The weather this late in the fall is just about perfect as well.
But today we need to press on and, following GPS Lady's directions, today's travels take us inland and to the Cummins dealership in Kenly, North Carolina. Michael wants Alpine's "boy parts" given the once over and a full service, have the oil changed, and parts lubed before we are too much further into our westward trek. The Cummins dealer in Kenly is a full-service dealer and they conveniently offer water and electric hookups, as well as a lounge for RV-ers while you wait for your vehicle to be serviced. We have no idea how long all this will take but it needs to be done.
We retrace our steps back across Pea Island for 24 miles before turning west. I managed a good shot of this grand home, solitary with nothing around it for miles.
We drive back over the same bridge connecting the islands.
Just before leaving the Outer Banks to cross another bridge to Roanoke Island, I glimpsed these superb mansions, also on stilts, their front doors on the middle floor.
Route 64 takes us across historic Roanoke Island, where in 1585 English settlers tried to establish a colony, then mysteriously vanished without trace. And it is also here that the first English child, Virginia Dare, was born after their arrival. I assume that is why this county is called Dare County.
Back then, in 2002, I would look up at the big coaches we passed on the highway, wondering why anyone would choose to travel in something that enormous. And typically, it would be a gray-haired old couple, dwarfed by the large seats they were sitting in. I would comment (no surprise there!) that it looked quite silly to see such a little old man driving such a huge motor home. Twelve years later I finally see the sense of it all!
Another bridge connects us to the mainland. The next 28 miles take us through a marshy yet pretty peninsula. A waterway follows the road almost the entire way. It makes a perfect paddling trail, and is so still that it gleams like a mirror, reflecting the overhanging trees and undergrowth.
I notice a road sign saying that It is unlawful to feed bears along the highway.
A couple of churches appear each with its own little graveyard. That is one thing that is different from the west coast. There are very quaint churches of different denominations that hug main roads in the east, with adjoining old historic graveyards.
Sometimes, we whiz past small gravestones that appear out of nowhere. I need to be quick to be able to capture the scene which pops up quite unexpectedly.
We pass this old tumbled down abandoned house. It would be a perfect setting for Halloween. I wonder what stories it could tell, who built it, lived there and where they are now...
Then we cross the Alligator River. The drawbridge is open to let several boats through. This draw span pivots sideways unlike others I have seen that lift up.
There are more warnings about bears and red wolf crossings. I have never heard of red wolves. I would like to have seen one or even a bear.
We continue along this scenic byway, also called the Historic Albemarle Highway. We are now in farming country, the fields tilled and lying fallow after their harvest. I wonder what crops are typically grown right here.
A little further on, I notice a field of what looks like white flowers, then immediately realize that I am looking at cotton!
Eventually we see a harvester busy at work. A machine now accomplishes what slave labor once did here in the South.
And further along I notice orangey-brown leaves clinging to scraggly-looking bushes. I wonder if these are tobacco plants.
I have a good chuckle as I notice what is driving in the opposite stream of traffic - farm machinery on an interstate highway! This most definitely is a farming community.
At the junction of I-95 we veer south and eventually take the off-ramp to Truck Stop Road. We pass the Flying J Travel Plaza and pull in to the Cummins dealership.
They are still open and Michael hands them his laundry list of items he wishes to have checked. We back in to the RV hookup spot and settle for the night. Alpine will be worked on first thing in the morning.
Meanwhile we have all the comforts of home, and complimentary wi-fi, giving me the opportunity to catch up on posts (Camp Hatteras RV Park was great but their wi-fi connection was not). This may not be a perfect RV park but it's free and if we need to have work done, at least it's RV-friendly.
We spend the rest of the day in the lounge.
It turned out to be perfect timing for me to watch a Bernina webinar which kept me entertained for an hour. Bernina does a fine job with their software webinars. It gives them the opportunity to promote other products but also is a great way to showcase ideas and ways for using the Bernina embroidery digitizing software. I always learn something new about this complex software. Now if only I could remember and recall it all when I need it.
Around noon we set out in search of lunch at the Denny's which is conveniently located at the Flying J Travel Plaza just next door to Cummins. On our way, we pass harvested fields. The remaining white flecks are a clue that cotton was grown here and further along we notice that it was also stacked into bales.
We walked onto the fields and picked up the cotton to touch and feel it. It feels soft and fluffy and is surprisingly white despite lying on the soil.
4PM is quitting time at Cummins. There still is some diagnostic work that remains to be done. It will need to wait until the morning so we are spending one more night in this no-frills RV-friendly park. Hopefully there won't be any surprises tomorrow and we will be able to head out down the road to our next destination. We have good friends in Chapel Hill and plan to visit them next. But for tonight I plan to do some laundry and need to figure out how to use this compact washer/dryer on board Alpine.
Keeping fingers crossed that all goes well tomorrow....