Destination Red Bay

The drive to Red Bay included the states of Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.  Undulating hills and wide rivers lined with lush greenery. A favorable time change to central time zone added 1 more hour to the day. It was a long 230 miles by the time the Smitanic pulled into the Allegro Campground around 3pm.

This is the second visit the Smitanic 2 has been to Red Bay for warranty work.  Warranty work is provided free for the first year of ownership. The new Smitanic had been purchased in Sept of 2017 so this is its last time to get minor issues addressed.  In the March visit Site 5 gained notoriety as was host to many parties with many other Tiffinitesin attendance. “Site 5 is alive” was a common greeting! This trip site 5 was occupied so site 9 would be fine :).  Water and electricity were hooked up, sewer would be hooked up later for the weekend. The repair punch list items were printed out and returned to the office. The wait starts.

As Theresa settled into her chair she looked up and noticed a fellow camper settling up his chair and table outside the front of his coach.  When he sat down and lit up his cigar, Theresa called to Kevin “isn’t that the guy who was here in March whose Chevas you drank?” Kevin gave one quick glance and said “sure is! How funny!” Kevin headed outside and as he approached the guy asked him “Do you have any Chevas?”  Jeff (the guy), immediately recognized both Kevin & Theresa. Chairs from the Smitanic joined the a now growing circle for an unofficial ‘happy hour’ at Jeff’s and Katherine Myers site. Conversations picked up were they were left back in March as if no one had left.

As in a group therapy session, stories of past occupations, kids, dogs and RV repairs and status were shared between the circle of Tiffinites.  The night temps were pleasant, so the discussions continued as moon and stars filled the campground sky.

Norris stopped by around noon the next day.  Norris makes the rounds to each new arrival to review the punch list and ask if they want a full service bay or a 3 hour bay with two technicians.  The Smitanic elected a full service bay as the punch list might take longer than 6 man hours to complete. Kevin was informed that the Smitanic could get into a 3 hour bay at the next and said it was 1-1.5 weeks to get into a full service Bay. There was no rush so the full service bay was selected.

Theresa made a grocery store run and returned in time for the repeat evening therapy session in Jeff’s site.

The next day since no service was planned, it was a good day to drive to Toshomingo state park 25 miles away in MS.  The park had several trail choices. The entry ranger recommended a 2 mile trail that started at a swinging bridge and included stream crossings, rock formations and a waterfall!  The trail was nice and shaded, grandpa even was able to take a dip in the river to cool off. The park also had camping sites (not big rig friendly) and a very nice swimming pool!

   

Jeff’s site hosted the final evening therapy session, turning over the lead to the new arrivals in an adjoining shaded site.  Evening shade for the sessions was critical as temps rose into the 90s in Red Bay. The Smitanic site 9 had the morning shade, but cooked in the mid-afternoon and evening.  Jeff and Katherine got finished with all their needed repairs and were heading home in the morning. Safe travels. The Smitanic waits for the infamous call from Wanda, who schedules the service bay work.

Grandpa cools off https://youtu.be/DxKkxvwx0Rc

Behind a waterfall https://youtu.be/RI6yx6Cxizc

Another stream for Grandpa to play in https://youtu.be/B82fzs15NRk

Natural water fountain https://youtu.be/a0DZ3IjzsDk

Grandpa goes for a swim https://youtu.be/1gTfcbj_6ns

White Knuckle Day

Asheville drivers would not let Kevin make lane changes for emergency vehicles.  They even annoyingly honked to indicate the Smitanic should give way. On one occasion Kevin prepared to make a lane change well in advance of an emergency vehicle on the right shoulder.  The Smitanic had its left blinker on, as the Captain of the vessel checked mirrors and camera to ensure a clear lane. The Smitanic was guided slowly across the lane markers. As the captain continued to monitor the safe maneuver he observed a black BMW accelerate in an effort to out run the Smitanic’s announced drift into the left lane. The Smittanic was now half in each lane.  The Captain made a judgement call to abort the maneuver as the Smitanic was now giving way to the emergency vehicle and allowing the Black BMW to ride half in the left lane and half on the left shoulder. The Smitanic announced its return to the right lane and was guided smoothy back. The Black BMW darted on by and kept on going at high speed.

Just about the same time there was a near collision as another RV motor home driver who did not look in his/her cameras before making a lane change.  This forced the passing car to quickly take the shoulder to avoid the RV! That would have been a disaster. Traffic was heavy all the way to Brevard where some construction in town made the narrow town streets even harder to navigate.

