From Toes in the Sand to Boots in the Mud

We arrived at NAS Pensacola early in the afternoon and enjoyed the full hook-up after Boondocking for a week.  Pattie immediately began using the FamCamp laundry to catch us up on clean cloths while I finished the set-up and ordered take out from the golf course restaurant across the street.  It was nice to be “civilized” once again.  The next day we relocated over to Mayport Naval Base where the FamCamp is adjacent to the inlet for the large ships moving in and out of the harbor.  It was great to watch the cruise ships and Navy vessels as they passed by so close.  The Mayport FamCamp is very popular and reservations are recommended.  The commissary and Navy Exchange are off the base a few miles; so stock up before you arrive.  We enjoyed meeting fellow RVers and the Camp Host is the founder of the Tiffin Network web page that we use as a reference for Tiffin specific issues.  It was fun to sit and chat with him about our motorhomes.

Pattie enjoying sunny Florida

We made plans to meet with friends Jim and Debbie Bury who we met may years ago when we bought our first pop-up camper.  Jim is a retired Navy Chief and lives in the area.  However, before we finalized our plans, we received a call out notice for volunteers trained in disaster response to assist the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) organization.  Pattie and I purposely trained and prepared to support the SBDR as part of our Christian ministry.  This call out was to support river and lake flood recovery efforts in mid to northern Louisiana.  We prayed about it and felt that we should answer the call.  I told Jim who understood perfectly that we would have to get together another time, but offered to meet us for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel on Thursday when we pulled out.  It was good to see him and get caught up.

Our route took us back the way we came on I-10 having made contact with the SBDR Incident Command and letting them know that we are coming and can support the effort for two weeks.  We asked if there was a place near the command center where we could park a big rig and they said there is plenty of room but no hook-ups.  It suddenly became clear that what we learned at the Boondock Rally was indeed preparation.  However, our generator was due for service since we had run it so much during the rally and it was Friday before Easter weekend.  Pattie made calls while I drove and we found a Camping World collocated with a Dixie RV service center that would take us on short notice.  Pattie made a bag lunch and we ate in the showroom while the generator was being serviced. 

We arrived in Natchitoches, LA on Friday afternoon 25 March and hooked up at a local campground where we dumped tanks and filled with fresh water.  The Area Incident Command Center was operating out of the Westside Baptist Church activities building and we made contact with them that evening.  They showed us where we could park The Bus, explained the disaster situation and let us know breakfast would be ready at 06:30 the next morning.  We drove the Jeep over the next morning and met the team from Virginia that we would be joining. They gave us directions to the home they would be working on and we said we would catch up once we relocated The Bus.  We were able to park close enough to a fresh water spigot to refill our tanks and the church even ran a 20 amp extension cord out to help us keep the batteries charged.  After a hasty set-up, we opened the action packer we carry marked “Disaster Response” and pulled out our boots, work gloves and specialty tools.  It was time to put the training into action.

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

For more information on the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief organization, go to http://www.namb.net/disaster-relief/