~Monday, November 1, 2021~
Day 505
So nice to be back at a familiar campground, kind of like coming back to your “cabin in the woods”, after traveling so many other new and unfamiliar places for so long. Goose Creek State Park is one of our favorite parks, so I hesitate sharing this gem of a place with ya’ll, for fear if the word gets out, it might jeopardize our getting in, in the future. But I decided to divulge it because I’d like ya’ll to have the experience of staying here. We don’t know any other state park that has campsites this well-spaced between each other and in such a beautiful setting. Though we have full-hookups, the sun exposure is perfect too for people that desire only solar power. In terms of sightseeing, there’s not a whole lot to do here….a few short hiking trails and the Pamlico River close by for kayaking. But if it’s sightseeing you’re after (there are a few plantations nearby), you’d have to drive about an hour for that. For us, it was the perfect layover spot and a beautiful sunny day to boot.....warm enough for taking care of a few chores. We really have missed the sunshine, the chores not so much.
Jeff started work on a “Campground’s Visited” spreadsheet with 20+ categories that we hope will help with future bookings when we return to many of them. If we’re happy with the results of our compilation, it might even make its way in some format, to our website/travel blog. So stay tuned.
After such damp weather in Gettysburg and prior, Jeff thought it would be a good idea to lay out all of our soggy equipment today to dry in the nice, warm sun. His other accomplished tasks were lubricating the slide tracks, putting conditioner on the slide seals, and lubricating all the squeaky hinges inside the trailer. My task was cleaning 4 awnings, top and undersides. 2 of the awnings are over the slides (which are white...so imagine how much dirt shows on those). The other 2 awnings are on the “living” side of the trailer which have varying shades of gray and do a better job of camouflaging the dirt. There were a few stubborn sap and dirt spots, but came up with a trick that actually worked very well. Take 2 cotton pads, one with nail polish remover on it, the other with water. Gently apply the nail polish remover over the spot, let sit for about 10 seconds, then wipe off with the water cotton pad (the key is to not leave any harsh chemicals on the fabric). Thank goodness they weren’t too bad for bleach to be required. Anyway, it must have taken about 3 hours to get them whipped into better shape, but I’m not done yet. Next for the conditioning which will have to wait until the next campground. If we stay on top of all this maintenance, these awnings should last a long time. 🤞 Awning fabric can be so expensive. Even if we were to install the fabric ourselves, we’d be looking at a replacement cost of $3,000 just for one. So it’s absolutely worth the time and effort.
A great day just being at the campsite, getting stuff done (which always feels good), while soaking up solar happiness! Enjoyed a great evening fireside while talking to my bestie Michele back in California. It was fun hearing all about her recent visit to New York with her son, though not about the airport debacle trying to get home. Airline travel is so messed up these days!