Outside the town the winding climb up the mountain began.  The climb consisted of a narrow two lane road with no shoulders and blind 25 mph curves, some that were up steep grades others down the other side.  The Captain realized there was no way to safely maintain the posted speeds that would rapidly change from 55 to 45 to 25 and back to 55 mph. He made the decision to shift down to 3rd gear in an effort to respond to the rapid grade changes and sharp curves.  This allowed for the vessel to make way safely in all situations at a speed that would never get over 35 mph. This provided also plenty of time to react to the traffic coming at the vessel from the opposite direction.

Finally the entrance sign to mountain falls RV Resort was spotted on the left.  Kevin guided the coach into the check in lane, put the parking brake on and both travelers gave a mutual sigh.

Check in was easy while Kevin unhooked the toad.  The escort to the site also pointed out all the hookups as well as provided a router box for WiFi.  
Mountain Falls http://mountain-falls.com/  is a community for folks who want to purchase a site for their RV’s.  The sites are allowed additional structures for outdoor kitchens and fire pits. Some of the sites allow the structures to have bedrooms and large screened in porches.  The owners can stay most of the year accept the months of Dec thru March as the resort is closed.

The reserved site had an amazing view with a fire pit and chairs to enjoy.

The timing for the stay was perfect as there was a free dinner and drinks at the clubhouse that night.  The party was hosted by a custom coach RV manufacturer. They had three of their Prevost custom coaches on display and available to tour.  They ranged in price from $1,600,000 for the 2014 used one that had 70,000 miles on it. The other two were new and each had a price tag above $2,500,000.  The party was well attended as expected. Folks were friendly but Kevin & Theresa were exhausted from the days drive, so did not stay long. It was a early night, in hopes for good weather for pickleball in the AM.

Foggy Mtn

Raindrops were heard, just as Theresa was getting up.  The showers were short lived, but the pickleball courts were wet and needed 1.5 hours to dry out.  Theresa made 3 trips up to the courts to check to see if people were playing. Finally by 10:30 folks were playing on 2 of the 4 courts. Yeah!  It was after noon before Kevin & Theresa finally gave into the body aches and returned to the coach after non stop playing.

The rain returned later and it was a whiteout as the site was engulfed in a cloud. The tired players relaxed for the evening.

The last day at mtn falls included 3 hours of non-stop pickleball, several walks with grandpa and more rain.  During the walks Kevin and Theresa viewed some of the lots that were for sale, some with structures some without any improvements.  There was a large price difference depending on what side of the ridge the lot was. One side had unobstructed views for miles, the other side had views of higher mountains.  One of the sites next to the Smitanic had no structures and was priced just over $300,000. A site on the opposite side of the ridge had a very nice structure and was priced at over $800,000.  Most of the lots had Custom Built Prevosts parked on the site. There were also several with an Allegro Bus(same as the Smitanic) in the drive. Other advertised sites, without views, were more ‘reasonably’ priced at $100-200K.  

During the days 3 hours of pickleball, several ‘locals’ were consulted as the best route to the next destination of Chattanooga, TN.  The unanimous suggestion was to backtrack towards Asheville and take I 40 thru Knoxville. Kevin did manage to get the drone out to get a flyover video of the site. It was another early evening as Kevin rested in preparation for the curvy decent in the morning.

It took several maneuvers to jockey the RV around the numerous construction obstacles in the exit path of the campsite.  Theresa followed the Smitanic and had to ask several times for which way to turn for the exit as it was not clear and the resort was massive!  The hook up of the toad was done outside the gate. Then the days fun began.

See the video

Off to a KOA north of Chattanooga.  It was nice with pool and even a dog park.  The assigned site had the Smitanic parked next to a twin Tiffin Allegro Bus.  An appointment at bay diesel for yearly service was made for Friday. It was yet another early night as Kevin was worn-out after the over 250 miles that tested his skills were traveled for the day.

Boone-dog-all

Day 1

As the Toad was being attach the voyagers received one last goodbye & hugs from A neighbor, Larry Wu.  The Smitanic left the Tasman dockage around 1:30 as checkin at the campground was not until 4:00. The first planned stop was Mebane at the Pilot station.  Kevin had challenged Theresa to try a turn at the wheel from there to just outside Wilkesboro. After filling both diesel and DEF tanks. Theresa accepted the challenge and took the drivers seat for the first time in the Smitanic II.  Kevin talked her through each maneuver as she got up to speed and entered the interstate. Other than hugging the right side of the lane, she was able to make several lane changes, manage the speed on hills and control the downhills and curves.  She drove 100 miles to a rest stop just outside of Wilkesboro where she was happy to turn the wheel back over to the professional. Here the toad was unhooked to allow better maneuverability going into the campsite.  

