Love that Grandson!

Well, we managed to get near perfectly level campsites on the way down here to Virginia, which is what we have to have since we cannot use our leveling jacks. I was most worried about the camp here at Misty Mountain, since the sites we like to get usually take a little bit of leveling to get perfect. As it was, our reserved site was occupied by the camp owner's "for sale" rig which wouldn't start, so could not be moved at the time. So the hostess put us just opposite on a much more level (and nicer) site. The bad part is our satellites don't work, but the leveling was much more important this time. The park has cable TV and free wi-fi, so we are getting by.

What can I say about grandson extraordinnaire, Ronan? He is the cutest, smartest little guy. I know, I know, everyone thinks their grandchildren are the cutest and smartest. . . and you know what? YOU'RE ALL WRONG! Hahaha. Just kidding. There isn't a baby that isn't cute, smart, etc. I just can't look at Ronan without thinking about the miracle of conception, growth and birth. And to think how perfect he is with his 10 little fingers and toes, etc. We haven't seen him since Christmas and I already have him reaching out to me. Course, I'm no substitute for Mom, but Grandma will at least do in a pinch.


Yesterday we walked down to the University (UVA) from Jocelyn's and stopped off at the swings. As soon as Ronan saw the swings, he starts kicking his legs and squealing. He really likes them. When we left, Jocelyn had to take him out from behind because if he sees her start to lift him, he holds on. Hah.


Today we ran a lot of errands. With Grandpa and Grandma along, it made it a little faster for Jocelyn because she could leave him in the car with us. We did make it to the mall and Terry got his walk in. Later, we drove out to the motorhome and Jocelyn and I took Ronan up to the owner's place up on the mountain. He has a little petting zoo with 3 little goats. . . one tiny baby goat. Also we met the pot bellied pig who likes to have his ears scratched. Ronan didn't care to get too close because he was making "grunting" noises all the time. He really is a social pig and I scratched his ears for him. I took a couple pictures back in our rig. Ronan likes the drawers because he could pull himself up with the handles.


Tomorrow we have to go pick up Ronan's birthday gift. We had it shipped to the WalMart store here. We got him a big Radio Flyer wagon that has a lot of features. . . not like the wagon we had as children, but one I am sure Ronan will enjoy.



Till next time. . .



Dale

Coach Care - LESS, a.k.a. The Unforgiven

Well, Coach Care-less has really dropped the ball and we are mad. We left our camp in central Indiana a day early (no refund, of course) to make it to Elkhart and Coach Care-less for a Thursday 8 a.m. appointment. We had it there parked in front of their service door on Wednesday night. What a day!

The next day Terry went over at 8 a.m. and made sure they knew what the problem was. They called around 11 a.m. to tell us that the jack in question was shot and would require replacing @ $900+. !!! Now we knew it was expensive, but we have had one replaced before under warranty and knew that their price was a bit more expensive. So Terry called Tiffin and they told him retail was just over $600. ??? AND if it is done at the plant at Red Bay they do it at dealer cost which is $400+. Well, obviously, we don't want to make a run to Red Bay just now. Terry decided to ask Coach Care-less to verify the price when they called to tell us it was done. Hah. They called back at 3:30 p.m. to tell us that they couldn't get a jack! They are built right there in Elkhart, but Atwood is "moving their plant" and wouldn't be able to assemble one until maybe sometime Monday. What? Terry said, "Forget it. I've got to be in Virginia for GRANDSON EXTRAORDINNAIRE'S birthday and I can't wait. So then he asked them what we owed for removing the jack, and the guy said . . . "Oh, nothing. It only took 10 minutes." Grrrrrrr. Terry was smokin'. Yep. If they had done their job after getting our coach in for an 8 a.m. appointment, Tiffin would have overnighted a part to Ekhart and we would have it installed. But they waited until 3:30 p.m. to tell us and by that time Red Bay was shut down for the day.

