Looking forward to treats, not tricks

October 30, 2015--The last time we went on the road--to the Midwest for four weeks during the summer--we had plenty of tricks waiting for us when we returned.

The first week we were gone, a woman from the neighborhood lost control of her car and turned it over in our adjacent neighbor's yard. The accident took out an electrical transformer and created a significant power surge. So significant that it blew every controller in our house. We lost our refrigerator, the swim-spa controllers, our heated mattress pad, some GFIs, and the sprinkler system.

The refrigerator was the worst: All the food (about $350 worth) was putrified, and the refrigerator had to be replaced. Worst of all were the flies. Where did they come from? I don't even want to think about it.

The good news is we had an early Halloween treat: The auto insurance finally settled the claim--in full. My checkbook is grateful.

So, we hope not to have any more tricks. We are experiencing some treats, however. Yesterday we left home for a trip up to North Carolina. Jim's uncle Webster is celebrating his 90th birthday. It will be a small party...his daughter says she has confirmations from 196 people! Webster is quite popular in this small farming community.

We took our time driving up. We actually stopped in Brunswick, Ga., and had an oil and lube job done on Junior. We then drove another few hours and stayed the night at a Walmart in Florence, S.C. We woke up to chilly weather. We definitely don't need the AC, but we do need some warm blankets.

We are now dry-camping in Webster's backyard. We will be here for a couple of days. We would like to go to North Carolina's barrier islands and fish for a few days, but we are having trouble finding economical RV camping. If we don't go to the islands, then we may go to the mountains. Who knows? It is rather nice not having a schedule and just being able to relax.

I'll let you know where we end up.

Oh...one more thing: I am pleased with my new AT&T hotspot. Until recently, this area of North Carolina was hostage to one small cellular company. None of the big networks worked. I was pleased to find that AT&T now has service here...at least most of the time. And my hotspot works great.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,
Linda