The weather had become so lovely that we decided to head back south to Asheville and spend a few days exploring the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which we had missed last week. (Our original plan to start exploring the parkway from the terminus at Great Smoky Mountains National Park was cut short when that segment was closed for two days due to concern about landslides.)
Once again, our plans got changed, and instead of Asheville, we’re in Charlotte. When David pulled in the RV’s living room slide this morning, a “pop” resounded and hydraulic fluid soaked the ground below. Darn! Another mechanical issue to deal with. (We were already scheduled to spend the morning getting the tow dolly’s brake lights fixed — both of them had burnt out!)
Good Sam’s Extended Service Plan’s office was experiencing such high volume (it was a Monday morning), that we had to leave a message. Instead of letting a sunny day slip by, we grabbed the cell phone and headed to Linville Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Unfortunately, when we got the return call, we were out of range and the call got dropped. We weren’t able to call back until it was too late to contact RV service centers.
Just the same, we were happy we had spent the day at Linville Falls. The day was restorative and rich with fall color. To our delight, our dog, Sonya, was permitted on the trail. As usual, she attracted all sorts of interesting conversations with other hikers.
Armed with necessary information and procedures to make our calls the next day, we headed to Boone, NC’s Wal-Mart and dry camped in the parking lot. With all its lights, it’s like having a full moon shining through the windows – on all sides.
Now we’re in the vicinity of Charlotte (100 mile drive from Boone) cooling our heels in a motel room until we hear from the RV service center about the nature of our hydraulic problem – and how long it’s going to take to fix it.
It seems weird to have a rain storm going on and not hear its unique patter on the RV’s fiberglass roof. The silver lining is that I get to soak in a bubble bath. A-a-ah!
PS – Not for the faint of heart
- The carbon monoxide monitor blared in the middle of the night while we were parked at Wal-Mart. What would YOU do?
- When David removed the dolly from the RV at the service center, he noticed that the linchpin that secures the dolly platform to the tow arm was gone. Somewhere on our 100-mile drive today, it worked itself loose, but we arrived safe and sound, our car still in tow. Some precious angels are watching over us!