Since then we have found out a couple things. The warning buzzer on the jacks works really well. If the jack is not working, it sounds and disables ALL the jacks. If you remove the jack, it still works because it thinks it's not doing what it's supposed to and the air dumps and all the jacks rachet because it thinks they need pulled up. Grrrrrr. We got the buzzers off and aired up and went to camp Pull-Tab. Once there, Tab and Terry worked on it. Found out you cannot use ANY jacks if one is malfunctioning. Still nothing concrete, so Terry got on the Tiffin owners' forum and there someone posted a solution. Once they got the jacks disabled, he had to jump the control for the air dump and got the coach aired up. So now we are on our way. We have no levelers, so we have to find a really level site, but we are at least on track now for Ronan's birthday.

Thanks for nothing Coach Care-less.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Till next time. . .

Dale

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

The Good. . . Went to my doctor today for my increasingly painful hip. He diagnosed a type of bursitis and gave me a cortisone shot. Yay. I'm happy. I've had those before and I know it will work.

The Bad. . . Have to leave here a day early and make a run to Elkhart.

The Ugly. . . The right rear passenger Atwood Levelegs jack is up and doesn't know it. The motor is spinning and there is no movement. . . in other words, the wheel's turning, but the hamster's dead! The system thinks the jack is down and keeps trying to raise it. Since it is sending an error message, it shuts the power off to the entire system and we cannot lower the jacks. The techie said we were lucky they did this in the UP position. . . otherwise we would not be able to move. Yuck.

We arrived here in New Castle, Indiana, at Summit Lake State Park. Because they don't have the water turned on (actually, they did that today), we only have to pay $11 a night for 30 Amp. Not bad. Last night we visited with our friend Myra and met the new man in her life, Kent. What a wonderful man and a great couple they make! We took the dogs to their vet today and got their meds refilled. Tomorrow we have hair appointments and Terry sees the same doctor I saw today. Then Wednesday, we see our broker and Terry's cardiologist. Then we are taking off for parts north.

We have to be out of Indiana before the weekend snow arrives. Ugh!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Gorgeous even in the rain!

We gave up on the rain quitting and drove on over to Sunset Dock on Dale Hollow Lake. Everything was calm, a few people around. . . fisherman, of course. They fish this lake all year long and it normally does not freeze completely, although I believe there have been years that it has. There are quite a few boats/houseboats sitting in their slips.

We drove up to the storage lot and were very pleasantly surprised when we opened our door. We had put the covers on our boat and jet ski, then threw big sheets of plastic over that. The boats were in better condition than any time we have stored them. Not much dust, clean on the inside, just like we left them. We had put two boxes of damprid in the Wellcraft. That stuff works, but if you use it, be sure to set the can in something larger. It draws moisture and produces water. We set the containers in larger rubbermaid type containers and they were about half full of water. Then we also took long narrow containers that were perforated and put moth balls in there and placed those around the cabin and also on the gunwales of the jet ski. No vermin! So we were quite happy. Our job was simple. Took out that stuff, put the batteries in and got them ready for the mechanic. Then we went and talked with Chuck and told him what we wanted done and he is going to have them lake ready by the time we get down there in May.

He is working on a project boat right now, replacing all the rotted wood and fiberglassing in the new decks, etc. He said that the new boats are so expensive, people are fixing up their old ones. Even if it costs $10-12,000, it is cheaper than the $50-60,000 they are asking for similar new boats. I know our Wellcraft would be way expensive to replace. We did put a new engine in ours before we started full timing. The boat is still in great shape and we have taken good care of it.

