Sneaky A** Atlantic Broadband

A little background first (in case you haven’t been following this site religiously), from our local cable company, Atlantic Broadband, we get the fastest internet they offer because that is what is really important. We also get what they call the Limited TV Service so we can get the local big 4 networks and the PBS stations. Because we get just the limited channels we don’t have the cable box that they usually rent you for a mere eight to ten dollars a month, the coaxial cable gets plugged right into the back of the Samsung.

In early September, we received a letter from Atlantic Broadband with the exciting news that starting October 10th all the Limited TV channels would be broadcast in digital format. To view these dramatically enhanced picture and sound quality channels you would need a digital adapter. The letter states that we were eligible to receive two digital adapters at no cost for use on TV sets that are connected directly to cable and if we needed more than 2, they would be $2.99 a month. One adapter would be mailed directly to our home.

Sure enough, two weeks ago, a box came in the mail and inside was an adapter and its associated remote. I placed it aside waiting for the 10th of October to see if I’m really going to need it or not. Right now, if I let the TV scan for available channels it finds over 40 stations which includes several standard definition versions of the local networks along with an HDTV version. So instead of watching the NBC affiliate in 4:3 low definition on channel 2, I watch the 16:9 high def one on channel 82-14, etc. I’m hoping that this will still be the case once they go digital. But not optimistic.

On Monday, we got an email that our cable bill for October was available for viewing and paying online. Hmmm, that total looks higher than it did last month., so I look at page 2 where the details are and looky here. Under Monthly Charges, along with the cost of our monthly cable service there is a line for a Limited Digital Adapter at a cost of $2.99 for the month. WTF? It is supposed to be free!

And it gets even better. Underneath the Monthly Charges section is one entitled Prorates where there is a line for Limited Digital Adapter at a cost of 89 cents. They started charging me for using the adapter (which wasn’t connected to the cable yet and supposed to not be needed until the 10th of October.) on the 22nd of September. Had they looked at the tracking number of the package and started charging on the day of delivery to my house?

Update: 55 minutes total on hold, 2 customer service representatives and the $4.49 “mistake” was removed from our bill.

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig

Today was our shortest day on the road, we were home by 10:30 in the morning. We took just one picture, Roadside Oddity for 1 point, and that was while we were still in Hendersonville before we even started home. All told we took 23 pictures worth 31 points which brings us to 189 total. We have a possible 68 points left on the table. The big hitters are the vehicles from 1900-1909 worth 10 points, and a vehicle from 1910 -1919 is worth 7 and a rainbow is worth 4. there are four goals worth 3 points, five more worth 2 points and twenty-five goals worth just 1 point.

In the seven days we traveled 1645 miles. We filled up with gas 7 times averaging $3.12 a gallon with the lowest being $2.90 in Newport News, VA and the highest being $3.24 in Hendersonville, NC. Average MPG for the trip was nearly thirty miles to the gallon at 29.93.

Blue Park Ridgeway


Today was our longest drive with a total of over 300 miles covered. It was our longest in total time also because the last third of it was on the Blue Ridge Parkway where the top speed is only 45 MPH. The first third was a straight shot down I-81. The middle 1/3 was spent on lovely rural, and mostly empty, two lane VA & NC roads.

Three points in the Motoring Challenge today, 1 for Switzerland, 1 for Blue Ridge Mountains and 1 more for the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi, Mount Mitchell.

Oh, yeah, today was our 41st wedding aniversary, so we had a special dinner of microwavable chimichangas and hot pockets in the hotel room.

57,000 Something or Others

This picture was taken on US-15 outside Dillwyn, VA. In the 2014 Moss Motoring Challenge this would have been worth 2 points for Bonus #2, it wouldn’t have been worth 3 points in 2015 or 2016 as a Moss Motors Facility (there are only two official ones) and this year it might be worth one point only if I call it a “Roadside Oddity.” Not long before we took this photo the CTBNL crossed the 57,000 mile mark.

The only real points today were 1 for Stonewall Jackson in the Heroes and Villains category and 2 points for 8% (or greater) grade in the Destinations category.

Giant Human Creations

On this trip we planned to stop in Wilmington, NC so we could take a picture of the battleship U.S.S. North Carolina to use in the category of Giant Human Creations. Well if we had done a little research, we would have discovered the the ship was undergoing repairs to its hull in a dry dock right there on the Cape Fear River. Because of the work it was moved closer to the pier and inside a coffer dam making it partially hidden from view from shore. Also especially unhelpful was the half flooded parking area left over from hurricane Irma. So we missed out on the battleship.

We thought we were going to get a make-up opportunity in Newport News, VA this morning when we found a little tidbit in the throw away touristy magazine in our hotel room. An aircraft carrier was undergoing overhaul at the shipyard and is visible from Victory Landing Park. We could see part of the ship from the road in front of the shipyard, but as we got there you couldn’t see anything of the ship unless you were in the park itself. Trouble with that was the park is a walk-in place and Miatas, while probably small enough to drive on the walkways, that would probably be highly frowned on. So we missed out on the carrier.

We didn’t miss out on the supermarket right across the street from tonight’s hotel in Lexinton Park, Maryland. And while this morning’s trip down near the Newport News Shipyard didn’t net a giant human creation, it wasn’t a total loss because on display outside the yard is the very first ship they built, the tugboat Dorothy. A tugboat is worth two points in the Destinations category. We also scored 5 points for capturing a place of personal significance to us. Donna and I first met on the Patuxent River Naval Air station a little over 42 years ago. They don’t allow us mere civilians on base, so we stopped in and visited the museum just outside the gate.

Washington Counties Revisited

Back during the 2015 Motoring Challenge there was a requirement to “get” 15 counties and I decided that I would get all 15 of the same name. Washington, with 26 states having a county by that name, got the nod. If you look at the image above, Donna and I drove through a large swath of the country’s southeast and midwest missing only three states. Our home state of South Carolina doesn’t have a Washington County and neither does West Virginia. North Carolina’s was way too far east to get to on our loop.

Guess what county we drove through today? Right. Washington County North Carolina. We don’t need counties this year, but there is a category of Heroes or Villains that General George Washington fits into, so we took a photo.

Only three photos today for three points. Mr. Washington and Bill Gates for the Heroes and Villains column and Plymouth for the Around the World one.

There is Something Fishy at Fort Fisher


One of four of North Carolina’s aquariums is there, and although we weren’t really in Fort Fisher to visit it, we were there for the 3 points awarded for riding on a ferry in the Motoring Challenge, visit it we did. Today we only took three photos towards the challenge, but received almost as many points as we did for yesterday’s eight.