Grill

One afternoon, we had a happy hour in a small room at the back of the 622 North bar. We had sent email invitations to several local listservs and friends, since we knew we didn’t have time to get together with many people individually.  About a dozen people joined us for beverages, and several of us also had dinner while we visited. It was great to catch up with friends and colleagues from Daisy’s 32 years in Blacksburg.

Some of the photos of those who were able to attend didn’t turn out well, but we were very glad to have some time to visit with Darlene, Julia, Phyllis, Jean, Mark, Ranjana and Vinod, June and Dick, Mary and Al, and Bobbie and Jim.

We had lunch with the Blacksburg Sports Club, which was a chance for both of us to see more friends. The speaker was Virginia Tech’s new wide receivers’ coach, Aaron Moorehead. He won a Super Bowl ring playing for the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, and his father, Emery, was part of the Chicago Bears Super Bowl-winning team following the 1985 season. The Mooreheads are the only father-son combination to each play in and win a Super Bowl.  Another guest presenter was Willie Byrn, a wide receiver who is a redshirt junior and started playing as a walk-on before getting put on scholarship for this year. We were impressed with his speaking ability and personality. As we have followed the team since then, Willie has continued to be a consistent performer and make some outstanding plays. 

Daisy went back to campus in the late afternoon for a College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences faculty meeting. During the social hour, she was able to see a large number of her colleagues from the School of Education and other units within the College. She enjoyed seeing friends, but was glad to be retired and able to go back to our camping lifestyle instead of working! 

We see cousin Jean a lot. She is fun!

The next day, we spent the late afternoon and evening visiting Jean at her rural home and having a great dinner. We are hoping that Jean will be able to come and visit us in TX again this winter, but she is such a world traveler that she may not be able to fit us into her schedule!

She can cook too!

While in Blacksburg, we had our first flyfishing experience together! We started out by fishing in the New River from the bank near our campsite. We didn’t catch anything, or even have any nibbles, but it was good practice setting up our lines, tying on the flies, and casting. 

Fish on!

On Friday, we tried out our waders to get into the New River at the upper end of the campground property. I was excited to catch a small-mouth bass! Daisy was watching from the bank instead of fishing at the time, so she had the camera to document the catch.

This is a catch and release waterway.

We fixed dinner for the Campground family and cousin Jean.

That evening, we cooked brats for dinner and had the campground owner, Bernie, her son, her partner Tal, and friend Duane, as well as Jean, as guests. Duane is an expert flyfisher and had given us several flies he had tied, as well as a number of tips. 

At our third football game on this trip, VT beat Pittsburgh 19-9. The Hokies seem to do well when we are present, but unfortunately we couldn’t go to all of their games. After the Pittsburg game, we went to a tailgate party hosted by Mary, a former student of Daisy's, and her husband, Al. We enjoyed good food and conversation, and received an invitation to park in their driveway on future trips here. This was the last game we had come to attend, and it was time to head back to Arkansas.  

On October 13, we got on the road west, but decided to take the  southern route to avoid a winter storm.  We stayed overnight in Tanbark Campground in Dickson, TN.  After a second nearly 500-mile day of driving, we arrived about 6:00 p.m. at Holiday Island Campground in Arkansas, which was where we had started almost a month before. We were tired, but had enjoyed wonderful times with family and friends, as well as some fishing, sightseeing, and football. Life is good!

The stats are:

Total SE trip: 29 days, 12 states, 4,378 miles

Total of our two trips in the late summer and fall: 8,517 miles

This is the back end of the TC as well as the end of this blog post.

It was getting cold and would soon be time to head back to Texas for the winter.