Saturday, January 5, 2013

"I got an adapter for that"

Hey Folks,

Well, I got back to Florida all safe and sound.  No one got hurt and nothing got broken but that's not to say it was boring.  The trip from Eastern Tennessee was a pleasure.  The mountain pass before Asheville was clear and dry,  29 degrees out,  but sunny.  After Asheville I exited off the Interstate and the rest of the trip, with the exception of a small portion of I-85, consisted of 4-lane and 2 lane to Perry.  It was exactly like I had dreamed all these years - leisurely travelling through farmland and curvy 2 lane.  As I said, a pleasure.

I arrived at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry after dark.  Perry is a little town south of Macon (which is south of Atlanta).  Not much to draw people to little old Perry but someone got smart and had the idea to build a huge complex to host the state fair, concerts and in the case of the weekend I was there, a regional horse show and regional dog agility show.  There's always something going on there and they have the infrastructure to support just about anything.

I checked in at the security gate and was told to "go to the clock tower and hang a left."  My site would be next to the flag pole.  "Can't miss it".  So I did.  The only problem was there was a very narrow arch in the way.  I knew I could fit but the first rule in towing a trailer is not to get yourself into a spot that you can't back out of.  I'm getting better at backing but knew I didn't want to attempt to extricate myself from that, especially in the dark.  It just didn't make sense that this was the way to the RV sites.  So I parked  and got out to look around.  Not only was there no RV site but on the other side of the arch was a landscaped pedestrian mall/courtyard complete with pavers, big potted plants and such.  It definitely was not to be driven over.

Just then I saw a guy in a golf cart who looked like he worked there.  I flagged him down and explained that I needed directions to my site.  He said no problem, just follow him.  What a relief.  I jumped back in the truck,  told the dogs to hang on, threw it in gear and looked up to see the guy drive right through the arch.  Oh well, when in Rome.

The arch The arch

IMGP2742Turns out that's how they roll at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter.  We just drive down the midway.  After a few twists and turns we ended up at the flagpole.  He came up to the truck and pointed to my site and told me to "just go on up a ways and back her in."  Up a ways was about 100 yards where I had to pull in between 2 buildings, back out to turn around, then back the 100 yards to my site.   I swallowed hard, looked at the dogs (who were not volunteering at all to take over) and just did it.   I actually made it look easy but in all actuality was quite amazed I pulled it off.

After coming to a stop in the site the golf cart guy came back.  He said that my site didn't have a sewer but I could share with my neighbor.  "I got an adaptor for that", he said, at which time he produced an extremely scary looking 4-way sewer adapter that he held up quite proudly (with ungloved hands).  Well, I have no degree in fluid dynamics but it seemed to me that if you hook up 2 RV sewer lines to an adaptor with 4 openings and those remaining openings aren't capped well then, something bad is gunna happen.  I inquired about same but he assured me "we do it all the time" and not to worry.  Again, that's how they roll at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter.  I said ok and thanked him for the escort.

Party line Party line

While I was settling in I saw my neighbor outside and said hello then directed his attention to our party line sewer arrangement.  He looked at it and agreed that it would be best to just use our tanks then when the time came to leave in a couple of days to proceed carefully.

My neighbor.  Yeah, his tanks are bigger then mine too. My neighbor. Yeah, his tanks are bigger then mine too.

IMGP2487The dog show turned out to be a good time.  I did well - not as many pictures sold as I would have wished but I always want to be able to do more.  All and all though I was busy most of the time and feel I made the right choice stopping here on the way home.  Again, I met some really nice people and some very talented dogs.

The show came to an end and as is always the case I keep the green screen booth set up until the last person leaves.  By the time I got back to LuLu my neighbor had left.  Obviously he didn't have a degree in fluid dynamics either because he had let his gray tank loose and covered the ground.  Quite a trajectory too I might add.  Lukily it didn't hit LuLu or my bike that I had locked to her wheel.  At least he had the good sense to not dump his black tank.

I left the complex with still enough light to take the pictures here of the arch and clock tower then had dinner and spent the night at my new favorite stopping over place - Cracker Barrel - this one just down the street from the fairgrounds.  Again, thank you Cracker Barrel.  This time I shared the parking lot with a number of RVs and horse trailers as the horse show had ended as well.

So, we're back where it's warm.  I'm planning some more dog show trips but probably without  LuLu.  Just going to keep it local for a while.  All and all a very enjoyable trip.  I'm a lot more confident towing and not as scared getting into unknown situations with LuLu.  Just next time I think I'll pack a few spare PVC pipe caps - just in case.

Inside the arena.  The back of the booth is on the bottom right. Inside the arena. The back of the booth is on the bottom right.

My humble booth My humble booth

teebrook2

3 comments:

  1. love the dog in front of the "ghetto" wall, he looks like a "player" Glad the trip went well with the exception of the wetlands! cant wait to hear of the next adventure. Welcome home.

    Dawn

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  2. Kevin,
    I jus took the time to read your blog - start to finish. Great work. You missed your calling in life as a humorist author! Of course, I might be a tad bit biased since you saw fit to advertise my law firm in your photos for all the web to see - not to mention my culinary abilities and the Low Country Boil I made in Orlando. Tis beautiful country where your Mom retired to isn't it! Can't wait ot go back up that way for another vacation - perhaps when its a little warmer then when we went the last time.
    Ron Slonaker

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  3. Thanks Ron. I appreciate that. Make sure Dawn keeps you current from now on. Oh yeah, the advertising in the Tennessee post was charged to your credit card. Thanks buddy.......

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