Touchdown: Newnan, GA

Wow, what a whirlwind month May was!!!  I am finally sitting still again which is odd.  By the end of April I was getting restless to be moving and by the end of May and all my rushed travels I was ready to get here and sit still again.  Can't make myself happy it seems sometimes.

But happy I am tonight.  The whiporwill is calling in the woods outside my window.  A train whistle is blowing in the distance.  Gus is breathing loudly beside me and best of all, it's so cool here that I have the windows open and will sleep under a quilt tonight.  I love being in the woods. 

SO WHERE AM I AND WHAT AM I DOING THIS TIME?

I'm campground host for campground #1 at Chattahoochee Bend State Park which is about 10 miles from Newnan, GA.  The park just opened last July which is good and bad.  The good part is how new and shiny everything is.  The bad part is a thing called settling.  In some cases the ground settles away from utility poles and water lines, etc. which is a mess.  In my case the once level parking pad had shifted so badly I couldn't get level and for the first time I had to give up and ask for help.  But the rangers here were great and it only took them an hour, some extra boards, and a floor jack from the shop to get me level.  I had my doubts but they got it done.  Guess I have to stay now since they worked so hard to keep me here.  And I just figured out that there are 25 caches in this park so I will be busy hiking the trails soon.

SO WHERE HAVE I BEEN AND WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO?

It's hard to believe that a month ago I left Folkston and drove to Winder for Mike's 65th birthday party.  I had a good visit there with him and Linda but I had to leave and get to Hohenwald for the Lewis County High School graduation.  Hard to believe that Carly and Cole are all grown now and headed off to college soon.  Also got to see Addy dance and went to some baseball games - hers and Aiden's (and Denton's, and Mahaley's, and Clay's).  Seeker stayed behind in Hohenwald while I drove up to Nashville with Gus to visit with Brenda and take care of some personal business and visited with some friends in the city.  Then it was back to Hohenwald to hook up and head north toward Louisville.  But first I made a stop about halfway between Nashville and Louisville at a cousin's house.  And so began my Kentucky adventures.

Madeline Ruth is actually my mother's cousin since her mother and my grandmother were sisters.  But she is only a few years older than me and we share an interest in family geneaology so I told her I'd stop for a day or two if she had a place for me to park.  And she had a place for the rig.  She also had a house full of kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and all sorts of kith and kin.  She apologized for how loud it all was, but I've been to 2 Ogg Reunions so I can handle big family crowds.  And everyone is so much fun and so loving.  Her husband Jim really is a gem.  He does take a little getting used to though but watch out if he offers you some Apple Pie!

Madeline has 4 kids and the 2 youngest are twins.  Sherry's 3 boys were at the house a lot and I must admit I had a good time entertaining them (or vice versa).  Then while I was there Sarah went to the hospital to give birth to J.W. whose big sister Abigail is still not sure she wants to keep him.  Lorie, the oldest girl, has her hands full with 2 teens and a big house in the country complete with lots of animals to tend to.  And Jim, the only boy, is his father made over.  What a terrific family.  I had a great time staying there and getting to know them all but the sudden arrival of JW interferred with our plans to go archive hunting in Franklin, so I made plans to leave Geowoodstock a day early so Madeline and I could have our time in Franklin. 

So off to Louisville for the geek convention as Darlene would say.  Actually I was camped on the Indiana side of the river at a lovely state park that was filled with geocachers.  I thought of my nephews in Hohenwald as the park was filled with wildlife and it was not uncommon to see big, fat turkeys strutting through the campground!  I volunteered to help out with registration so most of the actual event time I spent behind a counter, but that was fun too.  And I got to see everyone as they came in.  Passed on a chance to take a boat out to an island in the Ohio River to hunt caches.  Yes, even I have to back down sometimes and it was so hot on Sunday I just wanted to go home and rest in the cool.  So I did.

BACK TO MADELINE'S

I broke one of the sacred rv rules and traveled on a major holiday.  Since it meant getting across the river and through Louisville before the workday crowds came back on Tuesday, I thought it was the best decision.  Besides, I was only going 2 hours down the road and I had a sure place to stay.  Back on the farm.  This time we carved out a day without grandkids to get to Franklin, KY and do some digging in the archives.  We found lots of interesting stuff but my favorite was the copy of my parents' marriage license.  They lied about their ages to get married.  Imagine that!!  Also found some death certificates, marriage records, and a few old photos.  All in all, a good day of digging. 

HEADING SOUTH

As much as I was enjoying my time on the farm with Madeline and her family, I had an obligation to get to back in Georgia.  It was agonizing to leave, partly because I felt so at home there and partly because I got behind an Amish buggy on the narrow highway and had to go very, very slow.  Stopped in Nashville for lunch with Brenda and to pick up Gus.  He was so excited to be back with me.  I layed his quilt between the seats and he was ready to ride.  And with some strong winds and rain headed in from the west, I was ready to get out of town.  We made it into Georgia for the night and even got hooked up in Fort Mountain State Park for the night before the rains came.  The next day I was moving slowly again down the mountain in the fog the rains left behind, but as you can tell we made it fine.  Made a couple of stops along the backroads and finally got to the Bend right after closing.  I didn't even really try to set up last night.  I think the past month has caught up with me.  I just want to rest for a few days. 

NEXT?

Hope to do some kayaking real soon.  Also making some more changes in Seeker.  Will post pictures very soon.  For now, I just want to be still and listen to that whiporwill.