Travel Day 1 - Between a High and a Low in Lexington, SC

The power went out at the facility for a bit over 2.5 hours last night during a pretty hefty thunderstorm. Phone calls and texts were exchanged, and one of the facility guys came up to switch systems back on after the power was reinstated. He got there well before the power came back on, so there was a good bit of sitting around . . . in the dark. Dave and I were out in the downpour quite a bit, too, so we ended up being very tired by the time we each crashed at our respective bedtimes.

Up a bit before 9 AM this morning, we were rolling out of the gate around 11:30 AM. We encountered spells of light rain the entire trip, but nothing serious.

Natural lighting at the I-20 West rest stop in South Carolina

Lots and lots of westbound traffic on I-20. Folks going really fast. We saw two accident near-misses in front of us; small SUV vs. 18-wheeler and then small car vs. 18-wheeler. Both were acts of stupidity on the parts of the cars. Kudos to the 18-wheeler in the second case for avoiding what would have been a nasty event.  I got this unexplainable feeling the crazy driving is storm/weather related. Folks tend to freak.

People are idiots when they try to parlay with an 18-wheeler.

We arrived here at Barnyard RV Park safe and sound, tucked up in site A03.

These are the sites we like – long with a concrete patio that is actually accessible. We’re staying hooked up in case we decide/need to boogie out on short notice. Originally booked for 2 nights, we have the option of staying Saturday, too. The office will notify me if they have cancellations for Sunday night forward.

Overflow hookups are full. You can see the rear of our rig in the left just past the car. Glad I made reservations a couple of weeks ago. Lots of folks here heading either west or east, getting off the road and unsure what to do . . . just like us.

 

Why?

Weather.  We are under the low pressure from the west and pretty much out from under the effects of Hurricane Joaquin (at this point).

Current forecast for here (Lexington, SC) is up to 8-10 inches of rain between Friday morning and Monday morning. Our next stop is Madison, GA, scheduled for Saturday arrival. Their forecast isn’t quite as dire as here; however, heavy rain is forecast throughout the area. We do know that the RV park there holds water, as we experienced 1.5-2 inches of the stuff below our bottom step the morning after an overnight heavy rain on a previous stay.

Not sure what type of road conditions (closures due to flooding, etc.) we might encounter on the way there, too.

I’m hoping to have a better idea tomorrow in order to make some sort of decision. Of course, there is always the option of leaving here and driving straight through to Hope Hull, AL (our scheduled stop for Sunday), but . . . you’re talking almost 400 miles.

Stay here? Till Saturday? Till Sunday? Leave Saturday and hope for the best? I’ll call the park in Madison, GA tomorrow to see what’s up there regarding local forecast and conditions.

It is similar to the scenario with Sandy back in 2012, only this time we’re traveling and in the middle of the two systems – one to the west and one to the east.

So, we’re tucked in quite nicely right now (with cable television – woot!) with the option of staying through Saturday night at this point. We can at least catch up on some rest and being to acclimate to normal (and better) sleeping patterns. I’ll just check forecasts tomorrow and try to make some decision.

We traveled 92.5 miles safely and uneventfully today. Ya’ll stay safe out there, okay?

Thanks for stopping by!