2023 southeast swing

We had planned on staying in Franklin for 4 days, but with problems with the toilet and the sink, we were here for 7 days. Ants started joining us as unwelcome guests. This RV park was primarily filled with seniors who stay her all summer long and leave for their winter homes in October. Their rigs stay here permanently and look quite settled in. Luckily, the park had a place for us!

We were close to Walmart, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks (at an Ingles grocery store), and an RV parts store.

The day we checked in, the host invited us to a 50s-60s dance party. What fun. Luckily we could come up with a contribution to the potluck.

other campers enjoying the party together

Some wore costumes. On the left side was a root beer/ coke float station. Yum.

A number of the women went all out and had poodle skirts and fun tops. Yes, they ordered them through Amazon.

repairs

On the last trip in the spring we noticed a “smell” in the bathroom, then it seemed to go away. This trip it came back with a vengeance. First Barney took off the toilet and put on a new seal. That didn’t work.

Barney sent out a question to his RV group on FB, and they all came back with the same answer: get a new toilet that fixes the problem. Luckily an RV parts store in Franklin had one.

So smelly! The old toilet is in the shower on the right.

And it worked! Haven’t had a bad smell since.

Then we had a problem with our kitchen sink falling out (we created the problem, phooey).

We made an appointment with a mobile RV repairman, but Barney sent out another question to his RV group on FB, and they came back with a number of suggestions, including a YouTube video link of a man who fixed a problem like ours. Barney said, “I can do that.” So we went to Lowe’s, got what he needed, and he fixed our problem. So proud of him.

The first night with our “broken” sink, Barney washed dishes in the outside kitchen. Then he realized we could still use the sink since our dishpan rested on top of the countertop. That problem solved.

Finally all is fixed, but we’re having problems getting rid of the ants. But what was I doing during this time? I had thought we’d be going to Boone, NC, for a while, which is close to Blowing Rock, the location of the Mitford series I’ve so loved. To get ready for going there, I downloaded the first book to reread it (originally I had read a hard copy). While we didn’t get to go to Boone on this trip, I’m still enjoying meeting Father Tim and his friends again.

Also during this time, I set up my laptop to start working on blog posts.

Next stop: Raleigh.

boondocking

We don’t like to drive too far in one trip, so we stayed at a Boondocking location along the way around Hickory, NC, if you know the state. Boondockers Welcome currently offers 3390+ hosts across the US and Canada who offer great places to stay in North America. These hosts are often RVers themselves who understand what it’s like to be on the road and have extra space where a rig can have a space overnight.

Our host this night was Heartwood Farm