Saturday, Dec. 30

Yesterday was as pretty a day as we will get for the coming week (60 degrees & sunny). Just as the temps are dropping back home, they are doing the same here. We made the most of it yesterday, soaking in any sunshine we could get and playing some corn hole. The guys also went over and visited the fort while the girls stayed put and talked. Gus was his usual stubborn self, making several attempts at getting out of his collar...stinker.

Today it is expected to rain most of the day and the temps will drop from a high of 50 this morning into the 30s by evening.   We will have to relax indoors and hopefully shed the colds. Tonight We'll have a nice dinner with the Browns and the Lamberts.

First Full Day at Fort Pickens Campground

We had a busy day today, checking out the campground, meeting people & dogs, taking a walk on one of the trails, and hanging out at our campsite. There are lots of smells to sniff, a bit of an overload at times for Gus.  He did get to play with Reesey, Don & RuthAnne's dog, and enjoyed that interaction. When we went for a walk on the beach though, Gus had to stay "home" as dogs are not allowed on the beach. 

A new adventure begins

We are off to Florida again, our 5th or 6th time...I lost count. This time we are taking a puppy with us...5 month old lab named Gus. He is not sure what to make of all this, getting stressed out at home while we finished loading up the RV and car. Then as we loaded him in, he was stressed again, not sure if he wanted OUT!  We finally got him settled down, chewing a rawhide, for a while. Then of course there was the need to go potty right in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of heavy traffic, and in the middle of a Walmart parking lot. What will tomorrow bring as we continue south beyond Atlanta, GA, on our way to Pensacola?  Let the adventures begin!

3 Days of Travel

We finally arrived at Fort Pickens after 3 days driving/riding in the RV. As we moved South, the weather didn't get much warmer. I am especially thankful that we have gas heat in the RV as we dry camped 2 nights...no hookups. Gus was actually shaking from the cold yesterday, so we put a blanket on him to keep him warm...spoiled much???

Gus is not sure about the RV thing. He likes getting out of it, but it has been a challenge to get him to go back in without extra encouragement.  It will hopefully get better as we are staying put for 14 days before moving to a new location. He has toys strewn from one end of the RV to the other, and is often playing with more than one toy at a time. 
Hopefully tomorrow we can have him outside more, but he is not allowed on the beach in the National Park. There is a dog beach about a mile outside the park, so we will have to check it out.

Final day on the road

Yesterday we said goodbye to Jerry, Heidi, Gunner and Casey.  Gunner & Casey are pictured below.

After dealing with lots of traffic and being on the road for almost 7 hours, we found a campground just north of Bristol, VA to stay overnight....Sugar Hollow Campground. There is a Walmart close by but for $20 We have electricity, water, and there is a dump station we'll use on our way out.  

It has been a good trip, and we got to see a lot of places and a lot of beautiful scenery, as well as being able to visit with special friends - Neil & Kat, Dwight & Jeanine, Bruce & Kirsten, Cliff, Nevaeh, Lindsey, and Gabe, and finally Jerry & Heidi.  We are especially glad to have Jerry & Heidi on this side of the country, where hopefully we can visit with them more than once every year or two. 

Now it's time to go home and see all our good friends there, including our terrific neighbors Susan & Howard who keep an eye on our house when we are away. 

It's Hayden's birthday this weekend and we are happy to surprise him since he thinks we won't be home until Halloween.  

Stones River National Battlefield

Murfreesboro was the site of one of the major battles of the Civil War, with most of Tennessee being on the side of the Confederacy. It was interesting to learn about the 3 days of battle that occurred here and to see the tombstones of so many fallen union soldiers, all with pennies or other coins resting on them. The small tombstones were numbered but otherwise unidentified soldiers.

Visiting Family

We are spending a few days at Jerry & Heidi's new home in Murfreesboro, TN.  It's great to visit, having last seen them a year ago.  Casey, Gunner, and Erin's dog Jellybean gave us a warm welcome on Sunday and every morning since.  It has been rainy here but they have a lovely screened in porch to hang out. 

Mississippi River Walk

This scale model of the Mississippi River is found on Mud Island in Memphis, TN.  It costs $6 per car to get to this part of the island, but it's well worth the price. Visitors can also take the monorail from a parking lot across the canal, but that cost is $4 per person.  If you want to tour the river museum, it is an additional $10 per person.  We spent about 90 minutes just taking the river walk following the twists and turns of the scale model and reading about the history along the way.  It was fun to remember our riverboat cruise between Natchez and New Orleans many years ago.

Oklahoma City

Jim & I left Bill & Pat In Amarillo. They were staying an extra night there before heading to Wisconsin to pick up a hitch component with air bags.  We headed to Oklahoma City to visit Cliff Sheriff and family. We stayed at Roadrunner RV Park just off I-35 north of Moore where Cliff lives. Over the past several days we visited with Cliff (and Benny), went to lunch with Cliff and Nevaeh, had dinner with Lindsey and Shane (Lindsey's fiance) and watched Nevaeh play soccer.  It was nice to catch up with longtime friends.  Jim even had lunch with Cliff and Gabe. We are so glad we got to see them this trip.  Now we are headed east again toward Memphis, TN.

Amarillo

This was an overnight stop at Amarillo Ranch RV Park, where loud music played next door until midnight. The campground was very nice otherwise. I am sure they have no control over the business next door. The campground provided us with "limo" service to the Big Texan Steak Ranch where the 4 of us had dinner. Jim and I have been there 6 years ago, but this was Bill & Pat's  first time.  Two young people took the 72 oz steak dinner challenge and failed miserably.  We don't think they really  tried...just wanted the attention,  since they spent more time on their cell phones and with their go pro camera.

New Mexico to Texas

Sadly we left Albuquerque and New Mexico today.  We would have loved to stay longer to see the opening of the Balloon Fiesta as well as other sights, but we will be back.  Our next stop is Amarillo, Texas for one night. Along the drive east, we watched the landscape change from mountains to mesas to farmland, with crops, cattle, and windmill farms. The Cadillac Ranch is just on the west side of town, but a large RV parked in front of it blocked our view of the Cadillacs.  We are staying at Amarillo Ranch RV Park with full facilities for only $35 a night.  We are having dinner at the Big Texan Steak House with free limo service to and from the restaurant. Can't beat that! 

More photos from El Rancho

Here are more photos taken, including the donkeys and goats.