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Make New Friends...

10/30/2015

...But keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. Very wise words. We have met lots of great and interesting people on this trip. Some would likely become good friends if circumstances permitted. But old friendships are amazing. Last night we drove about thirty minutes for dinner with such a friend. Joyce and Jim were our accomplices for lots of adventures in our early marriage. We discovered disreputable restaurants and bars together and made a weekend trip to Chicago on $100 per couple. We kept in contact and exchanged visits when they moved to Des Moines and even the Virgin Islands. But eventually growing children and job demands made even that infrequent. We have only seen them once in probably twenty years. Since that time four years ago, Jim was taken by Alzheimer's. When we circled the Southeast last spring, we planned a visit with Joyce but a succession of late ice storms changed our route. So we were determined this trip.

When you don't see someone for a long time, you always wonder if you have much in common any more--will you find enough to talk about? We were there for three hours and there wasn't a moment of silence. We didn't even get out of the entry way before we were going full bore, continued on her beautiful deck, through a scrumptious supper of salad and sweet potato and Andouille sausage, around a wonderful caramel apple pie, and hardly taking a breath for coffee. On the way back to the campground, I thought of several things I wanted to ask her about and forgot to mention. A great evening.

We will head homeward today, aiming for north of St. Louis for tonight, and the rest of the way tomorrow. Then the fun challenge of emptying and winterizing the trailer. Until next time.

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The Queen of Tennessee Parks

10/29/2015

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That is the tagline used on the literature for Montgomery Bell State Park near Nashville. Fall has almost expired here but there is still lots of beautiful color. The campground is about half full but they will be at capacity this weekend for Halloween festivities. A very pretty, clear as a bell, stream runs along the edge and the sites are nice, wide and level. AND the showers have two hooks.

The rain gave up reluctantly yesterday and was unable to dampen any outside activity, with even a few shy appearances of the sun. We drove to the site of the birthplace of the Cumberland Presbyter in the early 1800s. A sweet little chapel was built there in the 1960s to commemorate the event. Another drive and a hike took us to the spillway on Lake Woodhaven. It is similar to the one at Beed's Lake, although not as high and steep, but very pretty.

There are several hiking trails near the campground that we might try and mountain bike trails that we probably won't. We finished the evening with grilled steaks, sweet potatoes and sauteed spinach with garlic, plus an excellent campfire.

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To Lose a Friend

10/28/2015

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The worst thing about growing old is not our own mortality but that of the people who make up the fabric of our lives. We are so much our experiences involving others. We lost a good friend early this morning to pancreatic cancer--diagnosed barely over a month ago. I know his wife better than I knew Doug but he was always interesting and interested. I remember him bringing a baby "trick" pig a another friend's 'Gong Show Party' years ago. I think Doug was the only one who really thought the pig could do tricks. He farmed, tractor-pulled, built dragsters, and restored classic cars. In some ways, they seemed like an extremely mismatched couple but that seemed to make their marriage stronger--maybe because they were so willing for and supportive of each other to pursue their own interests.

One of our reasons for being near Nashville is to visit a woman who lost her husband to Alzheimers a year or so ago. We had tried to connect last spring when an ice storm got in the way. We were close friends early in our marriages when we were all broke, which made our times together all the more adventurous.

Those experiences and memories make us who we are. I thought this morning, when I was outside in this beautiful campground at the end of the fall and watched a few lone leaves drift down to join the gold and red carpet on the ground that that carpet is like our memories, each leaf contributing to the pattern and the beauty. Rest in peace, Doug.

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Tishomingo Rain

10/27/2015

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Sounds like the name of a song, doesn't it? This is a beautiful state park northeast of Tupelo, Mississippi. Unfortunately, we are only here for one night and the weather is not conducive to exploring, but it looks like a great place to revisit. We wandered the area yesterday afternoon on our way here quite awhile trying to find the Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs through the park, and were finally led there by a gracious local.

The fall color is lovely here and our site is overlooking the lake and across from the A- shower house. You guessed it--only 1 hook. I should be a campground shower consultant. Anyway, we have had rain off and on for the last day but apparently it was much needed. The whole state is under an open fire ban and we would not have been able to have a campfire even if weather permitted. The lake is very low and not nearly as large as shown on the park maps. So we aren't complaining. It's also like Mother Nature is warning us we will soon be back in Iowa and it's almost November.

