A weekend trip to Ocracoke

It finally looks like the weather is going to be decent for the weekend, so we make reservations on the Cedar Island - Ocracoke Ferry for 5 PM on Friday and head out in the RV. On the way over, we discover that Tina and Doug Gilcrest are on the same Ferry, so they join us for the ride over in the RV. A great trip..


We arrive well after dark and find the parking lot near the ferry terminal which is the boat ramp works perfectly.
A great night's sleep and after a very slow start Sat morning, we just ride a little, walk on the beach, and relax the whole day. We end up in the parking lot beside the National Seashore Ocracoke Campgroud. Nobody's around and it is really quiet. I've taken a walk on a nature trail, and been down to the beach several times just enjoying.

We did need some water for "dry" camping, so I checked at the Ferry dock and they directed me to the state maintenance facility. Well, I obviously got the wrong place. After getting about a half tank, a couple guys come out and tell me that I'm at the water company facility and they ask us to leave - which we promptly do (but we have enough water so no problem).

Return from Orlando

Evan learns how to read - in the RV

We bought a book on space at Kennedy Space Center, and Anna helped learn how to read it.

Universal Studios

We took Tuesday off and relaxed, got some work done on the RV (oil change), and did a little shopping. It had been record breaking cold in Florida, and it was getting warmer each day. We figured if we wanted a day, it would be warmer for our trip to Universal Studio and Sea World.

On Wednesday, we were off to Universal Studios. It was quite the day. We arrived early in the day. There weren't many people. We started visiting the different "movies" where there were some very realistic affects, including smell, misting water, wind and everything else to make the experience real.

We had a remarkable experience at one of the shows. The show featured a lot of trained animal, and Evan was chosen from the audience to participate. It was absolutely the highlight of the entire trip to watch Evan on stage.

Kennedy Space Center

After arriving at Orlando KOA Campground in Kississmme Sunday, we decided that our first adventure would be to the Kennedy Space Center, which was about an hour from us. We got a rental car and headed out to an exciting day learning about the U. S. space program and some pretty incredible rides.

The kids got to see the airplane (T-38) that PaPa flew a long time ago. We rode in a simulator like we were in the cargo bay of the space craft. That was really neat - and realistic.

Three were a couple of great 3-D movies.

http://picasaweb.google.com/DaveandClaraInscoe/20100111TripToOrlandoWithAnnaAndEvan?authkey=Gv1sRgCLnqmuzWoci6bQ##

First trip in the RV

Now, it's time to see what RVing is all about. Evan and Anna are on "track out" (year round school) until mid January 2010. We decide that a fun trip will be to go to Orlando, Florida for our first "test cruise". We pick them up and head South.

We are on a steep learning curve with every aspect of RV travel, but have heard that you can spend the night in your RV at Wal Marts, so we stop near Savannah Ga. for our first night. They really do let you stay in their parking lot. We tuck up in a corner of the lot and spend a delightful evening learning more about the RV. The kids get a kick out of walking across the parking lot to Wal Mart for an evening stroll. The next day we head to Orlando.

The RV rounds out all we need

With the purchase of a RV, we feel that we're truly ready to retire. 10 years ago, we built a home on Apple Mountain near Spruce Pine, and then more recently, we purchased a 32 foot Island Packet Sailboat "Eureka". With this and the RV, we can head into retirement with the knowledge that we have places to go and things to do.

Buying the RV

In 2009, Dave decided it was time to retire. We weren't sure what that would mean, but we started setting a goal to be retired and ready to do whatever is next by the summer of 2010.

We started thinking about buying a RV. We had discussed renting one the previous summer, but never got around to it. We started researching in earnest, and by December, we were narrowing down our choices.

Then in December, on a trip to the mountains, we found what we thought might be the right one - a 31 foot Class C Fleetwood Tioga. Clara set her price and eventually, she got her price, which seems like it was a good deal.