Author: Easin' Along

I’ve been a bit lazy with posting lately, but we’re on the road with many distractions. Nevertheless, I wanted to catch our readers up on where we are and what’s happened over the last few weeks. Our current road trip began on a three-day outing with a group from our church. In October of every year, we join this group for our annual camping trip in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on the Cumberland Plateau near Oneida, Tennessee.

Being the oldest by far, Helen and I are the tribal elders for the event. We wouldn’t miss this gathering. It is a great way to meet the young people in our congregation and their beautiful children, and Big South Fork offers splendid scenery in the fall. I’ve posted some pictures below–I took a few, and several were sent to me by Robin and Allison with permission to share them with Easin’ Along Readers. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the weekend.

After a Saturday hike, we had a sing-along around the campfire that included a message from Pastor Ben. When the evening activities concluded, Helen and I invited everyone to our campsite to watch the Tennessee Volunteers football game. We attracted a good crowd of Vol fans…and Tennessee won.

On Sunday, Ben led us in an inspiring service in the campground, and then, it was time to say goodbye. We shared hugs with our very good friends, the Blackwells, before packing up and leaving for Edisto Beach, SC.

We departed Big South Fork and drove to Charleston, SC, to spend a few days with our son and his family, then moved on to Edisto Beach for two weeks of camping on the beach. Please join us in the next post for details. Thanks for stopping by, we’re Easin’ Along.

Helen and I returned from our trip to the Outer Banks in early October and hit the ground running. The first few days after an RV trip always is a busy time. There are appointments and meetings, family matters to take care of, and the chore of unloading and cleaning the RV. After this trip, Helen and I even gave Dora a much-needed bath. Once we had everything under control, We rewarded ourselves by accepting two invitations from friends for overnight outings in their lovely vacation homes–one in the Foothills of our mountains and one on the lake. Both occasions helped to make our October special.

Blair Branch is a community of mountain homes adjacent to the world-class resort of Blackberry Farm. Our hostess and dear friend, Anne, has a lovely home in Blair Branch with access to Blackberry Farm and its facilities and grounds. Helen and I joined Anne and our friends from our first neighborhood as a couple for two days of fun and food. The highlight of that gathering was a hike through the grounds and gardens of Blackberry on a glorious day. We stopped at the heirloom seed garden, where the Blackberry Farm Naturalist gave us a presentation on the heirloom seeds grown at the farm and their uses as either foods or garden plants. We stood in rapt attention to his presentation but had to move on before his paying customers arrived for their tour and presentation. We thanked him profusely for his time. The pictures below give a glimpse of that day, the beauty of the surroundings, and Helen’s find of the last pumpkin of the growing season.

A couple of days after visiting Anne and our friends, Helen and I joined our wonderful, life-long friends, John and Judy, at their lake home just south of Knoxville. Also joining us were Steve and Catherine from Brevard, NC. Steve served as an interim minister at our church for almost two years and did a fantastic job leading us during that period. Catherine has an incredible singing voice and added another dimension to our choir. Together, they are a delightful couple, and Helen and I are blessed to call them friends.

Although the conditions on the lake were ripe for a boat cruise, John’s boat was a bit cranky that weekend. So, rather than spend time on the water, we enjoyed each other’s company. Catherine prepared a superb breakfast meal for us to enjoy each morning. Judy, Catherine, and Helen worked through a puzzle in record time, and the guys solved the world’s problems in casual conversation. To walk off some of our delicious meals, we took a long walk along the lake and around some of the nearby farmland. At the horse farm near John and Judy’s house, a nosy zebra walked over to welcome us. His horse buddies kept their distance but appeared interested in us nonetheless. It was a great day and a very relaxing visit.

Not to be left out, Mortimer needed his share of attention as well. While we were visiting our friends, we checked Mortimer into an animal hospital to have some surgery on his eyes. The problem involved inwardly turned lower eyelids, irritating his corneas from hair and eyelashes constantly in contact with them. He needed surgery to correct that. I’m happy to report that the surgery was successful, and his eyes are clearing up nicely.

