Destination reached - Yr 1, Days 279-280

Fayetteville, Benson, Raleigh, NC

We have finally reached our destination (Raleigh), albeit a week later than originally planned.

We left the campground in Dillon, SC on Sunday morning.  We got really scared when we were pulling in the slide.  We heard a small crash and saw this on the ground:

We thought a window had broken but upon further inspection, it was ICE that must have come off the slide topper.  After such warm weather, it was not something we were expecting!


Our first stop was about an hour north into Fayetteville, NC.  Our son came down from NJ and was staying with some friends there (Tammy & Tom), so we decided to spend the day visiting them (I can't believe we're getting to see both of our children the same week!).  We were going to park in their driveway and spend the night, but we didn't really fit, and put the CoW in an empty lot across the street.  After we went out for dinner, Mitch and I were really tired and just didn't feel like hanging around any longer (these are all pretty young folks with much more energy than we have).  It was still a little early (8:00pm) and since we had no hookups in the lot and our battery is on it's last legs, we didn't want to chance staying there (we also didn't feel all that safe in that location even though we were assured it was fine).  We decided to head the next hour and a half up to Raleigh since the campground is open 24/7 and we would park in the grass until the morning so we wouldn't have to worry about backing up in the dark.

We got about a 1/2 hr away and started to feel really tired.  There was a beautiful rest area on I-40 in Benson, NC where we decided to spend the night (generally, overnighting isn't allowed but the security guard gave us permission.  Rest areas are so much nicer than truck stops and Walmarts!) It was about 9:00 by then so we went right into bed.  No tvs or computers :(

We got up at 7:00 and hit the road immediately.  We arrived at the NC State Fairgrounds (where we stayed last Sept.) at 8:20.  It took us 45 minutes to get into the spot, with the help of the ranger guiding us in.  Fortunately, there is no one on either side of us!  It started pouring just as we unhitched and I couldn't stop shivering.  I really do miss the warm temps of south FL.  I'm not used to this "winter" weather of 50 degrees!!!   My stomach is also bothering me somewhat and I'm feeling a bit under the weather.  We took an hour nap and then, after being away from it for over 24 hours, hit the computer!  I'm excited to see Jess and Griffin for dinner and meet my new grandpuppy, Ellie!