We are leaving this morning and driving just south of Lexington, Kentucky. Then tomorrow we will drive on in to Summit Lake State Park, just north of New Castle. We will be there most of the week while we see doctors and vets, then it is off to Virginia for Ronan's first birthday! Yay!!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Here on top of Mt. Ararat

At least that's what it seems like. We got here yesterday, at Maple Hill RV Campground in Jamestown, Tennessee. We left Georgia on Wednesday and drove to Chattanooga for the night. We drove on here because we wanted to put batteries in the boats and check them out. We have a mechanic who is going to get them "lake ready" and we wanted to make sure they were ready for him. We had planned on going over to Sunset Dock yesterday and just as we arrived it started to rain. Long story short. . . it hasn't stopped since. We are high up on a hill. There has been some thunder and occasionally a gust, but nothing frightening. . . and nothing of that sort is expected. The high today is supposed to be 65*, so if it would quit raining, we would run over to the lake. Kind of hate to get out when it is pouring down rain.

I already had to bathe Neal once. Course, he just stumbles and falls when he gets out. I just let him roll around in the mud this morning until he got "the job" done, then carried him straight to the bathtub. He didn't like that much, but I am bigger than he is, so he is now one clean doggy. I will probaby have to repeat that scenario every time he goes out today. Fortunately Neal is smart enough when the weather is bad to only go out when absolutely necessary. So he goes out, "stops, squats and scores" in one "not so smooth" motion. Hah.

Tomorrow we start the trek for central Indiana. We are going to visit the doctors and then head for Virginia for Ronan's first birthday. A week there, then back to northern Indiana for a month.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Babyland!

Well, we did it. . . we went to Babyland. . . however, we resisted the urge to adopt. . .

What is Babyland? Why, it is the home of the Cabbage Patch doll! They were conceived and delivered in the town of Cleveland, Georgia, just a few miles up the road. Unfortunately, I had left my camera at home, so I didn't have a chance to take pictures. It didn't help that we were there on a Saturday, and every little girl in the state was in there to pick out their new adoptee.

It is a marketing marvel. The "hospital" is located in a former medical clinic and all the people there are dressed as doctors or nurses and they fuss over the thousands of dolls as though they were real babies. They appear to have a lot of fun. . . but it gives new meaning to the term. . . "get a life!" hahaha. Actually it was quite fun. Terry particularly liked the "cabbage patch" which had doll heads growing among the cabbage leaves. Rather gross if you ask me. . . but the kids all liked it.

We left there and did a little drive out in the country. It was raining, so we only got out to look in a few shops.

We passed by Lake Lanier today on our way down to Gainesville. The lake is still down a lot and boat docks and piers are out of the water. Once we got to Gainesville, we met our friends, Ward and Pat who had to take their Bounder in to the service center to have some work done. We got there just as they got the "good" news. . . a part had to be ordered and it would be a few days before it arrived. We offered to drive them back to their house in Suches so they wouldn't have to drive the motorhome back up the mountain and back down in another week. So we took them back to their house after we ate lunch, of course.

The drive up the mountain to their house was a little misty, so I couldn't get a lot of scenery shots, but I did take some anyway. There is a waterfall along a curve where the rock shears. It was small, but quite pretty. We also passed by the grave of an Indian Princess, Trahlyta. She is buried here which is close to where her tribe lived. Just north of Ward and Pat's house is a wildlife area, so we went there and I took a few shots of the mountain stream.

Tomorrow we are headed to Helen to finish shopping in that little Bavarian town and then Wednesday we are headed out. We will leave here and spend the first night in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before heading to Dale Hollow Lake.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Guten Morgan!

Greetings from Helen, Georgia, a Bavarian village in the mountains of north Georgia. We have wanted to come here for a long time, but were worried about driving up here with the big rig. Turns out that is not a problem. We are staying actually just south of Cleveland, Georgia, in a nice park with big sites about 11 miles from Helen. We decided to stay for a week. It started out fairly warm here, but is going to cool off for the next few days or so.

Yesterday we drove up to Helen and did some shopping in the many shops. We stopped and ate at a little German bakery. The food was very good, but we had to bring half of it home. The portions were so big. Helen did not start out as a German community. It was the brainchild of the city fathers back in the late 60's who came up with a plan to revitalize their community. So, it basically was a marketing ploy to draw in visitors' dollars. No matter. It is a quaint little place up in the mountains and a neat town to visit. There were several people of German descent in the shops.

