Dianne-Galon-Hall

House Remodeling Project

2010-03-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

Since our house did not rent again we decided to do some remodeling before moving back in. Currently we are living on our property in the motor home while the work is being done on the house. A good friend of ours for a long time Dan Lovelace is pulling off the wallpaper, preparing the walls to receive new paint, and then will paint most of the house. There is one room that will not require painting as it was done just a few years ago.

As you can see from the attached images several things have already taken place. Once the painting was done the Kitchen, and Utility Room tile installation began as you can see in these photos. We plan to create a foyer near the back door that will extend the tile from the kitchen so that when you enter you are not right on the carpet. You can see the kitchen in the photo to the right, and also the arc that will form the foyer is visible in the other photo. The arc goes from the edge of the bar to the edge of the brick forming the fire place hearth.

We have decided to do some upgrading in other areas too. We have installed a new ceiling fan in the dinnette area that you can barely see in the photo of the dinette area in this picture.

This picture shows the new tile going into the laundry room from the kitchen.

This picture shows the new yellow laundry room.

The new color for the formal dining area is red as shown in this photo. As you can see the final trim has not been completed so the area near the baseboards are not painted.

We hope the tile installation will be finished by Friday before Easter. We have carpet folks coming to provide an estimate on that day for the new carpet we want to install.

I will try to provide a new update when all is finished before we begin our move back in.

23 January - 3 March 2010

2010-03-03T07:57:00.000-08:00

23 January - 5 February - Nothing in particular happening during this time other than my turning 61 on 29 January. Jenny came over and along with Mom & John and Dianne took me out to eat for my Birthday. We went to Chet's over in Pace.

6 February 2010 - Dianne and I attended the monthly meeting of the Christian Motorcycle Association Maranatha Riders of Pensacola. at the American Legion on Ashland Ave off 9 Mile road. We had a good time, and after the meeting I went on a ride with the group to the Derailed Dinner at the Wilcox Rd. exit on I-10. After a brief lunch most of the riders returned to Pensacola as it was cold. The rest of us continued on for about three more hours, and returned to Pensacola at around 3:45 PM. Attached is a picture of me on my bike in my riding suit.

12-15 February 2010 we visited with David and his family in Franklin, TN. As we were leaving Pensacola it began to snow on us around Century, FL. which is just before the Alabama line, and about 40 miles North of Pensacola. The pictre on the right was taken just before we got on I-65 from Alabama 113. As you can see the snow is beginning to build up. It snowed on us until we were at about the 320 mile marker on I-65 North of Birmingham.

We had a great time with Joseph, Anna, Joshua, David and Sandy while in Franklin. We played board games, watched DVD's and played some Wii games. Needless to say the grandchildren beat us pretty soundly on the Wii games, but I was able to hold my own against both Joseph and Anna playing checkers. Although I will have to get a lot better in the future or I will be in store for some serious whippings as they are both very smart, and learn quickly.

When we got up on Monday 2/15/2010 to leave Franklin it had snowed overnight as you can see from the picture to the right. Our doors were frozen shut and I had to jerk on them pretty hard to get them open. David and I scrapped the windows, and I turned on the heater and defroster to finish the clearing of the windows so we could travel safely. The other picture is of the neighborhood as we were leaving.

22 February 2010 - Today I had major back surgery. Dr. Michael Goodman of Sacred Heart Hospital went in and inserted two rods and several screws to stabalize my lower back and give the bone grafts time to heal up that will fuse the discs together. He also performed some other procedures to aleviate the pain I was having in my lower back. I am on pain medication, and a muscle relaxer. 25 February 2010 - I was allowed to go home today. I am to return to the Dr. on Monday 3/8/10 to have my staples removed. I am writing this blog on Wednesday 3/3/10. Things are going pretty good so far. I am walking about 30 Minutes each day, and only taking my pain medication and/or muscle relaxer ocassionally. Usually at night so I can sleep. The only real problem I am having is being able to find a compfortable position. Nothing works for very long. Hopefully I can start to do some other exercises once the staples are removed that will allow me to get more movement in my back. However, I will be limited to picking up things that weigh under 20 lbs for about six months or so.

Activity 30 October 2009 - 22 January 2010

2010-01-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

1 Nov 2009 We left Greensboro RV Park Greensboro NC this morning and drove approximately 270 miles to Country Boy's RV Park in Commerce, GA.

2 Nov 2009 we left Commerce, GA and drove approximately 200 miles to Euchee Creek Army Campground Columbus Ga. We came here to visit my Brother Buddy who was at Columbus Regional Healthcare hospital for back surgery.

3 Nov 2009 we left Columbus, GA and led my sister-in-law Connie down to where she was compfortable driving on to Freeport, FL where they live. While we were traveling home the men from my brother's church were building him a ramp so he could get into and out of the house since he could not climb steps easily.

We drove approximately 245 miles to Pensacola RV Park on Wild Lake Blvd in Pensacola, FL.

24 Nov 2009 - Today we moved to Johnny's RV Resort in Theodore, AL so we could spend Thanksgiving with our daughter Jenny and her husband Matt for their first Thanksgiving together.

The picture shows most of the food we had that day.

6 Dec 2009 - Today I rode the 1982 Yamaha XV750

in this picture that was given to me this last

summer in the Toy Soldier Run in Theodore, AL.

We met at the Pizza Hut on Dauphin Island

Parkway and rode to the a church in Bayou La

Batre. The church had food for everyone, then

there was some door prizes given away by the

Soldiers of The Cross Motorcycle Ministries that

sponsored the ride. I had a great time.

10 December 2009 - Today I rode the motorcycle from Mobile to the monthly Men's Barn Meeting in Molino, FL. It was a little chilly, but the riding suit I bought made it bearable. I am really enjoying having the morotcycle to ride on occasion. I also rode over to Pensacola a couple of times to doctor appointments, and to Brewton, AL and back through Pensacola looking for used motorcycle parts. It has been great fun so far.

13-19 December 2009 - We drove to Jenny and Matt's on the 12th of December to spend the night so we could all get up early on the 13th and head to Sevierville, TN to meet Galon, Maggie, and Suannah for a holiday in Tennessee. Jenny and Matt brought along their dog Bella, and Maggie and Galon brought their dog Shiloh. We all had a great time. Matt and Jenny brought along their Wii game system. During the week Matt bought a fishing game from Bass Pro, and Galon, Matt, and I played it several times. It was a lot of fun. We also brought along our Hand
'N Foot card game that we played several times during the week.

On Friday afternoon 18 Dec 2009, and evening it snowed quite a bit. We went for a walk, and was able to help a couple of Mexicans that had become stuck in the snow to get the truck out. Jenny was a great help in talking with the men so we could make them understand what was needed. When we returned to our rental cabin Matt and Galon II went outside to shovel the driveway and put down some salt. That evening the power went out and stayed out until we left on Saturday morning 20 Dec 2009. We were not to leave until Sunday 20 Dec 2009, but since the snow we were afraid we would be snowed in and unable to leave so we all decided to leave early. Saturday morning when we woke up the snow plows had cleared the roads and we were able to leave safely. We noticed several vehicles along the side of the road as we drove from our cabin into Pigeon Forge. I guess they were stranded the night before by the snow. We were able to get back to Mobile about 6:30 or 7:00, and Galon & Maggie were able to get home to Warsaw around 11:30 Eastern time. They had to make several detours due to the snow, but was able to finally make it home. Everyone had a wonderful time. We were not able to take any pictures as our camera broke. We hope to be able to get some copies of the ones Jenny, and Maggie made with their cameras.

24 - 25 Dec 2009 - Dianne and I spent the night with Jenny & Matt so we could get up early Friday monring to open Chistmas presents. However, we did open some up on Thursday evening. This was a very special Christmas as it was the first for Jenny & Matt since their marriage earlier in 2009. The picture is of Matt, Jenny, & Bella by their Christmas Tree. When we finished with Christmas gifts, and lunch on Friday Dianne and I returned to our RV.

26 - 29 Dec 2009 We were able to spend time with Jenny and Matt. We went out to eat several times, and Dianne & Jenny made up a menu for New Years Day dinner then went shopping to purchase the groceries.

30 Dec 2009 was Matt's birthday, and Jenny had a surprise party for him when he came home from work. His Mom & Dad, and Dianne & I were there to surprise him and have cake and ice cream. Matt seemed to enjoy it very much as shown in the picture attached.

1 Jan 2010 we had the traditional New Years Dinner of Ham and Black-Eyed Peas. Then we watched the bowl games and relaxed around the house.

2 - 6 Jan 2010 we spent time with Jenny & Matt, and played with their Wii game system. We decided we liked it so much Dianne & I went out and bought us one so when Jenny & Matt came over to the RV we were able to play our system. We had a great time in Mobile, but as with all good things it had to end.

7 Jan 2010 we drove back to Pensacola today. I have several Doctor appointments coming up over the next several weeks. It looks like I will have to have surgery to correct some back problems.

22 Jan 2010 I had a mylegram of my back, and I will get the results when I go back to the Doctor on 28 Jan. The Physicians Assistant that performed the test indicated to me that there was definately some problems, but that was all he could say. I know there are definitely some issues with my back as I have been in pain since around August or September. Hopefully they can do something for me to correct the problem.