Bandits Roost  is a state park and an US Corps of Engineers reservoir which allowed Theresa to use her Senior pass for a 50% discount.

The reserved site was right on the lake with a narrow pad for the RV and steps down to a large picnic and campfire area.  The 8 ft. wide Smitanic was positioned as far to one side as possible so that with slides out a person could almost get to the steps to the lower area!  Water & 50amp were hooked up, there was no sewer just a dump station. The Jacks would not self-level so the air bags were used to level.
Dinner was urkylurky from leftover rice, pork loin,broccoli, corn with some saucy sauce and cheese, and edamame at the picnic table looking over the lake.  The temperature was in the mid to upper 80s and with high humidity and limited breese the couple did not last long outdoors. That evening one of the 3 air conditioners seemed to freez up resulting in no cool air coming out of the unit.  Kevin elected to power off the faulty air conditioner in hopes that it would thaw out.

Day 2
A side trip to Boone was scheduled to get the Snaggy Mountain house ready for new property management company Hidden Creek prop mgnt to take over the vacation rental service .  The couple had a 1pm appointment with professional photographer who would produce a 3d tour of the property for marketing purposes. The team elected to start their day with a 4 mile walk of the Maze trail at Bass lake in Blowing Rock to set the day’s positive mode.  The walk was followed up with a quick stop at Comeback Shack for lunch and on up to the  Snaggy Mountain Retreat. To Kevin’s surprise the House was found unlocked! Probably for 2 weeks since the last rental by the previous manager! Argh!

The photographers were met and shown the property so they could take pictures and a drone fly over.  After the quick tour Kevin, Theresa and Grandpa did errands to Lowe’s, Walmart and Mast General Store to kill time.  Keys were made and dropped off at the prop mgmt office. Kevin also asked the new property managers to get someone to fix a plumbing issue not addressed completely by the previous mgmt .  They said no problem. So far so good. The photographer was just finishing the drone flyover as the owners returned. Next we’re several repair and preparation tasks including:
- Put new insides in mbr toilet not addressed by previous manager
- Count sheets and towels and mark
- Replace burnt out light bulbs
- Mount a bottle opener
In checking grease tray on the grill, Kevin found the propane tank empty and the entire bottom of the grill had rusted completely out... even though it has been covered.
Guess there would need to be a return trip again tomorrow to get a new grill.  Kevin emailed the new prop mgr to ask about hauling the old grill away and they said the guy who comes out to fix plumbing can haul it away.  Another point for them!
It was getting late so the remaining touch up would be done tomorrow.
Dinner was pulled pork from a previous evenings feast, Cole slaw, mashed potatoes and baked beans (Kevin’s favorite meal).

An after dinner stroll to the beach area to see the sunset was less than serine due to a fellow Tiffin owner obnoxiously playing loud music. When Kevin informed him of his selfish behavior the camper jumped out of his chair and approached Kevin.  Kevin informed him that he approved of the Music selection and suggested others might want to enjoy the sounds of mother nature and not Santana. The gentleman backed off as Kevin strolled past.

Day 3

The State Farm trail in Boone would provide today’s step count before heading to Lowe’s to pick out a new grill for Snaggy.  The grill was locked into place with a bike cable and covered. All owner items were secured in a locked closet and extra sheets and towels placed the maids closet.  One final walk around and the door was locked. Hopes were high that the new property manager would take good care of the place!

Day 4 - Scythian in concert 

The morning was spent lounging at the campsite and putzing around the RV and walking Grandpa.  Then it was off to catch an early dinner at a steakhouse close to the Wilkesboro campus where the concert was to be held.  

The concert was billed as a welcome back to campus for the students at Wilkesboro community college.  Kevin and Theresa made bets on how much the 2 senior citizens would raise the mean age for concert attendees.  Upon entry the wager was lost as the average age group was about 55 - 65. However there was not much diversity in the audience, perhaps a bluegrass and Celtic thing.
The band was high energy and got the audience dancing in the aisles.  They were also very family oriented comprised of 2 brothers & a sister to head up the band.  Several kids were invited up on the stage for the encore finale. A great time! Scythian even does several trips to Ireland which would be a hoot!