While we were eating, our friends, Ward and Patty, called and invited us to their house for dinner. They live in Suches, Georgia, which is about 16 miles away AS THE CROW FLIES--more like 35 miles on the mountain roads and about an hour to get there. Wow. Talk about curvy roads. One section of the road has over 300 curves and this is NOT the "Tail of the Dragon." We drove FOREVER (well it SEEMED like that) to their house. It is a beautiful place on the hillside and a long front yard. It is easy to see why they love living up here in the mountains. We had an enjoyable dinner with them and a high school friend of Ward's along with his wife. We visited until late in the evening when we then had to negotiate the mountain roads in the dark. I drove back and it took a while because we didn't know the roads, but we made it back home.

Today we again met Ward and Patty in Dahlonega and Ward drove us up the montain to the Amicalola Falls State Park. It is the home of the Amicalola falls. These falls drop 729 feet, the tallest falls east of the Mississippi River. It was quite spectacular with what seemed to be a lot of water pouring down. We hiked up about a third of the way on the trail and took pictures. Later when we went to the top of the falls, it was quite a small creek that supplied the water, but it certainly made a big splash.

From there we drove to the Visitor's Center in the park and out behind the office there is the start of several trails. One of the trails is an approach trail to the start of the Appalachian Trail. We had to have our picture taken there. It was interesting to learn a little about the trail.

We left there and went into Dahlonega and had lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Pueblo's. They serve Mexican food there, but the owners are actually from South America. It was very good. After lunch, we said goodbye to our friends, but plan to catch up with them again before we leave the area. We have had so much fun with them.

Not sure what is on the docket for today, but we will find some place to explore.

Till next time. . .

Dale

FDR's Little White House

We came to Warm Springs, Georgia, to visit FDR's "Little White House." It is nestled in the hills near this little town and there are a number of "warm springs" which supply water at 80+ degrees. That is why they are called warm springs instead of hot springs that are found elsewhere. FDR came here to swim in the springs in an effort to revitalize his leg muscles which were affected by polio. He actually purchased the ground and all the buildings that were in the immediate area and founded a rehabilitation center for anyone afflicted by this terrible disease. There is a museum at the pools which shows a movie with FDR playing in the pools with other people, mostly children who were seeking theraputic relief from their disabilities.

Also on the grounds is the Little White House which was a very small, modest home FDR had built for him while he was visiting Warm Springs. It was up on the hill above the pools, not visible from there, but close to the rehabilitation center. It has been preserved with the same furnishings much like it was when FDR lived there. This was also the place where he died from a stroke while sitting for an official portrait. The unfinished portrait is housed in a special display along with a "finished portrait" the artist painted from memory after FDR's death.

We also drove up into the Franklin Roosevelt State Park. It is a curvy road up through there, but there is a campground. We would have trouble getting Phaeton Place in and around the campground due to low hanging trees, etc., but it is a nice camp. The visitor's center was built by the CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corp. There were great views from many places in the park.

It was quite cold in the evenings while we were here. It got down to 28 one night. Brrrrr. Fortunately we were able to stay warm.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Anchors Aweigh!

The Civil War Naval Museum is in Port Columbus, Georgia. It's along the river, so I guess that's why they call it "Port" although it is Columbus, Georgia, right by the Civic Center. I would guess it is one of a kind and it is truly a gem. It is not very big, but that is an advantage. We love museums, but after a couple hours, one tends to get tired. This one is just right. We have wanted to visit here since we learned about it while visiting the "Cairo" which is on display at the Vicksburg (Mississippi) national cemetery. The Cairo is a Civil War ironclad that was recovered from the Yazoo River nearby. It is housed in a speciality built display outside with a canopy overhead and an attached museum. It is the most complete we have seen, with engines recovered and returned to the ship as well as the propellers, paddle wheels and canon. We were told by a docent there that Port Columbus had a much larger display with the greatest numbers of ironclads on display. That is not true, the Cairo is a better and far more restored display, but that didn't take away from the splendor of the museum.