Belle Isle State Park, Colonial Williamsburg, DC, and Birthday Party

2009-10-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

10/24/09 – Saturday – We went over to Galon & Maggie’s to have lunch with them and Maggie’s Aunt Susie. We went to a Mexican restaurant in Tappahannock, and then stopped at Anna’s Ice Cream Parlor to have dessert. Susie left for home, and we returned to Galon & Maggie’s so Susannah could take her nap. We returned to the RV, and Galon & Maggie brought Susannah over after she woke up so we could keep her for Galon & Maggie to go to Richmond early Sunday morning with their youth group to feed the hungry.

10/25/09- Sunday – Susannah slept real good last night in the RV. She only rolled out of her bed once, but went right back to sleep when Dianne put her back in. She woke up this morning in an excellent mood, and did not seem to mind that Mom and Dad were not around. She ate a good breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast. We then all got dressed to meet Galon & Maggie at church at 11:00 AM. Susannah didn’t say a word until she spied Mommy up in the balcony. Once this happened she had to go see her.
After church we returned to the RV for lunch and rest so we could meet Galon & Maggie at their place around 3:30 to attend their church’s fall festival which was held across the street at a church members place. The food was excellent, and we enjoyed the time of fellowship with their friends. Susannah painted a pumpkin with Mom and Grammas’ help. It looked pretty good. Galon & Maggie also took Susannah on the children’s hay ride. She seemed to enjoy it very much. (Picture attached)

10/26/09 - Monday – Today we drove down to Colonial Williamsburg, after a short detour to Deltaville due to a navigational error. Since we were there we stopped at the Deltaville Yacht Center that is owned by Maggie’s Mom and Dad (Lou and Anna Grimm). Lou loaned us his GPS so we could find our way to Colonial Williamsburg. It worked fine, and we arrived there at around 11:30 AM. We chose to just buy a bus ticket to get to the Colonial Williamsburg area and return. We did not go into any of the sites that required tickets. We just walked down the main part of the village and enjoyed the sites, bought an apple turnover, hot-chocolate, and some peanuts. We also found some nice Christmas gifts in the shops along the way. The Capitol of Virginia was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond in 1780 during the American Revolution. A picture of the Capitol Building is attached. We stopped to look at the Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg. This church has existed since 1674 according to the bulletin we received. However, the plaque on the front of the church shown in the picture attached has 1715 on it. I was not able to get an explanation of why the different dates were shown. We returned to our RV without getting lost despite not being able to get the GPS to work properly. It seemed to think we were about 10 or so miles further down the road than we were so it was giving us directions long before we were able to execute them. Finally Dianne figured out how to turn it off just about the time we arrived back at our campsite.

10/27/09 – Tuesday – Today we went over to Galon & Maggie’s to keep Susannah while Maggie went to the Library she is going to work at to fill out some employment papers. We had a great time with Susannah for about two hours or so. Once Maggie returned home we returned to the RV for the rest of the day.

10/28/09 – Wednesday – Galon, Maggie, and Susannah came over today after Galon returned home from work and we had a cookout of Country Spare Ribs, Baked Beans, Macaroni & Cheese, and everyone but me had Blueberry Pie Dianne baked on Tuesday. I don’t like Blueberries. After supper, and getting Susannah ready for bed and down for the evening we played Dominoes. Galon II Won.

10/29/09 – Thursday – Today we drove from Belle Isle State Park, VA to Arlington, VA to meet with Jenny. She had to fly up for a conference so we met her at the Crystal City Hilton to spend some time with her. We rode the metro into Washington, D.C. to visit the Holocaust Museum. The exhibits have changed since we were last here, but they are still just as disturbing. If any of you are ever in Washington we highly recommend a visit to this museum. After visiting the Museum we went out to a Mexican restaurant in Crystal City. The food was good, but the Salsa was a little spicy for my taste. We returned to the Hilton around 8:00 PM and everyone was tired so we went to bed at about 9:00 PM.

10/30/09 – Friday – We left Jenny around 10:30 A.M. after having breakfast at Ceasar’s Diner. On our return trip to Belle Isle State Park we missed our turn on to HWY 17 off I-95 so we took the scenic route. Dianne did and excellent job navigating us through the county roads to get us back to HWY 17 at Tappahannock. We made it to the RV around 1:30, so we only had about two hours before we had to leave to go to Susannah’s birthday party. I prepared the RV for our departure on Saturday Morning, and washed the outside of the RV while Dianne prepared her dish to take to the party. We arrived at around 3:45 PM only about 15 minutes latter than expected, but still in time to help Galon & Maggie to set up for the party. The party turned out great. All the kids had a ball, and we had a blast watching them. They had a Piñata to burst, Donuts on a ribbon to bob for, pizza, punch, and chemical lights to play with.
After helping clean up after the others left we watched Susannah open her gifts. She was so excited to open them. It was really fun to watch her. After she finished opening her gifts and was put down for the night we left to return to the RV so that we could get off early Saturday morning for our return home.

10-31-09 – Saturday – We drove to Greensboro Campground in Greensboro NC. It is about 288 miles from Belle Isle State Park, VA to here. This is a Good Sam, Passport America, and a KOA campground.

Westmoreland State Park, Belle Isle State Park

2009-10-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Westmoreland State Park, Montross, VA

Friday 10/16/09 - We arrived at Westmoreland
State Park at around 1:00 PM. On our way in
we spotted the small buck shown in the attached
picture.

Saturday 10/17/09 – Galon and Susannah came
over to visit with us this morning, and stayed
until about 4:00 PM. We had a great time with
her as you can see in the picture below.
Susannah is making her old woman face.
We went over to Galon and Maggie's at
around 7:30 to watch the NASCAR race
and the Alabama vs South Carolina. We
left right after the 1st half with the
score Alabama 13, South Carolina 6.

Sunday 10/18/09 – We went out to Yesterday’s restaurant for
Breakfast, then met Galon, Maggie, and Susannah for church.
After church we went over to their house for a great lunch of
Ham, Butternut Squash Casserole, Pineapple Casserole, and
Steamed broccoli. Susannah went down for her nap right
after lunch, and Dianne & I stayed with her while Galon &
Maggie returned to church for a youth outing. When they
returned we went back to the RV for the evening.

Monday 10/19/09 – We moved from Westmoreland State Park,
to Belle Isle State Park close to Kilmarnock, VA. They have 50 AMP
Service with water but no sewer. It is a really beautiful park. We
have seen several deer since we arrived here. Galon, Maggie,
and Susannah came over this evening for Dianne’s chili.

Tuesday 10/20/09 – We had planned to go to Robert E. Lee’s
birthplace at Stratford Hall in Montross, VA. We were not
able to make it though as my back was giving me quite a
bit of pain today. We went over to Galon & Maggie’s and
then went out to supper at Backdraft Restaurant. The food
was pretty good. We returned to Galon & Maggie’s to play
a game of Hand N’ Foot.

Wednesday 10/21/09 – When I woke up this morning I realized
that I had broken a tooth so we called Maggie to find out who
their dentist is so we could see if I could get an appointment.
We were very blessed and they worked me in this afternoon.
The dentist was able to smooth the ruff edges so that I could
wait until we returned home to get it fixed. This evening we
went riding in the park and saw several deer feeding in a field.
Now we are just relaxing here in the RV enjoying a night of
rest.

Thursday 10/22/09 – Today we went to
Stratford House in Montross. It is the
birthplace of Robert E. Lee, Although he
was born here his family moved when he
was about 8-10 years old so he was actually
raised elsewhere. We thoroughly enjoyed
our visit. After viewing the facilities we
decided to go to the Dining House for lunch.
Dianne had a chicken salad and I had biscuits
and ham. Both were very good. While we
were eating we saw a deer cross the road
about 75 yards from the restaurant.

Friday 10/30/09 – Today we went shopping
at Wal-Mart in Kilmarnock, VA, and spent
time arond the RV doing necessary chores.
I built a wind guard for my grill, so that
hopefully I can grill outside when the wind
is blowing. When we were in MI and tried
to grill out one day the wind was blowing
and the grill would not cook the steaks we
had on. We had to bring them in and fry
them in a pan on the oven. Bummer.
Hopefully now I can still cook them
outside even if the wind is blowing a little. We also rode our bikes around
the park today, and after Dianne returned to the RV I rode over to the Watch House Point and took the picture attached. I am not sure what the structure on the water is, but I would guess it is a duck blind of some kind. We are really enjoying our stay here at Belle Isle State Park.

More later!

Misty Mountain Camp Resort

2009-10-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Monday 10/12/09 - Today we drove from Candy Hill Campground in Winchester, VA to our new campground at Misty Mountain Camp Resort, Waynesboro, VA. We arrived around 1:00 PM and got everything set up.

Tuesday 10/13/09 - We took a drive around Crozet, VA. It is a very small town, but was very enjoyable to drive through. There are areas of obvious disrepair, but there are also areas of very new upscale subdivisions.

After viewing Crozet we drove HWY 240 to Charlottelville, VA and drove around the town. We drove by the University of Virginia. It is a very large campus that is incorporated into the city. It would be very difficuly to shut this campus down during any hostile actions like those that occured at Virginia Tech.

