Nov 2: Charleston, WV
Weather: 57F/35F
Nope, can’t say that things turned out exactly as planned. But gotta admit they aren’t too shabby either. The perks are perkier than I originally thought they would be. And the payroll isn’t bad either. No, by itself it is not enough to live on extravagantly, but between the per diem and sponsorships, while I may not be moving Benny into the Ritz Carlton anytime soon, I certainly won’t have us homeless either even if it is a continuation of our Van Life.
First off, they are giving me a fuel allowance that is more than sufficient if I understand their itinerary and plan. I know the Ark doesn’t sip gas, but I won’t need to fill up both tanks every day. Far from it. Second, it looks like there could be several non-state park camping opportunities. Up to 14 locations. It is my job to find overnight accommodations that don’t break the bank. They were willing to front the cost of hotels and I asked if I could find alternative spots such as RV sites, boondocking, Harvest Host sites, etc. They weren’t thrilled with the idea of boondocking, didn’t care for the idea of wallydocking at all, and I agreed to try and avoid both if at all possible, especially the wallydocking since I wasn’t keen on it myself. I asked if they had any objections to KOAs since I already had a contact and they agreed to that as well and in fact KOA may be one of our sponsors. There are currently 24 KOAs in Florida, but several haven’t completed all the repairs from the hurricane damage, so hopefully at least one or two of the locations will be of some use.
I was getting a little worried that something was up. And in a way it was. I’m going to have a “partner.” Ranger Rick to be exact. I’m not sure how I feel about that though I can see it from their side of things. They want someone, a liaison of sorts, to make sure that they and the State are getting what they are paying for. I could have taken it as an insult, but I haven’t. Business is business. I won’t find out how this “partnership” will work until I meet with Rick once we arrive in Florida. I’m just going to have to keep the heebies under control until then, trust that the job is providential therefore it will all work to the good, and have patience to find out the final details.
It seemed like that meeting took all day, but it didn’t. Rather than lose time getting a hotel room or looking for a boondock of some type I decided to drive as far as I could and then deal with it. I needed to re-stock the pantry, but they specified that all the money I received for groceries, fuel, etc. must be spent in Florida. I understand that caveat and all it did was motivate me to get back to Florida as quickly as possible.
It was a minimum thirteen-hour drive if I didn’t stop and that was a big nope given the hour of the day and how tired I already was. The last couple of days have been hard with a capital hamster. I wasn’t even sure if it was a good idea to make it half that distance, so I simply started to drive. I headed west on I64 and kept going, aiming for Nashville despite the traffic nightmare I was likely to encounter. I timed it about right; six hours of driving and I was done and done in. The TA Travel Center was our first stop and I managed to find us a spot at a Nashville KOA for the night, a miracle in and of itself given this time of year is popular. I drove here and I’m finished locking down. I’m exhausted. The one thing that disturbed me was that Groucho and Stella were heading out with some friends to a “compound” in the Georgia mountains when I called to let them know the sitch. Apparently these are some of Groucho’s sketchy friends from his past. Or they are sketchy to me but not to him and Stella.
And now I know what some of their “stress” was and maybe what was coloring how they were interacting with me. It looks like their place in Lake City is being taken by eminent domain to widen US90. I thought Groucho would be up in arms about it but he says not, that he has another offer at this “compound” thing and he, Stella, and Kirkland are moving even further north. Garrett has also had an offer from these same (and mutual) friends.
Maybe Groucho … or more likely Stella with her intuition … knew this was coming, it might be why he has been all but pushing me to build my own network. Part of me wants to have hurt feelings which is more than stupid. I always knew I was on my own with Benny. I suppose this is the motivation that I’ve needed to be more proactive. And to finally accept that YOYO (you’re on your own) is my future, not just a temporary existence.
And … I called Uncle Daniel. He already wants to know where we can do a meet up. He wants to see me “and the boy.” I told him I would keep him in the loop and would let him know as soon as I knew what our schedule would be. I must be over tired or insane, I was dialing before I put enough thought into it and now I’m stuck. I know what everyone would expect of me; Grandma Barry, Dad, Lawrence, and even Grandfather Barry. I know what I should do as a Barrymore … family is very important. But I just don’t know. I’ve been careful about having any kind of toxicity in our lives. There’s a past with Uncle Daniel … both good and bad, and the bad was possibly worse than I know because it was kept from me. But then there is Benny. If something happens to me … and we’re done. I am not going down that thought path; it’s guaranteed to get the hamster into Hulk-mode.
