Hurrying toward Florence

Up early, we checked the weather and decided to preempt our exploration and head for home. Hurricane Florence was predicted to be heading toward Durham.

Goodbye site 127.  $33 per night for electric and showers was reasonable for this interesting location.

I would be remiss if I didn't call out Dale and Laurie, the campground hosts at Muskegon State Park. They were always smiling and directed people on the best route to see the sunset, provided discount coupons to local attractions and passed out hot coffee, hot chocolate and donuts on Sunday morning. Thank you!

We pulled in to Tamarack, West Virginia before sunset covering 556 Miles, in 11 hours 23 minutes.

After a good night's sleep we climbed the stairs to the restaurant for a "Trucker Tuesday" all-you-can eat breakfast for half off. Beth asked two drivers walking out how it was and one responded "that breakfast will put a hurt on you." It really was good and we were fully fueled for the trip home when we walked out. Free boondocking, good food, and ever changing craft galleries make Tamarack a great stop.

After breakfast we drove 173 miles to Claremont where Carolina Coach and Marine had our new convection/microwave oven waiting for us. You may recall that the original one had a loose door hinge that squeaked annoyingly with any road vibration. Pleasure-Way authorized a replacement under warranty and we left Carolina Coach without our squeak. 132 miles later we arrived home in time to make supper. This marked the end of the first long trip in the new Lexor covering 4.404 miles where we spent thirty-three nights in the comfort of our movable cottage.

We were very fortunate that Florence veered east and stayed more south of us than originally predicted. Three days into the storm, some of the outer bands caught up with us and dumped about eight inches swelling our little Eno river considerably. There was some minor flooding and a few swift water rescues in Durham, but nothing like was experienced down east.

In the New Bern area, where we still have friends with boats, the water rose to record levels as the slow moving storm blew water up the sounds and rivers over multiple days.

Stern lines were released as the water ascended over the wooden pilings. Several boats ended up on the dock or underwater.

Visiting the marina to check on friend's sailboats, my heart ached for the owners of vessels that were damaged in the storm. The clean-up effort will extend well into the new year. Fortunately, none of our friend's boats received any major damage.