After spending 7 weeks within a 20 mile radius of Pocahontas State Park, we were ready to do some serious traveling. And as you may know, when we put our minds to it, we can put on some miles. Within the next 2 weeks, we covered most of the east coast, from Virginia to Florida to New York to North Carolina, where we post this update, serving on our first Nomads Disaster Recovery project.
Creating Magic
Disney calls them “magicbands”, and with their arrival in mid-July, our planned trip with our son’s family to Disney was starting to become real. When our responsibilities at Pocahontas came to an end on Friday August 11th, we had one day to pack up the RV before she would go into storage for the next 2 weeks. On Sunday, we parked RV Orion in a friend’s driveway (while they were still working as Pocahontas August camp hosts) and then packed up all necessary Disney T-shirts to head to the train for Kissimmee on Monday. For several on board, it was their first train trip, and an exciting start to the vacation.
Disney calls them “magicbands”, and with their arrival in mid-July, our planned trip with our son’s family to Disney was starting to become real. When our responsibilities at Pocahontas came to an end on Friday August 11th, we had one day to pack up the RV before she would go into storage for the next 2 weeks. On Sunday, we parked RV Orion in a friend’s driveway (while they were still working as Pocahontas August camp hosts) and then packed up all necessary Disney T-shirts to head to the train for Kissimmee on Monday. For several on board, it was their first train trip, and an exciting start to the vacation.
Arriving in Kissimmee around noon on Tuesday, we had the next 4 days to make the most of our time in Florida, staying a night in Kissimmee and then 3 nights in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. With one day dedicated to enjoying Magic Kingdom, we spent the rest of the time exploring the activities at our resort, which were many and appealed to kids of all ages. From feeding the animals, to using night-vision goggles for animal viewing, to playing African drums, we soaked up as much of the culture that we could, between trips to the pool and stints decorating cookies. For our efforts, we earned a string of unique beads to remind us of each special activity.
We spent one day in Magic Kingdom and, due to an unforeseen problem in establishing our fast passes, Disney gave each of us 3 extra unrestricted ride passes. That meant we were never waiting in long lines for rides. Buzz Lightyear, Ariel, Peter Pan, Brer Rabbit, and, of course, Mickey Mouse guided us over mountains, under the sea, and into outer space. Also, we met Pooh, Captain Jack Sparrow and Belle. We opened and closed the park, finishing with a ride around the monorail loop before heading out at the end of a good, but very long, day.
Bundling up on the train By week’s end, we were ready to head home, boarding the train in Kissimmee Saturday evening for our trip north. We were all now experienced train travelers, having learned a significant lesson from our trip south. Bundle up! Ironically, we had acquired enough blankets and warm clothes in Florida to weather the frigid A/C on the train, and as a result we all slept much better. There was a sad note to our return trip. We were unexpectedly delayed at a siding in Jacksonville for over 4 hours. Our train had struck and killed a bicyclist late at night who attempted to cross after the southbound train had passed, not realizing our northbound train was approaching. Although this was the first in all of our train travels that this had happened, it was the 2nd time in just 4 trips that this had happened to our grandson. A grim trend.
We arrived Sunday afternoon in Rocky Mount, tired but feeling good about our time together and the experiences we shared.
We arrived Sunday afternoon in Rocky Mount, tired but feeling good about our time together and the experiences we shared.
GG and Taylor make greeting cards Moving On
Despite the whirlwind week of fun, the time to kick back and relax was not yet here. We were up early on Monday to pick up a rental car and then pack up our grandson Jayden for the trip north to meet up with his mom in upstate NY. We headed for Pennsylania the first night and a quick stop with Dave’s mom and sister. This was the day of the solar eclipse, and we managed to pull out our glasses when we stopped for a late lunch in Harrisburg, PA at Arby’s. We shared our glasses with all of the employees who were coming out to take a look up in the sky. It was cool, but the sad thing was 24 hours earlier, we had been right in the total eclipse zone. Man!
