Home again, Home again....

Home again to our little house in Tennessee! Walked in and wondered how our ceilings got so high. After a week in the camper, it's amazing how high an 8 foot ceiling looks! Another thing I noticed was how far it was to walk from room to room! LOL! It was nice to be home, but at the same time, I missed being in our little beach house on wheels. I can't imagine how it will be after a whole summer! We were pretty tired after a long day driving so we just brought a few things in that we would need and hit the trail. On Saturday, Bill decided to go for a long ride on a new section of road...Greeneville to Jonesborough, 40 miles total with hills galore! He pulled his bike out of the back of the truck and discovered a flat.

He patched it and while inflating it, it blew up! Neighborhood dogs started barking and I thought someone was target practicing. We were fresh out of tubes, so he got everything ready for the ride and drove to a bike shop in Greenville to buy a couple of tubes and some flat proof tires. The new tube was installed and he started out. After 9 minutes, another flat. He fixed that one and was on his way at last. When things like this happen, you just have to think that God is protecting you from being hit by a bus! After a couple of hours, I went out to find him and get some more shots of him. Shot the first one and took off and turned around to get another one.

I'd set up the shot, set the camera on burst and have an assortment to choose from.

Then turn around again, pass Bill and find another good background.  

Did this quite a few times until the battery died in the camera. Here's a good one of him in front of one of our local shops.

I pulled over and climbed up a hill to get this pretty flowering tree in the arrangement.

I liked the flag and the church in this one.

And I thought a shot of him in the rear view mirror would be fun.

Bill still had a few miles to go and he was getting tired, so I made sure he made it back to his truck. After a hot shower and some food, he took a short nap. We relaxed a bit in the evening and went to bed after our busy day.

Views from my window....

Here are some shots that didn't make it into a blog post, but I thought you would enjoy seeing them. Most of these were taken from the passenger side window or through the windshield. This little Canon Elph 350HS can really stop motion! Pecan groves in Georgia.

Drove past an amazing boat on our way into Ocala, FL. I bet he can really fly with all that horsepower!

The weather was just beautiful, saw quite a few cyclists along the way too.

Tiny crosses in a church's front yard,

And a beautiful bridge in Florida.

An artistic piece of fence at a red light,

And an excavator in John Deere.......pink! Sorry this one is out of focus, traffic was moving pretty fast here.

The beautiful buildings of St. Augustine,

And the last one, for you Brandon!

March 25, 2016

Our drive continues through South Carolina and into Tennessee at last!

We stopped for lunch at a rest area and it's nice to have our own little home to sit together in and enjoy a meal.

We talked about some of the things we want to add to be organized a bit better this summer. When we get home, we'll unload almost everything that goes back into the house. Now I know why people who do this all the time have a complete set of everything for the camper. Also found out something else on this short trip, don't bother putting a carton of eggs in the fridge. Bill opened the fridge door without thinking and jars and eggs just exploded out of the fridge! LOL! So I continued cooking supper while Bill scooped up egg off the floor and rinsed the egg off the rug outside. We're learning to move slowly and open things slowly...cuts down on injuries and egg explosions! LOL!

Be part of this venture at Generosity.com

March 24th, 2016

We spent a couple of hours with our son and his family last night. It was so good to see them! We toured their new home and they toured our little beach cottage on wheels. The grandaughters loved it and made sure to test the jumpability of our bed! LOL! When it was time to go, we started out to find a place for the night. At the third campground we called, we got the very last spot. Joe met us when we arrived and directed us to our spot in the dark. He told us how he had come for a visit to Tybee Island from Pennsylvania and decided to stay. Joe made us feel welcome and we really appreciated that after a very long day. 

He is a credit to River's End Campground . Here's a shot of the moon rising over our little house on wheels.

