Thanksgiving 2016 – Driving in Circles

If I were to show you a map of our travels since our last entry, it would just be overlapping lines between Alabama and Georgia.  We camped at Ft Benning’s FAMCAMP after we assisted Pattie’s mom with her eye surgery.  This allowed us to complete some follow-up doctor’s appointments.  It is also an easy 30-minute drive over to Auburn, AL (our home of record or legal domicile) so we could vote.

After a week, we relocated to Auburn RV Park in Auburn for a week.  We did this to visit with our sons and go see Chris (my youngest son, Theatre Major) in a play at the Auburn University Theatre. It was a wonderful evening and we are excited to see him perform. I also went to a local rifle range with my son William (Mechanical Engineering Major) and helped him troubleshoot a problem he was having with a firearm he recently built. 

Christopher Holton right foreground

Will shooing time

From Auburn, we went to Lake Lurleen State Park near Tuscaloosa, AL.  We were able to visit with my mom and see our nephew Nathan who was home on leave from the USAF.  I spent several hours fishing with absolutely no luck.  The drought has hit this area hard, which may be a factor.  After a few days, we departed for Fort Payne, AL home of the country music group Alabama.  I have only driven through this area once in my life and always wanted to go back and explore it.  We camped at Little River Campground near Little River Canyon National Preserve.  Most people don’t associate the word canyon with Alabama.  This small area in the northeast corner of the state is the exception.  Pattie and I were able to do several day hikes in the area and sample the local restaurants.  It is definitely a place we would like to visit again when the water is running.

Little River Canyon National Preserve

Sallie Howard Memorial Chapel

Cornwall Furnace produced metal ingots during and after the Civil War

Next, it was back to Stone Mountain State Park to enjoy Thanksgiving with family in the Atlanta area.  Driving through Atlanta two days before a major holiday has never been fun.  This year seemed especially bad.  We are glad we only pass through these major metropolitan areas and do not have to live in one.  The campground at Stone Mountain State Park is a bit pricier than we like and you must make reservations a year in advance if you want to have a space during the holidays. You pay for the location near Atlanta and the resort amenities.  Pattie and I enjoyed hiking the various trails in the park and watching the families who gather there each year to share Thanksgiving. 

Phil and his wife Nancy (my brother and sister-in-law) are gracious hosts for the family in Atlanta each year and we enjoy fellowship with them during major holidays.  Phil and I were able to slip away and do a bit of shooting at a local pistol range that we both enjoyed between various eating events.  The crowd gathered at a local Japanese steak house the night before we departed.    

Before leaving the Atlanta area, we called the dealer who sold us the Grand Cherokee. I made a condition of the purchase that their mechanics install a Blue Ox base plate and SMI braking system so we can tow it behind The Bus.  I purchased the hardware on-line and suggested in my call that they consider subcontracting the work to a local RV service center that is familiar with these components.  I gave them the installation instructions and a quote from Southland Motorhome Service in Buford, GA.  They quickly agreed to pay the experts to do the installation, which gives me greater confidence it will be done correctly.  We scheduled a day at the end of our stay in Atlanta to have this work performed.  Pattie has been driving “chase” in the Jeep since we bought it and it will be good to have her back in The Bus to help navigate (she is an expert Nagigator!). 

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

Fall in the South

“When did we last update the blog?  Let’s look.”  Wow, time got away from us.  Here are the highlights:

The end of September, we took a Disaster Relief Incident Commander Training Course near Rockville, VA.  We have been taking the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) on-line courses to better understand how the government and non-governmental agencies coordinate disaster relief efforts.  This formal training will prepare us to lead relief efforts in the future. 

From Virginia, we headed south knowing we had a family wedding in Mobile, AL mid-Oct.  We came in from the north and went to Red Bay, AL to the Tiffin Service Center to get a few issues addressed.  It was just some small stuff, but we figured we would see if they could squeeze us in.  They did and we were able to get the generator serviced at Bay Diesel while in town.  We did take time to find the Coondog Cemetery and pay our respects.  

From Red Bay, we decided to go straight to Auburn, AL and paid for two weeks at Auburn RV Park (You must check the college football schedule when camping near a college in the fall.  Auburn had an away game followed by an off week, so it worked out. Home game weekends are booked a year in advance.).  They are really nice people there and they put us right on the creek.  We did fall cleanup and maintenance on the mobile home our sons live in there as well as feeding them and their friends, as is our custom. 

We left The Bus hooked-up at Auburn RV Park for the wedding weekend and left our old cat Katy with our sons. We drove the Jeep to my mother’s house in Tuscaloosa, AL so we could pick her up and drive her Cadillac to the wedding in Mobile. For the first time in over a year, we did not sleep in our own bed. We also discussed how uncomfortable the Jeep Wrangler was to drive long distances as compared to mom’s Cadillac. 

We passed through Greenville, AL (where I grew up) to visit my Father’s grave and do some advanced funeral planning for my Mom.  In Mobile, we stayed a couple nights in a nice hotel and enjoyed celebrating my first cousin’s wedding.  We spent another night back at Mom’s house before returning to Auburn to retrieve the cat and take care of some doctor’s appointments. 

 Late October found us at the Ft Benning FAMCAMP for their annual Oktoberfest.  It was pretty fun and I was able to get some rifle range time to try out a new two-stage trigger.  From there, we headed to Atlanta, GA to help Pattie’s Mom with some surgery.  We spent a week in Stone Mountain Heights RV Park.  It is a private park about 2 miles from the Stone Mountain State Park.  Since we are usually visiting family in the area and not utilizing the State Park Resort activities, we decided to stay here and save some money.  It was a quiet park with a mix of RVs and mobile homes. 

While Pattie tended to her Mom, I did some maintenance items around her house.  I got bored and decided to look at alternatives to the Jeep Wrangler we tow (TOAD).  After full-timing for a year with a two door Wrangler, we learned that we drive the TOAD quite a bit exploring with only occasional off-roading.  The two door Wranglers have limited space so we have removed the back seat.  This prevents us from giving other people a ride, which we need occasionally.  In addition, the Wrangler is 7 years old with almost 100,000 miles on it.  Well, guess what?  If you go looking for cars to buy, you find them.  We found a loaded Jeep Grand Cherokee 4X4 Overland edition on 31 Oct.  Yes, the last day of the month and the dealer REALLY wanted to sell it that day.  They made us a good offer on the Wrangler and agreed to install all the equipment needed to make the Grand Cherokee tow (TOAD) ready.  It was sad to see the Wrangler go, but it is time to move on to something more comfortable even if it is less capable off-road.  Hmmm, well maybe if I add a winch, some skid plates, and bigger tires…

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!