Goal: Down time and Socializing!
Today the list of chores is shorter. Hence, we spend the morning having brunch and relaxing before heading out. This evening we have plans to watch Chris’ band “Red Line” perform.
First chore on the list is to chase down to the closest Camping World to see if they have a replacement microwave. The second chore is to get fuel for Clyde.
The Raleigh Camping World is located just a short ride down the outer beltway from our camp site.
As it works out, obtaining diesel for Clyde is accomplished first, as we find it at a reasonable price on our route, shortly after we get off the beltway onto local roads toward Camping World.
Five minutes after fueling up we arrive at Camping World. Yes, they have a microwave. Unfortunately, it is a much smaller unit, without both the vent fan and light over the range. So we choose not to pick that up. We do learn where to get the actual fuse our microwave needs. That turns out to be any Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Deryl finds a Lowe’s up near the campground on route from our campsite to tonight’s dinner and entertainment. She saves the location into the GPS and we head back to camp. At camp we shower, and dress up into our nice casual clothes, feed the cats, and have a short ‘foots up’ relaxation.
We head back out around 5:30 PM to get our errand done before meeting with the Dunkleys. On route, we stop at Lowes. Rob heads to the grill section in search of a propane adapter to allow him to refill the small green Colman propane tanks from our large 30 gallon propane tanks. Deryl heads over to electrical in search of the correct fuse for our microwave. Deryl quickly locates the fuse and circuit breaker section. There on the rack are the correct style of fuses, and after a few minutes of reading the packages, she has the 125 V, 20 Amp MICROWAVE fuses in hand! Rob is not so lucky. We meet up at check out, and are on our way
As we drive out of the Lowe’s parking lot we discover that there is a Wegman’s grocery store across the street. Since we still have a few minutes extra in our schedules, Deryl suggests we stop and let her dash in to pick up more seltzer water for Chris and Debbie for tomorrow when they will be joining us for dinner. Rob pulls the truck into the parking lot, and Deryl dashes off. A few minutes later, Deryl returns with not only some seltzer water, but treats for our breakfast tomorrow.
Chris plays bass for the band Red Line, while Debbie is their sound and lighting engineer. This evening we joined the Dunkleys as they performed at Real Macoy’s in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
Real Macoy’s is an excellent gastro-pub. Lots of excellent and interesting food on the menu. A wide selection of beers and wines, in addition to a fully stocked bar.
We offer to help Debbie set up, but quickly determine that we would just get in her way. So we help adjust the dining tables to facilitate Debbie’s Front of House position, and set a second table next to hers for us to watch the show and have our dinner.
After studying the menu, and several rounds of “Enie-Minie-Miney-Moe”, we decide we will do 2 smaller courses for our dinners. This will allow us to space out our food, since we know we want to be at the restaurant for the entire show.
Rob chooses for his first course the small house salad with their crispy chicken nuggets, and blue cheese dressing. Deryl selects the seared Ahi Tuna with a lemon ginger sauce. We order our first courses and drinks. Then sit back and watch the band get ready. It is interesting to see how other people deploy their gear.
The band members come over and introduce themselves, and we find them all interesting. Our first course arrives and we start dining. YUM, is our first reactions! Rob’s chicken nuggets are obviously made here, not something from a freezer. They are beautifully breaded, seasoned, and fried to perfection. The salad has lots of small tomatoes, and other vegetables, in the mix, and the blue cheese dressing has lots of chunks of blue cheese. Deryl’s tuna is coated in black and white sesame seeds, and then seared perfectly. The tuna sits in an ample pool of the lemon ginger sauce. The sauce is light, and crisp with the ginger being more of the bass notes to the higher strings of the lemon. The combination a harmony in the mouth.
At 9:00 PM on the dot, the band Red Line starts playing. They perform a wide variety of songs, covering a number of artists’ music.
Debbie runs the lights, mixes the band, AND sings the backing vocals! Watching her mix is amazing. Deryl notes that her lighting has the benefit of being for a single band, and hence able to be rehearsed. This is a luxury that Rob and Deryl do not have when providing lights for festivals.
Hope all is going well with the westward leg.