The focal point in the museum is the CSS Jackson, a Civil War ironclad, which was built not far away on the river. The hull is on display and there is skeletal framework around it which does a good job of depicting the outline of the ship as it once appeared. The size was accurately portrayed and a complete history of the ship was easy to read. There were a lot of photographs, paintings, artwork, etc., depicting the role the ironclads played in the Civil War and the various battles which were fought on water. The ironclads were mostly confined to the rivers and inside waterways as they weren't designed to withstand the stresses of the ocean. There were several that, once built, could not even be floated down the river because they drafted way too much, and they were destroyed or captured where they sat.

Obviously the most famous of the ironclads were the Monitor and the Merrimac. They were completely different in their design. The Monitor was a Union ship as was the Merrimac. The South salvaged the sunken Merrimac and refloated her as the Virginia. She was much larger than the Monitor, but in the the famous battle, it basically ended as a draw. The Monitor has been discovered and a few pieces have been salvaged. It is an ongoing operation, but the fragility of the wreck makes recovery difficult.

Also displayed is another hull, this one of a gunboat, the CSS Chattahoochee. Its mission was to protect the river and potentially help break the Union blockade of Apalachicola. An accidential boiler explosion that killed 19 of its crew resulted in the ship being brought to Columbus for repairs for most of the duration of the war.

Also displayed is a recreated portion of Admiral Farragut's flagship, the USS Hartford, to show the daily life aboard a Civil War ship. In addition, there was recreation of the USS Monitor's rotating gun turret and an ironclad simlulator.

There was a large mural displayed showing many of the ships as they would appear in the water and their size and structure in comparison to other ships. Also in the mural are displayed the many submarines which also played a part during the war.

There is much to see here and a lot to learn. The admission price is $6.50 and it is well worth leraning about this piece of our nation's history. They have done a great job and if you are in the area, it is well worth a visit.

Till next time. . .

Dale

History and a Past President

When we left the Rally, we headed over to Andersonville, the site of the notorious Confederate military prison established during the Civil War. It was built in early 1864 and operated for 14 months. During those 14 months, 45,000 Union soldiers were confined in the open area originally designed to hold 10,000; and almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding or exposure. Prisoners were left to their own devices when water became scarce and the only shelter they had was from lean-to's or tents designed from blankets they brought with them. It was a very somber, depressing sort of visit as one imagines the horror and the plight of the soldiers housed here. They were dying so fast, they couldn't dig enough graves; so they dug trenches and laid the bodies in shoulder to shoulder. Surprisingly, all but about 400 of the victims were identified, thanks in part to a worker in the hospital who duplicated the rolls. Later, Clara Barton came and helped to catalog the dead by matching the numbers on the roster with the numbers on the wooden grave markers and thereby identified the interred. Their final resting place is a national cemetery on the property.

The prison site itself is preserved with markers outlining where the stockade stood and the "dead line" which was another interior line which prisoners were not to cross into under penalty of death. The commandant, Captain Henry Wirz, was executed for war crimes due to the conditions under which the prisoners were held; but there are conflicting arguments about whether he was just a scapegoat and others should have been held accountable as well. There were other prison camps during the Civil War in both the north and south and at least one northern prison had a record that nearly matched that of Andersonville. However, Andersonville was the one which was most publicized and got the most attention. A real history lesson here.

Also on the grounds of the National Historic Site is a prisoner of war museum which is dedicated to all prisoners of war during every war or conflict in which the U.S. has been involved. It is also a very somber museum and one unlike any I have seen before.

Today we drove 22 miles over to Plains, Georgia. Time to do something upbeat and we decided to visit the hometown of former President Jimmy Carter. What a neat little town. They have truly capitalized on their most famous favorite son and he has reciprocated by making his residence here and participating in the community like he did before he entered into politics.

