Happy 2012 From the Shores of the Okefenokee

Just got in from our bonfire here at the campground.  Had pizza made on pie irons over the fire and drank hot cider and swapped stories. Our camp host Carl was indeed quite the host and our employers (who own the picture I used to get your attention here) brought the beer and provided lots of firewood for the fire.  Hey, it was cold here too (at least down to 52).   Listened to a couple of barred owls calling to each other and went looking for spiders' eyes in the dark by the pond.  Great way to end the old year and start the new.  I'll post more tomorrow but for tonight my tail is dragging.  Happy times to all and best of luck in the coming year!

Way Down Upon The Suwanee River

Yep, I'm here in Stephen Foster country and I couldn't be happier.  The campground is small but big on friendliness.  There are 3 other workampers and they are great to work with.  And did I mention the hours?  I worked more hours in 2 days at Amazon than I do all week here.  And Gus is loving it too.  Lots of time for me to walk him and I can walk home to him in 5 minutes or less. 

And then there's the swamp.  Yep, just across the highway is the Okefenokee National Refuge.  This morning I took a boat tour of the swamp with the rest of the workers here.  AWESOME!!  Good thing I decided to start a birding journal.  Ibis, Great Blue Heron, Sandhill Cranes, and even a great barred owl.  Oh, and then there were a few gators here and there.  Actually, it was a bit cool this morning so we didn't really see any gators until later and then only laying in the warm mud.  Overall a great introduction to the swamp.  We'll be going back to kayak the swamp sometime after the new year.  Can't wait.

Oh yeah, I think it's going to be a great winter down here on the Suwanee.  Come on down!!!

One More Round of Chingle Bells Then I'm Off

Whew!  It's Monday again and hard to believe all that has happened in a week.  I had planned to work my last shift on Tuesday night and then go home for some sleep before getting up around noon and calmly hooking up in the warm sunshine.  So much for plans.

The water was rising.  Yes, because of all the rain lately the lake, the one I was camped beside, was rising quicker than anyone had thought it would.  So my plans changed.  What's new about that?  I got some sleep after my shift on Monday night then with the able help of my neighbor Jeff, tied the kayak on top of the car and after thanking him, ran off to the Work Campers Job Fair at Amazon.  I really wanted to see what that would be like.  I did talk to an outfit with a job I'm interested in but won't talk about it here for fear of jinxing it.  Then I rushed back to my campsite and did a quick tear down.  I struggled a little with getting the tv antenna down since I had never used it before but did finally get it all down and secure.  Once the car was hooked up it was on to the dump station (no honey wagon visit this week).  I was able to dump but since the water at the dump station was turned off to keep pipes from freezing I had to just shove the sewer hose back in the compartment.  Will get that taken care of soon.  Finally I found a place to park the rig across from Amazon and left the furnance running for Gus while I worked my last shift.

After work my friend Tonya gave me a ride back to my rig to check on Gus.  He was OK but I discovered that my house batteries were too low to keep the furnance running and it was 44 in Seeker.  Brrrrr.  Even for Gus that's cold.  So I started the engine and charged the batteries a while and then started the furnance again.  Once it was up to 60 inside we decided to leave the heat running for Gus and go eat some breakfast at Huddle House.  Ran into my friend Amey from work there and had a nice farewell chat with her and Tonya.  Then my camping buddies Sue and Roger came in so Amey and Tonya left me in their hands.  Don't worry girls, I survived and even managed to escape. 

Upon returning to Seeker I saw that again the batteries hadn't held their charge and it was cooling off inside.  That's when Gus and I said our good byes and headed south.  But it was dark out and I hate driving in the dark.  And did I mention the rain?  Yes, it was still raining.  Not hard, but I really hate rain and dark for driving.  So, once we got to the Walmart in Columbia Gus and I decided to park it and take a nap.  When we woke up around 8:30 the sun had come out, albeit a bit of a gray day, and the rain had stopped.  So we hopped on the Cumberland Parkway and in an hour we were on I 65.  Only 90 miles to Nashville!  I was feeling good.  Even picked up a Nashville station which began to talk about the "wintry mix:".  Sure enough, just as I was crossing into Tennessee I began to see the wintry mix.  The good news was that it was more rain than snow, too warm to stick to the roads, and I was coming into Nashville around 10am so traffic was at it's lowest.  But of course I was taking the 2 worst roads for foul weather accidents in the city: 65 and Briley Parkway. 

Just as I turned on my street the snowflakes got fatter and fluffier, but I just laughed.  I was home, or at least next door.  Since my place is rented I had to claim squatter's rights in my neighbor's drive.  When I let Gus out to run he looked very confused.  Then he ran to Louise's back door to bark for her to come out.  Sorry Gus, she's still at work.  He ran all over the back yard then went down to the back door under my carport to be greeted by the renters' 6 month old German Shepherd pup.  Needless to say he ran back to Seeker quickly.  He was more than happy to nap with me inside Seeker till Louise came home.  We had a lovely dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant and caught up on gossip and family news.  On the way home we visited with Buster and Dawn who are neighbors down the street and parents of my renter.  Then Gus and I went to visit Brenda and he decided to stay for the night, so I went back to Seeker alone.  Since Louise had let me plug my shoreline in at her laundry room I had a toasty warm bed despite the temps outside in the 20s.

On Thursday I ran a few errands, collected Gus, and headed down the Natchez Trace to Hohenwald.  It's my favorite route and since I had the time and knew it would be a while before getting back to here, well, I had to travel it.  Of course I had forgotten the construction at the Hohenwald exit and the detour threw me for a minute, but I got to town just fine.  And it was, as usual, a whirlwind tour.  Stayed out on Buffalo Road with sister Nancetta and Bill the first night.  The next morning I unhooked the car from Seeker and ran out to NAPPA to get new house batteries.  No more running out of charge for me.  Johnsy followed me in Seeker out to NAPPA to get my new batteries then on to the station to top off my LP.  Now she's good to go.  Johnsy drove Seeker back to his house and parked her next to his shop and plugged in my shoreline.  And that's where I spent my Christmas.  That night all 3 grandkids were there so we opened some presents and played and laughed and sang songs.  I was exhausted when I went to bed.  The kids made Christmas cookies and watched videos.  The next day we took Aiden's new telescope up into his treehouse to look for deer.  I whacked my head on the low ceiling.  He laughed and I tried not to cry.  Addy kept singing into her karaoke machine trying to find the perfect song.  All the while little Drake, who is 4, walked around singing his own unique version of Jingle Bells which somehow morphs into Old MacDonald.  Ahhh, to be 4 again.

Sunday morning was chocolate gravy and biscuits (you're the best Darlene) and country sausage.  Then load up and hit the road.  Gus and I drove about 300 miles on Sunday with my first time of driving the rig through Birmingham traffic.  What was worse was the traffic near the malls which I was in and out of along highway 280.  But it's Monday morning now and I'm in Columbus, GA touring the Confederate Naval Museum with big brother Mike and his lovely wife Linda.  I wonder how things looked to her since she's had the cataracts removed from one eye and in a week will have the other one done.  Seems like it would be confusing.  I should ask her.  After lunch at a very elegant Burger King in the historic district of Columbus Mike and I walked a little of the river walk downtown and he helped me find the answers to an earthcache about the river.  Hard to imagine big naval warships on that river. 

About 2:00 we parted ways since they had about 170 miles to cover returning to Winder and I wanted to get to Tifton before dark.  Drove through Plains again but didn't stop since I'd covered most of that this summer when I was down this way.  I did stop at the GA Veterans Memorial State Park in Cordele which made me think of Reelfoot Lake.  Lots of cypress trees and swampy areas.  I did a 5 stage multicache which took me around to all the monuments and gave me and Gus a good leg stretching.  I didn't get to do the GA Parks cache for a stamp on my passport because it's near the primitive camping area and I could get in but couldn't get out with my full rig.  Maybe next time.  By 5:00 we were headed south on 75 and I was glad because as you know, I don't like driving after dark and it was getting that way.  And here's one really big reason why:  About 6 miles from the exit I needed there was no way for me to avoid running over a huge piece of "road gator".  Had it been day time I probably could have seen it in time to switch lanes, but not in the dark.  I did pull off right away and checked both vehicles and luckily all seems OK.  I eased on down the road to the Pilot Truckstop in Tifton where I am nestled in among the truckers for the night.  I walked Gus with my neighbor who was walking his miniature pug.  Life on the road is just not right without a four legged companion. 

So Gus, tomorrow morning we'll drive about 100 miles to our winter home.  I hope you like it.  I hope I like it.  We'll let you know soon.

