Heading to the Shop

  Lazy, rainy morning Tuesday Nov.6 with no hurry to drive two hours south to the Freightliner Service Centre in Gaffney, South Carolina. Settled into the parking lot rv site and set out for a long hike. The  Cowpens Battle Field of the War of Independence 1776 were marked with placards illustrating the various stages of the battle where American troops fought and soundly defeated the British.

  Although the breeze was cool, the sun provided enough warmth to keep us comfortable and add a glow to the oak leaves fluttering down and heaped on the ground. A variety of  Red, White and Willow Oak, create the woods there and beneath all of them are plentiful stores of acorns, some as large as walnuts and others tiny like currants.
  I found some sweet honeysuckle still in bloom and chose a couple of strands to pop into a vase. We also snapped a couple of fresh rosemary sprigs from the herb garden outside the historic Robert Scruggs homestead, built at the edge of the battlefield in the 1850's.
A stretch of cotton fields ran behind the trailhead parking lot. We both selected a couple of souvenir pods. We stocked up the fridge with groceries and watched a "choppy" weak-signalled election coverage; just like the results, WEAK!

Wednesday November 7. Obama stays for another term and Americans measure their lives in Blue and Red.
We spent most of the day in the Freightliner waiting room, chatting with other RVers and reflecting over our computers. During a tour of the Freightliner factory, we inspected the assembly lines where chassis for trucks such as UPS, RV's and School buses are constructed. The coolest device was a strap system that hoists up the chassis and flip them upright so that the engines can be dropped in, wheels attached and wiring hooked up. The ingenious system allows for the underside of the chassis to be worked on from above, a more efficient and comfortable arrangement for the workers. Before dinner time, CC was returned to us with a belly full of fresh oil, new filters galore, and a full system checkup. At no costs to us, we camped again in the Freightliner lot.

Early Thursday morning, Chris was off to his chassis workshop called "Camp Freightliner". Dixie and I headed back to the Cowpen Battle Field for another great hike. Describing the smell of Autumn leaves is similar to writing a wine review: The first crunch of fallen leaves releases an earthy, often smokey aroma. Gently turning over the leaves provides a balanced bouquet of big oaks and maples with a rough, puckery tannin feel. Further bruising of the foliage will release a sharp acidity, an underlying Cinnamon spice and a finish of Bittersweet and Purple Clover.

I had a creative afternoon making cards. Chris enjoyed his class and gleaned lots of information from the instructor and a library of reference material for the future. Freightliner hosted a BBQ dinner where the manager and customer service rep exchanged information and comments with our fellow RVers.