We started out at the old Plains High School which anywhere else would have been torn down and replaced by something more modern. That would have been a real shame. The schoolhouse has been lovingly restored and it reminded me of my old grade school back in Indiana. The auditorium even had the old wooden seats that were beautifully finished and highly polished where we first sat to view a short movie about Jimmy Carter. The museum was well done with information about President Carter's early life in Plains, his family, his early political aspirations, and his eventual run for the presidency. The entire community rallied around him and helped with his campaign. It is an interesting story and one in which the entire town takes pride.

We drove by Billy Carter's old gas station. It looks better now than it did in the pictures we saw. They have been working on it and it will become a museum as well. We then drove out to Carter's boyhood home and toured the house and grounds. Terry found the well amusing as he watched some people trying to figure out how the bottom fill galvanized well bucket worked. Having used one like it on his grandparents' farm, he stepped up and showed other visitors how it worked.

Most visitors to Plains hope that they might catch a glimpse of the former president and first lady and I was no exception, but that didn't happen. He and wife Rosalynn are seen out and about from time to time, but today wasn't the day. Their house is easy to find but not easy to get to. He has secret service protection, of course, and the compound is locked up tight.

It was a great visit topped off by something truly special. Peanut Butter ice cream. A store owner here invented the soft serve recipe and serves it up himself. What a wonderful treat. I'm not a big ice cream fan and I had expected it to be hard ice cream, but it was super good. I may go back for more before we leave!

Till next time. . .

Dale

The Big Rally!

Good Sam's Big Rally is about to wind up. There was one last entertainment event scheduled for tonight, but we weren't interested in going. We have enjoyed the entertainment, though. The Vogues sang the first night. Only one of the group was original to the group, but they sang well. Frankie Vallie was to perform the next night and we heard he was in the hospital. He was replaced with Bobby Vinton. Wow! I was disappointed at first because I wanted to see Frankie, but Bobby Vinton put on one heck of a show. His daughter, Hannah, sang backup, as well as one of his sons, who also played guitar and directed the orchestra.

We have been busy attending seminars. There have been many we have sat through and we have learned a few things. We looked at a lot of coaches, but I am still content with Phaeton Place. Even more expensive coaches didn't appeal to me. We have a good setup and are happy with it the way it is.

We did a lot of walking, but last night and today we rode our bikes. That worked really well. There are a lot of fences to secure the bikes and it worked for us. Our good friends Ward and Patty left yesterday as they had to take in some Red Cross training. We enjoyed having them with us. We attended a lot of the same seminars and managed to hook up a couple times a day to visit.

I'm not sure how may rigs were here. I never did hear a count. A lot, though! The fairgrounds here have been great. This is our second rally here during this same time in March. The setup is well organized and the buildings here at the Georgia Fairgrounds and Agricenter are fairly new and very well maintained. That's what makes it a winner for groups like ours. We boondocked and I was worried about exhaust from generators, but everyone around us had muffler stacks on their generator exhaust.

We had great weather. . . mostly sunny skies. Friday storms rolled through Atlanta and there was speculation we would have some inclement weather here, but all we had was occasional mist. We didn't even need an umbrella and we still had some sun despite the usual gloomy sky. Then Saturday we actually had tornado warnings for most of the day. Again, we had gloomy skies, but also had some sun. Every day was warm enough for a light jacket if it was even needed. Then Saturday night around 9:30 the skies really let loose and we had a terrific deluge. The good part was that it didn't last long and that was it. We really felt like we dodged the bullet this time.

So tomorrow we are leaving in the morning and heading toward Andersonville, Georgia. That is the location of the federal POW camp during the Civil War. I have always wanted to visit that prison and study the history. There is also a pioneer village there.

