We
headed across North Carolina to stay with our friends Scott and
Heather in Chapel Hill for a few days. Scott's travel
schedule required, ironically enough, that he travel to San Diego,
so on Monday we departed Chapel Hill and headed north. Our
longer-term objective is Long Island, NY, but our short term
objective is Warrenton, VA.
The photos below are what we saw.
En
route to Chapel Hill we had to go past Wilmington, NC. On
one of the bridges, we got a view of the inter coastal
waterway. Plenty of boaters were out exploring the waterway.
Further
north, we passed the battleship North Carolina. We did not
stop, so we had to satisfy ourselves with a zoom lens shot of the
ship.
North
Carolina DOT does a great job of landscaping. We stopped at
a rest area and were amazed by some of the plants that were
blooming.
NC-DOT
planted plenty of flowers along the interstate. At the rest
stop, I got a close view of some of the flowers. Shortly
thereafter, we rolled into Chapel Hill to visit our friends.
We
stayed with Scott and Heather for several days and then rolled
on. From Chapel Hill, we headed north. We found a nice
camp site just over the Virginia border at the Occoneechee State
Park. The park is on a reservoir behind a Corps of Engineers
dam.
Information
posted at the visitor center suggested that the structure across
the Kerr Lake reservoir was part of a co-generation power plant.
Our
camp was more than sufficient and was on an engineered pad.
Despite the small size of the pad, it was engineered to be level
which is always a plus. Our site was right next to the water
and had our own private patio with picnic table. And, as a
final plus the park had bathhouses with showers and plenty of hot
water.
After
we broke camp to continue our trek north, we went past the dam
site to see what was there. At an information kiosk, I saw
this cross section of the dam and powerhouse.
At
one of the pull-outs was this turbine wheel from the dam. This
wheel was cast in 1952 by the Newport News Shipyard and at that
time was the largest cast water wheel made in the country.
When in use, this wheel produced 45,000 horsepower. As part
of the refurbishment process in 2009, this wheel was taken out of
service and replaced by a stainless steel wheel that produced
61,500 horsepower.
Kerr
Dam had a very quiet tailrace pond. I doubt that much water
was moving through the powerhouse.
On
the rocks in the tailrace pond, I spotted these birds fighting.
The
shallow water in the tailrace pond allowed this heron to stand on
the bottom.
From
Kerr Dam, we continued north and stayed at Bear Creek Lake
campground another nice Virginia State Park. The beach area
at the park had a very nice playground for the children.
We
continued north and were overcome by darkness before we were able
to contact our friends so we ended up staying in a KOA
campground. The site was nice enough. Next morning, we
broke camp and made it to John and Alice's farm outside of
Warrenton, VA. We parked in the field in front of their
place.
John
and Alice showed us their newest acquisition a primo 1953 Jaguar
XK-120 fixed head coupe. This car is in super condition and
the finish on the paint is spectacular.
The
color scheme is true to the original color as is the color of the
interior. Note the door hinges and the sheen in the
paint. Also note the llamas in the background.
John
was showing Kathleen the high points of the interior.
Great
sheen on the paint!
The
llamas were very interested in the new visitors to their area.
Note
the burled walnut dash. I also noticed that the speedometer
was designed to run counter-clockwise
When
I walked near the fence to the corral, the llamas were right there
to greet me. The storage area for the car was tight, so I
had to get right next to the fence to be able to photograph the
car.
The
Jag has a straight six cylinder motor with twin overhead cams and
the engine compartment was nice and clean.
John
and Alice also have other toys in the collection. The one
above is a 1923 McLaughlin Buick made in Canada.
The
restoration on this car is nearly complete and the work completed
so far looks great.
They
also had a 1963 Studebaker Avanti.
The
Avanti had a supercharged V8 motor and runs great. The red
can in the photo above is the belt-driven Paxton supercharger
Kathleen
checks out the primo interior on the Avanti. Note the
aircraft-style controls for the shifter and heater.
Nice
dash and gauges.
| Previous Adventure | ||
| Trip Home Page |
Photos and Text
Copyright Bill Caid 2010, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.