We also drove over to Seminole Square. We thought this would be another small town, but it was just another shopping area.

On our way back to our RV park we decided to drive various roads around the area to view the homes. Many are older, with some being in need of repairs, and even some being abandoned. Just down the road was very upscale farms, orchards, vinyards, and modern neighborhoods. One even had a golf course incorporated into the area.

After returning to our RV we checked the Weather Channel and decided to drive up Skyline Drive from Waynesboro, VA to Front Royal, VA since the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday was 60% and 50% chance of rain respectively. We left our RV Park at about 3:00 PM and returned at around 9:00 PM. We enjoyed the dirve ememsly. The trees were in the process of changing colors, but many were still green. The colors were not as intense as we expected them to be. I guess we are a week or two early for the vibrant colors. Even so the drive was still very enjoyable. We did find some areas of moderate color change. We decided the color change was more visible on the Eastern side of the ridges, and the further north we drove the better the color change. On our drive we spotted one 4 PT. Buck eating alongside the road. We even turned around and went back by him twice to take pictures. He just kept eating. Obvioulsy he had found something he was enjoying and he was not going to let us disturb him. Please note the picture attached. We also saw several sitings of does eating along the road. They all seemed perfectly accustomed to having cars drive by. Dianne stated they seemed to be completely unafraid and feel safe. We also saw three turkeys along the side of the road, but they were to fast for us to get a picture.

Wednesday 10/14/09 - Relaxing day spent around the RV Camp site updating blog, and taking care of various chores that needed to be done.

Thursday 10/15/09 - Today we visited Luray Caverns. They were magnificient. If you ever find yourself in the area of Luray, VA we highly recommend you visit Luray Caverns. It is approximately a 1.5 mile walk underground with a low pt of approximately 180 feet below ground. The staglagtite, stlagmite, and flow rock formations are truly amazing. The underground lake is truly breathtaking, and the organ that plays on the rock formations is truly beautiful. (Picture attached). The Fried Egg formation is very unique. It reqlly does look like fried eggs. Note the picture attached.

Friday 10/16/9 - Today we move from Misty Mountain Camp Resort, Waynesboro, VA to Westmoreland State Park, Montorss, VA which is just 15 to 29 minutes from Galon & Maggies's place at Warsaw, VA. We will be here for two weeks.

I am having difficulties getting internet connection so thge blogs may be delayed while we are here in VA. I will postonce a week if I can, but if not I will post when I can get to a connection.

Our Time In Michigan & West Virginia

2009-10-14T07:47:00.001-07:00

We arrived in MI on Friday 10/02/09. Once we got the RV set up we called Dianne's brother to get directions to his house, and went over to visit with Bob and Ellen for a while. We returned to the RV that night around 8:00 PM.

Saturday 10/03/09 we went to see the Michigan (Wolverines) vs. Michigan State (Spartans) in their annual grudge match with Bob, Ellen, thier son Donald and his son Jacob. The game was very good with Michigan State dominating the first three quarters. It rained off and on all day and we were in and out of our ponchos. At about half way through the fourth quarter with the score being 20 to 6 in favor of Michigan State Dianne and I started down to the bus since it takes me a while to walk that distance. As we were leaving we heard the crowd roar and knew something had happened, but not exactly what. After the game we found out that Michigan had scored to make it 20-13. Michigan State was unable to move the ball and was forced to kick and Michigan received the ball with about 2:53 seconds left. They were able to move the ball and scored with :02 seconds left to tie the game and go to overtime. Michigan got the ball first at the MSU 25 yard line, and was able to move the ball , but was intercepted in the end zone to stop the drive. MSU then started on the MICH 25 yard line and was able to score a touchdown to win the game.

After the game we returned to Dianne's brothers for a while, then went to our RV park in Tecumseh, MI which was about 30 mintues away.

Sunday 10/04/09 - We went back over to Dianne's Brother Bob's house at around 1:00 PM Sunday. We then went to visit Bob's daughter Lindsey and her family for a while, then from there we went to his son Donald's for a short time. It was really great to see them since we have not been in Michigan for about 10 or 12 years or so. Many of their children's children we had not seen since they were born after our last visit. After our visits we returned to Bob and Ellens' and one of their other son's Colby came over and we visited with him and some of his children for a while. After Colby left we returned to our RV.

Monday 10/05/09 - Went to Camping World in Belleville, MI to have the oil changed in our RV. They were kind enough to work us in at 4:30 PM. While we were waiting for the oil change to take place Bob & Ellen stopped by to see us with their grandsons Liam and Nolan. Liam was asleep in the car so they did not wake him up. We visited for a while and they continued with their shopping. Once our RV oil was changed we returned to our campsite for the evening.

Tuesday 10/06/09 - Bob and Ellen took us to the Amish Community at Shipshewana. There we visited a huge flea market and found several things we just had to have. After shopping we went to an Amish Restaurant that Bob & Ellen recommended. The food was very good. We saw many of the carriages as pictured and were amazed at their simplicity of life.

Wednesday 10/07/09 - We spent time with Bob & Ellen, and went to lunch at Big Boys for hamburgers where Lindsey and her two boys Marcus and Caleb met us. Big Boys reminded us of of What-A-Burger. They were very good. Then we returned to Bob & Ellen's where we dined on Ellens specialty of Pork Chops and Cabbage. It was very tasty.

Thursday 10/08/09 - We visited the IKEA Home Furnishing Store with Bob, Ellen, Nolan and Liam where we had lunch in the store restaurant and then shopped. It was quite an experience. I have not eaten in a store restaurant since back in the 60's when GC Murphy's, and WT Grants had dining areas in their stores at Town & Country Plaza where I worked in the Delchamps grocery store. We enjoyed the dining and shopping experience, and even found a few things we just had to have. It is amazing what you can find to buy at flea markets and stores when you go shopping..

Friday 10/09/09 - We left Michigan to travel toward WV. to visit with Bob & Ellen's oldest son Michael and his family. We stopped in New Staunton, PA for the night at Fox Den Acres.

Saturday 10/09/09 - We arrived in Winchester, VA at around 1:00 PM. We called Michael and Evie to get directions to their house. They were in town just a few minutes away so they stopped by to visit for a few minutes and provide directions. We agreed to meet them at their house around 4:00 PM for an outing with their church. We went over to a church members house for a very fun time of Scare Crow Building (Michaels' family and Dianne & I worked together and won the competition!), eating, and a hay ride to finish off the evening. It was very enjoyable.

Sunday 10/10/09 - We went to church with Michael, Evie, Brendan, and Lance at Capon Bible Fellowship. We enjoyed the service very much. The music was contemporary praise songs, and the sermon was preached by Pastor Jack Whitacre. After church Evie showed us around the church while Michael attended a meeting. Then we went to their home for Bar-B-Q Chicken, Hashbrown Casserole, Green Beans, Rolls, and Butterscotch Pudding for dessert. We enjoyed it very much. We stayed around a while watching NASCAR and football. We left around 6:00 PM and returned to our RV park to begin preparations for departure for Misty Mountain Camp Resort at Waynesboro, VA.

Final Days at Branson, MO

2009-10-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

Sunday nite 9/27/09 we went to see the Chinese Acrobats at the Shanghi Circus. It was verry good. It is amazing to us how they can flex their bodies so much that they can place their feet over their shoulder and under their chin. We were also amazed at the balancing, and juggling they were able to do. Needless to say if you are in the Branson area this needs to be high on your list of shows to attend.

Monday 9/28/09 was a day of relaxing and taking care of errands. We went to Wal-Mart to fill the car with gas, and buy some groceries. We also drove around to see some sites we have so far missed. We went to Silver Dollar City just to get a look at the area, but it was closed on Monday and Tuesdays. Oh well I guess this will have to be on our agenda for the next Branson visit. We also went by the Branson Belle and purchased our tickets for the 4:00 PM dinner cruise and show on Tuesday 9/29/09. After returning to the RV we just sat around and relaxed by reading and working some Sudoku puzzles.

Tuesday 9/29/09 we rode our bicycles around the park for a while (5-10 Minutes) then returned to the RV to read and relax before going to our Dinner cruise and show on the Branson Belle. We arrived at the dock around 3:15 and were able to go directly on board the boat. We found where we would be sitting and we had excellent seats at the back of the theater and between the second and third decks. We were able to see the stage very nicely. We were served Chicken Cordon Bleu, Roast Beef, mixed steamed vegatibles, mashed patotoes, and a cheese cake for dessert. The show they put on was great. There was a lot of singing and dancing, and the final part was a ventriquilist that used live dogs as his dummies. He really made it look as if the dogs were talking. He asked Irv (Boston Terrier) what kind of dog he was. Irv replied that he was a Pit Bull Retreiver, I rip your leg off then bring it back to you! I thought that was pretty funny. They also brought up a man and woman from the audience to act as his dummies. That was hilarious. They did a good job. After the show we returned to the RV and began preperations for our departure on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday 9/30/09 05:00 AM - I was terribly sick. I don't know if it was from overeating, or food poisioning, but I was in bad shape. Again at about 07:10 I had another bought of sickness. We went to the pharmacy to get some Pepto-Bismol to see if it would help. Once we returned from the pharmacy we completed our departure preperations and got on the road at around 10:00 AM. We stopped for lunch at around 12:00 and after eating some Chicken Noodle Soup (without the noodles. Dianne ate them.) I took a nap for about 45 Minutes to an Hour before we proceeded on. We arrived at our destination of Pin Oak Campground in St. Louis at around 3:30. After getting everything set up and we were watching TV I had my third bout with sickness. Needless to say I was not feeling well and the Pepto was not working out as planned. For supper this night I only had Beef Broth.. I was able to get a pretty good night sleep this time.

