2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 11

 Day 11, Wednesday, October 28 - Day 11 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 3, 0 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

51°F this morning both when I got up & when I went for my walk and a high of 72°F. 

After breakfast I did some on line reading, then sat outside reading on the Kindle. I finished Dan Padavona's The Bone Forest, and while there are at least 13 more in the series, I really need a change. I started The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Around 2:00 I decided to make a trip to a grocery store. I checked my GPS and it showed a Publix 5.8 miles away. In this area "as the crow flies" distances mean little. The actual mileage to get there on a road is 18 miles & 30 minutes. There is a Food Lion that looks further away, but road wise it is only 11 miles & 22 minutes away. So, it was off to Food Lion in Troutman. I found everything I was looking for and a bit more. In fact, for the first time I came back to the trailer with more than would fit in the freezer. It was too tempting to find Tillamook Ice Cream. I had an early dinner of a P. F. Chang's Orange Chicken which made just enough room for the ice cream. 

After my early dinner I sat outside and read. While it never got cold enough to want to move inside, at 67°F around 6:00 I headed in.

Until Tomorrow -

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 10

 Day 10, Tuesday, October 27 - Day 10 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC, Day 2, 146.9 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

Only down to 50°F overnight with a high around 70°F, but still only 50°F when I did my morning walk. I did the loop around the campground that is a little over 1/2 mile. While there are 44 sites in the campground, only 10 have hookups; the rest are dry, some with paved driveways that are too steep for an RV. There are also 6 very nice cabins that have a full size platform as well as a pair of bunk platforms. There are mattresses in the platforms but I don't believe they have bathrooms; I didn't get inside one to check. They do have heat & AC.

A Cabin

A fairly relaxing day. I moved outside when the temperature hit 65°F and read. I finished Lee & Andrew Child's Chain Reaction and went back to the Dan Padavona Wolf Lake series. I'm on #10, The Bone Forest. 

Around 3:00 I headed to the bathroom for a shower, but there was a crew working on a drain backup. They said about 15 minutes but I gave them a little more time and headed back at 3:30. 

A shower report: 3 stalls in the men's bathroom, one disabled. There is also a separate full bathroom. I used the one closest to the toilets in the men's bathroom. A very small dressing area (18" deep) with a bench & 1 double hook. The shower head aimed directly at the drying area although there was a shower curtain between them. I still expected the entire dressing area floor to get wet. Nope! Seems this is the most anemic water flow I've ever encountered. While there is a 3" shower head, only the bottom third spits out a weak dribble of water. It does get hot, but there isn't any spray, just a little water coming out of the bottom of the shower head. I managed to wash & rinse, but it wasn't much fun. At least the dressing area floor stayed dry. Since I'm here for 2 weeks, I hope either of the other showers is better. This one gets a D.

Dinner was a Boston Market Chicken Pot Pie.

Until Tomorrow -

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 9

Day 9, Monday, October 26 - Lake Norman State Park, Statesville, NC , 146.9 Miles for the Day, 868.3 Miles for the Trip

39°F this morning.

I said good bye to the Guidos, and left Hungry Mother around 11:00. Most of the drive was on I 81 & I 77, although I got bored with I 77 and did part of the drive on NC 21 which runs parallel to I 77. I arrived at the park a little after 1:00, checked in at the office, and headed to my site. I'm in site 41, a full hookup site on asphalt with a gravel picnic area that has a fire ring, picnic table & hanging pole. Shade towards the back of the site & what looks to be nice morning sun at the front. I'm here for t weeks at $39.00 per night (including an $84.00 senior discount). The bathhouse is a short walk away.

Site 41

After setting up I checked the internet speeds - Verizon at 74.5Mbps down & 1.68Mbps up, AT&T nothing, and Starlink at 41.98 down & 11.61 up.

I did some reading sitting out in the sun. It hit 70°F this afternoon, and by 4:30 down to 67°F. 

Dinner was a pair of El Monterey Chicken Enchiladas.

Until Tomorrow -

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 8

Day 8, Sunday, October 25 - Burson Campground, Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA, Day 5 , 0 Miles for the Day, 721.4 Miles for the Trip

39°F this morning and 40°F for my morning walk. While a few left this morning, many are staying until tomorrow or later. 

While I started Dan Padavona's Gone, I just received notice that a book I've had on hold for a long time at Libby came in. So, for awhile, Gone is gone & I'll be starting Lee & Andrew Child's Chain Reaction, a Reacher book. As far as I'm concerned, it is still too cold to sit outside & read at 54°F at 2:00, so I'm sitting in the trailer. 

The Guidos drove The Back of the Dragon, a 32 mile stretch of VA 16 (the road Burson Campground is on) that climbs a couple thousand feet and has over 400 curves. The motorcyclists love it but not me. I'm OK if I'm driving, but as a passenger on that kind of road I turn green. I'm not sure the truck is the best vehicle for the trip.

I checked and everything I find on the internet tells me my site at Lake Norman State Park (Monday's stop) is a full hookup site. My notes say bring water, it is electric only. I hope my notes are wrong. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon reading & saying good bye to folks as they left.

Dinner was Bubba burgers & tortellini salad.

Until Tomorrow -

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 7

Day 7, Saturday, October 24 - Burson Campground, Hungry Mother State Park, Marion, VA, Day 4, 0 Miles for the Day, 721.4 Miles for the Trip

A bit warmer at 44°F this morning. I stopped across the way for coffee, donuts & chat with folks attending the rally. 

Coffee & Donuts, Day 2

After coffee I headed back to the trailer. It is still only 46°F outside so there are not too many sitting around. Once it warms up I'll make a round of the park with the camera.

I took a walk around the campground during the early afternoon, but it was still too cool for many folks to be sitting out. Some were probably putting together their contributions to the pot luck. In any case, lots of photos of trailers. I did drive out to the Creekside campground to take a couple photos of a Casita 24. I'll add a few here, but many more are available at today's LakeshoreImages page or the 2026 Hungry Mother Gathering.

We did a group photo (well I included a few of them just in case you blinked during it. There is a fill size .jpg of each, but be sure you have the bandwidth to download them - they are around 12MB each. Since some complained that I'm not in the photo, check my shadow.

After the group photo we had a pot luck. Great food and lots left over. Again, more photos at the rally page or today's LakeshoreImages page.

Dinner was the pot luck.