We took our time this morning. It was balmy and breezy and a perfect day for a walk. I had missed walking in new places each morning! Tim found a trailhead that lead me down to the beach. From there, I could see the Indian River Bridge.
We packed up and headed south to Janes Island State Park in Crisfield. It began to rain as we arrived. We were disappointed that we were not able to ride our bikes into town. The rain did abate this afternoon and we took the Jeep and went to check out the Heritage Festival. Unfortunately, because of the weather, most of the vendors were gone or packing up. We did wander around the marina.
Janes Island State Park has a new Wi-Fi room and so I was able to post the blog. Janes Island also has a few new projects.
This evening, we packed a picnic. As we were preparing to leave, it began to rain again. We drove to the pier in Crisfield and found a dry table on the lower deck. As we ate, we enjoyed watching a granddad, father, and son catching fish and netting crabs.
We know that Humberto and Imelda are out there brewing. We are watching the weather and may have to modify our plans.
Tearfully, we left Reisterstown. We are sad to leave and at the same time, we are excited to begin traveling again. Tim has always said that as soon as we travel over the Bay Bridge, he can feel his blood pressure go down. It was a beautiful day for a drive to the Eastern Shore.
We arrived in Ocean View, Delaware in early afternoon. We stayed at Bayshore Marina and Campground. Most of the sites were occupied by permanent residents. The park was well kept and clean. Our site was directly on the marina. We walked and rested and then at 5pm, we met Walt and Lisa at Fins Ale House. We enjoyed a pleasant dinner with good friends.
The big boys spent their last day in Disney; and epic and magical trip!!
We spent some wonderful time with David and his family from the 18th of April until early May. The boys were so happy to see us and we loved every minute of our time with them. Oliver and Austin were both in school but we picked them up each day. Both boys were on spring soccer teams and we had so much fun watching them play. In the few short weeks that we were there, we were able to see them learn the game and really improve their skills. We spent time walking in the woods, making baked ziti, and baking gingerbread cookies from scratch. The boys are really into video games and we sat with them, as they schooled us in Mario Kart and Minecraft. We went out for ice cream and took them to the park to play basketball. Austin’s 7th birthday party was a sport theme and so we made sugar cookies and decorated them as soccer balls and baseballs and tennis balls and basketballs. We had a big neighborhood birthday bash on May 3rd and then on May 4th, he had a party with his classmates. On May 5th, we started our trip toward home.
Allison was scheduled for gall bladder surgery later that week. We were home to help. She was not able to lift or carry Wade for a couple of weeks. We did lots of caretaking, and meal making and we had loads of fun with Wade; singing and reading and playing and being outside.
We had all of our appointments scheduled while we were home. I had been having some lingering left foot pain and I decided to get checked. I had three stress fractures from overuse and need to be in a boot for 7 weeks followed by many weeks of PT, Tim decided to get his shoulder looked at and he had a tear in his rotator cuff. He elected to have it repaired. He is well on his way to recovery; getting progressively stronger.
Allison turned 30 and we had a surprise party for her.
Allison was scheduled to have her tumor removed on July 22nd. Her surgery was vey successful with fewer complications than the surgical team had anticipated. This was awesome news! Again, she was not able to drive or care for the baby and we were two pairs of extra hands.
In mid August, we took my mom and we flew to Atlanta to see Oliver for his 9th birthday. It was a shorter visit but we squeezed in so many fun things.
For the next weeks, we took care of ourselves and we took care of our family. Tim and I both had PT. We cooked and cleaned and ran errands and mowed and gardened and did some small repairs.
While we were home, we spent more time sifting through our remaining belongings and got rid of a bunch of stuff. It is amazing what traveling in an RV fulltime teaches us about how much we absolutely need.
We got to spend time with my mom and my sister and we got to catch up with a bunch of friends.