The next morning the Smitanic would exit and head to a Luxury RV Resort southern of Asheville, NC called Mountain Falls.

Provisioning

With the route to Red Bay pretty much determined it was time to focus on getting the house ready and the RV loaded and ready to go.  Jack Spain, now an adopted sibling, would be holding down the fort solo until April. Systems he did not need like the outdoors water features, the now defunct spa and garage refrigerator needed to be quiesced.  Notifications were sent to the Extra Storage Garage space relaying the Smitanic exit date and a promise to return in April. Before leaving the storage facility 1.5 cups of bleach was added to the fresh water tank so it would slash around a bit on the way home.  This was the first step in sanitizing the fresh water tank. A warning email to the Tasman neighbors had been sent to announce the dockage into the cul de sac for 4 nights for a leisurely loading and prep of the RV for the extended trip.

Once parked on top of the Tasman pickleball court the first tasks would include 1. Finish the sanitization process of fresh water system including replacing 2 filters, 2. hook up to shore water and power.  As the coaches fresh water tank was filling the power was hooked up to the house. Kevin had dialed down the RVs draw to 15 amps & shore power draw 10 amp max, but each time the power came up the GFI on the house plug tripped.  Different outlets on the house were tried but each failed. Finally a plug not on the garage circuit did the trick. Kevin concluded that there must be an issue with the gfi outlet in the garage as that was the one that kept tripping.  Add that to the fix list for Tasman.

The fresh water tank was now full.  The next step in sanitation process was to run the now deluded bleach water through each faucet to clean all the pipes (actually the water lines are plastic tubing). The last step was to drain the fresh water tank and refill.  This was followed by running water through the lines to determine if there is any residual bleach smell. Kevin determined it would be best to partially dump the fresh water and top off with new water from the hose attached to the house.

Before any items were loaded, the bays(storage under the RV) were inspected for any unused items or ones not required for this journey.  Surprisingly not much was removed just some rearranging.

First loaded in was a ample supply of wine purchased from Kurt at a favorite wine store, the Wine Merchant.  Theresa has committed to no alcohol until September 1, so the stash will go even further! A new Coleman Roadtrip xl grill was also loaded to replace the original one damage in a severe storm in red bay in March.

With the basement items complete, the slides were finally extended so inside items that have been staged in the living and dining room could find a home in the RV, including Kevin’s birthday present a matching recliner so he doesn’t need to steal Theresa’s.

     

Frequent breaks from loading were made to accomplish other exit-related tasks such as:

- Toad serviced at  Cricket Service Center for oil and oil filter change, radiator flushed, new battery, and new tires and alignment.

- Costco trip for meats and other supplies
- Request Absentee ballot since they will not be in NC for the November elections.
- Loading bikes & airplanes in Jeep.
- Installed the tire monitoring system on RV and Toad.

The food, Clothes, biking & pickleball gear were the final items to be loaded.  The Tasman residence seemed to gain its square footage without all the staging piles.  Jack will be able to breath now with the increase in space!

The Smitanic was ready for a 1pm departure the next day to the Bandits Roost campground in Wilkesboro,NC.

What is known?

The first objective is to make it to Red Bay, AL at the Tiffin Service center before September for warranty work (there is always a list) and yearly service at Bay Diesel.  A three stop non direct route was planned to take in some fun & exploration.  On the route, a favorite Celtic band Scythian has a concert in Wilkesboro.  Theresa found a state park nearby that looked like the Smitanic 2 would fit on a water front site.  In an effort to make the trip more leasurely, 4 nights were booked using Theresa’s Senior pass for a 50% discount.  That turned out to be a good choice as it allowed for side trips to Boone, NC to turn over our Snaggy mountain vacation rental house to a new property management group.

The second stop enroute would be to a ‘luxury RV’ resort called mountain falls south of Asheville,NC.  This place has all the amenities including pickleball and came highly recommended by folks in Red Bay.  Theresa   also had worked with someone who had a site there as well and planned to reach out to her as well.  The sites were pricy but for a few nights to check it out might be worth it...

The third stop would be some where near Chattanooga, TN would be decided as the trip unfolds.  Theresa will research some recommendations from the Tiffin owners Facebook group to see if they will work.  

Tentatively the current thought is to be in Red Bay by Aug 21 and check in to the first come, first serve campground at the service center.