Thursday 10/01/09 - Things went a lot better today. No sickness. I hope I am over that, because it was not fun. This was the first time either Dianne or I have been sick since we retired. I hope it is the last for a while. Today we traveled from St. Louis, MO through Illinois and part of Indiana to our campground just North East of Indianappolis at Timberline Family Campground in Anderson, IN. This was our longest day on the road, and after forgetting about the time change difference we did not arrive here until about 7:00 PM EDT. We are enjoying an evening of sitting around reading, and me working on the computer. Hope everyone is having a great day. We are having a blast. The weather today has been rainy all day, but we can't complain as this is the first day we have had this be the case.

Friday 10/02/09 - Today we drove from our campground in Indiana to where we will be staying in MI. Indian Creek Camp and Conference Center, Tecumseh, MI. We will be here for a week visiting with Dianne's brother Bob and his family.

Branson MO - Having a great time. The weather is Fantastic!.

2009-09-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Branson, MO on Wednesday 9/23/09 at around 3:00 PM and checked into the Table Rock State Park where we are in Lot 120. Table Rock is a beautiful park, with concrete slabs for the RV and also has a patio attached. We relaxed on Wednesday evening, and went over the shows available to decide what we wanted to see and when.

On Wednesday evening we looked over the shows and picked the ones we wanted to attend. Then on Thursday morning we made reservations and then rode around the area to find the places we would be going. Then on Thursday evening we went to see the Oak Ridge Boys at their theater at 8:00 PM. They were great. The group started out as the Georgia Clodhoppers and recorded their first record in 1943. During the early 40's they were the only entertainment allowed into the Oak Ridge Nuclear Test Facility during the development of the Atomic Bomb. They performed each Saturday evening for the workers and their families. The name was changed to the Oak Ridge Quartet in 1945 and they focused on Gospel Music. The name was changed to the Oak Ridge Boys in 1961. In 1977 the Oak Ridge Boys switched to Country Music and began the ride to fame. You can get the full details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oak_Ridge_Boys . The night we were there they had three men from the 50's and 60's group attending. They are in the picture attached. One is on the piano, and the other two are the ones wearing suits. They sang without rehearsing and did a great job joining right in. We really enjoyed this show.

On Friday morning we got up early and went to see Yakov Smirnoff the Russian Comedian. See photo to the right. He came to America in 1976 at the age of 27 with his parents and none of them spoke any english. He became an American Citizen in 1986, and has performed for President Regan. You can tell he really loves America and appreciates the opportunity to come here. We found his show to be very funny, and he did not have to use any curse words or vulgarity. There were some inuendos, but we felt they were done in good taste. I would not mind bringing my children or grandchildren to see this program.

On our way to see Yakov we took the following picture from a scenic overlook off Hwy 265 that goes into Branson. The view was breathtaking. We also stopped here on Thursday evening but decided the picture would not turn out due to the lack of light. The night view was very pretty, but our little camera was not up to the challenge of capturing it.

After the Yakov Smirnoff show on Friday morning we went to Baldknobbers Restaurant for their $4.99 Lunch special of Country Fried Steak, Mashed Patotoes, Green Beans, and a roll. After lunch we returned to the RV for a much needed nap of about two hours. I don't know why we were so tired, but we both fell asleep shortly after arriving home.

On Saturday we went back into Branson for a little shopping at Baldknobbers, and the Branson Craft Mall where we picked up some family Christmas Gifts. No you can't see them until Christmas! Saturday Evening we went to see the Circle B Chuckwagon Dinner and Show. While we were waiting outside for the theater to open we listened to a little of the Alabama vs Arkansas football game on the radio. Needless to say we were delighted with the score at half time, and reluctant to go into the show and miss the second half. However, we were glad to find out that Alabama won when we returned to our RV and talked to Jenny.

The Circle B Chuckwagon Dinner and Show featured a Roy Rogers & Dale Evans movie, then dinner was served while we watched the Lone Ranger. The food was Roast Beef, Baked Beans, Baked Potatoes, Cornbread Muffins, and a Cinnamon Bun for desert. It was very tasty. Then the folks there put on about an hour show that included Cowboy songs, jokes, and a poem. It is a family run operation that highlights Jesus Christ as their reason for being there. They also support mission efforts in Africa, and put on shows at county fairs, and other chuckwagon facilities thoroughout the western states. I enjoyed it very much, but the music was not Dianne's type. Although, she did enjoy the harmonizing that they did.

Sunday Morning we attended a non-denominational service at the Mansion Theater that is put on by the Backstage Ministries. We sang several praise and worship songs, had a prayer time, then the preacher presented a sermon on Leviticus 16:29-31 titled Day of Attonment. He presented the Old Testament requirement for this feast and then tied it into the Gospel by showing how it pictured the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross for our sins. It was a very good sermon. We both enjoyed it very much, and if we are ever up this way again would attend. We also highly recommend it to anyone who comes here in the future.

On our way back from church we stopped by the Table Rock Dam to take the attached

picture. The Dam was started in 1955 and completed in 1957 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was built to provide flood control as its primary purpose, and hydroelectric power as a by product. They also have a visitors center at the western side of the Dam that shows how it was built. It was very interesting to see the exhibits, and the short film on the building of the Dam. At the bottom of the Dam you can see the electric distribution area, and next to it the Fish Hatchery that raises Stripped, and Brown Trout. We hope to visit the Fish Hatchery on Tuesday if possible.

Tonight (Sunday 9/27/09) we will be attending the Chinese Acrobat performance. We are looking forward to it. As for now I guess I will sign off and try to take a nap since we can not get the Nascar Race or any NFL Football games on our satellite today. Nor could we find the race on the radio.

On The Road Again - MO, MI, WV, VA Trip

2009-09-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well we have hit the road again for our next trip. This time we are visiting Jenny in Mobile for a few days, then on to Branson, MO for some fun time together, then to Michigan to visit Dianne's Brother Bob, then West VA to visit Dianne's Nephew Michael and his family, then to the Blue Ridge Mountians to view the change of season colors, then finally to VA to visit Galon II and his family.

We left Pensacola on Friday 9/18/09 and drove to Mobile to stay at Johnny's RV Park on Hwy 90 in Theodore, AL. We had Jenny and Matt over for supper and played Hand N Foot until around 10:30 PM. Jenny and Matt beat us by just a few hundered points.

We got up early Saturday morning and drove over to Jenny's then we all drove up to Tuscaloosa for the Alabama vs. North Texas game. We had a blast watching Alabama win big 53 to 7. After the game we went out to eat at I-HOP then drove home.

On Sunday morning we drove over to Jenny and Matt's and went to church with them at North Mobile Baptist Church. The worship service was nice, and very similar to what we have at Marcus Pointe Baptist in Pensacola. The songs were modernday courses with the words placed up on a screen for everyone to be able to see. The Choir members did not wear robes just their regular casual clothing. The pastor had on a coat with no tie and casual shirt and pants. He spoke from a stool with his Bible on a small podium similar to a music stand. Tbe service started with a Batisim. It ended with an invitation just as we do at our home church. The people there were very friendly, and we felt right at home. We then went to Sunday School with Jenny and Matt to a young couples class. We were definitely the oldest ones there, but everyone made us feel very welcome. The teacher did a good job with the lesson.

After church we met at the Motor Home and grilled some steaks and played Hand N Foot again. This time Dianne and I was able to pull out a win so the results are tied as of right now. I beleive we have each one two or three times.

After Jenny and Matt left we just relaxed around the RV and prepared for our departure on Monday. We left Mobile around 9:00 AM on Monday morning and headed for Jackson, MS where we stayed at Askew's Landing Campground. It was a pretty nice campground.

We left out of Askew's Landing around 9:30 AM Tuesday Morning and drove to Little Rock, AR where we are staying at the Riverside RV Park right in the heart of down town Little Rock. We will be leaving here Wednesday Morning and driving to Branson, MO where we will be staying for a week at the Table Rock State Park.

I will post some blogs concerning our adventures in Branson later this week.

Pensacola RV Park

2009-07-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 28 July 2009

We drove from Pell City to
Pensacola today and are
now staying at Pensacola
RV Park on Wilde Lake
Blvd just off Pine Forrest
Road. We will be here until
Tuesday 4 August 2009
when we will move to
Riverside RV Park in Loxley,
AL where our Allegro Club
will be having their monthly
meeting.

When we move to Riverside
RV Park we plan to stay
there until Tuesday
11 August 2009. We are not
sure where we will move to
then but we are thinking about
trying to find a place somewhere
between Mobile and Pensacola.
We anticipate staying at our next
park for at least one month if we
can find a place we really like.

