October 25, 2009 – Boogity, Boogity, Boogity: Let’s go Racin’ Boys.

Well it's race day here in Martinsville. It dawned clear and crisp; should be a great day for a race. We attended the Truck Race yesterday. The track battled the rain all morning, drying the track in between each rain shower. When all was done, the race was only delayed about an hour.

So how did we get here? Our second day in Atlanta, we visited the Aquarium of Georgia. They have a huge central tank filled with various rays, guitar fish, groupers, jacks, barracudas, reef fish and sharks. It is the only aquarium in the world to have Whale Sharks in captivity and they have four. Immense creatures, the Whale sharks dwarf everything else in the tank. Yes, Christy, you can dive with the sharks. It is a 30 minute dive and the aquarium provides everything but a swim suit. We watched a manta ray doing slow lazy loops as if it were some sort of aviator. It is a very well laid out facility with both fresh and salt water varieties of fish, highlighting species from the Amazon River and Lake Malawi. It is certainly worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.

We left Atlanta and headed to Stone Mountain State Park out side of Elkin, N.C. This is not to be confused with Stone Mountain Georgia, a heavily commercialized area on the northeast of Atlanta. Gasoline had been a bit expensive in the Atlanta area ($2.40 gal) and we assumed we would find it a bit cheaper as we cruised north. We had a half tank which was good for close to 200 miles, and I would want a break before then, so off we went. As we drove along, we watched the price climb by nine cents a gallon, but fairly steady around $2.45. Remembering cheap gasoline prices in N.C. we pushed on. Just prior to leaving S.C. we passed a truck stop advertising $2.39, but we saw it too late to stop. Cruising along, watching for gas stations and enjoying the scenery, we watched the fuel gauge slowly drop. Several exit advertised gas, but it was always only one station and never right next to the highway. Finally, I found an exit with two stations. We exited and went towards the first, actually both as they were across the street from each other. The price was $2.55. Bah Humbug, we can find it cheaper. Another six miles down the road (or just under a gallon of travel), I again exited where there were four convenient stations only to see a price of $2.60. To heck with shopping, we just got 15 gallons and hit the road again. A little farther north, we exited onto the state road which would take us towards Stone Mountain SP. About five miles from the SP was a convenience store which sold gasoline at $2.49; time to fill up. When Carol came back from paying the $145 bill, I remembered we needed milk and maybe beer, so I went in to grab the essentials. It is amazing how nice this people were. Maybe it was the big gas sale, but I think they are just friendly.

We spent two nights at Stone Mountain (more on that in another blog). Then it was off to Martinsville. We had tried to get into one campground in the Martinsville area, but it was sold out. The campground owner provided me with a couple of other local campgrounds she thought might have room. The first one we contacted was available and located just 15 minutes east of the track. She gave me directions in the typical style of the south: Com’n from the south, you’ll want to take the 58 bypass towards Danville; now, when the bypass ends it’ll say Martinsville or Danville, you be sure to take it on to Danville; we’s about 12 ta 15 minutes from the track and it’ll be on your left side. Yes ma’am, but I don’t know where the track is. Whell, it’s about 12 ta 15 minutes from here. Yes ma’am, but where exactly is that? Ya’ll never been here before? No ma’am. Whell, you make sure you take the 58 bypass….. Ma’am, do y’all have a sign in the front? Yes, there’s a small sign in the front yard and it’s a brick house. With that, I ended the conversation and hoped for the best.

As we approached Martinsville from the south on Rte 220, it became obvious where the race track is located. It is right where the 220 and the 58 bypass intersect. We stopped to grab a quick bite at a fast food place and get a feel for the area. There were RV’s parked every where. The Nissan dealer offered RV parking. The local residents all offer RV and car parking. The going rate was $150 for the weekend. We opted to check out our campground; it may be a ways off, but it would at least have services. As I dropped onto the 58 bypass, I made a note of the odometer, figuring 12-15 minutes would closely equate to the miles traveled. About five miles after we entered the bypass, it ended with the signs marking directions to either Martinsville or Danville. Now I should tell you that somewhere just prior to here, Carol called the nice lady to see if she could get an actual address and yes they did have one. But not every address is recognized by the GPS, so it didn’t necessarily do us any good, except, we did have a number to look for on “Martinsville Parkway. Off the bypass and onto a four lane with access, we looked for road signs. We were on A.T. Philpott Hwy. But by now we were eight miles along or ten minutes by C’s watch, so we kept going. We passed through the town of Axton, VA, still on Philpott Hwy. About 12 miles into this trek, I was beginning to doubt my directions, when Carol saw the sign in the front yard of a brick home. I got the RV slowed, made the turn, went up the drive and we were there; or, here.