Moved again - Day 1008 (Year 3, Day 276)

Lexington, NC

Fortunately, not too far - just to the other side of of the campground, although from pack-up time to setting up again, it was 2 hours; most of which time was spent backing into the spot, with the help of 2 people.  Although it's a HUGE site, the actual area where the RV rests is tightly squeezed between the electric pole and a tree, so it took a bit of maneuvering.

The reason for the move was that a monthly site became available unexpectedly (interestingly, we also got a call from a different campground reporting they now had a site as well.  But it's not as nice (no lake) so we decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

We're now in the woodsy section as opposed to lakefront, although very close to the pool which I hope to enjoy a few times before we leave.  I miss the view, but at least the price is about 1/3 of what we were paying on the weekly site, and we can have this as long as we need (the other site we had to vacate on May 25th).  Many people either leave their rvs here all year and return during the season, or they reserve a specific site and retur n to it.  I'm told this coming weekend is opening time, so I guess thepeace and quiet days may be coming to an end.  That's ok - I have this craving to be around people.

Another bird identified - Day 1005 (Year 3, Day 273)

Lexington, NC

This large, graceful bird with a skinny, curved neck, which tends to sit on the dock across from us, I have been calling a crane or heron.

Thanks to the binoculars and a great book that my sis-in-law Doris gave me (Peterson's Field Guide to Birds), I was able to quickly identify it as a Great Blue Heron.  So I apologize, bird, for calling you a crane.

Nice Shabbat - Day 1005 (Year 3, Day 273)

Lexington, NC

It was a lovely, restful, peaceful day as hoped.  The weather was mostly nice (partly sunny, in the low 70s), so we were able to sit outside, facing the lake, to pray.  We both always find it a bit more spiritually uplifting being outside, and even more so when it's in a scenic setting.

Our Shabbat walk was very nice as we explored the campground a bit more.  So many trailers are left here for the year and I expect this place will be hopping in a few weeks when the season opens and folks return.  When we walked down by the lake, we not only saw my turtle, but the rest of the family: baby and parent sitting on a log and the other parent swimming nearby.  We watched the crane (or heron) fly by, and lots of ducks either swimming or walking around.  There are also quite a lot of bird species here.  I commented that it would be great to see them a bit closer and Mitch reminded me that we do own a pair of binoculars!  I found them and used them and had a wonderful time scoping the trees and looking for birds.  So far, I've identified Carolina wrens and nuthatchers, but I know I have more to figure out.

We also have weekend neighbors, who just finished a year long project of a school bus conversion and this was their maiden voyage (they're from Midland, NC, about 50 miles from here):  grandparents, parent and 2 kids.  Thankfully no dogs.  Absolutely beautifully handcrafted inside and out.  They were nice.  We got to talking a little, but didn't really do any hanging out.

Turtle! Day 1003 (Year 3, Day 271)

Lexington, NC

Not a lot to report, but just wanted to remind myself of an observation I made while taking my daily stroll around the lake.  The crane (although it  might actually be a heron) was sitting on the dock, some ducks were swimming around in the water, and then I saw a giant turtle also swimming!!  I've only seen turtles that size at the zoo or aquarium.  I love nature!

I'm currently preparing for Shabbat, which for a while again (except in 2 weeks when we visit Raleigh/Cary for Passover for the weekend), will be spent in isolation.  Mitch is working today (he's trying to work 10 hr days and have Fridays off) so I'm on challah duty.  I'm sure it will taste great, but he's had a lot more practice with the braiding.  At least for prayer time tonight and tomorrow, assuming weather holds out, we'll have a scenic and spiritually uplifting place to sit.

Observing the birds - Day 1001 (Year 3, Day 269)

Lexington, NC

This is the 2nd morning I have woken up to see the sun rise over the lake (the first day, there was also a light mist rising up from the water).  Days and campgrounds like this make the travel all worthwhile and makes me forget about all the dumps we occasionally end up in.

Today I was observing the behavior of the many species of birds around here, although I've only been able to identify a small handful.  In the early morning, the large, black ravens take over the trees and campground.  They fly around (gracefully, with large wing spans like hawks) for a few minutes, then perch on the fences, benches, and tree limbs, all facing the water.  This lasts for about 2 hours.  It gets quiet and then about an hour later, the nuthatches and eastern bluejays (small, cute little things) take up residence in the trees, fences, ground and rooftops.  They don't flock so you really have to watch to find them.  Later in the afternoon come the water fowl - mostly the ducks and gulls, although yesterday I saw a crane sitting on the edge of the dock.  Steve asked me if we heard the owls yet, but we haven't.  Will need to keep an ear out.

Another milestone - RVersary - Day 1000 (Year 3, Day 268)

Lexington, NC

Wow, can you believe today is day 1,000 that we've been living the RV full-timers lifestyle?!!!  Some days it feels like this is all we've ever done, and some days it feels like just yesterday that we hit the road.  Despite the many ups and downs, I'm ready to go at least another 1,000 days.  I don't necessarily enjoy the travel from point A to B (although I probably would a lot more if we could travel where and when we wanted, at our own pace.  It would be great if we passed a sign along the highway for an interesting attraction and could be serendipitous about it: "hey, let's stop there and explore the area for a little while."  However, once we get to a place and settle in, I do enjoy having different views out my window and "back yard," meeting new people and exploring the areas, especially the small towns.  Although we haven't been to the desert yet, I have an affinity for water (being a Pisces, I suppose) and really love being near the beach or on a lake, like we are now.  I could definitely see myself settling down full time near the edge of a lake.

