April 2022 - Time to Head South
We finally pulled GR84RED out of its winter storage and prepped it for a trip down south to warmer climes. Our destinations are South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Two weeks on the road to visit friends, play some golf, do a little fishing, and generally just experience America.
Prepping the rig after a winter in storage was a learning experience for us. Luckily, we had it winterized professionally, stored it in a climate controlled indoor facility, and kept the house and chassis batteries conditioned with CTEK trickle charges (an important tool for RV’ers in northern climates). To our delight, pretty much everything worked just like it did last October before going to storage. We are experiencing an issue with the water pump, leaving us with no water while dry camping. We’re confident that will be a relatively easy fix.
Our first night of the trip had us parked in the parking lot of the Appalachian Brewing Company in Mechanicsburg, PA. ABC Mechanicsburg is a Harvest Host that can accommodate six RV’ers. We had four neighbors Saturday night. ABC Mechanicsburg is a full service brew pub with an outstanding menu and a full compliment of their craft brews. There are many IPA’s on the menu, but if you want to try something completely different, have the “Midnight Fridge Raider”. This might be the most unique beer I’ve ever tasted. The flavors ranged from chocolate milk, Kalua, and maple syrup. Throw in a little cherry cheese cake and you have a beer unlike any other. Not a “session” beer by any means, but definitely worth a try.
In between Happy Hour and Dinner, we took a walk down the block to a shopping center where we got to experience a “Wegmans” super market. If you’re wondering how a grocery store can be an experience, you need to go to Wegmans. I won’t bore you with the details, as a visit is the only way to know what the hell I’m talking about. Back at ABC dinner was highly rated for a pub. Definitely start with the “Balsamic Bleu Cheese Chips”.
The great thing about a Harvest Host stay, is that you’re up and out quickly in the morning. We needed that early start considering Sunday’s drive was almost 400 miles from Mechanicsburg to Four Oaks, North Carolina. We experienced the full range of fuel prices on those 400 miles with PA running $5.83/gallon, MD at $4.52/gallon and VA at $5.36/gallon.
Raleigh Oaks RV Park looks like a park that could be a lot of fun in season. However, for us on April 3rd, the office was closed, both pools were closed, fitness center… closed, billiard room… closed, and finally… no firewood. Oh well, we had our wine and charcuterie, a great dinner of Pollo Asada, and streamed the Women’s National Championship game via our Winegard and our new T-Mobile data plan. All perfect for a one-night stopover.
Tomorrow it’s on to Hilton Head.