Once the camper was opened up, we decided to go for a walk to wind down a bit. We met Sonia and her husband walking their very big Great Dane named Zuma. She has a blog called Sonia's Dog Blog about life traveling with a large dog. Hop on over and say Hello!In the morning while I was still in dreamland, Bill went for a walk on the nearby beach and who do you think he met...the actor who plays the lifeguard in the new Baywatch movie! I chose the wrong morning to sleep in! LOL! He told Bill that Charleston is the Hollywood of the East...never knew that. Since there weren't any spots available for the evening, we packed up our little house and headed toward Ridgeland, South Carolina. Along the way, we drove by Tybee Island Lighthouse and I took a couple of shots.

We stopped at the Ridgeland Police Station to give them information about our trip and while Bill was there talking, I noticed the sign out front said that Ridgeland was "the high point of the low country". Also passed a cute thrift shop..."The Barkin' Basement" LOL! I love how the trees overhang the highway here.

So the wheels keep on turning and we spent the night of the 24th at Lake Aire RV Park , friendly welcome to these tired travelers. We stopped a little earlier so we could recover a bit. Made supper and caught up the blog and Facebook. Some days we couldn't do that as the WIFI was too slow to load. Might have to look at a mobile hotspot for the summer. It's amazing what you do when you are tired. The upper kitchen cabinet doors are wide so you have to lean back to close them...well, I forgot that and managed to clobber myself in the head with one of the doors! LOL! That's going to leave a mark! Also walloped my arm on the shower door handle so I have a few more bruises than when we left. But it's like when you rearrange the furniture at home, you keep bumping into it until you get used to the new arrangement. We've decided that Route 17 is pretty much going to be the same along its entire route, so we are headed toward home.

Friends and Precious Ladies.....

From Albany, we continued on to Tallahassee and then to Perry where we stayed at Perry KOA.

So onward and upward continuing to check bike paths and road conditions. When we got to Chiefland, we needed a few things at Walmart and when we came out, started talking to a man in his pickup. Had a good conversation about our camper and found out Joshua 1:9 was one of his favorite verses too! Said his name was Cliff White and we could remember it by thinking of the White Cliffs of Dover! That works too! LOL!Thank-you to Cliff and his wife for following us and praying for us! Followed the winding Route 17 to Ormond Beach where we stayed at Sunshine Holiday  Daytona  ; Beatrice checked us in and we met Gail Morin ...maybe a relative somewhere along the line! LOL!The manager Michael Deck introduced himself and we told him about the upcoming trip. Everyone was real nice and we felt welcomed there. When we found our spot, we met Rich and Donna who hailed from Hampstead NH, one of our old stomping grounds.

Their beautiful Indian motorcycle shared their campsite along with their two basset hounds.

Thanks for good conversation guys! All too soon, it was time to pack up once again. On our way through Ormond Beach, we stopped at Crossroads Calvary Church (The Chapel) to drop off information about out trip with the pastor. A precious group of ladies was there knitting and crocheting hats and afghans and all kinds of useful things for babies and children in the hospital and also items for veterans and anyone in need.

We could not have met a more kind and generous group of ladies who we know will be praying for us through our journey. Our business cards that we had made list our Facebook page and also the address of this blog so that anyone can follow us and keep track of our progress. They have been invaluable to us on this trip. As we continued through Flagler Beach, saw my first view of the ocean!

It's been so long since I laid eyes on the Atlantic. Summer Haven, then on to St. Augustine with views of the ocean and fisherman.

We stopped at the Sheriff's Office in Crescent Beach to share information about our trip. At the Williston Police Department, Bill met John Pauls. Talked to him through bullet proof glass and the guys were sitting at their desks in bullet proof vests. We so need to support our law enforcement! Also stopped at St. Johns County Fire Rescue, Station 6 to share about our trip to support our firefighters too. Such an important part of any community. As we drove through Valero Beach, saw my first pelicans! We stopped for lunch at a boat ramp that was quiet and Bill cooked us up some Italian sausages in our little beach cottage on wheels. 

Rollin', rollin', rollin'.....

