Sunday, November 27, 2011

New tires for the trailer.  Most trailer tires are classified ST (Special Trailer), and are very cheaply made.  Reports are abundant of them coming apart while traveling.  Not only do you lose the tire, but often it damages the coachwork of the trailer.   Sounds like a good way to ruin a trip.  There is one brand that seems to be exceptional, Maxxis.  These are them. :)

Monday, November 21, 2011

Gotta love Craigslist

We bought this truck box for $50 the other day.  It's a good place to secure our Honda generator, fuel, and other stuff.  It has to be low profile like that because the 5th wheel trailer extends over the bed. When turning, the trailer corners get up towards the front of the bed.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Our new trailer

We will be selling the Jayco in the spring.  In its place we bought a 2004 Crossroads Cruiser 28RL (rear living area).  Click on photos to enlarge.









We are going to change the living and dining furniture to give us more room for two plus more comfort.  And a desk.  We've already been to IKEA and found most of what we needed.

Rend Lake, then home

We spent our final night at Rend Lake State Park, or whatever it's called now.  It's huge!  The campsites are very nice, but only have electric as far as hookups.  No water, no sewer.  No problem, we had capacity on both fronts, and of course used the dump station on the way out.

Fall is in the air.  There was pheasant hunting going on in the park.  We did see one rooster along a road in the campground.  And the place was thick with deer.  We saw three bucks, and one was a biggie.  I took a few snaps on the early morning dog walk.



Tombigbee State Park, Mississippi

Google wanted to send us home from Lillian via I-65 to Montgomery, etc.  That seemed like quite a backhaul.  It probably made sense at the speed limit of 70 MPH, but as we have mentioned, we like traveling in the low 60s for better mileage.  So we took US 45 from Mobile all the way through Mississippi and Tennessee.  It was four lanes most of the way.  The Mississippi portion was fantastic.  Great pavement and very little traffic.  Tennessee was not as great but was acceptable.  If we did it again, we'd look at US 78 from Tupelo to I-55/57.

We overnighted at Tombigbee SP near Tupelo.  What a gem!  It had a small campground, full hookups for $20. We probably missed the ideal time of year to visit by a couple or three weeks.  There were still some fall colors but it was about over.  Can you tell which one of the five photos came from Terry's camera?  I can.





Lillian/Perdido Bay KOA, Alabama

We overnighted on the shore of Perdido Bay.  This KOA was not for us.  It had a mix of snowbirds and irregulars.  Very nice people though.  But a typical private campground in that the RVs are jammed in pretty close to each other.  We went to bed with an empty site next to us.  The next morning stumbling down the steps in the dark to let the dog out, we almost ran smack into a trailer that had pulled in next door.  It was all of six feet from ours, max.  Maybe less!

The snowbird area had more room though.  This place also had numerous cabins.  I get the impression it's a fishing spot for inland folks on a budget.

Oh well, we departed, officially headed for home.

Serenity Now, Insanity Later

A brief interlude:


Terry and I both noticed how little stress we had during this camping expedition.  We drove in the slow lane, and didn't try to cover a million miles a day.  Once we were camped, it was just basic living, not a lot of choices to make, and just simple things to do.  Like walk, sit, roll over... just kidding; okay walk, sit, read, cook, grill, get some firewood, make a campfire, some more sitting, what are we gonna do tomorrow?, you get the picture.

It was so noticeable.  We talked about it on the way home.  Oh, we were going to be new people when we got home.

It lasted about 12 hours.
:)

Serenity NOW!!!!

Great cheese

On Saturday Nov 12 we left Topsail in the general direction of home.  We were unsure whether or not to milk another couple of days along the Gulf somewhere, or just turn north.  But one thing we wanted to do was visit a mom and pop cheese producer we had read about.  It's a few miles west of Pensacola, in Elberta, Alabama.  Farming country.  Just a small dairy farm where they make and sell their own cheese, open on Fridays and Saturdays only.





I wonder if we could make a camper out of their old delivery truck:

We bought three good cheeses, a bag of pecans, and some other goodies.  Then we sat for a few minutes to decide whether it was time to turn for home or not.

Nov 10-12: Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

Ridiculously, we took no photos of this very nice place.  Well, just this cellphone photo of the dog enjoying being outside.


That's a typical campsite.  It's a highly-regarded park and was full on the weekend.  We had fairly chilly weather here, so we never bothered to take the tram to the beach.  One day we spent pretty much inside the trailer. Another day, we went into Destin and Ft. Walton Beach to look at RVs and buy a couple of items for the trailer.  Destin was too frantic for us, traffic-wise.  I don't mean we could not handle it.  Just that when you're on vacation, you don't need that.