Despite the whirlwind week of fun, the time to kick back and relax was not yet here. We were up early on Monday to pick up a rental car and then pack up our grandson Jayden for the trip north to meet up with his mom in upstate NY. We headed for Pennsylania the first night and a quick stop with Dave’s mom and sister. This was the day of the solar eclipse, and we managed to pull out our glasses when we stopped for a late lunch in Harrisburg, PA at Arby’s. We shared our glasses with all of the employees who were coming out to take a look up in the sky. It was cool, but the sad thing was 24 hours earlier, we had been right in the total eclipse zone. Man!
GG, Aunt Di, Taylor, Grandpa, Grandma, and Bonnie On Tuesday, we arrived in Syracuse right on time and gave Jayden a hug goodbye after a great summer of camping and vacationing together. We will miss him a lot. Heading further west, we made our way to Rochester for a very quick visit. It was time for our annual dental check up, followed by a lunch with our friend, Carol, before turning south to make our way back to Pennsylvania and a more relaxed visit with Dave’s mom and sister. To our surprise, Bonnie and the kids arrived the same day and we had a mini family reunion for the weekend. Sunday night found us back in Richmond with Adam and Droz. This would be our last night sleeping in someone else’s bed, since we would be returning to the RV on Monday and heading out. The question was: where were we going next?
Lumberton DR team relaxes at end of the day Staying Flexible
On Sunday morning, we were still struggling with where to go on Monday. Our rough plan was to spend September traveling, but we were having trouble getting more specific than that. By Sunday evening though, we had a plan. And by Monday afternoon, we were in place in Lumberton NC on the final 2 weeks of the Nomads Disaster Recovery project there. After setting up in the campground (an abandoned mobile home park), we met the project team, and readied ourselves for work the next morning.
On Sunday morning, we were still struggling with where to go on Monday. Our rough plan was to spend September traveling, but we were having trouble getting more specific than that. By Sunday evening though, we had a plan. And by Monday afternoon, we were in place in Lumberton NC on the final 2 weeks of the Nomads Disaster Recovery project there. After setting up in the campground (an abandoned mobile home park), we met the project team, and readied ourselves for work the next morning.
Sawing wood for various projects at the DR site. The project involved refurbishing 2 homes next door to each other damaged by floodwaters from Matthew in the fall of 2016. With less than 2 weeks to go, there were many projects underway to bring the overall work to completion. However, our first priority became installing a working toilet in at least one house for obvious reasons. We moved on from there to installing a 2nd toilet, the bathroom vanity and plumbing the faucets and drains. Although several electricians were working when we arrived, there was still work to be done after they left. Dave helped move all the ground wires to a new bar in the subpanel, and we installed 2 new GFCI outlets. There is still a lot to be done, but we feel we are making a contribution in the short time since our arrival.
Dave installs a shower head in Kristine's house.
RV Stuff
A flat tire when we arrived at Steve’s. Another just before we left at the end of June. Still another as we were preparing to leave Pocahontas. Same tire location, but different tires. And each tire that is swapped out holds air without any loss of pressure after it is removed. The only thing that this location seemed to have in common was the axle and the Tire Pressure Sensor that fed our monitoring system. Before we left Pocahontas, Dave opened up the sensor and discovered a metal shred that was lodged inside. After removing it, the tire has held its pressure even with the sensor in place. Hopefully, this will mark the end of the flat tires for a long while.
And with all the traveling we're doing, we'll need them to stay inflated.
A flat tire when we arrived at Steve’s. Another just before we left at the end of June. Still another as we were preparing to leave Pocahontas. Same tire location, but different tires. And each tire that is swapped out holds air without any loss of pressure after it is removed. The only thing that this location seemed to have in common was the axle and the Tire Pressure Sensor that fed our monitoring system. Before we left Pocahontas, Dave opened up the sensor and discovered a metal shred that was lodged inside. After removing it, the tire has held its pressure even with the sensor in place. Hopefully, this will mark the end of the flat tires for a long while.
And with all the traveling we're doing, we'll need them to stay inflated.