A Fond Farewell to My Kentucky Home - For Now

It's Monday afternoon - well morning for me since I got off work at 3:30 this morning then went to sleep around 5am.  So, yes, 2pm is my Mondary morning.  It's my last Monday morning here at the park with all the other Amazonians.  In 2 days I will hook up and pull out headed for swampier regions.  I have some anxieties of course.  Will the engine start?  Do I remember how to drive Seeker?  Will it still be raining? 

Answers to the first 2 questions will be known on Wednesday.  But so far the weather guessers are promising that the rain will taper off tomorrow and leave me a beautiful sunny day to leave Kentucky in my rear view mirror.  I hope they are right.  It's such a great adventure here and I would not like for my last memory of this place to be one of gray skies and big fat raindrops (not to mention slick roads).

I must admit I envy the park manager Sharon.  Her job is to live here and keep folks happy.  Aside from the occassional skunk infiltration (which Gus thankfully avoided) and a few loud campers who had to be put on the road, this would be a dream job.  The lake is beautiful and every morning I can watch the sun rise over the cut in the island across the lake (well, if I'm awake I can).  She's done an excellent job in my book and I do look forward to returning for a visit here sometime.

I will also miss my buddies at Amazon.  I've met some really fine folks there who work hard for the money and my hat is off to them for working at it every day for years.  It's crazy hours, hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  The warehouse is pretty clean for a warehouse, but it is still a warehouse which means it's dusty and the spiders love it.  I've had a pretty wicked cough since I got here and I have no doubt it will clear up just fine once I leave.  I don't know how those folks keep it up but I do understand that you do what you have to do to be where you want to be.  This part of Kentucky is so beautiful.  I understand why folks want to be here.

According to geocaching.com I have visited 103 of the 120 counties in Kentucky and I don't think any of it was any prettier than right here.  The rolling hills and green farmlands are just so peaceful.  Of course the coal-rich mountains of the east and the river bottomlands of the west have their own kind of beauty too.  I saw a lot here and I intend to see more when I return to this area in May for Geowoodstock.  I still want to go to Cave in Rock, Monkey's Eyebrow, and the Patton Museum.  I did eat dinner at the Whistle Stop Cafe but I didn't eat the fried green tomatoes.  There were horse farms in the north and a metorite hole in the southeast.  And I'll never forget vomiting all over the haunted sanitarium.  I doubt Phil will forget that night either!

But it's time to put away the folding chairs, unhook the landline, and cruise down the road to the next adventure: alligators!!!!!

My Farewell Tour of Kentucky

It's hard to believe that my time in Kentucky is coming to an end.  Next week I will pull in my slide, box up my gear adrift (that's Navy talk for anything that can become a flying object while underway) and hitch up my car to make the drive south.  I have seen so much and yet there is so much more to see.  One thing I really have noticed is that like Tennessee, Kentucky is long and somewhat narrow and seems to have 3 distinct geographical sections: the flat western river land, the rolling horse and dairy farms of the central state, and the mountainous coal regions of the east.  I spent most of the Thanksgiving weekend driving through parts of the middle and eastern counties.  I especially loved driving through the small towns after dark with all their Christmas lights.  Having lived in a big city for too long I miss how the little towns still decorate. 

I especially enjoyed stopping and visiting several of the veterans memorials along the way.  In three different towns I have seen WWI doughboy statues on town squares complete with barbed wire at the soldier's feet.  And in tiny Morgan County I found a monument to women veterans.  That was a nice surprise. 

I'm sorry to say that I didn't stop and get a picture of the various cow statues decorated for Christmas.  Perhaps I will get a chance to see another one before I leave and will add it here.  Mostly I just admired the scenery and of course, looked for geocaches.  I drove just about 1,000 miles in 4 days, visited 23 counties and found over 100 caches.  I have completed about two thirds of the requirements for the Kentucky County and Delorme Challenges.  Alas, I won't be able to finish up before I leave here next week, but if my schedule allows me to, I will return to the area in May for Geowoodstock and find the time to finish up and complete those challenges.  But for now, I'm Georgia bound.

A Happy Turkey Day and Staying Away From The Black Friday Mobs

The holiday weekend started off early - my shift ended at 12:30am instead of 3:30am.  That meant I actually got a good night of sleep before running off to eat my turkey feast with cousins Tommie Navarro and Madeline Ruth and their families.  Good food and lots of catching up.  I hadn't seen the girls in at least 10 years.  That Tommie Hasn't aged a day! 

Got up early this morning and headed out AWAY from the stores and malls.  I did the Black Friday thing one time only and I will never make that mistake again.  Seemed like a great day to go caching so that's what I did along with some sightseeing.  Ended my day with a visit to Cumberland Falls and they were roaring but there wasn't enough moonlight for a moonbow.  Just my luck.  Tomorrow morning I plan to visit the restaurant where the original colonel started his chicken fortune.  Till then, stay safe!

Getting out and about in Kentucky

This morning I woke up to raindrops on my roof.  Gus is crossing his legs and refusing to go out for his morning constitutional.  I don't blame him.  I'm no fan of the rain either.  But up until this morning my weekend off has been gorgeous and quite warm for this time of year.  Thursday afternoon I drove up to Richmond, KY to grab some caches.  Whenever I can I like to combine caching with interesting side trips and this short run was no exception.  I found a cache near an old graveyard in Paint Lick, KY which contains the grave of Tom Kennedy who locals say was the real life role model for Uncle Tom of Uncle Tom's Cabin.  Locals claim that lightning strikes the grave often and there is even a chain border around the grave of him and his wife with lightning rods incorporated.  I don't know if any of that is true but the grave stone did have a lot of damage while his wife's stone next to him was perfectly untouched.  Go figure.

Friday afternoon I picked up my fellow Amazon camper Lana and we went for a ride to explore some countryside before meeting a friend from work for dinner.  We stopped at Abe Lincoln's boyhood home because she had never been there and I needed some info to complete the earthcache there.  It's a beautiful setting and is in fact the land Lincoln's family lived on when he was a small boy.  One hundred years ago someone decided they needed to enshrine Lincoln's boyhood cabin so an impressive structure was built out there in the woods with the old log and mud cabin sitting in the center of it.  I find that kind of strange but Kentucky is proud of this native son so it is fitting I suppose.  By the way, if you're reading this and want to log the virtual I can tell you that the number of rosette windows matches the number president he was and the steps out front equal his age at death.  You do the rest of the math.
Speaking of native sons, I watched an interesting program on the public station last night about Jefferson Davis who is a son of the bluegrass state.  In the state capital you will find his statue beside that of Lincoln's.  Go figure.

From there Lana and I drove up 31E to Elizabethtown to see the Schmidt Coke Museum.  Sadly it is closed down but there's still a lot of stuff inside the front lobby that you can see through the glass windows and of course the cache is there on the outside of the building below the giant hand that sticks out holding an even larger Coke bottle.  There was also an early 60s model Coke delivery truck.  Took a couple of pix there, showed Lana the cache, then went a little bit up the road toward Ft. Knox.   Lana was curious about my geocaching hobby so I was glad to show her some different caches.  So far I had shown her a regular cache and an earthcache.  This time I had picked out a puzzle cache and it was impressive.

This cache was in the town of Radcliff which is almost to Ft. Knox and is home to a new veterans cemetery and memorials.  It sits off the side of 31E and as much as possible the designers have tried to keep the setting natural.  Near the office/information center is a large cross made from debris of the 9/11 attacks and fittingly it is a memorial to the military personnel who died in the 9/11 attacks.  There is a large columbarium that backs up to a hillside in the southwest corner of the park (?) with an open air pavillion which contains a large stained glass star set into the top center.  On a sunny day the light through it is amazing.  In the center of this memorial park is a paved walking trail that takes you past memorials and benches that memorialize some branch or group of the armed services.  It is one of the prettiest memorial parks I've ever seen.  The puzzle cache requires you to visit 3 places in the park to gather information and after computing your final coordinates you have to walk the path to find a way into the wooded area in the center where the cache is discreetly hidden.  We spent an hour there and it was worth it.  Even Lana was impressed with the puzzle and the park. 

Finally we headed back south on 31E to meet Amy for dinner at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Glendale, KY.  The food was great homestyle southern fare which Lana, from Maine, was amazed by.  Several times during our meal the place rattle as trains flew by on the tracks outside the window.  I saved room for dessert and ordered butterscotch pie.  Yummy!  The meringue was at least 3 inches high!  I ate part of it there and brought the rest home to finish later,  It was too good to rush.  That was a great note to finish the day on.  About 90 minutes later we were back at the campground and with my belly full I was ready for bed.

