She's having problems logging in. This is the rest of the above update. 5/21- PT 5- avg 12 - miles 64 Surf City to Cedar Point. great day, rode strong. Got a LOT hotter !! Rode past part of Camp Le Jeune. The firing range. Great Great late breakfast. had ab OJ/mango drink in camp and a bagel and canned pears and coffee. Then we stopped and I had 2 sunny side up eggs and 2 slices of ham and 3 buttermilk pancakes...yum. We passed three little girls on the way here with a lemonade stand. It was $1 a glass...cute sweet gals and we all had a glass.... No lunch stop...not sure why I would need MORE food :) Stopped at a Lowes Grocery on the way and got a HUGE salad bar and an Arrogant "Bleeped out" Ale for dinner in camp..yum. Did laundry...I do the laundry for everyone every day...more on that some time in the future, Great forestry campground here in Cedar Point. If you ever get this way do check it out. Oh and we WAITED for the Rapture...what happened ????? 5/22 PT 5- Avg 12- Miles 73 Cedar Point to Ocracoke Island rode alone to mile 30. Met up with Bob and Pete and we rode to the ferry. Had a mediocre meal as we waited for the ferry. It is a 2 1/2 hr ride. The ride to the ferry is lots of marsh and bridges over the estuaries. Very beautiful but HOT and windy. We were glad to get on the ferry. We all slept most of the way...laid down on the long bench seats. Very nice. Staying at Black Beard's Lodge. Every thing here on the island is called Black Beard. Edward Teach was his name and he was notorious in these parts. Had dinner at the Jolly Roger grill and it was a great burger and fries and beautiful sunset pics...then the mosquitoes came out...ouch ! 5/23 Ocracoke to Cape Hatteras PT3- Avg 15 !!!! ( tail wind ) miles 53 SMOKINg speed. I looked down and was doing 23 mph at times !! Whew....had a bagel and cream cheese and coffee. Pete and Bob and I looked at the lighthouse and then walked out to the point where BB was killed by a Navy officer. supposedly anyway. We then got underway. We stopped at Pop's on the way finally to get some food. There was nothing for a long way. This is a most interesting bar. It was amazing the amount folks were drinking so early in the day...oh well. Had a burger and fries...great fuel !! Nice campground tonight. Walked on beach. Great pic with Blue the dog. 5/Cape Hatteras to Kitty Hawk PT 3:12 avg 12.3- miles 39 ate peaches and ripe banana in camp and 2 tiny donuts. Rode over BIG bridge. Stopped at a little store and had to get a Jimmy Dean sausage biscuit and microwave it in the store....not too bad but have had better :) Went on to Nags Head. Very large pretentious homes for most of the town till you get all the way in. walked around Kitty Hawk and listened to a presentation. Took two pics. Very interesting brothers. There is a peat bog fire in the area and the wind blows the smoke here at times and the air is very bad and then it clears. We are leaving tomorrow and part of the group ( two other women) are staying behind. It is hard but for the best. It will be me and the 3 guys....we get along so well and will all be better for it. We had lunch at Goombays and it was WONDERFUL !! Fantastic grouper sandwich. Also owner called and got us a great price on a motel. The holiday is coming and prices are up but we got a great place cheap. Pete and Bob and I went to the Red Lion and got supper fixings...you guessed it am sure...I got a pint...of Haagan Dazs...not Gentleman Jack!! Hasn't been that kind of trip this year....we are excited to be going on tomorrow...as a group of 4. Stayed at the Sea Ranch motel . Stopped and saw the Bodie Island lighthouse on the way here. TODAY !! 5/25 Kitty Hawk to Elizabeth City. Avg 13.4 Miles 52....we RODE fast. Felt so happy and light...all the guys are smiling and laughing now that we are 4 . Enough of that...it is over and done.

"Lorie- listening to country music doesn't make someone a redneck. Chaining their dog to a tree does. Rednecks don't have tractors because rednecks are lazy fools that don't work! They don't live on farms." Wow, what a way to show your ignorance. So are you saying all lazy fools are rednecks? Many areas have different derogatory terms for lazy people, generally based on ethnicity or skin color. Rednecks don't live on farms huh? I guess they live in the big city. You know most of the rednecks I know live in NEW YORK CITY! I didn't know chaining your dog automatically gave someone the status of a redneck, better pass that memo out down the holler. I've lived my life in the south and still get classified as a hick, hillbilly, country bumpkin, white trash, and a redneck. I look beyond peoples comments when they try to classify me for my upbringing and all I see is ignorance. "Rednecks" are generally poor low class white people. It isn't that they are stupid and do things because they want to, but they lack education. They are far from lazy, they usually quit school at early ages to work farms or other jobs to help support their family. I know so many people that fall into that category but they are the kindest people that would help anyone in need. Sometimes it takes a kind word, understanding, and an extended hand to help them understand the importance of things we find so simple. It does nothing to judge people for any reason, be kind, and offer a helping hand.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to give me/us these suggestions! Emily & I have been sitting here this morning, rereading every one of your posts and adding things to our ongoing lists to do, to take and to buy. They have helped so much. You've helped us both by suggesting things we hadn't thought of and you've also saved me money, because I'm not having to ship off things DD will need but we'd forgotten. And yes, I do realize that there will be local stores that she can shop at for forgotten items, but as I mentioned here before, we've been there and done this with DS nine years ago. Let me mention it again for any other new freshman parents: the local stores in the area will be a nightmare to shop at that move-in day and for at least the next week afterwards! Most needed items will be quickly sold out and the check-out lines will be staggeringly long with stressed out, frazzled parents and students. Been there, will NOT be doing that one again this time! Lisa: thank you for that suggestion! I'd hadn't yet thought of her immunization records, but have just added this to our list. Suero: thanks for that link. I've made a list of things we need to check with housing about. Lazy: yes, the school does provide bed, mattress, desk, chair, etc. I'm with you on the stores and madhouse there will be at them that first day/week ;^D Gotta run errands with DD once again. Will be back later to check on this thread once more. Lynn

Thanks, it is really looking like what I'd like is not commercially available. Everything seems to be aimed at providing service as much as possible with no or short interruption. What I am really looking for is a divide to disconnect (in a pretty sensitive way) and not reconnect if power starts to go sour. If you abandon the support of continuous use and the need to restart, you no longer have to include batteries and a charger and cut complexity respectively. That would cut both initial cost and the cost of battery replacement not to mention decreasing the size and weight of the device by a great deal. For something like a lot of home entertainment equipment, it seems ideal. If you are watching or listening, who needs automatic reconnection? You can just live with the dark screen and then push the reset button when you think that it is safe. Note that I am thinking of monitoring voltage and frequency mostly as a signal that big problems (big surges) might be on the way.