Three Stop RV Rally – Days 16-18 – Grove Park Inn, Moose Café & Trip Home

We had visited the Grove Park Inn during a rally a couple of years ago but this time we decided to eat at the Sunset Terrace Restaurant looking out over the mountains.  I could almost see the wealthy southern ladies and gents in their fine clothing in this same setting 100 years ago sipping their beverages and discussing the topics of the day.

We had eleven at our table and as expected the service was impeccable.  She was just the right amount of attentive (the water glasses never went empty), she knew the food and drink menus well, and she had a great personality.  

The meal began with some delicious, hot from the oven biscuits then for lunch, Bev had the Smashed Cheeseburger ($15) and I had a House Smoked Pastrami ($18).

I thought both my sandwich and the fries were very good and Bev enjoyed her burger even though they only cooked them well done - as I told others my meal cost $10 and where I ate it cost the other $8.  The others in our group seemed to enjoy their meals as well, but the food was not as spectacular as I had expected, however the ambiance and view made up for it.

Wednesday’s main event was breakfast cooked by Louie and me with a menu of country ham, sausage, biscuits and gravy, fried apples, and scrambled eggs but I got no pics.  Then we went down to the nearby Western NC Farmers Market to buy some plants to take home – two blue spruce trees, two rhododendron, and some peonies – the car was full.

That evening we went to the Moose Café for supper and our meals were fine but not memorable so no food pics again.

Thursday morning we departed Asheville, with us being the last to leave Bear Creek Campground located at the intersection of I-26 and I-40 a few miles west of downtown Asheville making it a pretty convenient location – very close to the Western Carolina Farmers Market.  

That convenience was the campgrounds main feature as it was poorly kept up, and very tight for our rigs with both shady and sunny sites.  We didn’t use the bathhouses but the clubroom is in need of a good cleaning and an update, the utilities, cable TV, and WiFi all worked well.  This campground is more suitable for smaller RV’s but I would stay again if I couldn’t find a better option.

After leaving the campground, we drove just a few miles before the coolant temperature rose to hot and the stop engine light came on.  We called a mobile repair guy at 11am and he got to us at 1:30pm to check what we thought was a coolant system issue.  As it turned out, the alternator had failed and caused the serpentine belt to break so he went and bought a new alternator and we provided the spare belt I carry.  Guess what - I was sold the wrong belt so he had to find another one which took about an hour.  He got everything installed and all was running well at 6:30pm.  So we got back on the road after 7½ hours and $1100 (much of it spent running down parts).  We got home about 9:15pm to find the car battery dead, which happened during the 7½ hour sitting time because we forgot to turn it off - it has a special on position for towing and the battery stays charged from the coach alternator.

After getting the car jumped and the rig parked, I headed straight for the shower then relaxed with a big glass of ice water and went to bed.  This is our fourth roadside breakdown (three with our other coach) and we were sure hoping to never have it happen again.  So ended a terrible day, but still a fun three stop rally.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

5/7-5/9/19 event dates