I'm still really enjoying the serenity and quietness of this place.  There are quite a lot of empty trailers/RVs here.  Clearly it's a place where people park their rigs for the year and most likely return during the summer season.  In other words, as it gets closer to Memorial Day, I'm sure people will be returning and this place will get busier and noisier and the lake will be packed with boats (they do rent boats here, including pontoons, and I'm hoping we'll have a chance to do that before we leave).

I've seen and heard quite a lot of different kinds of birds here and am trying to learn to identify them.  I identified a nuthatcher and Eastern bluebird, along with some crows, ducks, geese and a variety of other water fowl.  There was a very elegant crane sitting on the dock this morning.  I captured a photo, but not having a good zoom lens, this is the best I could do (he's at the edge of the pier.  He was a lot closer through my eyes).

Yesterday, we needed some groceries and such, and adventured off to civilization, which is about 10 miles away.  We found the downtown area, which is another very quaint, small town.  I'm hoping we can return on Sunday with our urb-e's to explore further.  Although "civilized," Lexington is still a very small town and despite having a Walmart, Lowes, and CVS, it's not a major big box town, which is very nice.  Not a lot of restaurants; BBQ is big, big, big here so the several mom & pop places around are off limits to us.  Someone did recommend a nice seafood place 2 towns over, so if we're desperate, we may venture out there.

Last night, we had visitors: Steve and Diane, who we met in one of my RV forums (RVillage.com).  They live in the area, are Chapter leaders of the local Escapees club and do a bit of traveling in their RV.  They saw my post that I arrived in the area, so they dropped by for a visit of about an hour.  Very lovely people!  They own a home on the lake and invited us to come over some time, maybe even for a ride on their pontoon boat (which isn't season ready yet).  I hope we're still around when it is.  Either way, I'd enjoy hanging out on their deck on the lake.

Today Mitch went for his kickoff meeting, so hopefully we'll learn if he can work 4 10-hour days and get a gauge of how long we might be here.  I'm fine to stay through the summer or fall, as long as we can get the rig level!  Our jacks are maxed out and we're still a little bit tilted.  Mitch will be buying more wood on the way home to see if we can raise it a little more.  (We're parked on a slope).

Last travel day - Day 998 (Year 3, Day 266)

Lexington, NC

Today, thankfully, we finished the last leg of this 1100 mile trip from Livingston, TX to Lexington, NC.  It was only 150 miles.  Mitch took the first leg of about 60 miles and stopped at the last gas station on the SC side of the border.  We didn't need much gas, but he wanted to have completely full tanks because gas in NC is at least 20 cents/gallon more expensive.  I drove the next 60 miles to a rest area and then Mitch took over the last 30 miles.  We packed, hitched and hit the road at 9:15 am and arrived at 12:30 pm.

It was all fairly flat driving until we had to turn onto the road leading to the campground.  It was only about 1.5 miles but it felt like 50 because it was a very narrow, extremely winding mountainous (steep hills) road.

This campground is really beautiful in a very rustic way.  It is set on a lake, in the mountains.  The roads around the campground are very narrow and winding and it's a little hard to maneuver around.  Also, being on a mountain, none of the sites are level.  We did the best we could, but we'll need to get more wood to put under the jacks as we're still not completely level.

This place has a marina, with a number of boat ramps and fishing docks (even 2 fish cleaning stations!).  There's a pool and snack bar, but they don't open until mid-April.  They also rent a variety of boats.

There is the slight possibility that we may not stay here more than 2 weeks, however.  At the time of booking, it was the only place that had any sites at all, but they didn't have anything monthly, so we're paying the weekly rate, which is about triple.  No other place in the area, even up to 30 miles away had anything else either, but we're on the waiting list at quite a few, so if something monthly opens up elsewhere, we may need to take it.  We shall see.  Can't complain about the site they gave us, though, as it's a double, pull through, so we have 2 picnic benches and 2 fire pits.

After we set up house, we took a walk around (I will surely get good exercise on all these hills!), took a few photos and even had such a serene, romantic moment on the pier!    It is so very peaceful here.  With the exception of an occasional far away motor, the only sounds you really hear are birds singing (or ducks quacking) and the rippling of the water on the shores of the lake.  I've already seen a few different kinds of birds and water fowl - so excited to see wildlife again!

Anyway, here are photos.  Before I share the campground, some things we saw on our travels:

The Atlanta, GA skyline and Atlanta traffic:

  

A beautiful bridge somewhere in GA and the river it crossed:





A giant peach:



And now, photos of the campground, starting with the view out of our front door and bedroom window:



Our campsite and some visitors:

 

More lake photos.  Note the nice private homes surrounding it as well:

 
 
(that last one is where we shared a sweet kiss)

A bird feeder in the tree, a greenhouse, and a wood carved sculpture:

   

A nice swing (we did sit there for a bit), and a beautiful tree in our "yard"