We left Wilmington and made the nearly six hour drive back to the RV repair shop to pick up our rig.  I forgot to mention in the last post that while we were in Wilmington, Appalachian RV confirmed that the forward A/C compressor was completely shot and the unit had some other burnt out parts, and thus we needed complete A/C replacement.  It turned out cheaper than I expected (about $1,200) but that is a pretty big unplanned budget hit.

Due to a failure on our part to take a reasonably diverse set of pictures during the three days this post covers, this will be a cat-centric set of photos.

We were fortunate that they had a replacement unit readily available: COVID-19 has resulted in weird boom in the RV industry (it seems people are seeking alternatives to air travel and crowded tourist locations,) people are out using their rigs more than ever, and the summer heat has resulted in a lot of broken air conditioners.

Whenever anyone else is around, PKM tends to be tolerant but a bit aloof.  When it is just the three of us, however, she is extremely affectionate and prefers to spend a good portion of the day cuddling.

Anyway, we pulled in to their lot, maneuvered Serenity out, hooked up Loki, and made our way to Jason and Emmie’s in Black Mountain for a night.   This time we were better prepared for the low phone line!   There was but one minor inconvenience: in the course of repairs the repair shop had used our 50 to 30 amp adapter, and upon completion of the work left it in the vicinity of their electric connection pedestal rather than put it back in our storage area.  We didn’t realize this until I was trying to connect up power to Jason and Emmie’s house.  Fortunately it was but a short drive back to Marion, and I found our adapter in short order.

Finding comfort where she can during our trip back from Wilmington.

As I alluded to in our last post, we are just not happy with long car rides anymore, especially when the cat is with us.  It would likely be quite different if we had even an entry level new model car, but Loki is a 23 year old miniature jeep with a rag top, a lot of wind noise, and few comfort features.  While it is perfect as a tow behind and “get around town” vehicle, it is generally not a comfortable ride for long distances.   Accordingly, we will have to look extra hard at future side trip planning.   4

This is us backing down Jason and Emmie’s street  for about a quarter of a mile.

We only imposed on Jason and Emmie for one night in their driveway before heading to Lake Powhatan, a national forest recreation and campground area southwest of Asheville.  It is quite the popular spot for both day use and campers, especially on the weekend, so we felt lucky to secure a two day reservation.  To give you an idea how popular it is, upon check in for our the camp host noted we had one of the electric and water sites (most in the campground are dry camping only) and asked if we had made our reservation six months in advance.  We had not, of course, but did get lucky on a late cancellation.

Our site at Lake Powhatan.  “Powhatan” is both the name of the Algonquin confederacy of tribes living in the tidewater region of Virginia when English settlers established Jamestown, and the informal name of their chief, Wahunsenacawh, who was the father of Matoaka, popularly known as Pocahontas.  

The campground is, in most regards, exactly what we prefer: spacious sites under a forest canopy with plenty of green space between you and the neighbors, and located within easy driving distance to basic amenities.  The proximity of Asheville, a very interesting city, is also a bonus.  If there is one drawback, it is the near total lack of cell service in the park: visitors are advised to plan ahead, particularly if you want to be on top of the news or have TV and movie’s to watch.  We had a lovely couple of days there, and even got to meet several members of the volunteer camp hosting staff. 

This is a short post for a short couple of stops,  Next up: Waynesville, NC and another pricey private RV resort.

Totally not staged, I swear.  PKM decided to sleep-guard my money clip.  You can see by the top bill we are both high rollers.