BBQ, Holloween & Turduckens

Wake Forest, NC

Falls Lake Campground

 

BBQ!

Steve was only here to get us settled into our campground where I'd be for the next 2 1/2 weeks.  He was bummed because he was looking forward to some Carolina BBQ.  He's a huge BBQ fan.  Since he had to leave to help take care of his Dad in AZ it didn't leave him much time to scout out a good place.  Luckily, there was one right on the corner not too far from the campground.  Johnson's Family BBQ is a small family owned place that smokes all their meat over hickory wood for at least 10 hours.  They make the distinction of being Eastern NC BBQ.  Didn't ask what that means.  Steve had the BBQ ribs and I had the chicken.  The Carolina method is more of a vinegar based sauce.

 



 

It was Halloween time when we arrived at the lake.  These little cuties were practicing their trick-or-treating while we were having our BBQ.

 

 

Do you know what a Turducken is?   Normally you'd see this in Louisiana, but here it is in a North Carolina grocery store.  It is a turkey stuffed with a duck that is stuffed with a chicken which is stuffed with some Cajun style stuffing.  Sometimes it's crawdad stuffing or sausage or both!  It's actually very good!  They wanted $70 for this beauty.  We'll pass.  Of course our good friends have family in Louisiana that make these.  We'll wait until we get to Louisiana in January to have some.

It's actually very yummy!!

  

I wanted to try this trick I saw online.  Cut some eyes out of toilet paper rolls and put some glo-stix inside.  They looked really cool.  And scary!  If we were camping with friends, I would've put some next to their trailer.  Maybe under the steps!

 

Falls Lake is another beautiful lake to kayak on.  Nice fall colors, protected coves.  The pooch and I had a great time paddling around.  I even spent $20 on a NC fishing license.  Didn't catch a thing!  I know it's late in the year and the water is cold, but I was hoping......

 

  

These little bugs were all over the surface, swirling around.            

Hurley loves to go out in the kayak.  He'd rather play IN the water, but he enjoys just kicking back in the sunshine.

 

All that kayaking makes a person hungry!  I'm really craving a steak.  I couldn't get the gas to work on the Weber Q so I made myself a fire using pinecones and pine needles to get the logs going.  It finally took off.

   



Oh did I eat well!!  Green beans and sweet potato topped with a little butter and
a tiny drizzle of Vermont maple syrup we picked up last month with some Pinot Grigio.

I enjoyed eating my meal by the fire.

I've spent most of my time kayaking and walking the trails around the lake.  But today, I headed to Raleigh to meet up with friends from RV Dreams, Cheryl and Mitch.  We had lunch at the Farmers Market in Raleigh and then walked through the market to see all the fresh fruit and veggies.  I brought some to bring back with me for later.  Cheryl & Mitch have been fulltime about the same as us, 4 months.  It really is amazing that all of us that planned to head out fulltime in 2014 are doing it AND loving it!  They are really nice folks and I'm sure we'll see each other in Florida next month.

 

Back to the water!  There's nothing like being out on the lake.  It's been a great way to enjoy the sunshine and the quiet.  What a life!  We're so lucky to be able to live this lifestyle.

   

  

 There is color everywhere here.  Color in the leaves and the pretty color in the banks.

 

Sun setting behind the pier.

 

Whoa, so much for the nice 70 degree weather!  Cold nights coming!  Here comes that Polar Plunge.  We head out on Wed to South Carolina.  Too bad the next cold weather dips down further and will be following us :-(

Nothing like home made chocolate chip cookies when it's c-c-c-cold outside!

 

The next day was in the low 40s, but sunny and the winds calm.  Perfect day for another hike!  The Mountains-to-Sea trail is 1000 miles that runs from the Great Smokey mountains to the Outer Banks.  I hiked just part of it today.  Crisp air, crunchy leaves.

It can be hard to hike this late in the fall.  Most of the leaves are on the ground leaving it difficult to tell where the trail is.  Can you tell in the above picture?  The trail is pretty well marked.  See the blue spot on the tree to the right?  They are painted on the trees every so often.  Sometimes you really have to look hard and do some backtracking.

   

   

 

All these leaves mean you need to watch the trail closely.  There are rocks and tree roots hidden by the leaves.  I tripped over the one above nicely hidden in the shadow.

   

 

Beautiful carpet of colorful leaves just for me!  This one hillside was covered in ferns.

   

 

Not sure what kind of tree this was, but the leaves were huge!  I would've liked to hike further, but this sign marked the boundary of the state park.  If I continued, I'd be in the wilderness boundary.  Since it is hunting season, I decided I didn't want to get confused with an animal with antlers.

It's been nice here, but the weather is wacky and getting colder.  I'm looking forward to Steve coming back and heading south to Florida.