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Jessi and Patricia

10/26/2015

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We detoured south on our trip homeward to visit granddaughter Jessi, who is a freshman at the University of Alabama. Due to distance and jobs, we have probably spent less time with Jessi than the other grandchildren so it was great to see her in her new life, blossoming into a lovely young woman. We took her to supper and got an abbreviated driving tour of the campus. I forgot my camera (!) so stole a new photo from her Facebook page that someone took earlier in the afternoon on a pumpkin patch trip with her sorority.

We opted for an RV park right along the interstate rather than the more distant Corps of Engineers campground. Most of the RVs belong to seasonal renters who leave their motor homes and fifth wheels here for Alabama football weekends. Being Sunday night, the park is full and there are almost no people. Kind of a post-Apocalyptic feel.

Apparently, there are a number of differences between 'RV parks' and 'campgrounds.' RV parks have less grass and trees and a lot more rules. This one even suggests that you wash your camper regularly. Well, the rain is taking care of that.

It was inevitable as we headed west and tropical storm Patricia came east, we were bound to meet. No introductions were necessary. Although so far, her personality seems more capricious than psychotic, thank goodness. Fairly heavy rain has alternated with drizzle through the night. We will head to Tupelo, Mississippi today and follow the Natchez Trace up into Tennessee tomorrow.

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Into the Maelstrom

10/25/2015

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After two weeks of incredibly beautiful fall weather, it appears we may be heading into the system affected by Hurricane Patricia. Could be a lot of rain and drizzle; could be worse. But we leave Stone Mountain after a gorgeous weekend. Yesterday we returned to the Country Living Fair for a short time, and lots more "I could make that" (but probably won't.) I met Linda G. Davis, a Sister on the Fly who has been a Facebook friend for a while, and checked out her vintage-trailer-turned-art-studio and also bought her book, Celtic Portal: Receptor. In the afternoon, our niece Natalie and fiance Terry came out and we got a little tour of a couple of great trailers: Rebecca's 'Bookmobile' and Margie's new and beautiful Airstream.

One mystery of the day was never solved on our part. In the morning, we heard a siren and saw a police car turn into the campground. This was followed by at least five more squad cars and a couple of medical units. We never heard an ambulance leave, nor were able to find out what happened. Seems like six police cars signaled something major.

We ended up with a late supper because the firewood purchased from the campground turned out to be very wet pine and only cooked our hamburgers with the help of half a bag of charcoal and a large dose of lighter fluid.

But it has been an amazing--a sadly overused word--experience for me. As I said yesterday, I wish I could have heard everyone's story. It will certainly affect my next book, Trailer on the Fly.

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Wow! These Sisters Know How to Fly!

10/24/2015

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I am attending my first Sisters on the Fly event at Stone Mountain, Georgia and what an amazing group of women. This is an outdoor adventure group for women only and their events center around everything from fly fishing and horseback riding to concerts and craft fairs. In this case, the event is in conjunction with Country Living magazine's craft fair.

Thursday night, we attended a meet-and-greet at a beautiful spot on the lake. Following a potluck supper of incredible homemade soups, they held a book discussion around the campfire of The Time Travel Trailer. Many of the sisters shared their experiences with their own vintage trailers, although no one claimed to have time traveled.

Friday, we fought the traffic to the craft fair site--over 300 vendors of antiques and crafts, plus food, entertainment, and demonstrations. Several of the Sisters' trailers are displayed also. I didn't buy anything but saw lots of great ideas.

Back at the campground, I took advantage of the laundry facilities right across the road to eliminate the pile in our bathtub and my sister Gretchen and I proceeded to get ready for last night's 'Cowgirl Prom.' It was held at the same spot as Thursday's festivities and featured barbecue and the Thomas Wesley Stearns band. The weather was fantastic and the company even better.

I wish my granddaughters could meet all of these women. I wish I could have talked to each and every one, because the ones I did talk to all had great stories. Anything goes in apparel. The food was delicious and the music a great slice of Americana. Women were there from all over the southeastern United States. Many tow their own trailers. (Not me, being a chicken.) Their backgrounds are diverse and a number have been through life-changing tragedies. But they are indomitable.

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The Impenetrable Fort

10/22/2015

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Just downriver from Savannah are Fort Pulaski and Tybee Island--a nice day trip. Pulaski was built in the mid 1800s and considered untakeable by the cannon existing at the time. At the start of the Civil War, the Confederate militia took control and assumed when the Union soldiers built batteries across the river that their shells would never reach and also couldn't damage the 8-foot thick walls. Overconfidence is never a good thing because the Union had developed rifled cannons and shells that had far greater range and power. The fort fell in a few hours. A lesson in the futility of the perfect defense.

