Day1, July 10, Thursday, Savannah, GA (318 miles)
For the first time we are departing with our new tow car, a 2025 Ford Escape PHEV. The new car was a result of my previous tow car, a 1998 Honda Civic with 90,000 miles on the odometer plus another approximately 125,000 tow miles, being t-boned in February. I survived with a little whiplash but the Honda was totaled. The Ford has so much electronic gadgets that it took 5 weeks for my car guy to figure out how to install the auxiliary braking system. I followed the Ford tow instructions which I printed and highlighted and began to depart our home. Within about 100 feet I could hear the car tires screeching and I immediately stopped. I tried again following the instructions and same problem. 20 minutes later I determined the parking brake was engaged. Why? I have no idea as I never use the parking brake. I found the answer as to how to turn the parking brake off on page 231 of the 590 page manual. And the car did not even come with the manual but I had to insist the dealer get me one. Did I mention I miss my Honda. We arrived at Biltmore RV Park (FHU) about 5:30 and I got plugged in just as the storm started. So much for dinner out and a walk around town as we just stayed in the RV. At least we did not blow over!
Day 2, July 11, Friday, Roanoke Rapids, NC (385 miles)
Travel Day. Night at RV Resort at Carolina Crossroads (FHU).
Day 3, July 12, Saturday, Williamsburg, VA (118 miles)
Easy drive to American Heritage RV Park (FHU). Afternoon visit with our friends Rob & Carol who we haven’t seen in 2 years. Great dinner at 2nd Street Grill at which I had the second best shrimp and grits I ever had (Barracuda Bob’s still the best!). Topped off with a free birthday sundae. Rosemary had the salmon. A great visit with friends and great food made for a great birthday.
Day 4, July 13, Sunday, Clarksboro, NJ (278 miles)
What was supposed to be an easy driving day turned out to be anything but. Google Maps routed us onto I-295 to supposedly avoid Washington but we ended up on smaller roads with construction delays and terrible traffic backups. Then the storm came and the roads were like lakes. The approach over the Delaware River was tremendously backed up. But once onto the bridge it was smooth sailing to the Philadelphia South Clarksboro KOA (FHU). We arrived about 5:30 and had a relaxing dinner. We had a nice after dinner walk around the campground and no storm.
Day 5, July 14, Monday, Clarksboro, NJ / Philadelphia, PA
We actually got an early start (for us) and departed the coach about 9:25 for about a 20 minute drive to downtown Philadelphia and the Center City Pretzel Co. Philly is known for its pretzels although maybe not as much as its cheese steak sandwich. After parking, we were accosted by an unpleasant aroma. Turns out the city garbage collectors union has been on strike for 2 weeks and the garbage was piled high on the sidewalks. Despite the smell, we walked on and bought pretzels in 3 different shapes. Then off to the Barnes Museum. We had been there before in 2014 and enjoyed it tremendously. This time there were several areas closed for renovations but we still enjoyed it. Large collection of Renoir and Cezanne and several of Van Gogh and Picasso. Next we walked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art including up all the stairs that Rocky Balboa climbed in the movie. Along the way we picked up yogurts from Target which we ate at the Museum’s café together with our pretzels. The Museum is very large with many objects from various time periods. Of course, we especially love the Impressionists. Next we walked around Chinatown and had dinner at Spice C, a Szechuan cuisine. We had a hand drawn noodle stir fry and a shaved noodle brisket soup. We ate here in 2014 and enjoyed it. This time was ok but not great. We had hoped to go to the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival in the evening but it was canceled due to approaching storms. We got back to the coach just a few minutes before the storms started. A fun day which should portend a good night’s sleep.
The Barnes Museum