Yesterday I got up early and met up with my caching buddy Filbertv to go up into northern Kentucky and find some caches.  We started off in Radcliff where I just had to take him through that puzzle cache so he could find it and sign off.  He was just as impressed.  Then we took a short hop up the road passing by Ft. Knox and stopping in the town of Muldraugh to do a cache at a building that was the setting for a scene in the movie Goldfinger. Then on up toward Louisville and off to grab caches and see the sights .  By the end of the day we had amassed 32 caches and driven through 18 counties (Kentucky has 120).  We saw some beautifully manicured horse farms outside of Lexington/Frankfort, stopped near the Jim Beam Distillery, ate lunch in a good local restaurant that had been a Dairy Queen before a bad fire destroyed the building.  We got back to the rv around 8:30 and some friends from Amazon came by to visit for a while.  By the time they left I finished logging my finds I was really pooped.  Even Gus was tired out.  We got him out and let him run whenever we hunted a cache in the woods or a park so he ran a lot.  And I always wonder, where does he get all that water?  He must leave a little squirt on every tree we pass and we pass a lot.

So it's Sunday which is back to work day, laundry day, and grocery shopping day.  Don't you just love my glamorous life?  I sure do.

More next time!

Welcome to my neighborhood!

Internet connections have been a bit spotty lately so I haven't posted a lot.  Since it seems to be doing really well this morning I thought I'd try posting a tour of the neighborhood.  Enjoy.

Keeping busy - Keeping in touch

Talked to big brother Mike last night after getting home from work and was informed that I hadn't posted in a couple of weeks.  So folks are wondering what's up here in KY.  Work, work, and work.  Yep.  I am now working full time for Amazon which means 4 days in a row at 10 hours a shift.  So if I haven't posted forgive me, I've been a bit tired.  Actually last night I got home early because the system was slow or something and they offered to let who ever wanted to leave early a chance to go home.  I think I was the first one out the door.  My dogs are tired folks.  The big question is: will she be able to complete the tasks and survive 8 more weeks of this pace?  I'll give it my best shot.

Did run down to Nashville last weekend on my days off to take care of some business.  Got a great haircut.  Thanks, Cindy!  Took care of some bank business and some insurance stuff.  Then I was ready to get out of Nashville and all that Friday afternoon traffic and come home to my Seeker and the peace and quiet of the park.  Got home Saturday afternoon and the park was packed!  Seems they have a special Halloween in the Park weekend and every space was filled.  It was fun to sit and watch the kids trick or treating.  Later they played mini golf with glow in the dark golf balls and clubs.  Lots of campfires and some of the campers went way over the top in decorating.  It was fun to see.  By Sunday afternoon the place was a ghost town - only us Amazon campers left behind. 

This weekend I will be moving to a site closer to the water and to other Amazon campers.  I hope to get in some more kayaking before the season gets too cold.  I have talked to other workers who live at the camps closer to work but I just love waking up near the lake and hiking nearby trails.  It's just a wonderful place to be everyday and I'm sure I will miss it when I leave.  But for now I think I'll finish my laundry and get dresssed for work.  Today is my Friday so tomorrow I will sleep in and start the weekend.  Will try to have some great adventure so I have something to blog about.

Stay safe and have an adventure!

Motorcycle Diaries: American Style

Having completed my first full week of work at Amazon most people I'm sure thought I would take a long nap.  Nope, not me.  Phil surprised me Friday by showing up on his motorcycle to take me for a ride.  Now, as wild as some of you may think I am, motorcycles have always been something I stayed away from.  But that changed in Asia.  It's the main mode of transportation on those crowded streets.  Tuktuks are just taxi motorcycles which I made extensive use of in every country I traveled in except Singapore which had an excellent subway system.  And while I was outside of Bangkok I rode "motor cy" which was usually a Kawasaki or some other small, fast, lightweight motorcycle with an eager young male driver that took you quickly from one place to another in a hurry and cheaply.  But I never rode one more than a mile or two.  And finally, while in Vietnam I took a two day trip on the back of a large motorcycle up the new highway to the mountain town of Dalat.  It was a very scenic drive with a driver who was very thoughtful and made sure we had a stop every hour or two to "rest my bum". 

Still, here in the U.S. I had never traveled any where on two wheels unless I was pedaling.  But about 2 weeks ago Phil showed up in Hohenwald on his bike and took me on my first American ride.  The Natchez Trace is a beautiful ride for a beginner like me.  We rode into town to deliver some things to the grandkids who of course had to have a ride too.  Then we went through town where we stopped for dinner then went by the shop where my neice Karly and her friends were working on parade vehicles for the next day's homecoming.  My total first day mileage: less than 30 miles.  And I really enjoyed it, so when Phil showed up this weekend and said he wanted to take me out to see some fall color with some of his Gold Wing friends, I had no idea what I was in for. 

Saturday was a beautiful day for riding the backroads and seeing fall colors.  We rode over to a place called Pine Knot, KY and met up with the group then rode with them to Pineville, KY where we stopped for lunch.  The group headed on east from there toward Hazard, KY but we went south to Harrogate, TN by way of the tunnels at Cumberland Gap and then back through the mountain and headed back to camp.  It was all so much fun and the weather was perfect fall temps with lots of sunshine and good leaf color.  The group was friendly and I had a good time visiting with folks at lunch.  But, when we got back to camp my body knew that it had been on the back of a bike for over 300 miles.  I was very sore.  Started humming the Madonna song "Like a virgin" and making jokes about being bowlegged.  Needless to say, the next day I did all my traveling by car!

So am I a full fledged biker babe now?  Not yet, but why not?  Could be a new direction for my retirement.  Thanks Phil, for showing me a new way to have fun.

An Official Member of Amazon CamperForce

It's official!  As of Monday, October 3, I have become a member of Amazon CamperForce.  There's even a domain site by that name although it's not up and running yet.  In other words, I'm a work camper at the Amazon fullfillment center in Campbellsville, KY.  I live in my rv and go to work 4 days at week in a warehouse which pays for my campsite and puts a little cash in my pocket.  Exciting, don't you think?

Well, ok, exciting may be stretching it a bit.  But I do like living in my rv in this beautiful state park and not having to pay a bill for it.  Yesterday was orientation and safety school.  Today, or I guess I should say tonight since I don't go to work until 5pm, is on the job training.  It certainly looks like an adventure in the making.  And I'm making a whole new set of friends.  Yesterday I met Carol who was one of the original workers from 3 years ago.  She and her husband are very nice.  They are camping at the rv campground in town which is just across the road from the warehouse.  But there are plenty of us right here in the state park - so far 10 campsites are taken by camperforce workers but more arrive every day.  I'm camped in between Lana who is a newbie like me and a very nice couple who worked here last year.  And Sandy is in a site across from us. 

What I really enjoy, besides the quick friendships I'm making, is seeing how differently we all live.  One couple has a very nice 38' class A with all the comforts.  Sandy has a 2003 BT Cruiser that she is totally reconfiguring on the inside to suit the needs of her and her 2 cats.  Lana has a very cute puppy named Alex and they live in a vintage 1970 PlaMore travel trailer that she is totally redecorating.  There are even some hardy souls here in tents I'm told although I'm yet to meet them. 

I guess I could have picked a location closer to the plant - my commute is 8 miles - but the state park has so much to offer:  water for the kayaks, trails for me and Gus to walk, caches along the trails, beautiful night skies, and a good internet connection.  TV requires a dish or something stronger than my antenna but I can get along fine Hulu. 

This week I will be working half days in a program Amazon calls "hardening" to get my body used to a more physical work.  After that it's 4 ten hour days a week or more if I choose to take overtime.  So I'll try to post more this week before the long hours set in.

Just a smidgen less

It’s amazing how quickly time slides by us.  Day to day details take up our hours and before we know it a week passes, then a year, and much too soon, a lifetime.  One goal of my new lifestyle is to slow down and relish those hours before they become lost to the past tense stories of our lives.  I know that statement just got a big laugh from those of you who know good and well how much mileage I’ve covered in Seeker over the past 6 months, but there were good reasons for those long, hard road trips and they are about to be a thing of the past.  Soon I will be sitting in one spot for a month at a time or even more, but there was just one more thing I wanted to accomplish before I settled down.  I had to see Charlie Ray.

On my father’s side of the family most of the cousins were older than me and most, including my brothers, were boys.  My oldest brother Mike, while being the 4^th of my grandfather Riggan’s grandchildren, had the distinction of being the first grand SON.  Soon more boys followed until 54/55 when my cousin Mary Frances and I were born.  Smidget, as I liked to call her, was born one week before her mother turned 40 despite her parents having been told for years that they were barren.  Perhaps because of her mother’s advanced age, I really don’t know, Smidget was born with Rheumatoid Arthritis which among other things, meant that at her grandest height she was able to stretch all the way to 4’9”.  I teased her once in the 60s saying that even Gidget was taller than her and the nickname Smidget was born.

