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Silverbee · 03-20-2019, 06:14 PM

Maggie,
We have ridden the ferries several times. A relaxing way to travel.

Here is a bit of interesting information about the NC Ferry System
https://www.ncdot.gov/divisions/ferry/Pages/about.aspx

Jim Flower · 03-20-2019, 07:33 PM

Hello Maggie.
My son is boon docking in his 67 Globetrotter at the Pontiac Walmart tonight. He is on his way to Alberta but calling on a friend in Peoria. Normal tomorrow AM so thinking of you. He says it's warming up but that is relatively speaking. 12 hours from Toronto area including a nap.

Lily&Me · 03-21-2019, 04:38 AM

Yes, it was a long but lovely day, getting on the first ferry at 10:30 and not arriving on Hatteras until after 4pm.

There are some surreal moments, actually, when in your motorhome with water as far as you can see any direction.

I had a delicious bowl of clam chowder for my lunch, with a piece of fresh fish on the side...I asked, they provided, and it was yummy.

Rain and overcast much of yesterday, we spent the night in a nice little campground on Hatteras...with a laundry, so going to do a load before we move on today.

Will hopefully get in a final beach walk, too, before we head inland.

There is a fee for Cedar Island to Ocracoke, but the ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras is free. Running once per hour, one just waits patiently in line for the next ferry with space.

People are friendly and hospitable, glad to have tourists this time of the year, I suppose.

The man who checked us in for the ferry to Hatteras...they get your name and license plate #...was very chatty, and loved Lily, fist-bumping me for mastering widowhood and choosing to travel alone.

I’m not ready to stay home.

Maggie

Lily&Me · 03-25-2019, 04:00 AM

We made our way thru Hatteras, a shrimp omelette, more chowder...yum...and on into Virginia, where we had a great visit with my cousin, and I cooked for him.

Did some exploring of the area and then headed inland yesterday to begin our trek home.

Stopped for a nice chat with Dan Engle and then on to a WalMart near Roanoke for the night.

Virginia is in full bloom, with beautiful trees in flower and many, many forsythia in all their glory.

Home in a few days, watching the weather to hopefully avoid a final freezing night.

It has been a really great trip, but I am starting to look forward to being home, my little house, hugging my grands, all those good things.

Maggie

TouringDan · 03-25-2019, 02:38 PM

Maggie

Thanks for stopping by.

That sure is a beautiful Interstate you have. Hard to believe that it is 12 years old. It looks like new on the inside too.

Dan

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Lily&Me · 03-25-2019, 03:01 PM

Thank you, Dan, it is awfully pretty, isn’t it.

We were 7+ hours on the road today...no quick way from here to there, winding a more southern route thru Virginia, Tennessee and now up into Kentucky.

Did find myself passing thru Bean Station and the eastern TN crossroads...we have letters from ancestors posted from Bean Station...thru the Cumberland Gap area, which many related feet passed thru a couple hundred years ago.

We should be home tomorrow, tho will continue thru this week with lows in the upper 20’s I’ve decided to plug the rig into electricity and run the little space heater out there til it is warm enough to be safe.

I’m ready to be home, and Lily is tired of drive days, of which we have had many this past week.

She knows we’re going home, keeps looking out the windows, then at me...are we there yet?

Sweet Lily, my traveling companion.

Maggie

rmkrum · 03-25-2019, 05:55 PM

Dogs just KNOW where we are going. Once we get past the veterinarian’s office, they all relax and enjoy the ride on the highway.

When I get off the freeway and start winding through the neighborhood they all sit up and take notice. Then i start hearing the plaintive ‘are we there yet ‘ whines. Uncanny sense of where they are.

Mansderm161 · 03-26-2019, 03:26 AM

My cat knows too. He just sat in his little up front bucket seat while I drove 10 hours thru rain, rain, rain from Cincinnati to home. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, he was at the door waiting for me to open it so he could run into the garage, thru his little pet door, and finally home! Of course, minutes later he has to go back into the garage for the litter box, but he wants to set his paws inside his home first. Safe travels, Maggie. I spent 4 nights in Ohio, one got down to 27 degrees. Don't think the freezing weather is over yet....its been a strange, long winter for the upper midwest. And how does your rig look so clean????? Mine is covered in salt, dirt, and bugs....and of course it's still raining, so don't know if I'll get it washed today. If it's warm enough, I might just wash it in the rain since it needs a scrubbing.

Lily&Me · 03-26-2019, 03:59 AM

Lily knows we’re headed home, because I told her.

Too early for her to recognize anything familiar, but that will happen.

I found a Blue Beacon near Richmond, and stopped there on Sunday after leaving my cousin’s, just an hour or so before Dan snapped this picture.

For the first time, there was no line, so I got right in.

They do such a great job.

Tho yesterday I drove thru intermittent rain, so we’re not as shiny clean any more.

Maggie

GratefulGal · 03-26-2019, 05:54 AM

Hi Maggie. I'm guessing you stayed east while coming thru Kentucky but if you (or anyone else!) find yourselves on I65 in southern KY, please stop by! We have electric (30 amp) and water ready and lots of pretty rolling farmland to park on for an overnight. Just 20 minutes off of I65 near Franklin KY. Would love to host you and Lily. Does she like horses? ��

Lily&Me · 03-26-2019, 06:14 AM

We just tucked into Kentucky from eastern TN, and headed due north, but I’ll remember that for another time, and thank you.