And geez, for this to be the heart of Dixie it sounds more like Mogadishu out there. They put the giant RVs on the outside rows … I’m told they can serve a 102-foot length luxe RV here … and they put the softsides and tents in the center. There is a newer, tall brick wall around this place with concertina wire toping it but still, I know gunfire when I hear it. What the frick?!
The pool was closed so I didn’t have to argue with Benny about being too tired to use it. They closed it on 10/31. I hit the KOA camp store for a few things once we were in and hooked up. I grabbed two extra propane canisters … trading them for the two empties I had. We’ve got free wifi and free cable and Benny and crew are watching some kind of resort channel thing that tells about the area in a kid-friendly format. They have a café for takeout and I’ve already put in an order for a to-go breakfast and the lady promised to personally make sure that we got the gluten-free options as she has a daughter with GS and completely understands. See what I mean about gluten sensitivity? It is everywhere it seems.
Benny has some wiggle left but is winding down finally. I’m flipping exhausted and it hasn’t been helped by all the people wanting to know how I’m doing. Pei was at the top of that list and about the only one that didn’t rub me like static cling. She’s also the only one I really gave details to. Until this job starts and proceeds normally, I’m keeping things close to the vest. When it starts I’ll give out a few more details, but until then nope. I just deflect the too personal stuff and just say we’re fine and there’s a plan on the horizon. I’ve answered most of the queries and only have a couple left. I’m going to finish those and then tell Benny we need to hit the hay. We’ve got another seven-hour drive ahead of us tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it even if we do wind up in Florida at the end of it. And I’ll be honest and admit that may be one of the reasons for my anxiety. We’ve come full circle, but I don’t know if that is a good thing or not.
Weather: 57F/35F
Nope, can’t say that things turned out exactly as planned. But gotta admit they aren’t too shabby either. The perks are perkier than I originally thought they would be. And the payroll isn’t bad either. No, by itself it is not enough to live on extravagantly, but between the per diem and sponsorships, while I may not be moving Benny into the Ritz Carlton anytime soon, I certainly won’t have us homeless either even if it is a continuation of our Van Life.
First off, they are giving me a fuel allowance that is more than sufficient if I understand their itinerary and plan. I know the Ark doesn’t sip gas, but I won’t need to fill up both tanks every day. Far from it. Second, it looks like there could be several non-state park camping opportunities. Up to 14 locations. It is my job to find overnight accommodations that don’t break the bank. They were willing to front the cost of hotels and I asked if I could find alternative spots such as RV sites, boondocking, Harvest Host sites, etc. They weren’t thrilled with the idea of boondocking, didn’t care for the idea of wallydocking at all, and I agreed to try and avoid both if at all possible, especially the wallydocking since I wasn’t keen on it myself. I asked if they had any objections to KOAs since I already had a contact and they agreed to that as well and in fact KOA may be one of our sponsors. There are currently 24 KOAs in Florida, but several haven’t completed all the repairs from the hurricane damage, so hopefully at least one or two of the locations will be of some use.
I was getting a little worried that something was up. And in a way it was. I’m going to have a “partner.” Ranger Rick to be exact. I’m not sure how I feel about that though I can see it from their side of things. They want someone, a liaison of sorts, to make sure that they and the State are getting what they are paying for. I could have taken it as an insult, but I haven’t. Business is business. I won’t find out how this “partnership” will work until I meet with Rick once we arrive in Florida. I’m just going to have to keep the heebies under control until then, trust that the job is providential therefore it will all work to the good, and have patience to find out the final details.
It seemed like that meeting took all day, but it didn’t. Rather than lose time getting a hotel room or looking for a boondock of some type I decided to drive as far as I could and then deal with it. I needed to re-stock the pantry, but they specified that all the money I received for groceries, fuel, etc. must be spent in Florida. I understand that caveat and all it did was motivate me to get back to Florida as quickly as possible.
