It was a dark and stormy night...

It was a dark and stormy night in Yemmasse, SC. Thunderstorms with gusty winds started rolling through around nightfall. Thankfully, we had stowed the lawn chairs, outdoor rug, tablecloth and awnings before the storm hit. It is no fun packing up wet equipment, been there done that!

I love hunkering down for a pelting rainstorm in the Silver Chalet! Getting all cozy and snug as a bug in a rug, okay, tin can, is incredibly satisfying and enjoyable! Nothing better than snuggling up with a good book, or someone who has read one, Ron Chapman of KVIL in Big D, so famously used to say!

Around 3 A.M., the romance of raindrops on an aluminum roof has disappeared. Never experienced that much heavy rain all night long! I keep dreaming that we are going to transform miraculously into an amphibious vehicle, or that we are going to get hopelessly mired in the muck as we attempt to pull out of the campsite in the morning!

Thankfully, my mini-nightmares are just that, dreams, weird, but harmless. We awake a little later than planned, since I was wide awake a significant part of the night, to a clear morning and a campsite littered with leaves, big branches, and lots and lots of big puddles. We complete the campsite breakdown in record time and pull out unscathed and without being stuck in the muck.

None of the wall plugs from the bathroom forward are working and the TV has a mind of its own, will I turn on, maybe...maybe not! Electrical issues are not our area of expertise! Mike has replaced fuses, fiddled with the breaker box, all to no avail. There is only one authorized Airstream service dealer in SC, and we are headed to it to see Chuck! The website looks very professional and high tech, with a multi-million dollar business portfolio. We are hopeful the issue will be resolved, at least by Monday!

As we pull into Donmar RV of South Carolina in Lynchburg, just off I-95, we immediately look at each other and become just a bit wary of the quality of service we may receive because the landscape is a grassy field, with a couple of corrugated buildings, and is littered with about thirty or so Airstreams in various stages of disrepair and deterioration, overturned lawnchairs, coolers, spare tires, junk, junky, junkyard. As Chuck ushers us into the office, our concern is further heightened by the utter disarray and disorganization that looms before us. The cluttered countertop offers hardly a space for writing, the shelves are in need of some serious rearranging, and the floor space is a virtual mishmash of parts, lawn chairs and just stuff.

Chuck, however, is warm and friendly and springs immediately into action. After plugging into the electricity, he quickly determines that we have a GFI breaker that has been thrown. Mike had flipped it back and forth into the ON position, tried replacing fuses, all to no avail. Chuck patiently shows us how to properly re-engage it. Flip it all the way DOWN before flipping it UP! Duh...the learning curve just got much greater...lol

He informs us that it is crucial to always have the A/C turned OFF before hooking up to electricity at a campsite. With everything powering up at once, you can quickly burn out an A/C compressor. Thanks for the tip, Chuck! He could have told us we needed a complete new breaker box and we would have not been the wiser. Good to know there are still honest folks out there.

After about 15 minutes, with tips on checking voltage at campsites, keeping the finish looking bright and shiny and at absolutely no charge, Chuck sends us merrily on our way. Oh happy day, we are back on schedule!

We have just settled into the rhythm of driving on I-95, when a huge semi-tractor trailer comes barrelling down on us at lickety-split high speed, veers in front of us to immediately exit, stage right. I am thinking, was that REALLY necessary??? To our extreme horror, we look over to the left, and there totally stopped in I-95's fast lane, is a late model vehicle with an older gentleman walking along side it just looking at it. He is parked next to a guardrail with no place to go but forward for several yards. It all happens so fast, we just shake our heads and pray that no one crashes into it. Hauling the trailer with no place to pull over and try to help out is a haunting thought, even the day after. I will have nightmares over this one.

We make it safe and sound to Fayetteville KOA, NC, wash 3 loads of clothes, take a leisurely walk in temps in the high 60's and enjoy a TV and wallplugs that work, finally!