RV Folly Adventure Freedom Ride

(Photo album links are at top of page to right)

(starting in time from the entry above May 1-7, 2008 below continuing up to the most recent entry)
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May 25-31

Returned to my niece's place to find her husband's truck parked at the top of the drive. He's a long-haul driver and
a great guy. When he comes home he loves to cook and build bonfires in their backyard under the stars. Great
fun. After a few days at home, he had to get back on the road again. Such is the life of a driver and his wife.
Without them, we would be dire straights as everything we consume has a trucker in the equation someplace.

Saw dad several more times, did the dentist check-up/cleaning thing, and had dinner with my sister-in-law at her
home in a local horse community. We lived there as well from 1993 until 2000 and upon driving around a bit we
found things hadn't changed too much.

Finally, we headed to Rockingham, NC to visit our daughter's boyfriend's family for a few days. His mother has a
beautiful home with a pool on about 25 acres. We will head to Uwharrie National Forest and camp a while at
Arrowhead Campground before meeting up again with our daughter, her boyfriend, my niece, and anyone else that
chooses to stop by at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. We always stay at the Crosswinds Campground if
anyone would like to stop by for a chat. Can't miss Folly.....lol.

May 19-24

Spent several days visiting my niece and her husband near Carthage, NC. She's a mile off the main road tucked
deeply into the woods....quite beautiful. When we left North Carolina last fall, the state was deep into a drought.
Wow, what a change. Now, the greens are exhilarating, the lakes are full, and lush growth is found everywhere! A
lot of ticks too....lol.

We all visited my dad at his independent living digs in Southern Pines, NC. Met some of the other tenants there and
had a great time talking and laughing about things that happened over the years, etc. This facility is truly top
drawer.

Then, we left for the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area for a couple more days of visiting our daughter and
enjoying the beautiful campground there. We will head back to Pinehurst, NC today for the rest of the holiday
weekend and then some. And, plan on going to the Uwharrie National Forest for a week or two after that.

May 15-18, 2008

Left the Outer Banks and arrived about 6 hours later in Raleigh, North Carolina. We are parked in the apartment
complex our daughter lives at near Johnson Lake and NC State University. Called ahead and spoke with the
manager of he complex who was quite accommodating and invited us to stay for as long as we liked. Plus, it's kinda
nice to have phone and Internet access again...lol. Spent some quality time with our daughter, her boyfriend,Trixie
(dog) and Taz (cat). A couple of meals, a walk to the lake, special chats, and generally enjoying each other's
company.

May 8-14, 2008

From Severe Storms to High Wind Warnings .... After the hair raisin', heart stoppin', exciting weather last night,
our NOAA Weather alarm sounded off again today. This time with a high wind warning that was to last for about 36
hours. Winds were expected to be a constant 35 to 45 mph with gusts to 65 mph or more during this time. Local
flooding would occur, especially at high tide. Folly weathered this situation fine and we were actually quite
comfortable. At least the skies were cloudy to partly cloudy with no lightning, rain, tornadoes, etc....thank goodness.
But, the rangers reported they couldn't get home as the roads in our area to about 40 miles north had become
flooded due to ocean waters coming over the roads during high tide ... as per the warning! Never a dull moment
around here! And, we are definitely "rockin' on" with our RV Folly Adventure Freedom Ride, whether we want to or
not....lol.

NOAA Weather Alarm Sounds Off ... We were aware bad weather was approaching for the evening, so late in the
afternoon we moved everything inside Folly in case we would have to move. Pretty good thinkin', eh? Folly handles
high wind gusts well and is remarkably quiet inside when we batten down the hatches. Anyway, we were just about
to go the bed when the NOAH weather radio sounded off with a squawk!, squawk!, squawk! A severe thunderstorm
warning had been issued for NE North Carolina areas including the one we were in. The storm was expected to be
directly over our area in about 20 minutes and had high wind gusts, hail, lightning and lots of rain. A couple minutes
later.....squawk!, squawk!, squawk! A tornado warning was issued and was reported to be about 40 miles away and
was heading our way. Hmmmmm. We looked at each other and decided it was time to get off the hill we were on. As
you may recall, we are high atop a hill overlooking a shallow valley, some dunes, and then the ocean. Folly started
up and we tried to get her backed out onto the road but had a heck of a time due to the rain, lightning crashes,
high wind, squawking weather radio, and the fact Sandra was in the rear of the rig and I was at the wheel in front
and couldn't hear each other. We were kind of stuck in limbo for a bit but finally were able to move onto the road
and proceed down to the entrance kiosk where we parked for a couple of hours until the severe storm and tornado
warnings had ceased. Then, back up the hill to our spot and a view of the area under a now moonlight sky. WOW!

In the morning we talked with the ranger and found out the tornado in our immediate area had apparently never
touched down.....thank goodness, but there was some lightning and flood damage along most of the Outer Banks.
We learned a lot last night and with that experience and knowledge, we will be much better able to handle storms in
the future.

Camper Fire ... As full-timer RVers, we are very much aware of the dangers of camper fires. These rigs go up in
smoke very rapidly. Anyway, we just left Folly for a walk when we noticed smoke from below, thinking someone had
started a charcoal fire to cook some breakfast. But, after a closer look, we noticed the fire was coming through the
roof of a trailer and a man was climbing the ladder on the rear of the rig to get the roof. Once there, he put out the
flames with a fire extinguisher. Whew! Very scary! What was very unusual, we noticed several deer had come out
of their hiding places all around us, within a 2 hundred yard radius or so, and were standing there looking at this
fire and all the commotion. We were astonished by their interest and wondered if fires had occurred here before ....
and if they were standing ready to take flight to avoid injury. Finally, the fire department came by, did their thing,
and left.....after which, the deer went back into hiding.