We were thick friends as well as cousins and every summer I looked forward to spending time in Lebanon with Smidget and going swimming (in the water she was free without those heavy leg braces) at the pool, listening to The Beatles, The Monkeys, and all those other animal groups filled with shaggy headed boys.  Smidget might have been short in stature, but she was ten feet tall and wall to wall in spirit.  Lebanon High School never had a more boisterous booster, right up to the day she died her blood ran blue devil blue.  It was her sudden death this winter and the phone call I had to make that drove me to Arkansas this week.

You see, along with being the one with all the spirit, Mary Frances was the one who kept up with everyone in the family.  She knew just about everyone in Lebanon and at any given time could tell you where anyone of my cousins was living and how they were doing.  She wrote the letters, made the phone calls, and kept the contacts alive.  Her death at 56 was sudden and blessedly quick.  She spent her whole life battling pain and never complaining about it.  In return the universe took her quickly without making her suffer.  It was at her funeral that we realized no one had called Charlie Ray, and somehow I got the job.  An awkward task given that it was the first time we had talked in over 35 years.  One last time Smidget was connecting family members. 

We talked for a long time and Charlie’s wife Brenda remarked that she had talked to Mary Frances only a week before.  It was a sharp reminder to us of how quickly life can change.  I promised to come see them soon.  That was February, so I am considering 6 months soon.  Charlie Ray is still the handsome boy cousin I remember albeit a little grayer.  His voice sounds a lot like I remember his dad sounding and I can see hints of his dad in his facial expressions.  We swapped lots of stories about family and the places life has carried us.  We were both in the Navy – him in the 70s and me in the 80s.  Otherwise our lives took very different paths, but we still remembered Sundays and Christmases at Granny and Pee Paw’s farm.  I made a copy of an old Christmas photo and framed it for him as a gift.  We decided it must have been around 1958 because he remembers those new cowboy pistols.  That would make me about 3 and still a blonde.  For those of you who didn’t know I was ever a blonde, well, that probably explains a lot! 

The day ended with him rushing back to work, but I think I got him to thinking about retiring next year at 62.  I highly recommend it.  More time to slow down and enjoy the hours/days/weeks before they’re gone.  Smidget would agree.

Friends and Friendly Places

My brothers often teased me as a child, saying that the gypsies dropped me off in the middle of the night.  Of course, one look at my picture beside my mother’s and there is no doubt that I am an authentic part of the family, but I did inherit a gypsy soul from somewhere.  I have always loved to travel and this new RV lifestyle really appeals to me.  Tonight I am writing from just outside of Sikeston, Missouri.  Tomorrow I will drive down into northern Arkansas to visit a cousin I haven’t seen in way too long.

Despite my love for the traveling life, there are certain places and certain people that make me want to linger in one spot a little longer.  Hohenwald, my adopted hometown is one of those places.  I was able to spend most of Saturday there with friends and family.  Aiden and Addy turned 9 this week and while I was pleased that they liked my gifts, I found myself just sitting back and watching them and Drake in amazement.  It’s just so hard to believe that many years have passed.  Devin and Jenifer’s wedding seems like just last year to me.  Do I sound old now, or what?

Sister Linda let me run a load of laundry through while we sat on the front porch visiting.  Her best friend Jane showed up – another favorite person to chat with.  Of course I didn’t have much more than an hour to visit with the girls because they were going off to Pickwick with some friends from work – and because I spent an hour or so before I got there visiting with the sweetest couple I know: Bill and Martha.  These newlyweds have been making it work for 53 years this December and still seem to be sweet on each other.  I am ashamed to admit that I have missed seeing them the last 3 or 4 times I have been in town so I hope they feel caught up now.  I hated to leave them because their home is so warm and cozy and they truly make a guest feel welcome.  But I had more folks to see and they have quite a busy schedule too.

One of the lists I was advised to keep when I started rv’ing is places I have stayed that I would like to return to or recommend to others.  This weekend I stayed at my all time favorite campsite: JRD Ranch, or as I like to call it: Mi Paradiso.  Sorry folks, it’s not a commercial site so I can’t refer you there, but if you love wide open spaces, big star-filled night skies, morning coffee as black as the skies you camp under, all without the drive to Montana, then this is the spot.  My hosts for the weekend made me feel truly spoiled as they always do.  And while I do hope to park Seeker under those big Montana skies one day, Montana has a lot to live up to if she wants to compare with these folks.  Nope, not mentioning names or even the town here.  This is one spot that’s way too good to share.  But I do want to say thanks to Jay and Pam for all their help this weekend and always. 

Time to shut everything down for the night and get an early start in the morning.  Today I logged 2 or more caches in 4 different states just to see if I could do it.  I admit to almost giving up in Missouri but finally accomplished that goal.  Tomorrow I hope to log the oldest cache in Arkansas and fill in a block on my chart for June 2000.  Pretty cool, huh? 

Making My Moves

Something was said to me recently alluding to the fact that I had fallen behind on this blog.  Well, yes, I have to admit that I have had other priorities the last couple of weeks:  big yard sale, renting the house, moving into the Seeker full time, setting up camp in Seeker, running back to the house to clean it out one final time, etc., etc., etc.

Hoping to see things slow down soon.  But in amongst all this busy, official sounding stuff, there's always time to kayak and geocache.  Made a great trip up the Stones River from Mona ramp to da island and back past Mona to East Fork.  That's about 5-6 miles in my inflatible yak with a blowout on one side.  Yes, it can be done and you will stay afloat, but you will paddle hard and a lot. 

This past weekend I moved Seeker to Poole's Knob campground to have my home base while moving the last of my things out of the house.  Also I wanted to be here for the September MTGC meeting, but I was conflicted because I wanted to be at Cloudland Canyon in GA so I could visit with big brother and go on the hike to Rock Town nearby.  So I split the difference and a group of us from this area drove down to the Rock Town hike for the day but I hated to miss out on a visit with Mike and Linda. 

So all that coupled with my recent purchase of a new kayak and a strong desire to be on the water has contributed to my lack of blogging.  But I do have pix.  Lots of pix.  Hope you enjoy and I will try to blog more often.

Confederates on the Run

This long weekend has been a great escape.  I drove down to Hohenwald Friday morning, had lunch with my sister-in-law Linda at Big John's (yummy loaded baked potato) then drove into town and parked Seeker near the Willem Tell Platz (the city holds dearly to its Swiss roots) and walked down to the city parking lot to repair one of my geocaches.  Turns out it was just plain missing so I walked back to Seeker and used some supplies in my geocaching bag to creat a new container and log then went back to ground zero and replaced it.  Since I'm leaving town in October and don't anticipate being back before next summer I also put it up for adoption and my buddy Jengoround in Centerville quickly took it on.  What a friend!

Then I went to my second lunch at the Rio Grande, the local Mexican restaurant in town.  Now mind you I had already eaten half that potato at Big John's and the other half was tucked away in Seeker's fridge.  And while I don't ordinarily eat 2 lunches in a day, this was a special gathering.  Two of the Ogg girls were celebrating their birthdays and since I was in town it would have been just plain rude for me not to stop by and join them.  I ordered 2 tamales but could only eat one so I had another take out box to add to the fridge.

After lunch I moved Seeker out to Rockhouse Road at Darlene's house where I did some housekeeping while waiting for Darlene to get off work.  Darlene is my stepdaughter in the legal sense of the word: she is the daughter of my deceased husband.  But she is so much more.  Having grown up with 4 brothers and no sisters I was really pleased when I married Larry and gained a daughter/sister.  You see, since I married an older man my stepdaughter is old enough to be my sister!  In fact, she's only 6 months younger than me.  I guess that seems weird to some folks but me and Darlene like it fine.  We have a lot of common interests and enjoying traveling together.

And this weekend has been great.  We left behind all our responsibilities of work (well, at least she did), grandkids, house chores, the dogs, etc. and just hit the road.  She's been wanting to take a trip in Seeker since I brought her home and she's always wanted to see the Evansville IN library that is supposedly haunted, so off we went after she got home from work.

The road from Hohenwald to Evansville IN is a long and twisting route that passed through lots of small towns and interesting sites: Brushy, Centerville, Bon Aqua (where Gus was born), Dickson, Cumberland Furnance, Ashland City, Clarksville, and several small towns in KY before crossing the Ohio River into Evansville.  The Kentucky leg wasn't too interesting since we took interstate/parkway on that part to make up some time and you really just don't see much on those roads.

We arrived in Evansville at the Vanderburgh 4H Campgrounds right at dark.  We had reserved site #1 but found another rig was already parked there.  In fact, since we hadn't gotten there before dark our site was given to someone else and all the other full hook up sites were taken as well (big car show coming to town) so we had to take one of the sites down near the road with only water and electric.  We were so tired we just didn't care and thought we could sleep anywhere so we took it (and it seemed like a bargain at $16). 