We loved being with Kyle and his family and we consider it a privilege that were allowed to stay and help. We have felt very welcome and comfortable here. Our greatest joy in these weeks has been taking care of Wade. We have watched as he has learned so many new words and skills. We watched as he went from scooting to pulling up to cruising to finally walking! We will miss all the baby giggles and hugs and cuddles. More than anything, I will miss the daily busyness. I have always loved being a mom and being a grandma. Everyone here is doing well and it is time for us to go!
At nine thirty, we arrived at the Allegro Welcome Center for the Tiffin Factory Tour. We learned about the history of the company. We had a meet and greet with the company’s founder, Bob Tiffin.
We donned safety glasses and yellow vests. We were given headsets and radios and then we toured the cabinet shop. This is a huge warehouse where all the woodwork and solid wood cabinets for each coach are handmade. Next, we toured the actual production line. Currently, Tiffin produces 4 brand new motorhomes every day. The chassis preparation begins before Station 1. When it arrives, it is welded and basement partitions and basic plumbing and wiring lines are added. From there, the floor is built, the side panels are erected, and the motorhomes begin to take shape. We followed the coaches through about 12 of the 18 stations. The work after that takes place inside the vehicle making it impossible to see how they assemble the finishing touches. Each coach has about 3 miles of electrical wiring. We were absolutely wowed by this phenomenal tour. It was very cool to be allowed inside the facility. I know we have a new appreciation for the attention to details and quality products that are involved in creating a beautiful finished RV. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures…
We met with Victor, our service technician at noon. He gave us an update on all of the progress that he had made and what he still had to accomplish before the end of the workday. He asked us to return at 3 to pick up our rig.
We went to the community park and had our lunch and then we waited.
At 3pm we went back to the service department and we reviewed all of the repairs that had been made. We had hoped to go directly to the mechanical shop for a small item but Tiffin was not going to be able to schedule us until Wednesday. We decided to find another time for the last item. We had an outstanding experience here and I think that we will return for future needs.
We hooked up the Jeep and we started driving east toward Atlanta. We stopped at 7pm CST for the night in Oxford, Alabama at a Cracker Barrel. We got a FaceTime call from two very excited boys!! We went in and had dinner and then slept.
We were up early and we got packed and organized. By 11am, we were at the Prime Storage in Snellville, Georgia. By noon we were at David’s. Oliver and Austin will be home at 3pm and we cannot wait to see them! We plan to be here visiting for awhile and so we will suspend blog writing until we leave sometime in the beginning of May.
We had the alarm set for 5:30am. We got up and began preparing the RV for service. We cleaned all the food out of the fridge and freezer and packed our coolers. We put our overnight things in the Jeep and then at 6:45 we drove to Service Bay #33. The enormity and scope of this business enterprise is astounding. We pulled into our bay and stood in the largest shop I have ever seen. It was clean and well-lit and organized and impressive. We were greeted by Victor. He is our technician. He was extremely well informed, professional, and knowledgeable. He reviewed our list of concerns and he welcomed us to come and see him anytime to check on the status of our rig. He also promised to call at the end of the day to give us an update. He expects our rig to be with him for two full days.
The purpose and mission of Tiffin is clearly customer centered with an emphasis on the quality of their product.
It was just after 7am and we had the whole day before us. We found Lost Pines Coffee Shop.
We walked in the town of Red Bay.
We were ducked!
This place had its humble beginnings with the railroad that ran through.
We passed the Sunshine Mills factory. There was a strong odor coming from the plant which neither Tim nor I could identify. We asked someone and found out that it was a dog food factory. We realized that outdoors it smelled like the inside of a bag of Purina Dog Chow!
We ate breakfast in a parking lot and then decided to go for a drive. We went one mile and we were in Mississippi. We traveled to the town of Belmont. From there, we saw a sign to Nachez Trace and we took it for several miles.
We saw another sign for Bay Springs Lake. We went to see the dam and lock. This is part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. This project joins 12 rivers into a navigable route. The barges that use this waterway travel more than 200 miles to the Port of Mobile on the Gulf Coast.
This old log cabin was relocated when the reservoir was filled.
We ate lunch by the lake.
