Chapter 28 - Otto, NC
We loaded up Karen's 2012 Subaru Forester Thursday night, and left Dolphin Cove around 9, Friday morning, December 20, 2013. We arrived at the cabin @ 6:30. We turned on the pump, lit the wood stove and the gas stove, and unpacked what we needed. After dinner, we sat around the wood stove for a while and went to sleep in the loft over the kitchen.
For the next few days we gathered and cut firewood, shot firearms, bb guns, and bows and arrows, went shopping, and made repairs and improvements. I set up a pull up bar and a lat pull down pulley on the back deck/porch.
I brought up more hand weights and worked out every day. Walking the driveway is very good cardio. It's probably a couple of hundred yards long and a couple of hundred feet high form top to botttom. Smoky and the turtles are all pretty happy. We put Teri and Marshall in one tank, and Toni, Jerry, and Neal in another.
I brought my new HP Google Chromebook and 2 books for it. We watched a football game one night on it and the picture was good.I want to get proficient with it and keep some of my stuff in the cloud.
I took apart and cleaned and repaired a semi automatic 22 rifle that I bought from Bill Horn @ 2000 for $50. It had never worked right, as it had a missing screw that kept it from feeding properly. So far it shoots flawlessly, and even feels better in my hands. I also brought up a new Phoenix Arms 22 semi automatic pistol, and my old faithful Ruger 22 single action revolver. We can shoot in our front yard against a small hillside. We also brought up a couple of recurve bows and a dozen target arrows.
The first 2 days here were pretty mild, but it's been cold as crap since, today is Saturday, the 28th. We had a freeze scare (no water) Tuesday morning. The well top plumbing had frozen, but not broken. We put a small heater in there, and it's been ok since. We have 10 gallons of water set aside for emergencies. There is a stream at the bottom of the hill (and we've used it).
I drained the gas from our generator and chainsaws and replaced it with fresh non-ethanol 89 octane, with stabilizer and fuel cleaner mixed in. With a little work, they all started and ran.
[more of this story in Chapter 29 - OttoNC13_14
