Gettin' our kicks on Hwy 150

Friday our goal was to get to Lake Norman but on the way we got sidetracked. We're staying at my house in Salisbury this weekend so we took off down Hwy 150 towards Mooresville. Before we got 10 minutes down the road, I remembered a place that I used to see on Miller Road, Ed's Carp Lake. I'd never actually been here, only seen it on the road, so it was exciting to meet the Ed. When we got there Ed was getting restocked with "carp juice" in his shop.(it's used for bait) For the record Cheerwine tastes a LOT better than carp juice.



We were also being followed by a reporter and photographer from the Salisbury Post(That's who took our picture with Ed). The reporter told us her son was in a day camp in nearby China Grove. Steve and I pretty much go wherever seems interesting at the time, and day camp definitely seemed like the place to go after Ed's. Here's the reporting crew.



After we went to day camp and gave all the kids a Cheerwine we saw another group of kids walking around a church in China Grove. We stopped and gave them all drinks. One kid asked what the coozie(sp?) Steve had in his hand was for so he said "it keeps your drink cold." Apparently that was the code phrase for "I'll take each of your Cheerwines and put it in the coozie then pull it out and give it back to you." Here's a shot of Steve giving all the kids an extra boost of cold with the coozie.



We finally got back to Hwy 150 but only made it a short way down the road again before we stopped. The Lazy 5 Ranch was too much to pass up. They let us in for free, probably because we're so dashing, and we gave out a ton of sodas to parkgoers and day camp groups. We also got to do the drive-through the ranch where you get to feed animals from your car! Or in our case Red.



Maybe it was just camera trouble or maybe we were too busy gawking at what was happening, but during our drive-through a zebra stuck its head basicallly in my lap and a giraffe licked Red's roof. Even our van tastes good.

After a long time at the Lazy 5 we finally got back on the highway towards Lake Norman. We sampled in Lake Norman State Park and some boat landings around the lake before heading home for the day. There was a cool "beach" area for swimming at the park.


On Saturday we'll be in the Queen City area. Follow us. Follow us to freedom.

-Sam

Kings of the Road

So you all have good reason to call us lazy bloggers this weekend. We know we've been slow on this one. You'd think it would be the beach that would slow us down, but it looks like it's actually the comforts of Sam's home, where we're staying this weekend, that have relaxed us so much. Anyway, better late than never, right?

After a quick lunch chat with the bosses at our Salisbury HQ, the kings of the road set out for Hickory, NC. And the royalty thing I just mentioned is clearly no joke. Sam's throne below proves that it has gotta be official. And for those of you who don't know Sam: it takes a pretty big chair for his feet to not reach the ground.



We found lots to do to keep us busy for the few hours we were in town. As we walked the Hickory streets, people in need of cold Cheerwine seemed to find us. We came across a big church group field trip to a local theater who took some for the road,



some men at work on the second story who were calling me for awhile from above until I finally realized where it was coming from,



and even a birthday party which we added some extra presents to. I bet you can guess what our thoughtful gift to her was.



We even came across something we had never seen or heard about. A CW racing team trailer? I know we should probably know more than you all about this stuff but since we're in the dark on this one, does anybody know if we've got a car or something?

If you do, let us know. Anyway, time for us to get back on the road. We'll be in the Queen City area so keep an eye out.

Steve

Momma, I'm comin home

Yesterday we started off with a bath for Red. He wasn't quite living up to his "zaggin' wagon" standards of cleanliness(zaggin' wagon phrase coined by Steve). We went through an automatic washer where the standard wash costs $4. I have to admit, I threw in the extra dollar for the Superwash. Anyway with a clean van we headed south to Spartanburg, S.S. We stopped in a few parking lots but were having trouble finding Cheerwine drinkers so we packed up ready to stop at random places along the road home to Chapel Hill. Here we are searching.


After passing countless peach stands and fireworks stores we finally stopped at a rest area near Concord to give some Cheerwine to some travelers.



We then made a stop in Salisbury to maybe find some more people to sample and to stop by my house and see my family. My brother is graduating high school on Wednesday so Red may be in the area around that time this week. There was a blood drive going on at a church near my house so we stopped in and donated some Cheerwine for the donors. Their bodies just lost some red liquid so we gave them some to put back inside.


We needed some gas so we made another stop at one of my favorite landmarks on I-85, Bill's Truck Stop. Here's a picture of me and Bill.


I think Bill might have given us a bit of luck, because a perfect pump awaited us when we returned from taking that last picture. We had left the gas pump running and it stopped automatically on $50. Take that Jerry Seinfeld!


A woman at Bill's recognized us from an article in the Salisbury Post, very cool.

Like I said before, I have to go home to see my bro graduate. So look for us around that area later this week. Go USA men's soccer! See ya.

-Sam

"Journey" to Greenville

Sam and I rode on to Greenville, SC on Saturday and were as surprised by its downtown as our fans were of our random giveaways. There were a bunch of great things to see in the city, including a lot of fountains like the one at the beginning. We were handing out a ton of CW and as we walked we discovered some new hot spots and were given some tips about a few others. One of my favorites that we came across was Falls Park, a really sweet park with a lot of, well, waterfalls. The coolest thing was that it was right in the middle of the city. Here are a great view of an old tree's roots and of the "dog whisperer": a guy who entertained everybody's dogs around the base of one of the falls.




After a quick break in town to watch some World Cup action we went to do some re-icing and found a church outside having a food/bake sale. We thought we'd offered up some Cheerwine for them to sell. They were so grateful and so willing to get together for a picture that we just have to say thanks to Victory Temple Church. It definitely helped make our day.


Good karma found us again in the same parking lot. Someone handed Sam a flyer for the Highland Games Scottish Festival going on at Furman University and off we went. It cost a little bit of money but a couple Cheerwine for the ticket ladies seemed to be enough for a free pass. Unfortunately we missed the games part but the whole thing was still an awesome experience. Gotta love the outfits.




The pictures here weren't even enough to show you all the stuff we did and all the small town girls and city boys we met but it'll have to do for now. I promise, we've got plenty more where that came from. The zagging never ends...it goes on and on and on and on

Steve

P.S. Anybody know what song I was quoting?