We are not planning any more road
trips at this time until we decide what
the family will be doing around
Thanksgiving, and/or Christmas.

We hope everyone has a great
rest of the summer.

Pell City

2009-07-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

On Thursday 7/23/09 while our RV was being worked on at the Precision Commercial Vehicles we went into Birmingham to visit the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the South Eastern Conference (SEC) Headquarters, and Vulcan Park. If you are ever in Birmingham and have the time the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is very ingteresting. Vulcan Park offers very scenic views of the Birmingham area. The Vulcan was built for the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Lewis then returned to Birmingham where it was displayed at the Alabama State Fairgrounds. The statue was moved to Vulcan Park in 1939, where it overlooks the city to this day.

We returned to the repair facility around 1:30 PM to pick up our RV and proceed to Lakeside RV Park and Marina in Pell City where we arrived at about 3:00 PM. Lakeside is a very nice park with gravel sites with a concrete patio, 50 AMPS, full hookup, cable TV, and WiFi access.

On Friday 7/24/09 we drove over to Atlanta to pick up Galon, Maggie, and Susannah. We then returned to Pell City where Galon, Maggie, and Susannah cheched into the Quality Inn, and we returned to our campsite.

On Saturday Galon, Maggie, and Susannah attended a picnic for Maggie's High School Reunion. After the picnic they brought Susannah over so we could watch her while they attended the Reunion that evening. They had a great time and so did we keeping Susannah.

On Sunday we attended church with Maggie and Galon at Maggie's former church Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church. In the last ten years since we were there for Galon and Maggie's wedding the church has expanded to a new Sanctuary. It is a beautiful building.

After church we went to Cracker Barrel to have lunch. Galon, Maggie, and Susannah then went off to visit some of Maggie's old friends. Dianne and I relaxed at the RV and watched the NASCAR race at the Brickyard in Indianapolis.

On Monday we all went to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, and Museum at Talladega Motorspeedway, Talladega, AL. This is another highly recommended site for a visit if you find yourself in Talladega with time on your hands. They have several real Stock Cars in their museum. I took a picture of one. A 1964 Ford Galaxie. As you can see they are much different from what is raced today.

I also took a picture of an original Flat Head Ford V8 that was used in the begining by NASCAR Racers. Ford introduced the Flat Head (L Head) V8 in 1932. The Ford Flat Head V8 was the most widely used engine until Chevrolet came out with the small block Overhead Valve 265 CU Inch with 162 HP in 1955. In 1954 Ford came out with the Y-Block 239 CU Inch with 130 HP. Today NASCAR V8's are built on a 358 CU Inch platform that produces between 700 to 800 HP. This is quite a bit different from what it was in the late 1940's at the beginning of NASCAR racing.

Compare the two pictures to the right.

Tuesday, 7/28/09 we drove over to Birmingham so Galon and Maggie could rent a car and proceed to David and Sandy's in Franklin, TN for a visit. Dianne and I then returned to Pensacola, where we are now staying at the Pensacola RV Resort on Wild Lake Blvd.

We plan to stay in Pensacola for a while. Not sure where our next trip will lead us.

Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable rest of the summer.

22 July 09 Birmingham AL

2009-07-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

We left Johnny's RV Resort on HWY 90 Theodore at about 9:00 AM today. Our first stop was at the Shell station on HWY 90 at Theodore to fill up. Gas was $2.32. Pretty good price.

We left the Shell station and went I-10 East to I-65 where we turned North. Our next stop was at exit 31 where Dianne took over driving. This was her first time to drive the RV so I took a picture to prove she actually did it.

Our next stop was at the Rest Area around Mile Marker 85. Dianne said she had enough of driving after about an hour. She was very nervous and tense since this was her first time behind the wheel. She did great! Maybe next time she can drive a little further as she gets more familiar with driving it.

I took over driving and drove to the rest area North of Montgomery at about Mile Marker 213 where we stopped for lunch of tomato sandwhiches, chips, celery with peanut butter, crackers, and two cookies each. When we left the rest stop I noticed the ABS light was on. My first thought was "Oh no not again!" I figured it was one of the brake calipers sticking again as we have had this happen to the right rear, and right front. We could not stop until exit 219 where we pulled into a closed down service station and decided to let the RV cool down to see if the ABS light would go off. While waiting we cleaned out our outside refigerator in one of the bays that had frozen a couple of canned drinks that exploded. What a mess. After we cleaned this up I tried the RV to see if the ABS light was still on. It was. We decided to call our Roadside Assistance folks to determine where the nearest Workhorse Dealer was located as we did not want to be stranded here overnight. The nearest WH Dealer was in Birmingham so we talked to them to get directions, and decided to try to drive to there if possible, and if things got worse then call for a tow. A few minutes after we left and turned onto I-65 I noticed that the ABS light finally went out. We called the WH Dealer and asked if we proceeded to his business could he read the code so we would know what was happening and then we could go on to Pell City to set up. Our idea was to return to the WH Dealer on Thursday. When we arrived at the WH Dealer they looked things over and determined that the right front wheal bearing seal had blown out and there was no oil on the front bearings. The left rear also has a leaking real axle seal. Needless to say the coach is not drivable so we are spending the night at the WH Dealer. They have no hook-ups so we are using our generator. One of the gentlemen working here noticed my left rear outside tire was low on air and brought it to my attention. I checked it and sure enough it only had about 15-20 pounds. I had checked the tires when we stopped at the abandoned service station and everything was fine. I guess the valve stuck and the air leaked out as we traveled here. I have had problems with the valves sticking so I always check to see if they closed properly. I thought everything was ok, but I guess it was still leaking slowly, and I could not tell it. The Lord was definitely looking out for us, as this could have caused a blow-out and serious damage to the RV.

Dianne says not to ask her if she is having fun yet!

They are to get right on our RV the first thing tomorrow morning so we can continue on to Pell City. That is if everything goes according to plan. Not sure yet who will be paying for this repair as the right front was just worked on by Commercial Truck Repair (WH Dealer) in Marietta, GA. The folks here at Precision Sales and Service (WH Dealer) assured me that they would contact the WH representative to work with the folks in Marietta to resolve this issue. I am not sure about the left rear as this is a new problem. I do have an extended warranty so they should take care of most of it.

I am so glad we decided to leave Mobile today and not wait until Thursday. We have to pick Galon, Maggie, and Susannah up in Atlanta on Friday at 6:12 PM, so any delays could be a problem. The folks here have assured us they will get us out tomorrow, so everything should be fine.

Stay tuned for our further adventures as I will try to post tomorrow night if we get to move over to Pell City. We plan to be staying at "Lakeside Landing, Cropwell, AL" until Tuesday 28 July. At that time we will be heading back to Pensacola where we plan to stay at the Pensacola RV Park which is off Pine Forrest Road behind the Cracker Barrel.

P.S. Our next adventure will be even more exciting (HA! HA!) so you will not want to miss it!

Our Time in Mobile

2009-07-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Mobile on Wednesday 8 July to assist our daughter Jenny after her scheduled surgery on Friday 10 July to remove her tonsils. She came through the surgery fine. We have been staying with her during the day while her husband (Matt) works, and Dianne has been preparing meals so Jenny did not have to worry about cooking. Jenny has had a few minor problems and had to return to the Doctor on Thursday 16 July. He perscribed additional antibiotics, and gave her a couple of steroid shots to jumpstart her imune system. She is doing much better today. She still can not eat anything but liquids and soft foods for another week. She returns to the Doctor on Friday 24 July for her post op check-up. Hopefully everything will be fine and she can start eating regular foods at that time.

We will be leaving here on Wednesday 22 July to go to Pell City, AL to babysit our grand daughter so that Galon and his wife Maggie can attend her 10 year High School Reunion. We plan to stay in Pell City until Wednesday 29 July and then return to Pensacola for a couple of weeks before venturing out again.

I will try to post again sometime while we are in Pell City.

Our Time In Warsaw, VA With Maggie, Galon, & Susannah

2009-07-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 6/16/09 – We went to Fredricksburg, VA to view the Fredricksburg Civil War Battlefield. We took a self guided walking tour. It was amazing to us to see the bullet holes in the Carter House that is still standing on the property. This was probably the most natural military position the Southern forces held during the war. They occupied the high ground, and were protected by a waist high rock wall. The main Northern forces attacked on the left flank with the St. Mary Heights to be only a diversion. For many reasons this area developed into the primary battle of the day, and the Union army attacked repeatedly only to be beaten back each time. Several months later the Union Army was finally able to break through these defenses during another campaign and capture the area.

Wednesday 6/17/09 and Thursday 6/18/09 – Kept our grand-daughter Susannah. Had a blast!

Friday 6/19/09 – Galon and Maggie took off work and we took a tour boat to Tangier Island. Tangier Island is only about one mile wide at the widest part, and approximately three miles long. The primary occupation is fishing, and the most popular product is the soft shell Blue Crab. It seems the Blue Crab comes to this area at a certain time each year to shed their outer shells and grow new ones. During this process they become the Soft Shell Blue Crab delicacy. I tired it and it was ok, but not something I would order.

