We're full-timing now!!

Yesterday dawned gray and dreary. Then it started to rain. But that didn't change our excitement. It was finally the day we've been preparing for, for over nine months. The house is empty, the GMC and Nash are packed and we're ready for the beginning of our RV'ing adventure. The Garmin GPS was "Ready To Navigate".

Jenn and Mark came and picked up the washer/dryer. They also took the car-top carrier and some yard tools.
After hugs and kisses, we pulled out of the drive about 11am. Right on time.

First stop was Burlington to meet Gary's sister Glenda and her husband Arthur for lunch. Love that K&W food.

We're didn't go much further for the first day. Just up to Old Fort, NC. We stayed at a small family owned campground. Rich Jr. checked us in and helped us back into our first night site. Right on the Catawba River. I think I would have appreciated that more if it hadn't been pouring rain.
It did stop long enough for Ellie and I to enjoy a long walk beside the river. We then followed our usual travel habit and found the local Wal-Mart before having dinner at a great restaurant in Marion.

Today, we continued onward. Stopped at the Western Carolina Farmer's Market and purchased a wonderful smelling melon.
As we continued west the rain just kept increasing. It poured down as we crossed into Tennessee. I took a picture of the Welcome to Tennessee sign through the windshield and of course it was blurry. Rain..rain..rain.
But we motored on. We stopped at the Tennessee Welcome Center and had a needed break. Driving in the pouring rain through the winding curves of I-40 was very nerve racking. By the time we stopped Gary had a headache and really needed to rest for a while. After a "wonderful" cold ham sandwich we pushed on.
We made it to the Escapees Club Raccoon Valley RV campground about 3pm this afternoon. Very nice staff at check-in. Gave us lots of information about the campground and surrounding area. I got my first Escapees HUG. We've met several fellow full-timers already. And their dogs too. Ellie and I went on another walk, this time at the back of the campground. There are walking trails that go to a very nice meadow and then up the mountain. (We stuck to the meadow).
1 more trip to Wal-Mart was necessary as this campground has CABLE!! and we didn't bring a cable to use. How did we miss that??
We going to stay here for a couple of days. Spend a little time checking out Knoxville and the area. Night all, Deb