Wandering America
December 2007 - Part II
| Ah Shucks, Nothing New to Report Unfortunately nothing new has transpired since we got back from the Branson Trip. We've not traveled, we've not gone any where special; we have just been "laying low" and living a rather mundane routine lifestyle and, to be honest with you, it feels kinda good! In the meantime, we have been working on our projects, crafts, and hobbies as well as doing some reading. The Fairhope Public Library was nice enough to issue us cards, even though we are not residents, so we are taking advantage of their services, i.e. books and movies. They have a series on the American Revolution which I can't wait to watch - it's on DVD's and is about 12 hours long so during the loooong winter months of January and February I'll have time to watch them (Judy, on the other hand, is not the least bit interested - history is just not her thing). There have been nightly gatherings around the fire pits - about half the people here on East Traveler Street have fire pits so the gatherings sort of flow from one "campsite" to another. The weather has pretty much cooperated by maintaining average temperatures in the high 60's to low 70's. The East Traveler Street gang,plus a few other guests, ended our year with a New Year's Eve Day celebration. Each family brought some "finger foods" as well as other goodies and we ate together while sitting around two fires. The sun shined brightly with temperatures in the low 70's - it was a shorts and sandals kinda day, "hooray for my team!!!"   Judy and I have volunteered to be part of the hospitality team at our church. We passed out programs and served refreshments at the children's Christmas program and will become greeters/ushers for the regular Sunday services beginning in January. Also, J. and Heidi (fellow residents of East Traveler Street) will be starting a Home Group in January which we will attend. We are enjoying the worship services and the people at Jubilee Shores United Methodist Church in Fairhope which helps to make our stay in Summerdale feel like home. 2007 In the Rear view Mirror Unbelievable, 2007 is now in the history books!!!! The year began with us in Nashville, Tennessee and ended with us in Summerdale, Alabama. We towed the RV around 9,500 miles and spent at least one night in fourteen different states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. While we were at Rainbow Plantation last winter we put our name on the list for a leased RV site. We didn't expect to get a site for about a year and half to two years but one became available in June so we grabbed it and we will now use Summerdale, Alabama as our jumping off point. Here is a quick (or maybe not so quick) recap of our 2007 travels: We left Nashville, Tennessee on the 3rd of January and spent the next two months at Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama. Then it was off to Florida for sightseeing and a Habitat for Humanity build. We visited Stephen Foster Museum and did some biking trails in the White Springs area and then headed for Escapees Sumpter Oaks in Bushnell, Florida where Rich and Diane Emond came for a visit. The four of us drove over to Lazy Days RV in Tampa and then dropped in on Parksdale Farms in Plant City for a strawberry shortcake - yummy. Then we spent two weeks in Dade City for the Habitat for Humanity build taking some side trips to Harpon Springs area and doing some bike trails. After the build we began heading north and along the way we stopped in Americus and Plains, Georgia where we visited Andersonville Prison Camp and Jimmy Carter's boyhood home. A little further north we stayed for a night at Red Top Mountain State Park where we hiked our old friend Red Top Mountain once again. The next stop was in the Nashville area for a grand daughter fix and then onto to Michigan to celebrate Easter with Judy's Sister and visit our son in Grand Rapids. While in Michigan we encountered two dirty words - c*ld and sn*w, you won't see the whites of our eyes in Michigan that early in the spring again. Our son, his wife, and our brand new grand daughter from New Hampshire were going to be in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a visit so we headed back there to see them (mainly Lola). Then we began heading east with stop overs in the Knoxville, Tennessee area where we visited the Appalachian Museum and Front Royal, Virginia where we drove Skyline Drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then we visited with my uncle in E. Falmouth, Massachusetts which is on Cape Cod where we enjoyed the beaches and visited Plymouth Rock. Next it was off to Hancock, New Hampshire to get another grand daughter fix with little Miss Lola before we began workamping at Lake George Escape in the Adirondacks of New York. While in the Adirondacks we visited several historic sites as well as other tourists attractions throughout the area. Marc, Amie, Briana, and Lola drove over from New Hampshire to spend the fourth of July week with us at Lake George Escape. After Memorial Day weekend we headed further east to Vacationland to visit with my brother. We stopped off in the Freeport, Maine area to visit with some friends before going to Belfast. We took a day trip to Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park with my brother and his wife as well as several other short trips. It was a good time visiting with a lot of my relatives and reminiscing about my childhood. From Maine we returned to New Hampshire for another grand daughter fix and then back to Cape Cod for another visit with my aunt and uncle. Then we began our journey west stopping at Mystic, Connecticut to visit some more old friends along the way to Michigan. We visited with Judy's sister and her husband once more, took a trip up north to visit her brother and his wife, and then visited with our son in Grand Rapids before heading south for the winter. We stopped in Louisville, Kentucky to visit with the Paynes - both Norm and Linda Payne and Howard and Linda Payne. From there it was back to Murfreesboro for another grand daughter fix and then onto Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, Alabama. We spent Thanksgiving with our friends here at Rainbow Plantation and then headed out for the HOP tour in Branson, Missouri where we attended several shows and spent a day at Silver Dollar City. It was great fun and we would recommend the HOP (Head Out Program) to anybody looking for an RV tour. After leaving the Branson area we headed back to Murfreesboro for another grand daughter fix. Our daughter had us over to her apartment and cooked a great meal for us (I guess we brought her up right!). Then we returned to Rainbow Plantation where we spent Christmas and New Year's with our extended family. Whew, what a year of traveling. In 2008 we are going to cut our travels back to around 6,000 miles. If you are coming through Lower Alabama in January, February, or March be sure to stop by Rainbow Plantation and say hello. We are sociable critters and love to meet new folks. So Happy New Year and hope to see you in 2008 while we are Wandering America. |