Saturday 6/20/09 – Rivah Fest in Tappahannock, VA. An annual celebration of the Tappahannock community to celebrate their heritage, and association with the Rappahannock River. There were all kinds of booths containing crafts, selling food, and just about anything else available in the area. The even had an Antique car show. They had Camaro’s, Mustangs, Cobra sports cars, trucks, and many other cars from the 1930’s to the 1970’s. My favorite was a 1953 Mercury two door hard top with a flat head V8 that was really sharp. My second favorite was a 1963 Fairlane 500 two door hard top.

Sunday 6/21/09 – We went to church with Galon and Maggie at Menokin Baptist Church. It was very enjoyable to worship with our son and his family. Then we went to our daughter-in-law’s parents (Lou and Onna Grimm) home in Deltaville, VA for the afternoon. Dianne and Onna took our granddaughter to a neighborhood zoo, and Galon, Maggie, Lou and I went sailing on a 30’ Catalina sailboat for about two hours on the Chessapeake Bay. It was a lot of fun. Then we returned to Lou and Onna’s for a great hamburger supper. We had a fantastic day.

Monday 6/22/09 – Kept Susannah and went to the church playground, but she didn’t like it very well since she was the only child there.

Tuesday 6/23/09 – We visited President George Washington’s Birthplace at Pope’s Creek Plantation. He lived here until he was about three and a half years old when they moved further north to Hidden Creek which later became Mt. Vernon. George Washington’s forefathers settled in this area in the late 1600’s. His father was Augustine Washington who had five children by his first wife before George who was the 1st child of his fathers second marriage. George was a very imposing figure at 6’3.5” tall, and had a very commanding presence. I was also able to confirm that there was a connection between Robert E. Lee and George Washington. It seems that George Washington’s step grand-daughter or maybe his step great-grand-daughter married Robert E. Lee. That is how Arlington became Robert E. Lee’s home, and later Arlington National Cemetary.

Notice the cattle in Pope's Creek. This was right at the front of the Washington Birth Place National Park Entrance. I guess they are enjoying a little VA air conditioning for cattle.

Wednesday 6/24/09 – Kept Susannah.

Thursday 6/25/09 – Day of relaxation at our campground.

Friday 6/26/09 – Went over to Galon & Maggies this morning to help Galon with projects around the house and for Dianne and Maggie to go for a Pedicure. They enjoyed their time together. I enjoyed helping Galon install a pump in his basement sink so he could pump the water up into the waste system. After several trips to the hardware store in Montross and a visit across the road to Galon’s neighbor to borrow a vice to separate some of the old pipe for reuse we got most of it ruffed in. Posponed working on this project Saturday to go to Jameston, VA.

Saturday 6/27/09 – Today we visited Jamestown, VA. This was the first successful colonization effort by the English in the New Lands. It was very interesting to look at the museum exhibits, and read the captions for them. There were so many that we had to just look at most and read only the first part of the most interesting plaques. After viewing the 25 minute film on the settlement of Jamestown, and viewing the museum we went to the Café there to have lunch. After lunch we toured the outdoor exhibits. There was an Indian village, complete with volunteers in native dress demonstrating making arrow heads from flint, and the other was using a stone to shape and sharpen a bone into a knife. I noticed that one of the “natives” was a blond. Next we viewed the replicas of the ships used to bring the first settlers for Jamestown over. I would hate to have to live in the cramped, over populated ship that took four months to cross the Atlantic. The volunteer on the boat told us there were 54 sailors housed in the area we were touring. It wasn’t much bigger than our motor home and sure didn’t look big enough to house that many men. I am sure glad I was not on that voyage. I would have gone nuts under those conditions. After viewing the ships, we walked back up to go through the replica of the Fort built at Jamestown by the first settlers. I took a picture of the pews in the church. If you think the ones we have today are uncomfortable just imagine sitting in one of these I have in the picture.

Sunday 6/28/09 – We went to church with Galon & Maggie again, and enjoyed a Breakfast on the grounds to kick off the mornings celebration of VBS Commencement. Everyone brought a covered dish, and Galon put in a special request for Breakfast Pizza that I used to make for our Brotherhood meetings when he was younger and living at home. Of course we went out and procured the ingredients to honor the request. I had never cooked it in a Convection oven before, but it turned out excellent. After the VBS Commencement service we returned to the RV for lunch, and to change clothes so I could return to help Galon finish the basement sink and install some left over cabinets from their kitchen remodeling project so that he could better organize the basement. We decided to install the cabinets first in case we ran out of time, because Galon felt he could finish the sink project alone, but he could not handle the cabinets and they were to big for Maggie to help him with. We mounted the cabinets, and had time to complete the installation of the sink pump. Galon let it set up over night and tried it out the next day. He did not call and let me know of any problems so I believe the installation was successful. After completing this project we said our goodbyes and left for our last night in the campground, and departure from VA the next morning.

Monday 6/29/09 – Left VA around 8:00 AM and drove to Salisbury. NC where we stayed at Dan Nicholas Park. This was a very nice campground, but it did not have sewer, Cable TV, or internet access.

Tuesday 6/30/09 – Today was very stressful. We departed NC at around 8:00 AM and were attempting to drive to Auburn/Opelika, AL . We made it to Newnan, GA where the RV decided it needed a rest. The leveling jacks malfunctioned, and the warning light for jack deployment would not turn off. We stopped at a Metro Petro to check it out, and as I was slowing down to enter the parking area the ABS light came on. So I got out to check the jacks and noticed a smell of hot rubber. This had happened previously when a brake caliper stuck back in January. I tried to lower the jacks thinking that I could reset them, but this did not work on the left front jack. It decided to stay down. This was when the real fun started. Since the jack was stuck in the down position I could not drive the coach. I called my roadside assistance company and they dispatched someone to deal with the jacks, and told me once this was done they would decide what to do about the ABS light. Since the only available roadside assistance was in Stockbridge, GA it took him about two hours to make it to Newnan. He diagnosed the problem as a broken wire, and was able to get the jack to retract. Then we found out that since the ABS light was on the RV was not considered safe to drive and would need to be towed to the nearest authorized Workhorse dealership. This turned out to be in Marietta, GA which was about 50 miles back north on the Northwest side of Atlanta. The tow truck would not be available until Wednesday morning, so we spent the night in the Metro Petro parking lot.

Wednesday 7/1/09 - Once the tow truck arrived this morning we were hooked up and on our way to Marietta. We followed the tow truck in our car, and it was very un-settling for Dianne to watch someone tow her home on wheels away. Once we arrived at the Georgia Commercial Truck Company they went to work on it immediately. It turned out that there was a notice of recall on this particular model of Workhorse chassis for brake problems, so Workhorse took care of most of the labor and parts for this repair. We were back on the road at around 4:00 PM Wednesday. Just in time to catch the rush hour traffic out of Atlanta. Since there was construction going on around exit 51 – 41 on I-85 with traffic going down to one lane and being backed up about 10 miles we decided to avoid the area and left out of Atlanta on I-20 West, the took the back roads down to LaGrange, GA and picked up I-85 again. We arrived in Auburn at the Chewacla State Park around 7:30. This is a very nice park with full hook-ups, but only 30 AMPS, and no Cable TV, or WiFi access. Here we had another problem with the left front leveling jack when we tried to move to another spot since the 15 AMP part of the hook up did not work, and it took about an hour or more to get it to finally retract. We decided not to use this front jack any more so I disconnected it.

Thursday 7/2/09 - We left out of Chewacla State Park around 10:00 AM this morning and finally arrived in Pensacola around 2:30 PM after approximately two months on the road. It was good to get back home.

THUS ENDS OUR FIRST EXTENDED ROAD TRIP. WHAT A TRIP IT WAS!

Greenwood, TN

2009-06-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

Monday 6/8/09 Greenwood, TN. Arrived around 4:30 PM. We spent Monday getting set up and settled in then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday 6/9/09 – We drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway from Rock Fish Gap to VA Hwy 130 near Lynchburg, VA. The views were spectacular. Some of the overlooks were grown up with trees and shrubs to the point that we could not see the view into the Shanendoah Valley or back to the East toward Richmond.

The picture to the left is of Rockfish Gap Overlook – North Entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drove through Lynchburg to U.S. Hwy 29 and headed North back to Greenwood, VA. We drove through many small towns just to see the area, and the old homes. We took some of the smaller VA secondary roads just to get a better look at the area. I highly recommend that in your travels that you get off the interstates when you can and see the real countryside.

Wednesday 6/10/09 we returned to Lynchburg to tour the town and areas associated with the Civil War. Our first stop was the Visitors center to gather brochures and plan our day.

We visited the following sites:
Sandusky – A home which served as the headquarters for Union General David Hunter during the battle of Lynchburg June 17-18 1864.

Point of Honor Museum – The home was built by Dr. George Cabell, Sr. in 1815, and now serves as a museum to show how homes looked in Lynchburg in the early 1800’s.

Fort Early – One of a series of earthen forts built by General Early’s troops during 1863 and used in the successful defense of Lynchburg in June of 1864.

