McGaffs On The Fly

Hanging with the McGaff’s in Dallas is not for the faint of heart; it is a full time job of “projects”, babysitting (a young persons game) and plenty of scary movies at night. Just when I thought I would ease into retirement with sweet Joanie, work broke out.

And…I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This I can tell you,

You will get a full nights sleep after babysitting a 20 month old all day.

There are always “projects” that need to be done.

Family time is the best.

Jojo and Zeusy are tired…a good tired.

Home on Friday, still waiting on my two special appearance bloggers to send me their write ups…clocks ticking.

After waking early and getting on the road in Nashville, we dashed across TN and AR running from Delta and made it safely to TX without much bad weather. Our 11+ hour drive was the longest we’ve made on any day of our adventures and mutually agreed to be our longest we will ever drive.

We woke up early on Saturday and hustled to Blaine’s, I certainly didn’t want to miss the big game…after all, TEXAS is back. Follow up, I hate college football.

Here through Friday, Baby Fi time.

Things we’ve learned, thought about or hallucinated about on our loooong drive Friday.

Tennessee is wider than it is long.

No matter the big city name, drivers are aggressive and are mean to Little Al and I.

I35 doesn’t have anything on I40, both are crazy busy roads.

Arkansas is just as long as it is wide.

Joanie is really a nice front seat passenger, but I am still not going to let her drive.

Graceland will have to wait until next trip for Joanie, it’s not like Elvis is going anywhere.

Texarkana is just as nice on the TX side as the AR side…not moving to either.

We are very picky on the type of RV Park we will stay at…unless we have been driving 11 hours and it’s 9pm. We stayed with the banjo kid from Deliverance on Friday night.

Every few miles we pass the Mississippi River or the Red River, were we going the right way?

There is no place like home, there is no place like home, there is no place like home.

We are not home yet, just closer and with family…that’ll do pig.

We made it safely to Tennessee and have Little Al parked across the street from the Grand Ole Opry at the Nashville KOA Resort. At night you can actually hear the ghosts of Chet Atkins, Roy Acuff, Hank Williams and Patsy Cline sing into the night…pretty cool but just a little spooky and we just want to sleep.

Yesterday, based on recommendations from some close friends, we took a day trip to Franklin and Leiper’s Fork. Both towns were pretty awesome in their own way, but Leiper’s Fork stood out…very quaint town with a small town atmosphere, all star pork BBQ (as if pork is real bbq) and big town art studios.

Getting up early and heading west running from Delta…destination unknown.

After leaving Brett and Jim’s condo in Arlington and fighting the early morning commuters (so sad people have to have jobs), we picked up Little Al and headed south with no real destination but an idea of where we wanted to land.

We ended up finding a great spot at the Down By The River Campground in Pineola, NC. Good news, they had one spot left and it was all ours. News alert: whenever you call a campground 99% of them will tell you they have “one spot left”. Interestingly enough, 99% of the time the campgrounds have mega spots open when we arrive.

Anyway…from this locale we were able to accomplish all we wanted; visit our good friends the West’s (outdoor social distance with a much needed chimenea), check out the city of Boone, hike to Linville Falls & Beacon Hikes, get rejected for no reservation at Grandfather Mountain, and enjoying such beautiful scenery throughout.

Turns out the Outer Banks may no longer be Joans favorite, she was really digging this area.

For the last two nights of Bretts “Griswold Vacation” we decided to stay at a b&b in Yorktown, VA. Joanie and I had been here years earlier for a wedding and really wanted to come back and explore the area. The owners and staff went out of their way to keep everything as normal as possible while at the same time going out of their way to ensure social distancing.

The area has so much history capped by The Battle of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War. It was such an important battle because if the Americans would have lost there’s a good chance now we would all be speaking English…oh hold on.

On Saturday Joan and Brett took a day trip to Colonial Williamsburg to see what that town had to offer while I spent the afternoon getting my heart broken, again, by my favorite college football team. They spent the day walking the streets but most activities and/or events had been cut way back or closed altogether. I spent the rest of the day reminiscing of “what could have been”.

On Sunday we took it easy in Yorktown checking out the city and enjoying the local open market. We finished the day with a driving tour of the battle of Yorktown, you could almost hear George’s wooden teeth rattling as we drove through the beautiful sites.

The 2 weeks with our sweet little girl flew by and we delivered her back to Arlington, VA safe and sound to her waiting husband. A few game of cards, a nice sleep in the pull out couch and on to pick up Little Al for our last adventure south.

Best of the best was the Yorktown Pub where we had at least 3-4 meals sitting in their newly constructed outdoor tent. We definitely received our seafood fix each day with great chowder, gumbo, seafood and appetizers. It’s ok though, we’ll workout in the morning…

On to Boone, NC.