Oh, the highlight of the trip was our first ever visit to one of these. (A realtor's photo of a typical one:)


Anyone from the south, go ahead and laugh at us, we deserve it.  :)
Those of us from the north, you know you've seen Waffle Houses "down south", but maybe like us you've never been to one.  Driving from one end of Destin to the other end of Ft. Walton Beach, there are no fewer than FIVE Waffle House restaurants on US 98.  So one morning we left the campground and drove to the closest one.  Breakfast was just fine, thank you. We decided it is a small version of Denny's, but with better service.   Two thumbs up.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Apalachicola

While camping at St. George's, we made a run over to nearby Apalachicola.  Oyster catching (fishing?) is a big thing there, where the river of the same name enters the gulf.




It's a nice tourist town, easily walkable in a short time, with just enough shops to be interesting but not repetitive.  The dog got a lot of attention, and we had to keep her on a short leash.

Taking the dog to the municipal beach

We were interested to see if the dog would frolic in the surf, or what.  The answer is, "or what". :)
She had no interest whatsoever in the water.  She did enjoy people- and dog-watching, though.



St. George SP Beach

No condos, no nothing except a road and scattered park beach house facilities.


Beyond these dunes lies the terrain shown in the previous post, with the campground after that.

Beach scenes, not a building or soul to be seen, except for us.  No dogs allowed, by the way.

We sure had a lot of perfect weather, as you can see!

St. George Island, Florida

The state park here is a magnificent place.  OK, truth in advertising time, the mosquitoes were brutal.  There is quite a lot of swamp or marsh surrounding the campground.  Our site was about ten feet from standing water.  We would like to find out if the mosquito situation is the exception or the rule.


This gives you a taste of the overall campground look.

The campground is very pretty, but the beach and surrounding terrain are stunning.  Without further ado....
The land between park and beach:

Truly an inspiring place to take a walk.

Nov 6: Wakulla Springs to St. George Island

Today we left Falling Waters to head for St. George Island State Park. We detoured by way of Wakulla Springs State Park.


We have no idea about Henry the pole vaulting fish.  But they do have manatees.


The manatees in the photo are right over the spring.  It's about 120 feet down, and produces two to four thousand gallons per SECOND.  Some days the water is crystal clear, and glass bottom boat rides are offered.  It's said you can see mastodon skeletons down there.  Wish it had been clear water for our visit, but no such luck.  Terry and I once visited the Kitch-Iti-Kipi Spring park in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  It was crystal clear, and we pulled a rope and pulley-propelled viewing raft out to the middle and could see all the way to the bottom.  I still remember Terry squealing with fear, lol.  About whether we were breaking the rules, or we were gonna die, or both.

The spring here creates the Wakulla River, which is a pretty nice sized waterway.   It hosts many gators, turtles, and birds big and small.  We took a boat tour of the river inside the park.



This park was the setting for Creature From The Black Lagoon, and some Tarzan movies.  It's a beautiful place to spend a little time.

As an aside, comparing the photos from Terry's Canon point and shoot camera to those from my Nikon point and shoot make it clear I need a better camera. I bought the Nikon because it has a wider field of view and uses AA batteries, which I like.  No charger to bother with, just use lithium disposables and they last a long time.  Time to upgrade, I think.

After our river tour, we pointed our rig south, to the Gulf of Mexico.

Falling Waters State Park in the Florida Panhandle

Ostensibly, the reason for being the Falling Waters State Park is the tallest waterfall in the state.

There is a deep sinkhole out of view of the photo, so the water falls down into the hole.  From there it travels into caverns, and no one knows where it ends up.  The water comes from springs that are dependent on rainfall.  Here's the catch, there has not been much rainfall.  Right now the waterfall is bone dry.  That photo is from better days.

Still, it's a nice small campground, nice sites, clean bath house, and a weekend of great weather.  No problema.

Nov 4: Nashville to Falling Waters SP, Florida

Today's route is I-65 from Nashville to Montgomery, then US-231 down to FL.  It was a beautiful day, and a good drive.  I'm starting to get used to towing the little house behind me.  Actually, it tows great.  I can literally drive with one finger on the wheel, if I cared to.


We didn't know what to expect in Alabama.  Terry's never been there, and I was only there once, as a kid. That would have been 1967 or 1968.  We had stopped to visit one of Dad's air force buddies.  We stayed in the Jefferson Davis Hotel in downtown Montgomery, across from the bus station.    Dad was distressed by the people boarding buses to go to DC to protest.  That is my main memory of Alabama.


Anyway, Alabama looked a lot like Tennessee, until we got onto 231. Down there, in the south, it is farming and ranching country.  Not too fertile by the looks of things. Cotton, cows, and peanuts.  


