Tuesday, August 17, 2010

FREIGHTLINER FACTORY IN GAFFNEY, SC

Sunday, August 15 – We pulled out of Chippokes Campground heading for Gaffney, SC. We decided to stop mid-way instead of driving the entire 6.5 hours in one day. Since we were simply stopping for the night, we decided to stop at the Chapel Hill, NC, Walmart. Can someone say “HOT”.....YOWZE DOWZE!! We ran the AC all evening but turned it off when we turned in for the night. It was nearly unbearable....guess we're getting spoiled or something. It just never cooled off when the sun went down....mid 80's all night with no breeze......JEESH!! We did have some company. Another motor home and a fellow sleeping in his car. Looked like he might have been homeless.....pretty ratty car too.

We did swing by the University of North Carolina (UNC – Tarheels for you basketball fans).

UNC-seal

UNC-sign

This is our daughter, Kelly's, favorite team. She sweats blue during BB season....LOL.

Dean Smith Center where basketball happens. They are doing some work on the outside, so we couldn’t get very close.

dean-center

We were here about nine years ago. Boy they've done some building since then. A beautiful campus! The students were just starting to arrive on campus for the new school year....exciting!

Morehead Planetarium

 morehead-building

Graham Memorial – English and Literature Building

graham-memorial

Not sure what goes on in here but it was a beautiful building

2

Park area

park-area

For our two girls. We couldn’t get close at all.

softball-sign

softball-sfield

Residents Community

student-residents

We arrived in Gaffney Monday afternoon and got set up in their free campground....Ahhhh air conditioning!!! Our appointment isn't until Wednesday, so we'll go see some Civil War Battlefields while we wait......Gosh, Marsha loves those battlefields (Can you hear Paul ...Yawn!!)

outside

sign

Waiting room is very spacious.

waiting-room-2

waiting-room

They have six bays.

bays

CG-2

CG

Tuesday, Aug 17 – We went on a tour of the Freightliner Factory this morning.

tour-pic

A very nice and interesting tour. We saw chassis of motor homes, delivery trucks, and school buses being built. Unfortunately, no pictures were permitted.

The employees appeared conscientious, hard working, and busy throughout the three assemble line production facility. Our tour guide was very good. She took her time on the tour and answered all our questions. We recommend this tour to others.

We both got our hair cut. Pat in the office recommended a place to us. YEA…Marsha is happy. She said that she recommends this very highly.

hair-salon-sign

We started some sightseeing. The Peachoid Water Tower is a big attraction. Built in 1981 over a period of five months, the characteristic water tower includes a cleft, a stem, and a seven-ton leaf. It holds one million gallons of water and can be seen on the side of I-85, between exits 90 and 92. Built to highlight the region’s prime crop, the Peachoid’s colors is meant to reflect the varieties of peaches grown in the area. After the basic colors were applied to the tower’s various parts, artist Peter Freudenburg used 50 gallons of paint and more than 20 colors to achieve the desired effect.

It stands 135 feet tall. The total cost to construct the tank was $969,000. There are 357 tons of steel in the tank. Now that is some BIG peach!

peachoid

Speaking of peaches…we stop at a roadside stand and bought some. YUMMMM. Marsha even made some Peach Daiquiris.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you real soon.