We spent the last two days at our home away from home in the Outer Banks at The Refuge On Roanoke Island RV Park. Although we didn’t get Joanie’s request of shade for Marco, Ron did give us an awesome spot right on the water…just watch out for snakes or alligators.

The great weather and beautiful beach provided the best backdrop for a wonderful beach experience in Nags Head. Comparing this beach to anywhere else we’ve beached wouldn’t be fair to “the other places”…this place is the best.

Breaking News: This is Joanie’s “most favorite” place we’ve been on this trip and at the top for fave US destination.

Just like all of the places we’ve been since picking up that bad influence Brett, this trip was highlighted by lots of eating and drinking. She does not fool me with her early morning rage workouts for a “good health”…it’s obvious it’s all about the eating.

Our best recommendations are Old Nags Head Cafe for the best breakfast, Bodie Island Lighthouse for the best sunset, Fish Heads Bar & Grill for the best peel and eat shrimp special, O’Neil’s for fresh seafood, The Lost Colony Brewery for local beer, and Miller’s Waterfront Sunset Bar & Grill for sunset drink and appetizers. Oh, don’t forget about Duck Donuts…only good if you drive out of your way to the town of Duck, classic Joanie.

After getting an early start on our drive north to The Outer Banks, later than planned because of a darn exercise class breaking out, we decided to break up the drive with another Harvest Host stop in Pikeville, NC. We called A Secret Garden Winery and spoke to Linda, the owner, who saved a spot for us and the added bonus of electricity…no sweaty sheets tonight!

When we arrived, Linda met us and gave us a full tour of the vineyard, as well as the full process of making the wine. She took up this “little hobby” over 15 years ago and sells only out of her retail store, now she only gives tours and opens with reservations. When we called to tell her we were running late because we were stopping for lunch, she asked if “we wanted meatloaf sandwiches,” as that’s what they had for dinner last night. Her wine selection and wonderful hospitality was truly a pleasure. She won’t compete with Silver Oak for process or quality but I’m sure we couldn’t get a leftover dinner offer in Napa either!

Our evening and overnight stay may not have been quite as pleasant, the moment we climbed into Little Al the skies open up and didn’t stop raining until 5 in the morning. It’s usually fun to sleep in the rain but always worrying about leaks (none), tornadoes (none), getting stuck in the field (did not) and spider monkeys (one)…made the night last f o r e v e r.

On to The Outer Banks…

Just when we got used to living in a 19’ capsule where every square inch of space is either occupied or getting ready to be, a true sense of liberation came to all three of us when we checked into our Airbnb. Usually a small, less than 1000 sq ft, condo would seem tiny in many comparisons…to us it was more like a mansion. Tomorrow is going to be a tough night, not that I don’t enjoy Joanie’s spider monkey body taking 90% of the bed…it’s just…

We’ve spent the last two days enjoying Surfside Beach with early morning walks and just sitting on the beach reading and people watching. The state, and city, are very clean and the beach is beautiful without much trash at all.

We’ve had the chance to be “locals” just taking it easy and driving our golf cart to the beach for the day. Local restaurants have provided great breakfast, lunch and dinners at great prices for delicious meals. Great breakfast at Eggs Up Grill, lunch/dinner with the best seafood salad at Conch Cafe and today a good lunch at Bubba’s Fish Shack.

On to The Outer Banks tomorrow, we have a Harvest Host winery set on the way up…onward with two of my favorite girls.

I can remember a telephone party line, a busy signal, dial-up internet, and even Fortran punch cards…when will Moore’s Law actually make its way to these RV Park’s WiFi?

Sorry, got off track but the reason my blogs are so slow.

What a great city Charleston is and what a great time to be here with very little tourist traffic. Joanie wore Brett and I out demanding to see each and every crevice the city has to offer, if we missed a cemetery along the way then it is well hidden. We had a full two days of walking, eating, visiting dead people, eating, old buildings…did I say eating?

The highlight of our visit was a trip to Fort Sumter follow by our time spent on Folly Beach.

We took a quick 30 minute boat ride to Fort Sumter where Ranger Barney took his 20 minutes of fame to tell us all that we wanted to know about the civil war and how the Fort fit into it. The fort actually goes back to 1829 but most history during the civil war, and even as a lookout for u-boats during WWII.

Our time spent on the Folly Beach was wet as Hurricane Beta chased us across the state. We did get to watch quite a few folks fishing off the pier, not a lot of catching but a lot of fishing.

After wearing Little Al out in the road for over a month, we’ve decided to book an Airbnb in Myrtle Beach…can’t wait to stretch out.