It is an amazing place. It seemed odd to see a moat and drawbridge as part of the defense system only 150 years ago. The structure of gun ports on three sides makes you wonder what the noise was like when all of those guns were firing. Baseball was a popular entertainment in the fort during the war. Lots of interesting tidbits.

Tybee Island is one of those beach towns lined with tourist junk shops and seafood restaurants. My favorite restaurant name was 'Marlin Monroe.' The beach is beautiful white sand and the crowds are not at their peak this time of year.

The most common signs in town are the ones warning that there is NO free parking anywhere. We wandered into a restaurant that was not seafood--more by accident than design. The manager said the town are real Nazis about the parking and the fines are steep. After lunch, we stopped to get a couple of shots of the lighthouse but it was getting late so we did not take the tour. As you can see, a few clouds had moved in but this has really been an incredible stretch of weather on this trip.

Today we will be launching early to try and avoid the worst Atlanta traffic on our trek to Stone Mountain. The Sisters on the Fly event there this weekend was what started this whole trip. Tonight, they have a soup supper and a book discussion--and they chose The Time Travel Trailer as their topic. Hence, my invitation. I am really excited about that and seeing my sister Gretchen who will be joining me for the weekend. She's threatening to bring her chickens.

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Daylight in the Garden of Good and Evil

10/21/2015

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Yesterday we bought tickets for one of the historic trolley tours of Savannah. The historic district, with its narrow streets, is not an easy place for a large pickup with towing mirrors and hitch so it seemed the best way to go and see as much as possible. Savannah has a very interesting history, being the first settlement in the last colony settled and intended as a military buffer between the Spanish in Florida and the English in the Carolinas. Seems like it would have been a hard sell for founder James Oglethorpe to get his first hundred settlers: "Come on guys--sail to America with me and we can live where we will be the first attacked if the Spanish decide to make a move." He must have been something of a con man. I knew that he originally outlawed slavery in Georgia, but didn't realize that he also forbade Catholics, hard liquor, and lawyers. That all changed when the king took over the colony twenty years later. But the district is beautiful, organized around open squares because Oglethorpe also believed in city planning. This is his statue in one of the squares.

It is obvious that the ban against Catholics was lifted when you visit one of the trolley stops, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, one of many beautiful churches in Savannah. The present structure was built after the first one burned in the late 1800s and recently went through an extensive restoration. Other sites along the route included everything from the birthplace of the Girl Scouts to the location of Forrest Gump's bench---and of course the house where the murder took place in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

Another literary highlight is the childhood home of Flannery O'Connor. We didn't take the tour but I did notice that the nice plaque outside neglects to mention that she was a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop. We did have lunch at the Pirate's House where Robert Louis Stevenson supposedly got his idea for Treasure Island.

One of our last stops was along the river area. There are many restaurants and touristy shops just down river from the dock area. We were surprised to learn that Savannah is the fourth biggest port in the US. While we were there, this ship came in and dominated the scene--according to the guide, a 'roll-on, roll-off' ship carrying vehicles and not nearly as big as the container ships. Yikes.

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From the Lowlands

10/20/2015

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Yesterday was the first day on this trip that we haven't gone somewhere in the truck. We decided to check out this beautiful park, intending to take in the interpretive center and the giant sloth (not open on Mondays and Tuesdays), and do some hiking and biking. Two out of three ain't bad.

The hike was along the Sandpiper Trail and thankfully we saw no gaters or copperheads. But we also didn't see and painted buntings or much other wildlife. But the scenery was beautiful with lots of palmettos and live oaks.

After lunch we took our bikes to tackle the Big Ferry Trail. The brochure says it's okay for bikes. Pretty sure the brochure writer never rode the trail. Stretches are pretty good and then suddenly there is a nest of roots designed to stop ISIS from invading. But we stopped at the observation tower overlooking the Skidaway River or Narrows or something and again enjoyed the scenery and plant life.

We polished off this anniversary with some steaks over the fire, herbed potatoes, and baked apples with vanilla sauce. A fine day. There is one thing that is a little disconcerting here. Across from us is the Flying Dutchman of campers--a large dark behemoth that looms along the road but since we have been here, we have seen no sign of life other than a faint light inside and a little movement. No one comes in or out. It's the ghost camper. Oh, one other thing--there ARE two hooks in each shower. Yea!

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