This morning, we noticed that there were lots of Tiffins on the road but there were also a lot of logging trucks. While we were out today, we followed lots of full trucks and we wondered where they were headed. We passed a huge log yard. There were more than a dozen tractor trailers lined up and waiting to be unloaded. We could see the log pile from the road. Tonight, on Google Earth, we were able to see the whole operation. There is a crane that offloads the lumber into a huge circle. The lumber is ground into chips and loaded onto barges that float down the river though a series of locks.
We were able to check into our hotel a little early. We had a busy day and we were eager for our quiet time.
This evening, we went to Casa Fiesta for a delicious meal of spinach, chicken and mushroom enchiladas…so good! We were full and decided to walk. We found the local high school, home of the Red Bay Tigers and we walked the track. This gorgeous stadium is for a school that has 319 students in grades 6-12.
I though the park today. It was a beautiful spring morning. This is absolutely my favorite time of the year. I love the new green leaves just popping out on the trees.
We were in the road again by 9am. We drove mostly on interstates.
We arrived at the Bob Tiffin Service Center in Red Bay, Alabama in early afternoon.
We purchased our new rig in June of last year and we are here to have a few warranty issues fixed. Our appointment is for tomorrow at 7am. We were fortunate to get the last RV camping spot right at the service facility. There are about two hundred Tiffin coaches in the campground, the 50 service bays, and in the large lot around the repair facility. It is an impressive operation.
We spent today getting ready to close The RV for a couple of days. We cleaned and packed for a short hotel stay.
This evening, we had eggs and toast for dinner…still trying hard to clear out the refrigerator.
We took the Jeep and drove through town. We passed Tiffin Supply Co. , Tiffin Lumber Yard, the Tiffin Manufacturing Facility, and the Tiffin Appliance Company. Bob owns this town!
We went to get a couple for groceries and then we went to the carwash.
We will see what we can find to occupy ourselves for the next two or three days.
I walked down the country lane this morning. Cool and crisp and lovely.
We spent a lot of time driving/riding today. We left Dothan and traveled through Montgomery and then picked a place to stay just south of Birmingham. We would have loved to have stopped in Montgomery.
There are so many things to see; the National Memorial for Peace, The Legacy Museum, Rosa Parks Museum, the Civil Rights Memorial Center, and a nice Riverfront Park. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a way to park the RV anywhere in the city and so we drove on by. Next time we will stay close and see the city.
We arrived at Oak Mountain Sate Park at around 2pm. We spent a quiet afternoon.
I grilled chicken pad Thai for our dinner.
We took the Jeep and went down to the lake. This is the largest state park in Alabama. It is very pretty and there is lots to do. Maybe we will have to come back!
My walk this morning took me along the coast on Mashes Sand Road. There was a nice paved bike path on a quiet backroad.
We dawdled this morning. We didn’t have that far to drive and we couldn’t check in until after 1pm. That was further complicated by the fact that we would be entering the Central Time Zone in the panhandle of Florida.
We began our ride in the country and we passed through Apalachicola National Forest. We began to see cattle and farmland. Then we got on Interstate 10 for a long way. We stopped at a rest area in Cottondale and stalled again, we had lunch and walked and Tim took a nap.
We crossed into Alabama and shortly after that, we arrived at our destination, Folklore Brewing and Meadery in Dothan. We were met by Uncle Kenny in his blue golfcart and escorted to our site. This business is associated with Harvest Hosts.
When we first got here, there was a trade circle happening. People came with stuff they wanted to get rid of or trade and they went from table to table negotiating for things they were interested in having. No money exchanged hands…just deals between neighbors.
There was a guy selling boiled peanuts; a southern specialty that Tim remembers from his youth. We bought a cup to share. They were salty and meaty and tasted more like beans than nuts.
Tim was happy that he could watch the NASCAR race while sipping a nice porter. I joined him a while later and had mead for the first time. Mead is fermented honey with added water. It was quite tasty. Blue Moon Café provided Cajun dinner choices. Tim sampled etouffee and I had a shrimp po’boy.
We enjoyed chatting with Doyle, the owner’s dad.