Have you ever tried sleeping on a railroad track?  While we weren't actually on the tracks we were within 100 ft. of the tracks which we really couldn't see through the trees after dark.  The park host did mention that we might have some train noise during the night.  That guy should go on the stand up circuit and get paid for his understatement skills!  Shortly after hooking up the water and electric we went inside and changed into pj's as the first train rattled by.  It was loud but not too bad.  We giggled and made a joke about the "train noise" we had been warned about.  Soon another train passed by, followed within the hour by another, and so on ALL NIGHT!  The southbound tracks were a little further away, but the northbound trains felt like they were coming through the middle of us.  And each time we were warned they were coming by the loud train whistle warning at the track crossing just down the road.  Finally we were both so tired we just slept out of exhaustion.  What a night!

Early Saturday morning we broke camp and headed into Evansville to the Willard Library to do some ghost hunting.  Sadly we didn't see her but we enjoyed the visit to this architectural beauty.  We had to park at the business next door because there was a geneology seminar at the library and the parking lot was packed.  We enjoyed our visit and stopped outside to find a nano cache before hitting the road.  We had seen an interesting cemetery up the road and wanted to go visit.  Oak Hill is one of the oldest burial grounds in the city.  We later learned that the Johnsons of Mead Johnson take their eternal rest there.  But we were in pursuit of Elizabeth Harrison, a queen of the Romany gypsies.  It took a while but we did finally find her (and 3 more caches).  Nothing on the marker mentioned her or her husband's status in the gypsy tribe.  Nor did it mention that her husband died after his son accidentally shot him.  Oh well, we still enjoyed the German lesson as we drove through the grounds reading names like Huffstedt and Schneke.  We did see one Jones, but we don't know how he got in.

Next we drove down to the river front area and found a good place to park Seeker while we prowled the downtown area before meeeting up with some local cachers for a flash mob.  We found the old jail which looks like a mini castle, city hall which is a decadent example of Beaux Arts, the boarded up bus station with a faint shadow of the running hound on the wall, and then pretended to run in fear from Millie the Dinosaur in front of the children's museum.  Around 1:30 we made our way back down to the riverfront to meet up with the flash mob.  There were cachers from 5 different states and the guy voted the "geekiest geocacher" received an award.  We had thought about stopping to see the LST that is docked down the river and covers a lot of Evansville's WWII history, but we were beginning to wear down, so we headed south on highway 41.

After a quick stop for some supplies and munchies at the Walmart in Clarksville, we set up camp at the Clarksville RV Park.  Darlene ate a burger and fries we stopped for at the Burger King and I warmed up my leftovers from Friday's lunches.  Then we changed into swimsuits and headed for the pool.  It felt good to stretch and kick out some of the road weariness for a while, but soon we were just plain tired.  It didn't take us long to get changed into our jammies and headed for bed.  Sometime during the night a couple of storm cells moved through the area but we stayed dry and the large Tiffin parked beside us took most of the wind.  Early this morning we pulled up stakes and drove into Clarksville to do some ancestor research for Darlene on the Ogg side of the family (yes, I drug my trailer hitch a little getting up the drive at the cemetery, but it was for a good cause) and then made our way to Fairview, KY.

The city of Fairview was the birthplace and childhood home of President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy.  As a member in good standing of the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy Darlene really needed to see the memorial there to President Davis, so that was our goal.  It is impressive and the museum was very informative.  We took lots of pictures and hunted a geocache after going to the top of the monument then headed back south on the highway. 

The drive home was filled with backroads, cornfields, tobacco barns, a couple of large bucks running across the road in front of us, an antique car show in Adams, TN that we didn't have time to stop and enjoy, and the home of Robert Penn Warren that we made time to stop for but found it was closed on Sunday.  Oh, and we did stop at the Bell Witch Cave but it was closed due to damages from last night's storm. 

We finally pulled back into Darlene's driveway around 5pm this afternoon where her husband Johnsy was waiting to see what we were bringing for supper (pizza), a little tired but still laughing and having fun.  I miss Larry so much some days, but I am so grateful for the family he left me with.  His sisters are my sisters.  His grandkids (and great grandkids) are my grandkids.  And his daughter is my sister.  And Johnsy is, well, he's my Johnsy, and I am grateful for him too.  I just don't think I can explain that to you, but if you know Johnsy you understand.

Monkeying Around

Back in Nashville and catching up on household chores in both the house and RV.  But I did take some time to go on a couple of really fun geocaching trips.  My caching buddy Filbert sent me an email when he saw that I needed a particular difficulty/terrain combination for my fizzy chart (sorry for the geo-speak) and he knew of a certain cache that would fulfill the requirement.  And since he had just found that cache only a week ago he would be happy to be my guide.  Well, OK, I'm game.  So on Sunday morning, in a light rain, here comes Filbert with "da boat".  Oh yeah, this particular cache is submerged, at least it is this time of year.  So we drove out to a ramp on Stones River and launched.  Now the "da boat" is big on spirit but small on horsepower.  It has 5 horses to be exact, so getting from the ramp to the area of the cache took a little while, but the rain had stopped and the river was like a piece of glass.

Once we were in the general vicinity we tied up "da boat" and entered the water.  So that's when Filbert informs me that we have to walk a certain distance from the shore and start "noodling" with our feet.  Thirty minutes later and up to our necks in river water my "guide" finally declared "It's here!"  That's only half the problem.  Now we know where it is but I still had to dive down through five feet of murky river water, move a rock, find a waterproof box under a rock ledge, return to the surface, open the box, sign the paper log, return the log and weights to the waterproof box, dive back down through the murky water again, wedge the box back under the rock ledge and place the other rock back in front of the ledge.  No problem.  Only took about 20 minutes.  And it would have taken much longer without my guide/buddy Filbert.  Lots of fun!

After loading "da boat" back on the trailer we drove back toward Nashville and this time launched on Percy Priest Lake not too far from the Hobson Pike bridge.  In fact we had to manuever our little sailing vessel under the bridge while also dodging the wakes of much larger boats.  Oh, did I mention the rain?  First we went to a nearby island so that I could sign off on a multistage cache I had begun last summer but never finished.  It's a new favorite of mine called "Wet Monkeys Tell No Tales" and frankly we were a couple of wet monkeys between the rain showers, the river water, and the lake water.  But we were having lots of laughs. 

We launched from the beach near Wet Monkeys and headed to a little nothing slip of an island for the first stage of another multistage island cache.  It was placed by an Army guy from Ft. Campbell who warned not to try this one if you're not in good shape.  Last summer I had attempted to find the first stage but just as I figured out the first stage a rain storm came up and I had to hop in my kayak and head for shelter.  Seems rain and this cache go together because Filbert and his nephew Kelvis (that's Elvis with a K) also found the first stage but were rained out.  So this time we were going to finish things up.  And I was looking forward to claiming the last island cache on Percy Priest for my smiley map. 

Since we both knew what the first stage was like we brought along our "tools of the trade" which made stage one quick and easy.  Next stop was another nearby island - lots of island hopping - and the final stage which once again required some special use of special tools of the trade.  And a bit of monkey business on my part.  After signing the log and replacing the container we laughed and did the happy dance then took a quick swim off the beach and laughed some more.  This one was really fun!  At last I can say I have found all the island caches on Percy Priest.  And except for these last 2 on "da boat" I can also say that I kayaked to every one with Gus along to help guide me on the trails. 

Oh no, wait, there's still one cache left: a four stage multi called "Aye Bear Pyrates Treasure".  Tuesday morning, in the rain of course, Gus and I met up with Filbert and nephew Kelvis at the boat ramp.  With the Jolly Roger flying from the prow of "da boat" and Kelvis really getting into the pirate spirit we headed across the lake dodging rain drops and riding some whitecaps.  It didn't take too long but the hike was filled with briars and chiggers just to keep it interesting.  Sadly, the final stage was filled with slimy water and the log book turned to mush, so we left a new log in a waterproof bag and took the rest of the treasure home to repair.  But finally I can say that I have signed the log of every island cache on the lake.  And had a great 2 days monkeying around on the water with some fine caching buddies.  Now I just have to get the treasure chest restocked and returned to the island.

Sounds like a kayak trip to me!

A Presidential Farewell to Georgia

As much as I’ve enjoyed being in Georgia, seeing my family, visiting parts of the state that I had heard of but never seen, I do have to go back to Nashville.  There are still things to be done there before going off to Okefenokee in December.  With a scheduled dental appointment awaiting me, but not until Thursday, I headed home, but making the miles count along the way.