Major General Jubal Early’s monument at Spring Hill Cemetary Lynchburg, VA. General Early was the commander of the Confederate Army defending Lynchburg in 1864. He was sent by General Robert E. Lee to stop the Union advance by General David Hunter. General Early defeated General Hunter who then retreated into West Virginia.

Monument Terrace – The 139 steps are used to honor the citizens of Lynchburg who fought in the Civil War, Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam,

Courthouse Museum – Sits at the top of Monument Terrace, and covers the history of Lynchburg and its citizens from the areas beginning all the way to 2007. We found this museum to be very interesting.

Liberty University – Built by Rev Jerry Fallwell who was the pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, and co-founder of the Moral Majority. Dr. Fallwell is buried on the university grounds in front of the reception center.

On our return to Misty Mountain Resort in Greenwood, VA we tried to travel a different route each time to get a better view of the surrounding area.

Thursday 6/11/09 – When we left our campground we decided to travel the backroads to our next place to visit. The scenery along the way was great. We even saw a deer crossing the road. It looked like it didn’t quite clear the guardrail, but it continued on so I guess it as ok. Our first stop was at the Walton Mountain Museum in Schuyler, VA. Schuyler is the hometown of the man who wrote the book “Spencer’s Mountain” that the Walton’s Mountain TV show from the 70’s was based on. His name is Sam Hammner. He graduated in 1940 from the High School that is pictured here. It was later changed to an Elementary School as you can see by the name. It was turned into a Museum when the school closed in the 1990’s. If you were a Walton’s Mountain fan this is a must see museum. We enjoyed it very much.

Our next stop was in Appomattox, VA where we ate lunch at the Huddle House. Then we drove out to Appomattox Courthouse National Park where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General U. S. Grant on April 9, 1865 in the house of Wilmer McClain. On April 12, 1865 the last of the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered their arms to end the American Civil War. There by ending four years of bloody conflict that started with the firing on Ft. Sumter in Charleston, SC on April 12 1861. The park service has tried to restore Appomattox Courthouse and the associated buildings to what they looked like in 1865. The museum housed in the Courthouse is very interesting, and the layout in the McLain house is just as it was for the surrender.

As a footnote to history the firing on Ft. Sumter in Charleston, SC on 12 April 1865 was not the first shots fired in the American Civil War. This actually occurred on January 8th 1861 at Ft. Barrancas in Pensacola, FL when the Union troops under the command of Major John H. Winder fired warning shots to repel the Florida State troops under the command of Colonel William Henry Chase who demanded the surrender of Ft. Barrancas. As Winder the commanding officer was not present Lt. Adam J. Slemmer was in charge. He refused to surrender Ft. Barrancas and knowing that Ft. Pickens on Santa Rosa Island was easier to defend he spiked the guns of Ft. Barrancas and retreated to Ft. Pickens in a flatboat. He held Ft. Pickens for the Union throughout the War. Major Winder later served in the Confederate Army and attained the rank of Brigadier General.

During our visit to the park we also visited the site of Grant’s Headquarters, General Lee’s Headquarters, and the monument to the North Carolina soldiers who were the last to fire at Appomattox.

We really enjoyed this trip through history, then returned to our RV in Misty Mountain Resort at Greenwood, VA.

On Friday 6/12/09 we drove north on the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. The views were splendid and the weather cooperated and did not rain until after we finished our drive. The highlight of the day was this picture Dianne captured of a doe and her fawn.
We returned to our campsite down US Hwy 340 to get a view of the Shenandoah Valley from close up. It is truly magnificent.

Saturday 6/13/09 - We rested around the RV Park, and met Galon, Maggie, & Susannah in Richmond, VA for supper at the Cheescake Factory in Short Pump Mall. As you can see from the picture Grandma is enjoying her time with Susannah.

Sunday 6/14/09 - We attended Westwood Baptist Church in Waynesbora, VA. It was a nice small church wih about 100 in attendance.

Monday 6/15/09 – Move to Coles Point, VA.

Crossville, TN

2009-06-02T22:09:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 6/2/09 after getting set up in the Bean Pot RV campground we drove back to Crossville to have supper with my sister. While we were there she received a call that one of our cousins in Chattanooga had passed away. Wednesday we plan to drive over to Chattanooga to visit her family, and we will attend the memorial service once we know when it is scheduled.

On Wednesday 6/3/09 we went to Chattanooga to visit my cousin's family and on our way down we stopped in Pikeville to have lunch. The food was country style and pretty good.

On Thursday we went to visit the Sgt. Alvin C. York State Park in Pall Mall, TN. Sgt. York was the Quaker who fought in WWI and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. After returning the State of Tennessee he was given the land that is now the park. After he and his wife died the land was returned to the State by the family for the state park. One of Sgt. York's son's is a ranger at the park. I was able to met him. He is approximately 77 and still works each day. The picture shows Dianne and I standing on Sgt. York's Front porch.

On Friday 6/5/09 in the morning we visited the Military Museum in Crossville. It was very interesting, and if you are ever in the area you should take advantage of the opportunity to see it.

On Friday afternoon we returned to Chattanooga for our cousin's memorial service, then returned home. On the way back we stopped at a B-B-Q place, and the food was excellent.

On Saturday 6/6/09 we had my sister Linda Belle and her husband Ken over for lunch (Hamburgers) and then we went to the dirt track race in Crossville. They were ok, but there were not many different classes, and the operation was not run very efficiently. It took to long to get things going at the beginning, and between races they were slow getting the drivers to the track. I really liked the little minis that are four cylinder cars and sound like a swarm of bees going around.

On Sunday 6/7/09 we went to church with my sister and Ken. We really enjoyed their young preacher. After church we returned to our campground to have lunch, and then we departed at around 1:30 PM for our trip to VA. On Sunday night we stopped in Wyethville, VA at Deer Trail Park and Campground and then continued to Greenwood, VA on Monday morning 6/8/09.

Next post from Greenwood, VA!

Smyrna TN - Activities

2009-06-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

My Blog was off the air for a while so I have not been able to post. This should catch us up to the point were we left Nashville, TN and moved to Crossville, TN.

We left our camera in the camper so we were not able to get any pictures for these events.

On Saturday 23 May we spent time with our son and grandchildren. We went to the Hands on Childrens Science Museum in Murfreesboro, TN then to a local park in Smyrna that had fountains of water in several shapes and sizes that the children were able to play in. They really seemed to enjoy it. After this we returned to our RV for hotdogs and sausages.

On Sunday 24 May we returned to Murfreessboro, TN to visit Fortress Rosecrans which is the largest earthen fort ever built. The Union Army built the fort after the Battle of Stones River December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863. The fort consisted of around 200 acres and protected vital segments of the railroad and a multitude of warehouses that held supplies for the coming campaign. Through most of 1863 the Fortress Rosecrans served as a critical forward supply base for the Union Army during their campaign to seize and control the vital rail junction town of Chattanooga, TN. The fort was never attacked by the Confederates, and housed approximately 50,000 men and supplies to support them for 90 days.

On Tuesday 26 May we toured the Nissan Plant in Smyrna, TN. If you ever have the opportunity we highly recommend this tour. It was truly amazing. They make the Nissan Frontier, Tundra, Pathfinder, Altima Sedan and Coupe. Also at this factory they stamp out the parts that are used to produce the Nissan vehicles in Mississippi, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. They also stamp out all replacement parts for all dealerships in North America. It was really neat to watch the process and see the engine and transmission lower into the frame, and then a little farther down the line to watch the body lowered to form the Frontier, Tundra, and Pathfinder. The Altima is a unibody construction so the motor is moved into the body from underneath as it travels down the assembly line. They also have a robotic cart that travels down a magnetic strip in the floor to deliver parts along the assembly line.

Wednesday 27 May we went to Franklin to view the Battleground where the Battle of Franklin, TN occured on November 30, 1864. This was a pivital battle and was called the bloodiest hours of the American Civil War. It was also called the Gettysburg of the West, one of the few night battles, and one of the smallest as it was only 2 miles long and 1 and 1/2 miles wide. The main battle started around 4:00 PM and would down around 9:00 PM. The Union Army consisted of 22,000 infantry, and 13,500 calvary. The Confederate Army of Tennessee consisted of 20,085 infantry, and 5,000 calvary. The most savage fighting occured around the Carter House and there are still about 1,000 bullet holes in the main house and the outbuildings in spite of the restoration efforts. When the battle was over the North had lost about 2,500 men to death, wounding, or capture. The South lost 7,000 men to death, wounding, or capture. In essence the Army of Tennessee died at the Battle of Franklin, and was unable to stop Shermans march on Atlanta as planned.

Thursday 28 May we drove to Nashville and walked around downtown, then went to lunch. We can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the food was pretty good.

On Friday 29 May we took a drive around the area and went Southeast to Tulahoma, TN, back to the Northeast to Sparta, TN, and then west to return to Smyrna. In Sparta we had lunch at the Sparta Cafe. The food was excellant. If you are ever in Sparta we highly recommend the Sparta Cafe.

Saturday 30 May we went to see a movie titled "UP" with our son and his family, and then out to eat at the Calypso restaurant. The movie was really cute and the grandchildren enjoyed it very much. The food was pretty good also.