Speaking of pioneer villages, we were camped prior to the Rally at the Agrirama at Tifton, Georgia. It is a pioneer village with a farm museum. It is a great place to come visit and bring your family. They have about 40 full hookup RV sites in the parking lot. It is quite comfortable and several rigs were there staging for the Big Rally.

While we were there, we also drove out in the country to pick up mail at a small post office and came upon the Nether's Pork Skins plant. We met the owners, Johnny and Dianne, and bought some of their "skins." They are very good and we had a good visit with them. It is a small family owned business and one of the neat stops most people probably never make. But it was interesting.

Till next time. . .

Dale

If that's Old Faithful, we must be in Yellowstone!

Hmmmmm. I thought we were in Georgia, but that sure looks like Old Faithful. Quick, gotta' wake Terry up from his nap. . . .

Having been the sole campers here at the Agrirama for a couple days was nice, but we eventually got some neighbors, two sites over. I was outside with the boyz while Terry was taking his afternoon nap. I watched Ed (we introduced ourselves later) hookup the hose to the water spigot in the utility pit and unroll the hose. As he kneeled next to his HR Endeavor motorhome, he called to his wife to turn the hose on to clean out the hose. After a moment he told her to turn it off. She tried. He called to her again and she replied, "It won't turn off." So he thinks for a moment and drops the hose and walks back to the pit. At this point, the hose is twisting a bit at the side of the motorhome, getting the side wet as the water pressure continues to push through the hose. As Ed tries to turn off the spigot, he turns the water on higher and the hose goes wild. Yep, it was like a scene from the Robin Williams' movie, RV. The hose stretches up like a cobra and starts vascillating wildly and I feared for the side of the coach. At this point, however, I was afraid of getting wet, so I moved my chair to avoid the flailing water hose. By this time, Ed had turn the water back and the hose died down and slid under the motorhome. Ed then turned it again and the ugly snake reared its head once more flailing back and forth under the motorhome. Ed (not thinking too clearly) then disconnected his hose from the spigot and now the water just shot straight up out of the pit. This is when I'm thinking. . . would Terry want to see this? or should I let him sleep? I couldn't help myself, the show was just too good, so I ran inside to get him. "Terry! We have a GUSHER!" He strolls out. Course, he knows exactly what has happened (defective washer caught in valve) and we all stand there introducing ourselves while Old Faithful does its thing. Beverly, his wife, had taken off for the office to report the problem. Within minutes the onsite manager came over with his cell phone to his ear and told us help was on the way. Ed determines then that he should have left his hose on it, kinked the hose and put on a hose nozzle which he had. Duh. Yeh, Ed, but to fix it now would require someone getting really wet. Soon the maintenance guy came and asked them to move. . . no, let's just shut the water off. Terry had already pulled out a plastic hose shutoff (he keeps a couple just for occasions like this). The maintenance man did shut the water off, Terry put on the shutoff and all was well. You just can't make this stuff up. It was quite entertaining.

We are parked in front of the RV Security shack here at the Agrirama and we noticed that after the museum hours last night there were about a dozen cars that came and parked near the shack. The security gal comes over every evening to chat a bit, so we asked her if they were having a party. Oh no, she said, "Those are our resident GhostBusters!" They come periodically with their ghostbusting equipment and attempt to commune with the spirits which they say are present in the 1870's farm village. Hmmmmm. Interesting. She said that the head Ghostbuster claims one spirit likes her and follows her around. Reportedly, they have pictures of "orbs" and "fogs" and other "evidence" of lurking spirits. . . . Okay. As long as they stay on that side of the fence and leave the campers alone. I'm cool with that.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Boy, I don't know how much more excitement I can stand. That was enough for one day, anyway.

Agrirama!

