Jan-Mar - We started our year as caretakers on a farm in
Gurley, AL. This was a time when we
could get into a routine at a local gym, do some consulting work from The Bus, and take time to explore and hike in north
central Alabama.
Apr-Jun - By April, we had hitch itch and headed to Red Bay,
AL to upgrade The Bus headlights and the oven exhaust fan. From there it was down to Ft Benning, GA
where we visited our sons and watched our youngest son Chris in a play. Business required a trip to Titusville, FL, so we drove down
and camped at an RV resort in May. Later
that month, we were in Tuscaloosa, AL to help move my mother to my sister’s
house. In June, we serviced The Bus in
Red Bay, AL and replaced the shock absorbers before heading north for the
summer. We spent a little time in
Kentucky learning how they make Bourbon.
As we drove north through Illinois, the right front air bag failed and
we had to spend a couple nights at a small truck repair shop replacing it.
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| Titusville, FL Space Landing Facility |
Jul-Sep - By late June, we were in Wisconsin Dells area
where we had a wonderful dinner cruise on the river. We crossed into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in
time to find no campground vacancies over the Fourth of July holiday. We found
a remote National Forest campground and boon docked there over the
holiday. It was 45 degrees and raining
on the 4th and we ran the heater.
We spent most of July exploring the Upper Peninsula along the shores of
Lake Superior. The last week of July, we headed south stopping in Indiana to
tour the Newmar Motorhome factory and in Dayton, OH to visit family. We also stopped near Williamstown. KY to
visit the Ark Encounter Park. Early
August found us back in Auburn, AL to celebrate our oldest son William’s
graduation from college. The Winegard
Trav’ler antenna failed, so William and I put his new Mechanical Engineering
degree to work and installed the replacement antenna the company sent. In late
August, we spent time with family near Helen, GA to watch the solar
eclipse. From there we explored Ruby
Falls and Rock City just south of Chattanooga, TN. Early September found us back in Tuscaloosa,
AL to spend time with mom while my sister traveled for business. From there we headed south to check out Bella
Terra RV Resort in Foley, AL. By
mid-September we were back in Auburn, AL to work on our boy’s trailer and David
tore a muscle in his leg and had to watch the work rather than
participate. In late September, Pattie
helped her sister move from Atlanta to New Hampshire.
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| This is how we saw it |
Oct-Dec - October found us in Elizabeth City, NC where we
explored the area including the Wright Brother’s monument in Kitty Hawk,
NC. We cut a path south to Augusta, GA
and learned the history of that city and met up with some old friends. A death in the family required a quick trip
south to Titusville, FL where we stayed in a different RV report. We went back to Auburn, AL at the end of
October to watch Chris in a lead role in a play. In November, we headed to Tennessee to watch
the leaves change and hiked many trails.
We stopped over for a week in Pigeon Forge, TN where we drove in an
off-road park and hiked the local mountain trails. We cut south through Georgia stopping a
several Corp of Engineer parks on the way back to Auburn, AL where we
celebrated Thanksgiving with our son William.
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| Kitty Hawk, NC |
On 25 Nov 2017 Auburn beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl.
Early December, we spent camping at Lake
Guntersville State Park and reconnecting with some old friends. We looked at property in the area for
possible future investment. We spent Christmas in Tuscaloosa, AL with our family before
heading to Auburn for New Years and annual doctor’s appointment.
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| On the River Near Tuscaloosa |