During the third week of the month, Helen and I gave a presentation on the joys of the RV lifestyle at the monthly community luncheon held at our church. I prepared most of the presentation before our trip to the Outer Banks using pictures from our seven years of RV trips. When asked to do this, I was convinced that we would have no more than three attendees–Helen, myself, and the lady selling tickets. Surprisingly, more than thirty folks arrived to hear us speak about the lifestyle we enjoy so much. I can’t be confident that I persuaded any of the attendees to join us as fellow RVers, but we did get them interested enough to ask great questions!

October is not yet over. As I write this, we’re camping with church members in the Big South Fork National Recreation Area. We’re leaving on Sunday for a trip to Charleston (grandchildren :-)), followed by two weeks at Edisto Beach, SC. Retirement is a great gig! We’re blessed, we’re grateful, and we’re Easin’ Along.

Helen and I arrived in Kill Devil Hills, NC, as the Hurricane moved out and took six weeks of unbearable heat with it. Although we only needed to drive 175 miles from Cherry Point, the roads were narrow, and the traffic was heavy.  OBX Campground, our home for the week, was well-maintained and somewhat more extensive than I expected, but not full when we checked in.  A helpful attendant led us to a nice, flat campsite near the office. We pulled into the campground late in the afternoon and set up quickly.

Helen and I visited the area about eight years ago on our way up the East Coast but stayed for only a day to do some sightseeing. We looked forward to the return visit. A dear friend and former member of our church had made some suggestions of places to visit, which helped us to organize a rough plan for this trip, but since this stop would be our last before returning home, our main focus was to relax, walk the beach, and eat some great seafood.

The road leading to OBX Campground took us past the Wright Brothers Memorial, the site of the first flight, and we knew we had to tour the museum and listen to the narration of that historical event.  A young Park Ranger took us through the years, months, and days leading up to the flight.  She detailed all the successes and failures the Wright Brothers encountered in becoming the first to leave the ground in a heavier-than-air machine. She explained that Kill Devil Hills was chosen for its open, barren terrain and constant but favorable winds. Her narration took us through the four flights made on that cold December day in 1903, and every spectator hung on her every word. Today, we take flying for granted. Still, this young Ranger made everyone aware of the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright. A tour of the museum reinforced the significance of that achievement.

After touring the grounds of the Memorial, we drove back to the campground, stopping first at Billy’s Seafood, located at a marina just past the Memorial. We learned that the owner of OBX Campground also owned Billy’s, and we were promised that we would not be disappointed with anything we purchased there.  Fresh seafood arrived daily at Billy’s, including shrimp, crabs, and fresh Atlantic Snapper. We picked up some Snapper and shrimp and treated ourselves for dinner later that evening.  Everything was as good as promised.

On another day, we drove south through Nag’s Head to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. We walked the beach there and toured the area around Bodie Island Lighthouse. The site is a bird sanctuary, and we took the walkway through the marsh to a lookout stand in search of seabirds.  It was a slow day for birding, but we stayed on our toes after seeing the sign pictured below. We also visited the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge—beautiful, but it must have been nap time for wildlife when we were there.

Because we chose to prepare seafood for dinner almost every night, we did very little eating out.  Nevertheless, there is one restaurant that I have to share—Capt’n Frank’s Restaurant. Our friend, Catherine, suggested Capt’n Frank’s in Kitty Hawk as the place to go IF we liked hot dogs. No one likes hot dogs better than I do, and we made it a point to visit this restaurant that had been serving them since 1975. The place was packed with tourists and locals, but we waited patiently for our turn to order and came away with two beauties.  Helen’s smile says everything about the anticipation.

After lunch, we walked off the calories at nearby Jennett’s Pier, where local fishermen were having a good day in the sun. Below the pier, surfers were making the most of the heavy surf created by the remnants of two hurricanes. I kept waiting for one of them to get hooked, but most knew to keep their distance.

The remainder of our time in Kill Devil Hills was spent walking the beach and searching for shark teeth.  Pets are prohibited on these beaches, so Mortimer had to stay back and mind the trailer.  He didn’t seem to mind the assignment.

We left the Outer Banks having accomplished all we intended.  We were relaxed, refreshed, and filled with seafood and good memories.  We stopped at Billy’s on the way out of town for some shrimp to freeze and a T-shirt as a souvenir.  We’re Easin’ Along.