Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2008: 11  

  We had just wrapped up our stay at home and were on the road again.

  Monday, October 27, was the beginning of our trip south for the winter. We had lots of last minute details to take care of before we left the house in two vehicles at about 8:00 AM. We drove to Rio Grande. Bill filled the RV with gas and then parked and joined Cathy at Starbucks for breakfast. We quickly got into vacation mode and read the NY Times with our coffees and light food. Bill had already done the puzzle online at around 6:00 AM in a good time (10 minutes) for Bill. After eating, we drove the XTerra into Wildwood to drop off our two cable boxes and cable modem to Comcast. Then we went to get the RV and continued to our storage lot, where we dropped the XTerra. We finally were really on the road again at 9:30 AM. Traffic wasn't too bad and the weather was good, so we made good time. We stopped at a rest area near Carlisle, PA for a fresh fruit lunch, thanks to Cathy. As we proceeded down the Cumberland Valley on I81, we enjoyed the fall colors on the mountains. Somewhere on the road we must have passed Katie, Tom, and Rachel as they drove from Roanoke to Doylestown. We talked to them as we were entering Virginia and they were arriving at their home. We decided to stop in Salem for the night. We picked up a pizza from the Salem Pizza Hut. Cathy had ordered it when we were stopped for gas up the road. We drove to the Dixie Caverns Campground, registered, and set up camp. Cathy heated up the pizza in our oven. Bill set up the new TV, but our coax cable segment must be bad because the cable reception wasn't any good. Bill cranked up the antenna and we got half-decent reception on the local Fox channel to watch the World Series. The campground had free wi-fi, so we were able to get email and surf the web. Bill caught up on this journal entry.

  Tuesday morning it was in the low 30s in the campground when Bill arose at 6:00 AM. He put on his headlamp and puttered around for a while until Cathy got up. We broke camp and were on the road in the dark. We stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel and bought a few presents for Sarah and Billy. The day was beautiful, but chilly and windy. We ran into some snow flurries near Hillsville, VA just before coming down from the mountains. Driving was easy again. We did two crossword puzzles as we drove. We stopped for lunch near the South Carolina/Georgia border and ate a fruit lunch in the RV. The GPS guided us flawlessly. We stopped at Publix on the way to Son Bill and Stacey's house where we arrived at about 3:30 PM. We found gas prices down to about $2.29 per gallon around Cumming. Son Bill, Stacey, and the kids arrived home at about 6:45 PM. We enjoyed a lasagne meal that Stacey had prepared in advance and Cathy had heated. We played with the kids for a while until their bedtime. The rest of us retired fairly early.

  Wednesday started at 35 degrees and clear. Bill awoke at 6:00 AM and solved the Times crossword while waiting for the others to arise. Later in the morning, we drove to Home Depot on Route 20 to get a screw for the door latch in the RV. One of the screws came loose on our trip and made the door impossible to close tightly. Bill located a working alternative for the screw and fixed the latch. Then we went to Atlanta Bread for lunch. We had healthy lunches and espresso drinks and read a newspaper. We stopped at Publix on the way back to Son Bill and Stacey's house. We also stopped for gas for the RV and found $2.34 regular at the local BP station. Bill made pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts for dinner. After the kids went to bed, we watched a slightly boring Obama infomercial and then a very exciting end to the World Series. Our son-in-law Phil was at all of the games played in Philly.

  Thursday morning's low temperature was 28 degrees. It warmed up slowly and became sunny and cool. We dropped the kids at daycare and then went to the Starbucks in the nearby Krogers for espresso drinks and newspapers. We ate lunch at Jason's Deli in the Johns Creek area. The food was OK. We picked up a pizza at a Super Target and then picked up the kids at daycare. When we got home, we loaded the kids in the wagon and hauled them up and down a couple of big hills in the neighborhood. We had the pizza for dinner and watched a "Tinker Bell" dvd with the kids.

  Friday was Halloween. The day started at 31 degrees, but it was sunny and clear later in the morning. We dropped the kids at daycare and then headed over to Starbucks. We walked back to daycare later and watched the kids' Halloween parades (video1, video2). We ate lunch at Panero Bread, which is our favorite restaurant in that ilk. During the early evening hours, Bill went with Stacey and the kids for trick or treating on their street, while Cathy gave out candy at the house. Afterward, we all participated in giving out candy to a horde of kids in costume. We had leftover pasta for dinner.

  Saturday started out cold but ended up very mild and sunny. Stacey brought lunch from Panera Bread for lunch. After lunch, Bill changed into shorts and Cathy and Bill pulled Billy and Sarah, in their wagon, around the neighborhood. Halfway, at the entrance to the development, they stopped at the community playground for 30 minutes. We grilled chicken and vegetables for dinner. Bill and Son Bill managed to watch some college football games during the afternoon and evening.

  Sunday morning wasn't quite so cold. We turned our clocks back an hour. About mid-morning, Bill and Cathy pulled Billy and Sarah around the neighborhood with a stop at the playground. All of us except Son Bill went out to lunch at Pizza Hut. After lunch they went to "Catch Air", an indoor playground with lots of inflatable activities. The kids (and Bill) loved it. After we arrived back to Son Bill and Stacey's house, we all drove to Sawnee Park in Cumming for some walking and playing in the playground. When we returned, we had a Swedish Meatballs dinner for the carnivores and Garden Burgers for Bill.

        Bill and Cathy