Sunday 31 May we went to Church at what used to be First Baptist of Smyrna, but is now Life Point. Then we drove over to Franklin for lunch at Dotson's Restaurant and to attend the local play at "The Boiler Room at the Factory House" titled "A Sunday in the Park with George". It was ok, but not anything really impressive.

On Monday 1 June we left Smyrna and drove over to Crossville to visit my sister and her husband. Before we left Smyrna as I was preparing the RV to depart I noticed a small trickle of fluid coming out of the left rear wheel. When we arrived in Crossville we stopped at Wal-Mart to gas up the motorhome, and I noticed quite a bit more of fluid so we called our maintenance contract company and discovered the nearest authorized Workhorse facility was in Knoxville. On our way there we noticed the Boat N RV facility at mile marker 338 on I-40 so we stopped there in hopes that they could make the repairs without us having to travel to Knoxville. They were not able to get to us then, but we were able to stay in their campground for a nominal fee. Once we got set up we un-hooked the car and drove back to exit 317 on I-40 to visit my sister.
The RV repair facility was able to start on our coach first thing Tuesday morning, so once we turned it in we drove back to Crossville to visit with my sister again. They were having a Senior fellowship at their church that morning which we attended with them. Needless to say the food was fantastic. After lunch we contacted the repair facility and discovered they were finished with our coach, and just waiting for the warranty company to send them the information for payment. So we returned to the facility and picked up our RV and drove back to exit 322 on I-40 to the Bean-Pot Campground.

Smyrna, TN I-24 Campground

2009-05-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well we finally were able to leave Tiffin Motor Homes in Red Bay, AL and continue our journey to Smyrna, TN on Tuesday 5/19/09. We left at about 11:15 and stopped off at Simmons Tire Co in Sheffield, AL to have our coach's alignment checked. They completed the task around 3:00 PM and we continued our journey. We arrived at the I-24 Campground in Smyrna, TN around 6:30 PM. We had hoped to get here in time to attend our grandson Joseph's birthday party at Pump It Up in Franklin, TN, but we were to late. We called him on the phone to wish him a happy birthday.

Wedmesday 5/20/09 - While we were at the Tiffin Motor Home service facility we had to rise early so that we could take our coach in for service at 7:00 AM each day. So today we took advantage of not having anything pressing this morning and slept in till around 8:00 AM. Then we went exploring to find a grocery store, and a place to get hair cuts. We found a Wal-Mart and stocked up on the groceries we needed and filled the car with Gas. We also found a place to get our hair cut, so we came back to the RV park to eat lunch and put up the groceries, then we went back to get our hair cut. When we came back to the park they had a better place for us to move in to that was much more level, larger, and had more shade so we moved. We really had a hard time getting our Satellite dish to receive a signal at our new location. It took over an hour to find the signal. I think the problem was all the trees which were blocking the signal.

Thursday I had to go to a local lab to get my monthly blood test and have the results faxed to my doctor in Pensacola. While in Murfreesboro we went to the Chamber of Commerce to get a map of the area and possibly find things to do while here. On our way to the Chamber we went past a local restaurant serving lunch and decided to return there after our visit to the Chamber of Commerce for lunch. It was a small local place that only serves from 11:oo AM to 6:00 PM. The food was Southern Family served Cafeteria style and was excellent. If you are ever in the Murfreesboro area try the Kleer-Vu Lunchroom at 226 S. Highland Avenue.

Right now we plan to be at this park until Monday 6/1/09. I will post new information as the days pass if anything of interest occurs. Otherwise I will post when we move to our new campground in Crossville, TN on 6/1/09.

Allegro Campground - Red Bay, AL

2009-05-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

We moved from Sleepy Holler Campground in Cordova, AL to the Allegro Campground at Red Bay, AL. We left around 9:15 AM and arrived here at around 11:45. Once we checked in we had to prepare a list of all the things we needed to be looked at.

As shown below there are a lot of RV spots at this campground that are very close together. In fact there are 93. Our camera could not show them all as there are three rows going north and south, and two small ones of 7 slots each going east and west. Our coach is the 6th one shown, and the only one with a tire cover on it.

The repair building shown below has 49 work bays, a parts warehouse, woodworking shop, paint & body shop, customer lounge, and service office. I could only get about 13 of the ones on one
side. The service bays are on both sides of the building with an open area running down the middle.

Tonight we attended services at First Baptist Church Red Bay. They had a nice supper that we were able to enjoy with them. Tonights fare was hotdogs, with chilli, french fries, coleslaw, and a desert. It was pretty good. Then the pastor presented a Bible Study on Exodus Ch. 3. We enjoyed both the meal and the Bible Study. Everyone was very friendly. They invited us to a Breakfast on Saturday, but we hope to be in Tennessee then if possible.

Our appointment for repairs is on Friday 5/15/09, but we were told to arrive here early so we came on in today. Yesterday the campground was full, and they had no slots available, but today some folks went home so we were able to get a spot. Right now I thing there are only about 5 t0 10 spots available. We were told when we checked in that they could possibly start on our coach tomorrow, but not to count on it. It depends on what is ahead of us, and how long it all takes. We have to stay pretty close by as we have to move the coach in and out of the work bay. We have to coordinate with the service manager tomorrow to see what free time we may have if any. If we have some time available we hope to go to the Red Bay Museum tomorrow. While they are working on our coach on Friday we plan to tour the Tiffin Factory. This takes about two to three hours. We found out tonight when we went to church that the gentlemen that conducts the tours also attends First Baptist.

Once our coach is finished we will move on to Tanbark Campground in Dixon, TN. If they can not finish our coach in one day we plan to leave our coach at the campground and drive to David's for Saturday and Sunday. We will have to return here on Sunday afternoon so we can be ready to move the coach on Monday so they can complete the repairs. Here's hoping that they can get everyting done in one day. We talked to our next door neighbor when we arrived, and found they have been here two weeks waiting on insurance approval and parts.

This is it for this post. We will try to post again once we move to Tanbark Campground in Dixon, TN.

Sleepy Holler Campground

2009-05-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

Well we finally were able to hit the road on Sunday 5/10/09 around 11:00 AM after a visit to the Sacred Heart Emergency room on Thursday 4/30/09, a visit to my Orthopedic Dr. on Monday 5/4/09 then a repeat trip to the Baptist Emergency room on Wednesday 5/6/09 and a repeat visit to my Orthopedic Dr. on Thursday 5/7/09 to have my left knee treated for excessive swelling/pain. We are staying at the Sleepy Holler RV Park in Cordova, AL just a few miles east of Jasper, AL, and about 35 Miles West of Birmingham. We will be here until Wednesday 5/13/09 when we will move to Red Bay, AL to the Tiffin Motorhomes Factory for some needed repairs.

Today we visited the Barber Motorsports Vintage Museum. This museum has over 1100 different motorcycles from the first ones made in the late 1800, and early 1900's to today's modern ones. They even have the 1999 Indian motorcycle presented to Jeff Gordon as the 1998 Driver of the year. See attached photo.

After Driving around today to look at possible other places to stay we found a nice National Park at Corinth Recreation area about 30 miles North West of Jasper in the William B. Bankhead National Forrest. There is a possibility we will come back to there in the fall to observe the change of colors.

Another find for today was not quite so nice. There seems to be a metal to metal sound coming from the right front wheel when the brakes are applied. So tomorrow I guess I will get to sit at the tire place while they check it out and see if they can fix it. We are hoping that it will only take a short while, but as you know this is not usually the case with auto repairs.

This finishes up our post for Sleepy Holler. We will post again sometime after we move to Red Bay on Wednesday 5/13/09.

1st Extended Road Trip

2009-05-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the Tiffin Allegro Bay we purchased in January of 08. We planned to start our first extended road trip on 5/1/09. However, due to a medical complication and need to see a Doctor on Monday 5/4/09 we had to pospone the departure date. We hope to be able to hit the road on or about 5/10/09. Right now we are staying at Leisure Lakes RV Park on 9 Mile Road in Pensacola, FL. We were unable to sell our home so we decided to rent it. Everything went fine and we moved out to Leisure Lakes RV Park where we have been staying since 4/1/09. (See pictures below). We will try to add additional pictures and comments as we begin our travels. Our plan now is to depart Leisure Lakes RV Park on 5/10/09 and travel to Red Bay, AL to get some work done on our Tiffin Allegro Bay. Once we leave there we plan to go to Franklin, TN to visit our son and his family. (Three of our four Grandchildren). After staying in Franklin at Tanbark Campground we will move over to visit my Sister and her husband in Crossville, TN for a few days. At the present time we plan to depart Crossville for Wytheville, VA for about a week. Our next stop will be Greenwood, VA for about another week. After these two weeks in the mountains we will move to Coles' Point in VA to visit our other son and his family. (One grandchild). After spending two weeks at Coles' Point we will depart for Mobile, AL. It will take us approximately three or four days to travel back to Mobile, where we plan to spend about two weeks to help out our daughter who will be having surgery on 7/7/09. After this we will return to Pensacola and stay at the Drifters RV Park for a few weeks. We will plan our next trip at that time. Probably leave sometime in September to go North for the changing of the seasons.

That is it for now. Will post additional comments once we actually hit the road.