It was a minimum thirteen-hour drive if I didn’t stop and that was a big nope given the hour of the day and how tired I already was. The last couple of days have been hard with a capital hamster. I wasn’t even sure if it was a good idea to make it half that distance, so I simply started to drive. I headed west on I64 and kept going, aiming for Nashville despite the traffic nightmare I was likely to encounter. I timed it about right; six hours of driving and I was done and done in. The TA Travel Center was our first stop and I managed to find us a spot at a Nashville KOA for the night, a miracle in and of itself given this time of year is popular. I drove here and I’m finished locking down. I’m exhausted. The one thing that disturbed me was that Groucho and Stella were heading out with some friends to a “compound” in the Georgia mountains when I called to let them know the sitch. Apparently these are some of Groucho’s sketchy friends from his past. Or they are sketchy to me but not to him and Stella.
And now I know what some of their “stress” was and maybe what was coloring how they were interacting with me. It looks like their place in Lake City is being taken by eminent domain to widen US90. I thought Groucho would be up in arms about it but he says not, that he has another offer at this “compound” thing and he, Stella, and Kirkland are moving even further north. Garrett has also had an offer from these same (and mutual) friends.
Maybe Groucho … or more likely Stella with her intuition … knew this was coming, it might be why he has been all but pushing me to build my own network. Part of me wants to have hurt feelings which is more than stupid. I always knew I was on my own with Benny. I suppose this is the motivation that I’ve needed to be more proactive. And to finally accept that YOYO (you’re on your own) is my future, not just a temporary existence.
And … I called Uncle Daniel. He already wants to know where we can do a meet up. He wants to see me “and the boy.” I told him I would keep him in the loop and would let him know as soon as I knew what our schedule would be. I must be over tired or insane, I was dialing before I put enough thought into it and now I’m stuck. I know what everyone would expect of me; Grandma Barry, Dad, Lawrence, and even Grandfather Barry. I know what I should do as a Barrymore … family is very important. But I just don’t know. I’ve been careful about having any kind of toxicity in our lives. There’s a past with Uncle Daniel … both good and bad, and the bad was possibly worse than I know because it was kept from me. But then there is Benny. If something happens to me … and we’re done. I am not going down that thought path; it’s guaranteed to get the hamster into Hulk-mode.
And geez, for this to be the heart of Dixie it sounds more like Mogadishu out there. They put the giant RVs on the outside rows … I’m told they can serve a 102-foot length luxe RV here … and they put the softsides and tents in the center. There is a newer, tall brick wall around this place with concertina wire toping it but still, I know gunfire when I hear it. What the frick?!
The pool was closed so I didn’t have to argue with Benny about being too tired to use it. They closed it on 10/31. I hit the KOA camp store for a few things once we were in and hooked up. I grabbed two extra propane canisters … trading them for the two empties I had. We’ve got free wifi and free cable and Benny and crew are watching some kind of resort channel thing that tells about the area in a kid-friendly format. They have a café for takeout and I’ve already put in an order for a to-go breakfast and the lady promised to personally make sure that we got the gluten-free options as she has a daughter with GS and completely understands. See what I mean about gluten sensitivity? It is everywhere it seems.
Benny has some wiggle left but is winding down finally. I’m flipping exhausted and it hasn’t been helped by all the people wanting to know how I’m doing. Pei was at the top of that list and about the only one that didn’t rub me like static cling. She’s also the only one I really gave details to. Until this job starts and proceeds normally, I’m keeping things close to the vest. When it starts I’ll give out a few more details, but until then nope. I just deflect the too personal stuff and just say we’re fine and there’s a plan on the horizon. I’ve answered most of the queries and only have a couple left. I’m going to finish those and then tell Benny we need to hit the hay. We’ve got another seven-hour drive ahead of us tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it even if we do wind up in Florida at the end of it. And I’ll be honest and admit that may be one of the reasons for my anxiety. We’ve come full circle, but I don’t know if that is a good thing or not.
. What i am is not much of a cook except on a campfire. so that is where I focus my cooking skills. I thank you for taking the time to answer me and feel so grateful that you share with us your Tallens and knowledge with us hear on TB2000.