We see lots of interesting sights in our travels and yesterday was such a time. There were several antique cars traveling together. This is the best shot I got. We left Rainbow Country Campground yesterday morning intending to spend the night in a campground in Quitman, Georgia. When we got close to the road that turns off to the campground, we realized too late we had passed right by it. So much for "look for the sign" according to our campground book. There was no sign from either direction. We were on a red road and a very good one, but limited places to turn a big rig around. So I called the campground to see if they had spaces available and got no answer. Not a good sign as we have found a few campgrounds have disappeared even though they are in the current campground books. So we decided to continue on our way and look for something else. Our criteria includes being fairly close to Perry, Georgia, within the next few days in order to stage our departure for the Big Rally starting next week. We also want a place where our friends, Pat and Ward, can come camp with us and caravan to the rally. We ended up stopping at the Agrirama at Tifton, Georgia. It is right on I-75 about 60 miles south of Perry. It is a farm museum and a "period" village and in the parking lot are 40 full hookup sites with 50 amp service. Wow! All for $20 a night and with that, you get free admission to the museum and village.

Once we got set up we settled in for the night as there was rain forecast and lots of it. Flood warnings abounded, but no severe weather. Before the rain started, we took the dogs for a walk, Neal in his stroller, and let them browse on the grass at the end of the parking lot. By that time the museum had closed and we had the place all to ourselves. No other campers in here. The security guard stopped by at one point to visit and to see the dogs and she said we would be very safe. They lock the gate on the road back here, but there is a cell number to call if one needs out.

The rain started sometime during the night and continued until about 9:30 a.m. They weren't kidding about getting a lot of rain. Fortunately, the parking lot is well drained, although we had a lot of water running in sheets toward us and on by to the drains. But at least there is no mud to contend with.

Ward and Patty are planning on joining us on Monday, so we have decided to wait till they get here to go through the museum. It will be more fun to tour that with friends. It has been so long since we have been with friends, other than to eat out, and I am looking forward to seeing them. We last saw Ward and Patty in Chattanooga in the fall.

Terry is off to the mall at the moment to walk. I stayed back to sit out with the dogs for a bit and to start some laundry. I have a few mending projects as well. The sitting out didn't last long as it started to mist, so I had to bring the boyz back inside.

Till next time. . .

Dale

It's a Small World afterall!

We are camped at Rainbow Country RV Park near Cedar Key. We had visited the Key last week when we had the dogs out for a drive and decided to explore this little island a bit more. On our way over, we took a picture of an osprey nest out in the water. I had seen it before and hoped I could get a picture. I'm afraid it isn't much of a closeup, but it was neat to see the osprey on the nest.

Our first stop on the key was a little museum. We find the small museums run by the local historical societies to be very good, very interesting and usually small enough to take in when your time is limited. We spent a good deal of time talking with the volunteer. He and his wife live in a condo on the Key, but are from Indiana. I, of course, was born and raised in Indiana and lived there all my life. Terry, while a native of Mississippi, had lived in Indiana since the age of two. The volunteer graduated from Goshen High School ten years before I did! He lived in Dunlap, where Terry and his parents lived and before we left, we found out he not only knew Terry's Dad, but had owned one of the duplexes Henry built in the subdivision where our duplexes are located. Wow! It is indeed a small world. We moved on through the museum learning a bit of the history regarding Cedar Key. It was known for producing the cedar slats for making pencils and also used the bark of the sable palm to make whisk brooms.

After visiting the museum, we strolled through the town and visited the shops. We walked on out to Dock Street and went into the shops there as well as "Coconuts," a restaurant/bar which is frequented by the locals. It was quite busy while we were there and we enjoyed a sample platter of appetizers.

Cedar Key is not large, but it is quite quaint. We enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and the slow pace. On our way back, we stopped at the railroad trestle site. During the Key's heyday, there was a railroad that went from the mainland out to a key beyond Cedar Key. The railroad is gone, but part of the trestle remains and the path you walk on to get to it is the actual railbed. It is about a half-mile walk, but is easy and various plants and trees are identified for the nature lovers.

Tomorrow we will be moving on, getting closer to Perry, Georgia, where we will be attending the Good Sam Big Rally.

Till next time. . .

Dale