Lacey Pate Poker Run

The Jacked Up Jeep Club out of Winter Haven, Florida runs a fundraiser each year to assist a young girl, Lacey Pate, with Kings Syndrome. There are only about three victims of this disease in the country so there are very few places for treatment of this disease that affects spine growth. Lacey has to under go an average of three surgeries annually to prevent severe curvature of the spine. The funds that come from this event are a big help to Lacey's family.

The Orlando Jeep Club, and other clubs in central Florida, turn out in good number to support the event. Our Orlando club met up at what must be the worlds largest McDonalds for the trip to Davenport, FL.

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There must have been about twenty-five jeeps from our club and we were the first to arrive at Posner Park Dodge, the  dealership  that provided space for holding the event's start and finish. By getting there early we got the first two rows by the highway to show off our jeeps.

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If you are not familiar with what a Poker Run is, you follow printed instructions to arrive at various checkpoints around the area. At each checkpoint you draw a playing card that will eventually give you a poker had at the end. Best hand wins! (best I could do was a pair of tens)

We got the chance to spend time at Bok Tower Gardens near Lake Wales, FL and also visited two restaurants along the way. Enough time is allotted to allow you to enjoy the stops, and we did stop at Cherry Pockets for a grouper sandwich.

Curt checks in with Elly. Our wives were on their own road trip to Miami.

Cherry Pocket Steak & Seafood Shack in Lake Whales, FL

The final stop was Web's Goat Fudge. This is evidently a very popular ice cream and candy shop on highway 27 not far off of Interstate 4. Who would have thought you could make fudge out of goats! I have seen goats up close. I passed on the fudge.

Anyway, the Jacked Up Jeep Club got a big turnout. There were close to a hundred jeeps. After the run was complete they held raffle drawings and had lots of grilled chicken and hot dogs. Everyone had a good time, and helped a nice young girl in the process.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

We finished up in Gaffney this morning and hit the road. It got down into the thirties last night and we were thoughtful enough to turn on the heat. It was pretty chilly this morning as we got ready to go. Cold enough in fact to affect the air pressure in the tires. Since I knew the technicians were to air up the tires to their proper pressure I thought I had better double check with them to be sure that the low pressure was indeed just temperature related. Turns out it was, so off we went.

We are stopping in Hardeeville, SC just short of Savannah, GA. We set up, but did not unhook the jeep. No place to go really. Even if we wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner all the places would be packed for Valentine's Day.

What did I get Barbara for Valentine's Day you ask? You know the holiday color is red, so I got her a nice expensive bottle of wine. I know you thought it would be something nice to wear, but at our age it might just be!

Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, SC

Six-thirty came pretty early this morning. It was in the low forties overnight here in the hills of northern South Carolina, and we did not turn the heat on before going to bed. The coffee maker started grinding away right on time to have us up and ready for the service technician’s arrival, but we were snug under the comforter and it took a while for me to muster up the courage to get up and bring two cups of java back to bed. But hey, a guy has to do what a guy has to do. (I also turned on the heat)

Wayne, great guy and he knows his stuff.

Wayne showed up a little after eight to take the coach into the service bay, so we headed off to Mr. Waffle! I don’t know about you, but we think there is nothing quite like breakfast at a country diner.

After breakfast we decided to explore the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. This is SC Hwy 11 and it winds its way up to Gaffney from the Georgia border. We did not have the time to travel the whole 115 miles each way, but we saw that there were some interesting old bridges within a reasonable drive. I wish I could say we had a nice day for the drive, but it was drizzling with low clouds that obscured any scenic views. It was nice countryside for a ride, though, and the bridges we found were cool. Two of the four we saw were not really accessible; you had to admire them from arms length. The other two, on the other hand have been incorporated into small park settings and were quite nice.

Campbell’s Bridge, built in 1909, is the last covered bridge in South Carolina.

Can't keep the girls out of the water.

The Poinsett Bridge was built in 1820 on what was then the state road from Greenville to Ashville. Today it is preserved, but not restored, miles away from the interstate that now connects those two cities.

The coach service was complete when we returned, so we bundled up inside to spend a grey afternoon with a good book. Tomorrow we will head back to Florida with a planned stop once again in Hardeeville, SC.

Gaffney, SC

It is February, so this must be Gaffney, SC.

Yep; we come to the Freightliner Service Center each year for our annual chassis service. Who knows this chassis better? They built it! We do it in February to take a shakedown run before our spring trip, which is usually started towards the end of March.

The last two years I showed pictures of the parking area we stay in overnight when we get here. I wised up and will show you some of the people that make it happen here. Here is Pat who handles appointments and acts as cashier, so she gets you here and then gets your money. She is a great person to talk to when you are trying to figure out what you are going to need to have done. She is very knowledgeable, and VERY nice.

Pat keeps everything sorted out!

Yesterday we drove to Hardeeville, SC and got set up before the rain started. We headed over to the home of Nina and Archie Sellew for dinner as the rain started. It got pretty nasty eventually, but wow, was dinner worth it. It is always a treat to visit Nina and Archie.

We got back to the RV to find that the bedroom slide seal is allowing water intrusion. This started in early December while I was at Ft. DeSoto, but I thought it was a function of the high winds that accompanied the rain. Now I know it is just a damned leak, and one that needs to be addressed or it will cause damage to the interior. We pulled the slide in to stop the leaking, but in the process scraped all the water off the side of the slide on the way in and dumped even more water on the carpet. Yuck, when it rains it pours, right? It rained all night and early morning. It sounded great on the roof, but kept me wondering where the water would be coming in next.

We had a good drive up to Gaffney. Most of it was under dry skies, but it is raining once again and expected to continue through the night. Yes, the slide is in.