The Pitts Stop

Starting Our Trip To The Rockies

June 10, Saturday:  Summerville to Wilmington, NC

We’ve been planning for this trip since January and are eager to get started.  Before we actually head to Colorado, we have quite a few stops – Laurie and John’s in Wilmington, North Carolina, for Zoe’s dance recital, a stop in St. Louis to see the Arch, and attend Jack’s niece’s wedding reception in Des Moines, Iowa.

We’re getting smarter about packing the RV - we decided to take two days to load the RV and we felt much more relaxed when we started out than in previous years where we tried to pack everything in one day.  We left after lunch and arrived at the Wilmington KOA with just enough time to set up camp and go to Zoe’s dance recital.  She danced with two little boys in three different dances.  With each dance, she wore a different costume and looked more adorable with each one.  She was not fearful or shy at all.  Zach spent the night with us at the campground and he had a great time exploring every button and switch in the RV.

June 11, Sunday:  Wilmington, NC

John and Laurie had a barbecue and we spent the afternoon playing in the pool and eating.  It was Zoe’s turn to spend the night in the RV.  When we arrived at the campground, Zoe wanted to go to the playground where other children were playing.  She immediately introduced herself to her newly made friends as Princess Zoana.  The little girlfriends followed her around for half and hour before they had to leave. 

June 12, Monday:  Wilmington, NC to Knoxville, TN

We woke up early so I could bring Zoe back in time for her to go to preschool.  We’re leaving this morning to head toward St. Louis.  We’ll miss Zach and Zoe – we had a great time having them stay with us in the RV. 

We left Wilmington, taking route 74.  Route 74 was in decent shape most of the way, but a few sections through Monroe, NC and the miracle mile suburbs of Charlotte with lots of lights were miserable.  We took interstate 40 through Asheville and the North Carolina mountains.  After driving over 400 miles, we stopped at a Passport America campground just east of Knoxville.  The campground was small and simple, but full hookups for $14 is a bargain.

June 13, Tuesday:  Knoxville, TN to Mt. Vernon, IL

Eastern Tennessee was very pretty with lots of hills, but northwest of Nashville, flat farmland dominated the scenery.  While driving the beltway around Nashville, Jack noticed that the steps were out and they wouldn’t retract.  If we were to hit a bump in the road – not only could the steps be destroyed, but the RV undercarriage could be damaged, too.  Jack had to drive quite a few miles before finding a safe spot to pull over and we were nervously watching the road for anything that could hit the steps.  Jack called the step factory and spoke with a technician who quickly figured out the problem.  Jack was able to fix it right there, so we didn’t lose more than a half hour. 

We drove 400 miles and camped 100 miles southeast of St. Louis.  Our campground is cheap, small, but nice and close to shopping.  We gained an hour as we entered the central time zone and had time to do our grocery shopping before dinner.

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