My first stop is the visitors’ center in Plains, GA.  The hostess there was very informative and spoke with a very soft southern voice.  I loved it!  She gave me a map and carefully explained where President Carter and his family live and just how close I could park to take pictures of the “compound” without being shot by the secret service.  I opted to simply drive by and not stop since I really couldn’t see much except fences, guard shacks, and a long row of beautifully blooming crape myrtles.  But I did visit the Plains High School (now the Jimmy Carter library), the large peanut with the big Carter toothy grin, and most definitely stopped at the Billy Carter Gas Station Museum.  I loved the row of seats out front which gave it a kind of Mayberry feel.  Of course I had to buy a Coke out of the machine to take home to Pam which brought back a flood of childhood memories for her. 

Next stop was Columbus and the National Civil War Naval Museum.  I didn’t spend too much time there for two reasons: 1) I just think it would be more fun to go through with my brother Mike, and 2) there were 3 young boys running through the museum yelling and playing on the displays with no one trying to stop them.  Sorry, but this killed it for me.  I will return with Mike one day and hopefully those boys won’t be there.  Besides, it gave me more time for my next stop.

It was nearly 2:00 before I got to Pine Mountain and drove through Franklin Roosevelt State Park.  I thought about camping there for the night but opted to simply drive through today and come back when the weather is cooler.  This heat is just brutal.  Besides, just 12 more miles to Warm Springs and FDR’s Little White House.  This stop was one of the best of the trip.  I have taught FDR in class so many times, and I’ve always included his attachment to Warm Springs.  I lingered so long on the grounds of the house that I didn’t get to the actual springs before they closed.  But I did get to see the unfinished portrait, the car that was adapted by local prisoners for him to drive, even his special built wheelchair. 

So that’s it for now.  Horizon Seeker is once again parked in the backyard.  Gus and Brenda came by to check out the new floors and slipcovers.  The laundry is washed, dried, and put away, and I’m early for my dental appointment. 

But Georgia is still on my mind --- and Kentucky, Arkansas, Arizona, Alaska, Montana - well, you know what I mean.

Another Side of Georgia

Yesterday's blog title mentioned a president and then never got there.  Sorry folks, guess I get lost in my ramblings here too.  Yesterday was mostly about war, the most famous war down south, and of course the president I alluded to was Jefferson Davis.  So let me just get this one right.

After an all too short weekend of camping on the lake with nephew Clay and getting in a couple of long paddling trips (4 miles on Friday night!  Was I sore?), I had to pack up early Sunday and head south.  I was really excited about the winter job I committed to at Okefenokee and since it was only another 250 miles past Mike's, why not go by and check it out.  But I had to be there Sunday to meet the folks since they really aren't open for business right now.  It was a long and scenic drive down Highway 441 south but I loved it.  And it turns out that the camp is just what I like: small, not commercial, with really nice folks running things.  Now I'm really looking forward to it.

I left the little town of Folkston (gateway to the Okefenokee!) and drove across the state line into Florida.  I stopped at a really nice welcome center where I got out for a potty break and to stretch my legs.  Yes, there was a geocache there, but it was over in the woods and since dark had fallen I opted to let that one wait for this winter when I return.  When I returned to Seeker I turned on the air and heated up some leftovers in the fridge for my supper.  Then I stretched out on the couch and napped till around midnight.  Since it's been so hot my plan was to drive down to the Jacksonville, FL bypass and cut over to Lake City where I could pick up 75 and start back north.  I'm not a huge fan of late night driving but it's cooler on the engine, has less traffic, and I could avoid the morning rush hour in and around JAX.  It was a great plan for the first 30 minutes, and then it began to rain.

Did I say rain?  I meant storm.  Thunder.  Lightning.  Pouring rain.  Just short of Lake City I saw an exit with a truck stop so I ducked in there and got parked.  Good thing I got in there when I did because within the hour there was no place left to park.  Cars.  Trucks.  Campers.  We all had the same idea.  I decided to go inside and have a proper hot meal at the restaurant: bacon and eggs.  Then I returned to Seeker for some more sleep, or as much sleep as I could get with all the lightning and the hum of all the truck engines and generators.  But it must have worked because I woke suddenly around 4am trying to figure out what woke me until I realized it was quiet, well, quieter.  Vehicle noise was still out there but the storm had stopped.  Seemed like my cue to get back on the road.  I started up 75 north in the semi darkness and found myself almost alone on the highway - and I liked it.  The only scarry part was a stretch of road with signs warning of "fog and smoke" which was indeed there and was puzzling, about the smoke part, until I realized I was passing the northwest side of Okefenokee which is the only part that still has wildfires burning.  I'm hoping they got all that rain that put me in the truckstop.

With a new day came a new plan.  I have been to Georgia many times but always on the eastern side.  This time I decided to follow 75 north only as far as Tiffton and then drift off to the major highways that lead north, but farther west than 75 so that I can explore that side of the state.  Just as I was closing in on my exit I saw a sign "Jefferson Davis Capture Site", so I had to exit earlier than planned.  It was about a 10 mile drive out into the country and just when I wondered if I had missed it I ran into road construction, so I knew I was on the right road.  I seem to attract construction like moths to a flame.  The traffic crept along for about a mile until I saw my turn.  About 5 miles down another county road and there it was.  I guess I had expected just a marker, or maybe a statue, but what I found was the very house he was camped at when the federal troops captured him as well as 2 markers and a statue.  The house contains a museum but was closed on Mondays so I had to get my satisfaction from the outside markers and statue.  Someday I would like to visit when they are open.

Back on the highway I followed the county road on past Jeff Davis, but not back toward the construction.  Eventually I hit a state highway which led me to Ashburn, GA and the world's largest peanut (I did not try to find it though you'd think if it was that large I could have seen it) and opted to take 75 up to Cordele where I found a Titan missile set up between a gas station and a Krystal.  I can't explain it, but there was a geocache there!  But the real reason I got off there was to get on Veterans Highway 300/280 west.  This was the road to Andersonville, or at least to Highway 49 which runs right into Andersonville.  I made a brief stop at the Jimmy Carter Regional Airport to see a statue of Lindbergh at the airport where he bought his first plane only 4 years before his historic cross Atlantic flight, and then went on in to Andersonville. 

The town of Andersonville is small and is dedicated to remembering and honoring soldiers of the Civil War.  I took pictures of the monument in the middle of the street that honors the officer in charge of the Andersonville Prison who was later found guilty of war crimes and hanged.  Then I visited the small museum in town, mailed postcards from the tiny post office (wonder if it's one of the ones on the chopping block), found a geocache on the old caboose sitting on the nearby railroad tracks, and headed to the Andersonville National Park on the other side of the highway.

The park contains the remains of the prison, a visitor center/POW museum, and the cemetery.  It was huge.  I got there around 12:30 and didn't leave until after 4.  There are no pictures allowed inside the museum, but all I can say is if you ever get a chance to visit you really shouldn't miss it.  There were tapes playing in one room of former POWs telling their stories as well as family members telling what it was like to live through that nightmare.  Lots of memorbilia from all the way back to the Revolutionary war up to today's war.  For me, the museum was a sad reminder of just how cruel humans can be to one another.  I didn't linger too long there.  Out the back of the museum is a combination brick wall/sculpture which was also something I'd never seen before.  Really made you think.

I picked up the cd guide for the park and spent the next 2 hours driving through the remains of the prison and touring the cemetery.  At one point, near the area call the sinks (meaning where the latrines had been located for the prisoners) there was a sign warning visitors of rattlesnakes.  As if the heat and the gnats weren't bad enough!  The cemetery was very impressive.  The large statues from the different states reminded me of Vicksburg and Shiloh, and all the rows and rows of headstones made me think of Arlington.  Not only are all those who died at Andersonville Prison buried there, this is still a working cemetery and in a couple of my pictures you can see that a plot was being readied back beyond the New Jersey statue.  It was a long, hot, and inspiring yet somehow oppressive tour.  By 4:00 I was beat, so I found a campground back in Americus and crashed for the night.  I think I was asleep by 7:30 - long before dark.  I was exhausted from the restless night before and the long day of heat and walking.

But I'm glad I'm getting to see this other side of Georgia.

A President and a Nephew

I was really lucky to get to spend the weekend camping and kayaking on Lake Lanier with my nephew Clay.  The last time we camped was in Pelham, TN back in the spring.  It rained the whole time and we were constantly in mud.  Not that the mud dampened the dogs’ appetite for running and getting muddy and wet.  This time the rain was minimal – just a few showers – and the temps were hot!  Once again Colt and Zoe were undeterred in their enthusiasm for mud, water, and birds.  Clay has a decoy duck that he throws out on the lake and teaches the dog to retrieve.  Colt has pretty well got the hang of it and will swim really far for the duck.  Zoe is younger and less trained so she frequently either ignored the duck or only brought it back half way.  But they were wet and running in the mud, so they were happy. 

