Kenny, Here we Come!

 Day 44 - Saturday, August 27, 2022

Carrollwoods RV Campground and Vineyard, Tabor City NC

We are still having nice cool morning temperatures here in the Northeastern US, and already have a hint of sunrise at 6 am.  The parking lot at Cavendish Brewing Company is small, so for our early morning walk we go down the hill and across the street, where we find some lovely gardens. Herb checks out the sundial and sees that it is 8 am.

We learn that it is an educational garden, sponsored by Two Rivers Utilities, Gastonia's utility company.  There are rocks, blue vervain, roses, mulch, and a bush that looks like a variety of a pine tree.

I have always been interested in ecology, and the Stormwater Runoff panel explains how it is possible to get rid of harmful pollution when heavy rains wash them from the roads and parking lots and into the storm drains. One of the grasses mentioned here is Big Bluestem, a native prairie grass.  It towers above most other plants, reaching 4-8 feet, and is also called "Turkey Foot" because its seed spikes often branch to resemble a bird's foot.  I love the butterflies and sweet bluebird that grace the panel.

The planted areas in the center of this garden are known as a 'bioswale.'  Some rainwater is caught by the plants, which filter out contaminants rather than funneling them straight through the storm pipe and into a lake or river.  Deep rooted plats eat up the excess algae-growing nutrients and help water to be re-absorbed back into the soil.

We leave Cavendish around 10am and look forward to our next destination, which we have chosen after learning that a son-in-law, Kenny, has recently moved to North Carolina, and this is the closest campground to where he now lives. 

Since we are not on an Interstate highway, there are no Rest Areas where we might stop for lunch.   But a sign gets my attention -- apparently North Carolina has some peach orchards. There's a big parking lot, and to my delight the store not only sells peaches, but peach ice cream as well.  I see many cars at one end of their parking lot, so this speaks well for the popularity of the stop.

I do a bit of reasoning:  just like a Harvest Host, if we take advantage of their parking lot to have our lunch, we will make a purchase from their store.  

Did I really have to justify our purchase of peach ice cream?  It is yummy, containing bits of peaches.  The serving is so generous that it provides dessert for lunch and for tonight's dinner.

Traveling on toward Carrollwoods Campground, we arrive mid-afternoon to the check in and ask for a site where StarLink can see north in spite of the many trees in the campground.  We are given a choice of two, but actually neither works; however the campground has free high speed Internet!  Herb puts StarLink away and we settle in for the evening.  Mare's tails tell us it is windy here.