2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 16

Day 16, Monday, November 2 - Day 16 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 8, 0 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

55°F this morning and for my walk. The park is still half full with only 2 full hookup sites open. Two of the four cabins across from me are empty.

I read inside, finishing No Song For The Dead, and discovered that all of the other books in the series (other than ones I've read) are not available at any of my libraries. I placed a hold on a couple of them, then went to my Kindle library and started someone new. Crota by Owl Goingback.

I'll be cutting the trip to the Southeast short - my daughter has been diagnosed with cancer & I'm not comfortable wandering around trying to find a place for the trailer (and maybe towing in snow) if I need to get to Takoma Park. I spent the afternoon canceling my reservations for the rest of the trip & will head home on the 9th.

Dinner was an Amy's Enchilada Bowl.

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 15

Day 15, Sunday, November 1 - Day 15 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 7, 0 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

52°F this morning, a very light rain and 55°F for my morning walk. I usually skip or postpone my walk if it is raining, but this morning's was so light that you could still see the individual drop hits on the pavement so I decided to go anyway.

While Halloween has come & gone (with, as usual, no trick or treaters) I did take a photo of one of the trailers here in the campground that dresses for the night:

After breakfast I sat inside the trailer and read both on line and my Kindle. I finished #10 in the Department Q series, Locked In by Jussi Adler-Olsen and started #11, No Song For The Dead. These are books really meant to be read in order, which I'm not doing. Still interesting, but if I was starting the series new I'd start from the beginning.

It is still cool, at least compared to the temperatures over the last week. 58°F at 1:00, and cloudy. At least the rain has stopped. Lots of folks left today. All the cabins across from my site are empty although a few have reservation stickers on the post.

I talked with my son, the Guidos and my daughter Karin.

Dinner was an Amy's Chili Relleno Bowl.

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 14

 Day 14, Saturday, October 31 - Day 13 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 6, 0 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

Happy Halloween! 53°F this morning and about the same for my morning walk. It is definitely going to be cooler than yesterday; only 56°F at 11:00AM. I'm glad I took a shower yesterday evening. Even with yesterday's warm 77°F day it was still cool in the bathroom. The block walls hold the cold from the night, and running ceiling fans don't help. Rather than fight for drops of water coming out of the shower head in the small stalls, I used the disabled shower. Much larger with two benches, one well away from the shower. Two shower heads, one hand held. Both provided a fair amount of spray and plenty of hot water. By the way, the bathrooms are well kept up & clean. I'd rate the disabled shower a B+, the only thing missing is some heat in the room.

During my walk I noticed that while there are still many empty sites, almost all of them are reserved. I'm not sure why the many folks that had reservations starting yesterday haven't showed up, but there are more tenters than there were yesterday.

After breakfast I sat in the trailer and read. 

During the afternoon I took a short hike to Lake Norman, and took a couple of photos:

After that it was back to the trailer & some reading. I sat outside for a bit, then as it cooled down below 65°F (66°F was the high for the day) I moved inside.

Dinner was a chicken Bubba Burger.

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 13

Day 13, Friday, October 30 - Day 13 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 5, 0 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

52°F this morning when I got up & 60°F when I went for my walk. While there are many empty dry sites in the campground, most of the full hookup sites as well as most of the cabins are booked for at least the weekend.

I didn't do much other than sit outside & read. It reached 77°F with clear skies. I have some shade in parts of the campsite, so I spent the afternoon moving with it. I finished The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen and started another in the Department Q series, Locked In. I also finished McTiernan's The Murder Rule audio book and started The Specialists by Lawrence Block.

That was about it for the day.

Dinner was a Saffron Road Chicken Tikka Masala bowl.

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 12

Day 12, Thursday, October 29 - Day 12 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 4, 0 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

56°F this morning both when I got up & when I went for my walk. Before leaving for my walk I changed the sheets on the bed. While it is easier than it was with my previous trailer, an Escape 17, it is still a project. After that it was off for a loop around the campground. It was nice enough that I sat outside after my walk and listened to more of The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan, my current audio book.

After breakfast I did some internet reading, then packed up the old sheets and the rest of the laundry and headed to the Morresville Coin Laundry. It is listed as the closest to the park; 15 miles & 1/2 hour driving time. There is a Walmart 7 minutes from the laundry. The Morresville Coin Laundry is very clean, has an attendant, and bathrooms. $6.00 to wash in a 4 load front washer & a quarter per 6 minutes to dry. Comfortable chairs & plenty of folding tables and rolling baskets to get from the washers to the dryer and the folding tables. 

After that I headed to Walmart for a few things, then back to the campground in heavy traffic. After putting everything away I sat outside and read until 4:30, did my evening exercises, then made dinner.

Dinner was a Chef Ramsay Chicken Marsala Pasta bowl.

Until Tomorrow -