We went out to the RV and soon, Uncle Kenny came down to water his butter beans and zucchini. He and Tim are outside talking about all kinds of things.
The hosts here have been so kind and have made us feel very welcome. Uncle Kenny said “Tonight, this is your backyard and we want you to make yourselves at home!”
We are moving north and west again today. We took the Nature Coast Big Bend Scenic Highway. Our route took us through forest and wildlife refuges. We arrived at Holiday Campground in Panacea, Florida just after noon.
By one o’clock, we were on our way to Sopchoppy. Today the town was hosting the Worm Gruntin’ Festival…the what??? Excuse me??? The woman from the campground here told us all about it. In 2009, Mike Rowe from the show Dirty Jobs did a segment on worm grunting. A wooden stake is driven into the dirt. A metal bow is used to grind against the top of the stake creating vibrations in the ground. The worms sense the vibrations and flee to the surface of the soil. The vibrations simulate the presence of a ground mole an earthworm predator. The worms are harvested and used for fishing bait. Tim’s family had a similar method of drawing worms to the surface. His father taught him to pound two screwdrivers into the ground a short distance from one another. Next, they used a half of an extension cord. One wire was wrapped around each screwdriver. The cord was plugged into an outlet and the shockwaves caused the worms to come up. At the festival, there was an area where children were practicing their skill. Somewhere in the woods, adults were competing for prizes.
The festival definitely had a worm theme. There were chocolate covered gummy worms and gummy worms “crawled” out of all the baked goods.
There were lots of craft vendors with very beautiful pieces.
We sat and talked with a local couple and listened to some live music.
We got a big fresh lemonade to share and headed back to Panacea. We drove across the bridge and out to Bald Point.
We had omelets and fresh garlic bread for dinner.
After our meal, we hopped on our bikes and cycled on the very nice bike path the runs parallel to 98.
One last sunset over the Gulf.
Tomorrow we will drive north toward Montgomery, Alabama.
I walked from the campground to the local beach area and then did a second lap for more than 2 ½ miles. All along I could hear machines moving, chain saws, drills, the whine of circular saws; people were working on their houses and properties.
We took our bikes and rode on the bike trail. We saw this small 2-foot alligator.
We passed the boat pushed among the trees.
We took the side road to the small community of Cedar Island. More mangled remains of houses. Everywhere we looked something was irrevocably broken.
We took a second side trip to Dark Island and Tim took this video.
We cycled almost 9 miles.
For lunch, we packed a cooler and drove to Hagen’s Cove Recreation Area.
Willets in the water.
On the way out, we spotted this bald eagle sitting in a dead tree.
We drove further to Big Bend Wildlife Management Area – Tide Swamp Unit. We took gravel roads down to a boat ramp and then through the backcountry.
We got on Hog Root Road and had the windows open and hit a mosquito hot spot and they were flying in and swarming and we were swatting and Tim was trying to back us out of there and turn us around. I put the windows up and killed as many as I could; blood and dead carcasses on my hands and arms and on the dashboard and windows. It was pretty intense for a couple of minutes. We drove out and as long as we kept moving, the mosquitoes didn’t bother us anymore! I wish we had video of it…I am quite sure we looked panic stricken and ridiculous!
We followed the roads for miles. We had taken a picture of the park map at the entrance and we knew we were making a large loop back to the highway. At the last turn, there was a locked and chained yellow metal gate. Tim got out to try to open it but it was definitely locked. We turned around and went back the way we had come…we did NOT go back onto Hog Root Road!
Cormorant on a post.
This evening, we went to Nowhere Grille for dinner.
We had good food and then we were waiting for the live music to begin at 6:30. Just minutes before the show was supposed to begin, there was a drenching downpour. The wind was blowing the rain into the outdoor seating area. We stood by the bar to stay warm and dry. We decided to go back to the RV. The sky was dark and threatening and we got a tornado warning alert on our GPS.
By sunset, things had calmed down. The winds laid down and the water was still. Last night here in Keaton Beach.