Friday night Clay built an awesome campfire and then cooked steak kabobs and burgers on the grill for super.  Afterwards we sat by the campfire talking and sipping coconut rum on ice.  It’s really nice and not as sweet as it sounded at first.  Guess I’ll have to get a bottle for the Seeker.  Thanks Clay for giving me a new vice!

Left Lake Lanier early Sunday morning and drove down highway 441 to meet with the folks at Okefenokee Pastimes where I’ll be working this winter.  The wildfires in the swamp have been contained and tourists are getting back in to visit.  Jo and Steve seem really nice, the campground is small and homey, and I am really looking forward to being there.

Last night I camped out in the Truckstops of America parking lot while it stormed.  There were a lot of trucks there as well as cars and other campers.  Great lightning show!  I went in the diner about 11pm and ate breakfast then slept on the couch till about 4am when the rains and storms stopped.  Decided to get an early start back north and find a place to camp early this afternoon.

So where am I now?  I just left Fitzgerald, GA where I visited the site of Jefferson Davis’ capture.  The museum was closed today but I was allowed to wander the grounds and take pictures.  I just can’t believe there wasn’t a geocache there!  Next up?  The next stop on the Presidents’ Trail.

True Love and Truly Blessed

Getting ready to pack up and head to a nearby Corps of Engineers campground where I hope to spend a couple of days kayaking on Lake Lanier with my nephew Clay.  I am looking forward to spending some time on the water.  And time with Clay is always fun.  Back in the spring we camped together in Pelham, TN where he worked some dog trials and we both stomped around in the mud all weekend. 

I’ll never forget that weekend – I don’t think it stopped raining until a few hours before I left.  And the mud was everywhere including on the carpet in Seeker.  But this week, thanks to big brother Mike, I am saying sayonara to the mud prints and all the other stains.  I don’t know if all big brothers would give up so much of their time and work in the sweltering Georgia heat for nothing more than my undying gratitude, but I know that I am blessed. 

Not only am I getting a newly renovated rv home out of this deal, I get to spend time with two people deeply in love for just at a half century now.  It’s just so great to be around them and see how much they care for each other.  Linda has had some serious health issues lately and Mike is very attuned to her every need.  But it really doesn’t seem all that long ago that big brother brought me home a sister.  Yep, in 1967 when I was 12, Linda came to live with us (and share a room with me) while Mike served in Vietnam.  I was so amazed by this beautiful woman with the guitar and the Carly Simon albums.   Today she still amazes me but it with a sewing needle or a crochet hook these days.   Just take a look at the new curtains in Seeker that came from her “scrap basket”. 

So even though it’s time to leave here I get to take some great memories and a great new look for Seeker.  Hey, I’ll be back soon.  Thanks, Mike!

Day of Renovations

Short post today as we are really busy.  Mike is already on his knees (wearing kneepads today!) putting down more flooring.  Linda and I are heading to the store for slipcovers and a few other goodies.  I'm excited to see the changes.  I am so grateful for a brother who is (a) retired, (b) a short drive from Nashville, (c) willing to spend his time doing this work for me.  Actually, I am blessed with 3 wonderful big brothers who all jump in to help me when I ask.  And I do have a little brother, but his job as an over the road driver keeps him out of town most of the time.  But I have considered asking him for some driving tips next time we talk. 

OK, so I added a couple of pix from day 1.  Was really funny to look out the window and see Annie, the pet goat from next door, watching us.  Seems she got the gate open and was grazing the front yard and wondering if we might have some goodies in the RV.  Made for a fun break.  Wonder what fun things we will discover today???

War Movies and Renovations

No rest for the wicked my mother used to say.  So after just a few days at home I sent Gus home with the Goddess and pointed Seeker southeast to my big brother Mike's house.  I have 3 big brothers and they are all really great, but they are also nothing alike.  Clint, who is closest to my age is sometimes silly and always ready to help me with my car or anything mechanical.  Pat, the artist in the family, lives in the Arizona desert now where he makes beautiful beaded jewelry and calls from time to time with rv advice.  He and his wife lived full time in a class A for a while before settling in their current home and I turn to him a lot with my rv questions.  And then there's Mike.

Mike, the oldest, is my go to guy for fishing trips and carpentry work.  Sometimes we go out on Lanier and he fishes while I just enjoy the quiet beauty of the lake.  For me it's the closest I will ever get to my childhood again.  We all grew up in tents on the shores of Old Hickory Lake with ski boats, and trot lines, and campfires.  I thought it was a wonderful way to grow up even though I never did learn to ski.

So whenever I come to Mike's house we fish in the daytime and watch WWII movies all night.  Tonight's fare is the HBO series called Pacific that I'm sure he has watched many times but since I hadn't seen it yet he is seeing it again with me.  It's an intense drama but I can't stop watching.  But tomorrow we will make a shopping run to pick up supplies and get to work on reconfiguring the TV cabinet in Seeker to accommodate a small flat screen TV, ripping out that awful beige carpet on the floor, and a few other small tasks. 

So time to sleep some, as soon as the movie is over, then hit the ground running tomorrow.  Hopefully we'll find some time to work in a little fishing trip.  Just hope the fish aren't boiling to death in this heat.

Home at Last... Well, almost

Brenda (the Goddess) says that it feels good to breath Tennessee air again.  While I admit that there is some satisfaction in knowing that we have returned to home soil pretty much unscathed, I don't know about the air.  It was hot and muggy in NY, CT, RI, MASS, and pretty much every other state we visited and it's hot and muggy here.  But we are once again in Tennessee tonight and tomorrow I will be home again - for a while.

So, what have we accomplished in the last 3 and a half weeks?  3,242 miles added to Seeker's odometer; a new appreciation for home and the way we are used to things, and lots of sometimes hilarious sometimes scary adventures.  I have tried to share most of them here in this blog without going past a PG rating.  Did I remember to tell you about spilling my beer into my computer keyboard in Salisbury?  As you can see, it survived but I swear I don't know how.  And after the third time of killing the battery in my toad I have resolved to buy my own jump starter kit and just carry it in the back seat.  Oh I have grown so much in these last weeks.

So we are back in Tennessee.  In Gallatin to be exact.  I discovered that my new friend Carolyn who is also a blogger (http://sunshinecruisertn.blogspot.com/) and my inspiration for full time rving was camping at Cages Bend COE so we found a spot near hers and have been visiting and just unwinding a bit for now.  Even got the kayak out on the lake today and took Gus for a ride.  Carolyn has been living rull time in her rv since she retired a couple of years ago.  The Goddess told me about her blog about a year and a half ago and I started reading hers and some other female rv bloggers.  Then last year I actually drove down to Huntsville, AL to one of their get togethers to meet these ladies.  They were so sweet and answered lots of questions for me.  And now that I am retired and have my rv I have even more questions for Carolyn.  And she is always there with answers.  Lucky I have her to go to.

So what's next?  Will I be in Nashville long?  Hmmmmmm......

Answers to these and other questions that so many want to know will be in the next blog entry, I promise.

Stay safe.

The Good, The Great, and The Really Ugly

The CIBs have been on the road 22 days now and we're entering the home stretch.  We left the bright lights of NYC behind early this morning and navigated the scary drivers and all that crazy traffic behind us.  Then, just as we crossed over that Mason Dixon Line we hit a wall of traffic.  I carefully navigated Seeker to the nearest exit and what do ya know, a Walmart.  I went inside and talked to customer service to explain that we would be visiting for a few hours till the traffic cleared.  They informed me that a semi had turned over and crushed a mini van filled with a family on vacation.  Not something I want to see any part of, thank you.  So we were cordially invited to spend the night right here in Rising Sun, MD.  I think we'll just stay a few hours to let the traffic die down.  In the meantime, here's a brief look back at highlights of the trip.

We have traveled through/camped in 12 states with only one more, Virginia, between us and home.  That's good.
We were sprayed/soaked by Niagra Falls and that was great.
We had a flat on the Mass. Turnpike after dark (I know I promised not to drive that late) in a construction zone and that was really ugly.

We crossed through the Alleghenies, the Berkshires, the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Boy, was that good.
We stood on top of Mount Washington in 45 mph winds and an icy rain.  That was fabulously great!
We lost the connection for the lights to RV somewhere between Mount Washington and Portland, ME (actually one end was still connected but we didn't know the other end was dragging along the road for 30 miles) and had to wait for a camping store to open so we could buy a new one.  That was ugly.

We drycamped a mile from the feet of the Statue of Liberty and that was good, great, and ugly all at once.  It was good to be so close and just look out the window at night to see her standing there.  Even better, dare I say great, was seeing her in person, up close, and personal.  A life long goal met there.  But the place we camped was not all it promised to be.  The shuttle from the train station to the ferry for the statue only runs on Sat/Sun but our campground folks told us it ran everyday.  The campground advertised a ferry right from their dock to Wall Street.  Well, the ferry was there but only sold one month tickets at the cost of $65 each.  So, for their misrepresentation of amenitities, I have to say that they were the ugly part of our Jersey City experience.