Stopped to Watch "Boarding" ... We stopped at a day use area on a grocery run where there were a bunch of
kiteboarders and windsurfers. We find kiteboarding to be most fascinating and were totally surprised to see folks
from about 10 to 70 enjoying these sports. Can you believe that? WOW!

Running a National Park Campground .... Went to the kiosk to pay for a couple of more nights but had to wait
for a young lady talking with the ranger while her boyfriend waited in their car. As I came to the kiosk door, I
overheard the Ranger getting very agitated as the young lady doing her best to wag her tail, flutter her eyelashes,
and give this man a whole lot of bologna about not having any money to pay for their stay. Once he was finished
with them and had recovered his calm and helpful composure we were used to seeing, he offered us a free nights
stay to reward us for our beach patrols picking up and disposing of trash we found here and there. You may recall,
we wrote last month about the 4 page application we were asked to fill out to "volunteer" our services at the
National Park Campgrounds we were staying at. We, of course, round-filed said volunteer application and came up
with our own beach trash patrol as a way to do what we both thought was more in line with and in the spirit of
"volunteering". In any case, we are thankful for our free nights stay.

College Students Come to Outer Banks .... Apparently exams are over as many college students have come to
the Outer Banks to celebrate and let off some steam. Parties, surfing, kiteboarding, windsurfing, biking, camping,
and all the other fun stuff young adults these days come up with. On one of our daily beach patrols, we came upon
a wallet in the sand, almost buried and run over by 4 wheel vehicles many times, but showed no evidence of
experiencing an ocean tide. We picked up the wallet and eventually returned to Folly where I was able to get on the
net, via my cell phone, and came up with a phone number that matched the address on the drivers licence found
inside. After 2 hours of trying, a voice finally greeted our rings with a hello. Turns out, I had reached the father of
the young man that owned the wallet and after explaining what treasure we had, he laughed quite heartily. He said
his son had lost his keys yesterday...and, had not reported his losing his wallet....as yet. And, it was revealed his
son was staying in the same campground as we were and his father would have his son call us as soon as possible.

About 10 minutes later I received a phone call from the young man and arranged for his coming to our camper to
retrieve his lost wallet. With a knock on the door and our reponce to come aboard, the young man explained he
had been looking for the wallet for about 3 hours on the beach, the boardwalk to the beach, his car, and his
campsite. He just finished his junior year at NC State and had 3 buds with him. Of course, I teased him terribly and
embarrassed him totally and completely in front of his friends and after a lot of laughs and warm felt thank yous
from the lads, they were happily on their way back to having some fun again. Oh, remembering our youth, those
were the days my friends!

May 1-7, 2008

Cherokee Nation Lives On .... Went on another beach patrol and ended up being invited to sit and chat again
with Arnold and Ellie at their campsite. We talked about Arnold, a Navy Vet, and Ellie, his wife, before in April's
Freedom Ride page. Both have Cherokee Indian ancestors and it was so great to learn a bit about Indian culture
and history from their point of view. Many things were discussed over a period of a couple of hours such as
pow-wows, The Trail of Tears, The Navajo Nation, etc. Arnold and Ellie, who still dance and take part in the beating
the of drums at pow-wows where they can, explained the many dances that are done, their meanings, and the
different dress used for each one. Arnold, after blowing out both knees skiing, still dances even though he was told
eight years ago he would need knee replacement surgery to do so by the doctors at the time. Hmmmmm.

We are so comfortable with these folks. It seems as if we have known them for years, and therefore, fully anticipate
keeping up with them in the future. Upon parting, Ellie gave Sandra a pair of earrings. We wanted to take pictures
in the morning but they thought they would not be there as they planned to be under way quite early. In any event,
we intended to move to the camping spot they were going to vacate, as we much preferred their view, so if they
were still there then, we could take some pictures. However, when we checked in on them in the morning, they had
already left their camp....but, had left a feather stuck into the ground. So, we took a picture of the feather to
symbolize their presence instead. Arnold and Ellie, please continue to teach the errors of the Takers Mother
Culture and how important it is to embrace the Leavers Creator. We hope to see you again along the trail
someday! Thank you for your most gracious gifts! Be safe!

Global Warming Update ..... Whether one believes in global warming or not ... when the politicians, special
interest groups, corporations, AKA agendas, money, and lust for power are removed from the equation ..... I
believe it is most paramount to our well being as a species that we need to be at peace with our environment, not
misuse it, not destroy it, or, be at war with it!!!!

Bycycle Built 4 2 .... Came upon a young couple, quite by surprise actually, that were riding a bicycle built for two.
Well, more like resting as I asked where they had rented same. Turns out they had started out at Swanquarter and
were on a trek to travel the loop around The Outer Banks and back. They had already pedaled 175 miles in 3
days, 75 the first and 50 the second and third, and fully intended on completing the loop in 3 more. WOW! From
looking at a map, I figured they had another 175 miles to go. Some grit there, eh? We wished them a safe
journey.....and we're sure, with the determination they exhibited, they will, without a doubt, finish their journey.

Windsurfing VS. Kiteboarding ...... Seems from what we've encountered over the last month, kiteboarding now
rules. It sure is a lot of fun seeing all the huge, colorful kites in the air all over the place pulling riders standing on
their boards at speeds up to over 30 mph, I am sure. Man, kids these days are playing with stuff we never would or
could even imagine when we grew up in the 50's and 60's.