1/16-20/17 - NC, Uncle Bill's house (VA), back to NC
Current Location: I-95 South, RV capital of the world (Northern FL)
After arriving back on the ‘mainland’ we detoured northwest through North Carolina and Virginia to visit Uncle Bill and Aunt Rita, whom we hadn’t seen in almost 5 years and even longer before that. This drive was not exactly a key city to key city type drive so when we looked at the map (alright, I’ll admit, Google Maps on our phones) we saw a few options that avoided interstates all together. So we decided to take the scenic route, which was in fact much shorter in terms of distance and nearly the same on time.It was really interesting to see the backwoods parts of the beginning of the southeastern United States.We concluded that rural central NC seemed like it may have forgotten to turn the calendar from 1950 to 2017. The old houses, both well maintained and degrading beyond recognition were excellent company for half the drive.Virginia brought more rolling hills and mountain driving along with some fog and rain. We headed up an over the first bits of the Appalachians to Uncle Bill’s house.
Lara and I both commented on how even though you don’t know certain family or friends very well or haven’t connected in a long time the hello hug and stores still feel just as good as with anyone we’re visiting along the way. Having just come from some beautiful parts of the coast and quietly watched the fog roll up and down the Blue Ridge Parkway as we passed through, it was nice sharing stories with those that appreciate the same.
It was a quick stop as we headed down through western Virginia and North Carolina the next day. Or at least we thought we’d be through them. Just north of Charlotte a vibration in what we thought was the tires quickly turned to the side of I-77. The front drive shaft of Hobbes had decided to poop the preverbal bed. The hubs for the 4 wheel drive had been locked likely too long on open highway and there was also an aspect of overall age. We sorted out a tow and location to drop it off. The mechanic was no longer located at his google maps location and the two truck driver kindly drove us another 15 minutes to an obscure warehouse location. Now, that’s not entirely being fair because we had apparently broke down in the mechanic and performance vehicle capital of the world. Shop after shop of racing teams and high performance shops lined the roads, including this obscure set of warehouses outside Mooresville, NC. The mechanic was nice enough to pull the shaft for us and explain how we can just go about our business while he checks with his drive shaft guy. As a bit of a side note I should have probably realized that could have been done, dropping the front shaft and continuing on our way. Probably could have avoided the tow and made some calls while we kept moving. Ahh well, lesson learned.
We grabbed a hotel with points and snuck Rooney. I am all about a $10-20 fee for a pet but $75 for a pet when the room is only costs $100-150 is a bit excessive. We’re badasses, you can say it. Real rebels. We were out the next morning after some Wi-Fi’ing sessions and found a state park nearby to camp at and go for a run. We continued our streak of “ain’t nobody here” as we were the only people to camp there the next night. The weather was 70 degrees, trails were 20 yards away, a beach and little island to watch sunset and a silent campground. We lucked out completely in our “decision” to break down. After a few conversations with the 4x4 conversion company and our mechanic guy we decided to order a new drive shaft are mosey on down to Georgia the next day.
We stopped at Congaree National Park in South Carolina for a quick jaunt through the cypress forests, swamp land and boardwalks. It is a pretty obscure National Park but worth half a day to stretch the legs. The drive continued back to the Atlantic Ocean, ending up on Jekyll Island, GA, an island dating back to English and French ownership in the 1700’s. We didn’t really know what we were in for but the island has a campground that was decently cheap and we knew we’d like to wander some beaches. The island is a hamlet of a resort, gated and with some pretty high end parts. Other sections feel remote and completely natural. Thankfully the campground was on the far north end of the island and felt like we were taking a step back to colonization with giant trees draped in moss, dirt and shell roads and some of the original planation buildings from the first owners. Plus we were greeted with a beautifully painted sunset along the bay and a sunrise on a beach filled with driftwood and framed by giant cypress trees. If it weren’t for the dozens of ticks we pulled off our little furry explorer, we’d definitely consider hanging out here again for some extended periods of time. Now, onward and southward. It’s getting warmer and warmer and, more noticeably, the water temperature of the Atlantic is getting toastier.