Have you ever eaten boiled peanuts?  It's a local, um, delicacy.  If you haven't tried them, you will probably be surprised.  They are sold in roadside shacks, and I do mean shacks.  We stopped in at an actual store, the Bama Nut Shop in Brundidge, AL.  We sampled the boiled peanuts, but they were not for us.  Maybe if we had been able to try them hot.  Did buy some peanut brittle, taffy, jam, and a small pecan log.  I remember Stuckey's used to be famous for pecan logs, and we did not know what they were.  So I've had one, and eh, it's okay.  Maybe Stuckey's were better. Here's a photo of the place I found on the web

As we passed through Dothan, they were gearing up for the National Peanut Festival.  Judging by the traffic control setup, it is officially a Big Deal.  http://www.nationalpeanutfestival.com/

On the way to Dothan, we kept seeing mysterious signs saying ToadLick 3-22-2012.  Turns out it's a big music festival. http://toadlick.com/.  Apparently they know how to party in Dothan, Alabama.  Sounds pretty cool. You might be a redneck, if....


The surroundings seem to get poorer the closer we got to our destination.  Shacks, old mobile homes, old vehicles.  The Florida/Alabama border country is definitely not prosperous.  OK, we're burnin' daylight, pilgrim.  Time to get to our state park before sunset.  We find it just fine, meandering through the back roads near Chipley, FL, using Google Navigation on my smartphone.  Although, as usual, we later realize there is a better way using bigger roads at the cost of an extra mile or so.  Google Nav is very frustrating like that.  Oh well, we are here.  Let the vacation commence!













Nov 3: Florida Panhandle RV journey begins, to Nashville

We figured two fairly long days to get to Falling Waters State Park in Florida.  It's about due south of Dothan, AL.  Google Maps suggested route was to go down to Champaign, IL, take I-74 east, then IL-1 down till crossing over to Vincennes, IN.  Then US-41 to the KY Pennyrile Parkway, to I-24, to Nashville.

We just took I-74 across to Indiana, then IN-63/US-41 down to Kentucky. I like driving on the "yellow" roads, the secondary four lane highways.  We only go about 62 MPH, give or take, because the fuel economy goes down a lot as speed goes up.  With diesel fuel nearly $4 a gallon, and 10 MPG, it adds up.  Anyway, the routing was pretty good.  It was a slog getting through Terre Haute and Evansville, though.

As a side note, our 70 lb dog has some arthritis, and can't just bolt up and down from the pickup truck cab like she used to.  We have to carry a ramp for her.  And you can't just lay the ramp in the truck bed, because when towing a fifth wheel trailer, the wind in the truck bed is just crazy.  Anything you can lift is too light to lay loose in the bed.  I mounted a truck tool chest up near the front, with an inch or so slack at the front of the bed.  We slide the ramp into that slack area, and it stays put. We also have a ramp for the trailer, as shown in the photo.  (Taken elsewhere.)



Back to our story, the Pennyrile Parkway was excellent.  One of those non-interstate four lanes where you have the road to yourself.  Peaceful driving and nice scenery.  Then I-24 down to Nashville.   It was a 440 mile day, which with the towing is about the max we care to do.  We had read that Camping World, an RV store chain, allows overnight stops.   And there was a CW right off the interstate at the Grand Ole Opry area.  But instead we chickened out and stayed at the KOA a few hundred yards away.  

Very nice place, and right next door to a well-known fried chicken and catfish place. Terry loves catfish, so I hiked over there and bought us a mess of fried stuff.  Ask Terry about the fried pickles.   


Friday, November 4, 2011

Nov 4: Nashville to Falling Waters SP, Florida

Today's route is I-65 from Nashville to Montgomery, then US-231 down to FL.  It was a beautiful day, and a good drive.  I'm starting to get used to towing the little house behind me.  Actually, it tows great.  I can literally drive with one finger on the wheel, if I cared to.


We didn't know what to expect in Alabama.  Terry's never been there, and I was only there once, as a kid. That would have been 1967 or 1968.  We had stopped to visit one of Dad's air force buddies.  We stayed in the Jefferson Davis Hotel in downtown Montgomery, across from the bus station.    Dad was distressed by the people boarding buses to go to DC to protest.  That is my main memory of Alabama.


Anyway, Alabama looked a lot like Tennessee, until we got onto 231. Down there, in the south, it is farming and ranching country.  Not too fertile by the looks of things. Cotton, cows, and peanuts.  


Have you ever eaten boiled peanuts?  It's a local, um, delicacy.  If you haven't tried them, you will probably be surprised.  They are sold in roadside shacks, and I do mean shacks.  We stopped in at an actual store, the Bama Nut Shop in Brundidge, AL.  We sampled the boiled peanuts, but they were not for us.  Maybe if we had been able to try them hot.  Did buy some peanut brittle, taffy, jam, and a small pecan log.  I remember Stuckey's used to be famous for pecan logs, and we did not know what they were.  So I've had one, and eh, it's okay.  Maybe Stuckey's were better.


Here's a photo of the place I found on the web

As we passed through Dothan, they were gearing up for the National Peanut Festival.  Judging by the traffic control setup, it is officially a Big Deal.  http://www.nationalpeanutfestival.com/