Continuing on...

Hello again,

Since my last blog post, I have been to Charlotte, NC, The Oaks at Point South campground in Yemassee, South Carolina for a night, and then headed to Melbourne Beach. I arrived here last night.

I met up with Keith Williams (aka Papa Greybeard) in Charlotte. He drove down from Vermont in his vintage Volkswagen bus! It was the first leg of his journey of traveling and living out on the road in his bus. How awesome. We are good friends fellow musicians and it was great to see him again!

When I left Black Mountain last Sunday, I decided to check out this nearby 5.00 campground that Keith told me about. Curtis Creek Campground. Good lesson for me. The road to it was 5 curvy miles long through the woods, with the road getting more and more narrow. Then it turned to dirt. Then it became one lane. Then, there was a little one lane bridge. Hmm. There I was, alone, nervous about Aretha meeting this little one car bridge in the middle of nowhere, and I couldn’t back up. There were no weight limit signs posted so - I drove over it. We lived! Then I looked at my phone and realized I had no service out there. I wasn't feeling great about this. Suddenly, voila! A wonderful little turn around appeared before my very eyes! So what did I do? I turned us around and headed back out the way we came.  Lesson: Perhaps do a little more research before I go driving into unknown campgrounds. I found a Pilot flying J to sleep at that night.

It was great to meet up with Keith for a few days. We did not play music, but I did get to meet his twin daughters and their children – and we took a trip to Asheville.

On the way to Asheville, Keith wanted to check out Curtis Creek Campground because he thought he would be staying there sometimes. I told him about my harrowing(  ) experience there, but this time we were in his VW bus. We drove all the way in to the camping area, (which included two more one lane bridges) and then up and up and up this mountain on a rough road cut through the forest. I’m not sure how long we kept going up and around this way, but we never did get to the top. We finally turned around and headed back down. The VW got a workout that day! Keith is going to hike it soon and let me know what is at the top. He says it might be a vintage clothing store, and I’ll be really sorry I missed out. (I love vintage clothing stores. wink)

Asheville was a nice place. Not as active as I imagine it is during the summer. We walked around for a while and ate dinner at a funky place called the Aux Bar that a juggler on the street recommended. We talked to one street musician, to ask about busking rules etc. I plan to get back there, but I'm not sure when yet.

While I was in Charlotte, I slept at a Walmart that was 2.5 miles away from the Charlotte Motor Speedway and could hear the cars racing around the track.

I left Charlotte on Thursday the 25^th and stayed at a Thousand Trails campground (The Oaks at South Point) for the night and then headed toward Melbourne Beach, FL to visit my mom. For those of you who don’t know, my mom lived in and traveled in a big class A motorhome for 9 years in her 60’s and into her 70's. An inspiration perhaps? I think that's a yes. I arrived here last night. Mom and I have traveled together many times over the years. It will be good to catch up with her again.

At the Georgia line on the way here I pulled over at a rest area that was the Savanna History Museum. I found Forrest Gump sitting on a bench with his box of chocolates in there! It was a real life replica, and I should’ve taken a picture- but alas, I’ve got to get better at this picture taking thing…

Aretha and The Bike

In Asheville with Keith Williams

Keith's VW bus ready to go