We hung around in Charlotte area waiting for our appointment at Cummins to see what was wrong with the engine and to get it fixed. We were able to pick up 2 additional nights at McDowell Nature Preserve. This is a park I will gladly return to even if it does lack on site sewer connection. I was able to get a site for 4 more nights at Crowne Cove RV Park, a commercial park that was only 2.5 times the price of the county park. With our appointment for 8 AM  Tuesday at Cummins we decided to move over on Monday afternoon so we would not have to face Charlotte rush hour. They had room and 30 amp electric for us. 

Good news, bad news. At 10 AM they took the coach into the service area and by 2 PM they had it back in the parking area all ready to go. The bad news was that the problem was operator failure. I thought that as long as the coolant was above the minimum line I had plenty of coolant. Wrong! It wants to be almost to the maximum line so that accelerating uphill does not expose the coolant level sensor. Lousy design I’d say, lesson learned after 9 years of ownership.

More good news. Monday night we were able to go to dinner at 300 East Blvd with Leigh and Patrick. It was lovely and we had a good time getting in one more evening with them. Tuesday afternoon we were planning to meet Terry and David for dinner, again, since they were returning to Charlotte for a day or two.  As we made plans to do some shopping, the big black beast that they drive pulled in across from the coach. They joined us on the coach for continued conversation until dinner time when we drove separately to Living Kitchen, a vegan restaurant. To his surprise David found the food to be satisfying and well flavored. From my point of view it confirmed my opinion that Vegan restaurants are fine choices for dining. 

The big surprise at dinner was when we asked for the bill. At couple sitting a few tables from us had witnessed our happy party and our sharing  “Happy Birthday” for Carol when the waitress brought out a carrot humus dish with a candle in it. They paid our bill and left before we knew.  A wonderful random act of kindness. 

With farewells  at the door we returned to the coach and departed Cummins the next morning to an uneventful drive to a stopover at a Jellystone RV park which will get a mediocre review only because how unlevel the site was. The next day, Thursday, found us arriving in Red Bay after yet another uneventful drive. We will be here for 7 to 10 days before moving on. The route from here is still in the thinking stage, we have time. 

In the mean time I have a chipped tooth that I hope to have addressed next week – every dentist in the area has taken Friday through Sunday off. I’ll live.