Ummm, Lily barks at horses, cows, sheep, hogs, etc., and would not want to be their friends, but neither would she attack them.

Doing a little cleaning and tidying up in here, then going to dump tanks for the last time since I have paid for a full hookup.

We are just south of I74, going to hop on that this morning, set the cruise control and sail on home.

Next trip...west to Bodie State Historic Site in Northern California with HistoriCorps in June.

I am soooo excited to have gotten on there, tho the work is heavy log work I will be the sous chef and help with any lighter weight tasks that don’t involve roofs and getting underneath hoisted buildings.

Ummmm, no.

Two weeks in a ghost town!!!

Lots to do at the little house when I get home, the time will fly by til a family gig June 1, after which we will hop on I80 and drive hard to hopefully have a couple of days to acclimate to altitude before starting work.

And, I am seriously thinking about a small tattoo to commemorate my 70th year.

Maggie

Lily&Me · 03-27-2019, 07:49 AM

When I met up with Dan the other day, he gave me this brochure he had acquired many years ago, when he and his wife were pondering Airstreams...including Interstates.

It includes floor plans and specifications for the 2007 Interstate and Parkway, also for (no year model) the Westfalia.

Our first Interstate was the Rear Sleeper, the one I have currently is the Rear Dinette.

Thank you, Dan.

Lily&Me · 03-27-2019, 06:04 PM

This is an excellent book...about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, making a moral commitment to stand against the despicable.

https://www.amazon.com/David-R.-Gill...3731362&sr=8-1

Lily&Me · 03-31-2019, 10:32 AM

Laundry done, Interstate emptied and cleaned, little house returned to order from post-trip chaos

...we are generally settled back in, and starting a list for the trip west in a couple of months.

Interstate remains in the driveway, and plugged into electricity to run the space heater, as lows in the 20’s this weekend requires some freeze prevention until central Illinois moves into more spring like temperatures.

Built a fire yesterday morning, baked a batch of oatmeal scones and a loaf of bread...good rainy day tasks, and I’m never really home until a loaf of bread comes out of the oven.

I do miss my oven when we’re traveling.

Decided to get a small solar charger for my IPhone and IPad mini, tho a new thread here drew not a single suggestion if any reader of this one has a recommendation I would love to hear it.

I want one that not only draws solar to charge, but has a battery pack to store for use...I don’t at all feel a need to invest in solar panels, but the ability to use solar to charge my small electronics seems a good idea...particularly for the HistoriCorps projects with no-hookup campsites.

My son and his are home from a spring break trip, and Grandma will have pizza, cookies and hugs here for lunch today.

Wonderful to be able to travel, always good to be home.

twobikes · 03-31-2019, 11:16 AM

I just purchased a Small lithium battery gadget powerful enough to jump a car battery. As a secondary use it will charge your Electronics by USB. Should have plenty to keep everything going for a week or much more. Back on the road, you can plug into 12 volt socket in the rig to top it off or plug into any wall socket. Comes with all the wires and plugs to do any of that and short alligator clip harness to jump the car battery. All this in a zipper case less than half the size of a loaf of your bread.

https://www.costco.com/Type-S-Lithiu...100425276.html

Mine came from Costco, but there are other choices

Mansderm161 · 03-31-2019, 12:26 PM

Yummy...so glad you made it home. The travelling is fun, but it is always nice to be home.

Lily&Me · 03-31-2019, 01:42 PM

Hi Al, and that looks like a handy item to have, in addition to a small solar charger.

Got my son working on the latter, he will have a fully vetted recommendation for me soon...

Maggie

TouringDan · 03-31-2019, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twobikes

I just purchased a Small lithium battery gadget powerful enough to jump a car battery. As a secondary use it will charge your Electronics by USB. Should have plenty to keep everything going for a week or much more. Back on the road, you can plug into 12 volt socket in the rig to top it off or plug into any wall socket. Comes with all the wires and plugs to do any of that and short alligator clip harness to jump the car battery. All this in a zipper case less than half the size of a loaf of your bread.

https://www.costco.com/Type-S-Lithiu...100425276.html

Mine came from Costco, but there are other choices

I have had a lithium battery jump pack similar to the one from Costco for 2 years now. It works great. Everyone should have one of these to insure your electronics is always charged up and to jump start your TV if necessary.

I would recommend this rather than a solar charger to keep your electronics charged.

I also have an adapter I ordered from Amazon (for $5) to operate 12v stuff like the Endless Breeze Fantastic Fan.

Dan

Lily&Me · 03-31-2019, 03:14 PM

It makes more sense, doesn’t it, to have the lithium battery pack rather than the solar for just my electronics.

Thanks, guys, I will get one of these and skip the solar altogether.

Maggie

bugsbunny · 03-31-2019, 03:38 PM

I have something similar to Dan's and really like it. Works well for laptops, phones, etc.

For more power and to run appliances, I have started looking into some of these. The Jackery, Goal Zero, Kodiak and Titan are all possibilities also. Much pricier, but have more power and the ability to attach solar. Most can charge while driving from 12volt plug also. I am looking at them as a portable option versus installing more lithium permanently. It really depends on what the specs are for what one wants to power...