Overall, the good and the great far outweighed the uglies.  A fun, eventful trip so far, but we are both ready to be home for a little while.

A Long Night and Greeting the Great Lady

When I last blogged I think I made it clear that it was HOT. And it's not supposed to be hot up north. We're supposed to have that market cornered in the south. But we had to cope with it just like the locals so we pulled over to a Walmart and waited out the day for cooler temps.

We left our comfy little corner in New London, CT around 10:30pm last night and drove about 120 miles across CT, through the narrow neck of New York over the Tappan Zee Bridge, and into New Jersey where we circled for what seemed like hours to find the local Walmart. Finally I decided to give it up and we pulled into a service plaza in Ridgeland, New Jersey about 15 minutes from Jersey City. We found a spot practically under the New Jersey Turnpike in amongst the truckers who were getting a few hours of sleep before heading out to make their deliveries. The swaying of the RV with the traffic passing overhead creating a cradle-like effect that soon had us both fast asleep - well, that and shear exhaustion.

This morning we moved closer to the service bay area to have the lights checked on the toad but all was well so we ventured on down the turnpike and found our little campsite in what the locals call a campground in Jersey City. I would call it a parking lot with a view. And what a view. Just over the tops of some pretty expensive looking yachts is Lady Liberty herself for all the world to see. We are parked so that we can sit at our dinette table and gaze out at her.

Is this a great campground? No, not really. But the folks are great and very helpful. And the view, did I mention the view? This afternoon we are just tired so we are taking our afternoon naps - I could get into this habit - and planning to walk with Gus over to Liberty Park to watch the sun go down and the lights go on at the statue's feet.

More of our misadventures tomorrow

A Long Way From the Cold North

Sitting in a Walmart parking lot taking a rest from the heat in Waterford, CT.  We drove this far (about 180 miles) this morning from Salisbury, Massachusetts but the engine kept running hot, the road construction was everywhere, and traffic was terrible.  We found this nice super Wally and pulled off to a far lot to just let things cool off.  At this point we plan to rest here till about 11pm when the temperature is scheduled to drop below 85 and try driving across the Hudson into New Jersey.  I don’t normally go for late night driving but the temperatures and the traffic are pushing me to try a new tactic.

In fact, this whole trip has pushed me to doing and learning new things – about towing, about driving with a flat, about my road service, about the weather (yeah, I thought it never got hot up north) and about my resilience.  Somehow I have managed to get through every ordeal, big and little, and move on. 

One thing I know for certain is that my goal to drive from Buffalo to Albany and on into Massachusetts in one day was a bad one and I paid for it.  The roads were rough and we paid a heavy toll to ride on them.  The toll was $48 to get out of New York.  Then we got on the Mass Turnpike which was just as rough but the tolls were cheaper.  And that’s where the tire went flat.  I was able to limp up the road into Vermont where we found a truck stop to stay in for the night (running over 4 of those orange cones around some road construction along the way).  From there I called my road service and within an hour or so the guy was there to fix the tire which turned out to not be blown but that the stem had busted out.  He was able to put a new valve stem in for me which was lucky because while I do have a spare underneath it seems to have been there so long he couldn’t break the connection on the tire holder.  Something I will get the guys at Bass Tire to take a look at when I get back home.   Also had to get the service to send a guy out to jump start the battery on my car because I had left it sitting there with the lights on while I was worrying over the tire.  Thank goodness for a good road service package.  We ended up just spending the night in the parking lot of the truck stop and had breakfast the next morning at the 50s style diner there where we were entertained by the 2 waitresses’ discussion of IUD problems.  Amazing what you learn on the road!

Things started looking up after that.  We went on up the highway toward Ben & Jerry’s with a stop at the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial at the Sharon, VT visitor center.  It’s one of the best we’ve seen and we stop at just about all of them we come across.  The folks at Ben & Jerry’s were busy but very kind.  They had some special parking for RVs which was great.  I thought the tour was a bit lame but the flavors we tried afterward were great.  Ever heard of Bonaroo Buzz?  The Goddess says it’s great.  I had a 7 Layer Cake flavor with coconut, graham crackers, and chocolate.  Yummy!!  Before we left I walked up to the flavor graveyard and took some pix for Brenda since she couldn’t make the climb.  Very funny stuff. 

We left there and decided to drive toward New Hampshire.  Went through downtown Barre which was the prettiest town but with the toad we just couldn’t find a place to park so we moved on down the 302.  All along the way was beautiful New England scenery: rivers filled with big boulders and covered bridges and red barns.  And so cool.  We rode with the windows down and enjoyed it all so much that we were surprised when we saw the welcome to New Hampshire sign.  We soon found a nice campground near Littleton, NH with a hot tub.  After that long drive through New York and the rough night at the truck stop we decided we were due a treat.  The next morning we slept in for a while then hitched up the toad and drove over to Mount Washington base camp to ride the cog railroad to the top.  Many hardy souls actually climb the 2.something miles/over 4,000 ft. rise in altitude, but we decided to ride the train.  There was only one other rv in the lot and the folks were from a little town in Georgia just outside of Chattanooga so we became fast friends on the ride up and down both. 

I was really happy to get to the top of Mount Washington.  Last fall when I visited the area there was so much snow already you couldn’t get to the top.  It was in the low 40s on top with a wind gusting at around 45 mph which gave you a 32 windchill.  We had chili for lunch.  I wasn’t able to get a webcam picture of me on the observatory deck so I missed out on the find for a webcam cache, but I don’t care.  I was there and had a blast.  Once we were back down to earth and in the seeker we headed east again on the 302.  We stopped at the pull off along the highway with a view of the Mount Washington Hotel which is supposed to be haunted so we could take a couple of pictures then moved on toward Maine. 

I had to shift down into a lower gear to get down out of the mountains without being run over by my toad, but there were several opportunities to pull off and enjoy the view.  Again the roadside scenery was like someone from Hollywood had set the stage for us all along the roadway.  The only thing we didn’t see was a moose, and while I wouldn’t have minded seeing one off in the distance, I wasn’t keen on finding out if I could survive hitting one.  Just outside of Portland Maine we found a super Walmart and decided to stop to shop and maybe stay the night.  I got out to check the toad and made an ugly discovery: the cable that hooks the car electrical to the RV had come unplugged somewhere in the last 30 miles (the last time I checked things) and had dragged along the road all that time.  In short, it was ruined.  I checked Walmart and a couple of car parts places but only camper supply stores would have another one.  Luckily there was one about 2 miles down the road.  We just had to wait till the next morning at 11 when they opened. 

So we boondocked at Wally’s for the first time.  And actually it was fine.  We were parked back in a corner near a pond and the frogs sang all night.  The next morning we drove the Seeker to Yarmouth to shop at the Delorme store and for Brenda to see the coin vault and sign the log.  Then we rode back by way of the Head Lighthouse in Portland.  Lee’s Camping World was on the way back to the Walmart where we left the toad so we stopped and bought the new cable then headed back to get hooked up.  Before long we were on the road and heading down 295 toward Boston.  We found the Black Bear Campground at Salisbury, Massachusetts where we settled in for a couple days’ rest.  That night we were in bed before the sun went down.  The next morning we drove to the commuter station in town and took a train to Salem where we had a great lunch at a café called The Coven and then milled around some of the shops, visited the witch history museum, the Bewitched statue, ate some frozen custard, and ended up at the Burying Ground in the middle of town.  Didn’t really do a lot as we were still a bit tired from all we’ve been doing, but we enjoyed it just the same.  We wandered down to the train station and had a short and thankfully air conditioned train ride back to Salisbury.  I took the laundry down and put our clothes in the wash then walked over to the pool and walked laps in the water while the clothes got clean.  We’ve probably done too much sitting and driving on this trip and I’m taking every chance I get to help my leg circulation.  After laundry and dinner we drove down to the Salisbury beach.  Ugh.  Too much like Panama City Beach in Florida.  We just turned around and headed back to get some sleep. 

We hit the road around mid morning today thinking of stopping and staying in Rhode Island then changing our minds and going a little further south into Connecticut.  I had hoped to visit the USS Nautilus but it was closed today.  Just my luck.  We pulled off into the super Walmart just down the road to rethink our plans.  The heat, the traffic, and the road construction are all bad here during the day.  So we will just wait out all three and try moving down across New York and into New Jersey some time late tonight.  Hopefully we will find a nice place to spend a day or two before leaving the area.

I’ll let you know later how this plan works out.