Continued driving through Chilhowie, Benton, Ochee, and Cisco, checking the bicycling lanes and whether there are rumble strips or not.  Bill won’t be able to cycle on that part of the road unless he wants to give the bike a good shakedown! LOL! We needed new valve stem covers on the camper so made a stop at Advance Auto Parts. Tim helped us out and when we shared with him what we’re doing, he told us about a 48 hour F.L.A.M.E.S. training school going on just a couple of miles from there

and to mention him to the chief. Thanks Tim! It was nice talking to you! The verse on our business card was Tim’s very favorite verse…”Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9  So we drove over to the Chatsworth Fire Department

and met Chief Baxter who operates the school and saw all the firefighters who were just finishing up 48 straight hours of training with only 3 hours sleep.

They were tired, but still cute! LOL! One of the firefighters offered to take our picture with the chief….he was twisted steel and sex appeal, I’ll tell you! ;) The Chief said the firefighter was steel, he was twisted and I must be the sex appeal! LOL!

I liked him right off! LOL! Bill was like “What am I? Chopped liver?” Sorry ladies, the firefighter was too shy to have his picture taken….So after sharing our story and enjoying our visit, we continued on checking road conditions in Fairmont, Griffin, and Zebulon. Many of the stores in Zebulon had bicycles as part of their display. The book store had a bicycle out front with paperback books in the spokes. Will have to check it out more closely this summer. We had a craving for pizza and Little Caesar’s was having a special so we ate for $8.56! It was yummy. Also saw my first Piggly Wiggly on this trip! LOL! We stopped at the police station in Butler and met Chief Jimmy Towns. We shared our story and he told us that in the summer, if we had no place to camp, we could stay at the police department. Sure would feel safe there! We continued driving looking for a campground following a "camping" sign but couldn't find it in the dark. The next one the GPS mentioned was another 15 miles away, the Albany RV Resort. When we made the turn to find the one in Albany, somehow the main power cord to the camper was cut almost  clean through! So the next few miles were driven in the dark with no camper lights! We followed the GPS right to….RV Sales and Service! Our hearts sank, no campground? But there down the road were the lights of the campground, Yay! Another night of falling into bed dog tired. When Bill stopped off at the campground office in the morning, he shared our story with the manager and he asked if we knew that the church that made the movies, Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof and Courageous was right in Albany. So after buying the supplies to repair the wire and doing a great job by the way,

we headed to the west side of Albany to find Sherwood Baptist Church. Wowee! What a place.

We dropped off our information and are waiting on a call back from Pastor Ken Bevel. Little did we know when we had a problem that night that it would give us the opportunity to visit Sherwood Baptist and share our story. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to plan for this adventure this summer.

P.S. Forgot to share this funny place with you up in Georgia:

No longer a port hole.....

It's been a busy few days, but here I am catching you up on the bedroom window project. Last time, I left you hanging talking about drilling holes! Actually, didn't go too crazy, just wanted to move the curtain rod up some to make the window seem larger.

 After I did that, I received the vinyl I wanted to put on the glass. It will give us more privacy and light and of course had to have dolphins on it! LOL!

I ended up having to seam this and wrestled with it for a couple of hours, but I was victorious! I put up the nautical lace curtains but I could see we needed something a little more....

so I snitched two pictures out of my bathroom in the house and hung those up too!

Just in time too as we spent the next day loading up the camper to take a trip to preview Bill's southern route for the trip this summer. We left Saturday afternoon around 2 and started for Knoxville. It was 4:00 by the time we got to Knoxville and we had skipped lunch so we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for some much needed fuel for the body! We met Anthony there who was the Senior Vice Commander of the VFW in Coeburn, VA. Nice chatting with you Anthony and thank-you for your service! We continued to follow our planned route for the summer and made notes about road conditions; the roads sure have changed in 27 years! On the back roads on the way to Maryville, we saw this large hand lettered sign, "Prayer will get you to heaven, Trespassing will get you there quicker!" LOL! Nope, we didn't trespass! ;) After passing through Greenback, Vonore, Madisonville and Etowah, it was starting to get dark and we were pretty tired from loading the camper. Would we ever find a place to park? Just in time, we found Hiwassee Court RV Park.

They weren't officially open, but let us stay the night. We opened up the camper and crashed into bed. We were up, bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning heading toward Chilhowee, TN