Happy Birthday to my Dad

Today we celebrated my Dad's 92nd birthday.

He lives in an Assisted Living Center in Purcell, Oklahoma. (My Mom lived there with him until last August when she needed full nursing home care. She is now in a nursing home a few blocks from the Assisted Living Center.) My oldest brother and his wife provided a large cake and ice cream which was shared by our family members and the other residents of the center. We took our oldest grand daughter, Emma, with us and she had a good time with her Great Grandpa. He also had a big time showing her some of the memorabilia he has collected in his many travels over the years. He also made sure she got to take home some of the trinkets he has collected. It was a great day and everyone had a good time. The only down side was not having Mom there with us. Come this May my parents will have been married for 74 years. This is Dad's first birthday without Mom at his side. HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP!

East Coast Bound--Day 33

Well, actually we are not bound for anywhere. We are home in Oklahoma.

Yesterday was fairly uneventful as we traveled northwest up through Alabama and Mississippi. When we got to Tennessee we were able to take a bypass to the south and west of Memphis and picked up Interstate 40 in West Memphis over in Arkansas. At this point we were heading due west with heavy wind coming out of the south. This was hitting our very high profile vehicle very heavily. This made it very hard to keep the coach on the road. We made it all the way to North Little Rock and stopped for the night at the Downtown Riverside RV Park. After going out to dinner we returned to the coach to relax and turn in early. The wind had gotten even worse and we were told a cold front was moving in with heavy rain. To protect the awning slide covers from the wind we pulled in all the slides except for the one that hold the bed.

This morning we got up to heavy rain which had been coming down since the wee hours of the morning. It slacked off long enough to allow us to unhook the utilities, dump our holding tanks and get the car hooked to the tow bar. About 9:00 am we headed out again. Drove in rain for the first 50 miles or so and then heavy wind, this time coming out of the north and still hitting us broadside. The wind really made for two very hard and tiring driving days. We arrived home about 4:30 this afternoon. Unloaded the necessary things and then locked up the coach. We'll get back to it later. Joanne did immediately start doing the laundry that has built up over the last month. We had a very good trip, saw a lot and enjoyed visiting with our friends in Georgia. Not everything worked out as planned but that is what sometimes happens when we are out on the road. That is one good part about being retired, we have the flexibility to take things as they come and rewrite the schedule as things happen.

East Coast Bound--Day 31

Actually, we are western bound now.

Finally got our car back yesterday afternoon. Although it took a week longer than the shop originally told us it looks like a brand new car. They did a very good job and we are pleased. After we returned to the RV Park our friends, Diane and Russ, picked us up to go to dinner on the beach in Tybee. We had planned to go back to Fannie's on the Beach but Russ suggested another place that was owned by the same people. This one was in a beach front hotel and was actually right on the beach instead of across a parking lot. The food was wonderful as was the company. Afterward we returned to the coach and visited for awhile. Little Bridgit Jeane was very pleased to see her "Aunt Di" again. Since she lived with Di and Russ for several weeks before we were able to get to Savannah last November to get her she always is happy to see them again. (Russ claims to dislike dogs but somehow he manages to live in a house that has six permanent ones plus often several that Diane is fostering until she can find them homes.)

We rolled out of the RV Park on Tybee Island a little before 9:00 am this morning. It took about an hour to get across Savannah, including stopping at a truck stop to fill the fuel tank with diesel. The it was west to Macon and north to Atlanta. Traffic just south of Atlanta was horrendous. In that area Interstate 75 is four lanes in both directions. For some reason traffic was backed up and at a crawl in all four lanes in both directions. It took us just over an hour to travel twelve miles. Then, all of a sudden, the traffic cleared and we were back up to highway speed. We never did see what had caused the backup. After Atlanta we headed west on Interstate 20 toward Alabama. We have stopped for the night in Heflin, Alabama, just about 10 miles west of the Georgia state line. This is a nice RV park just off the Interstate for a reasonable price. We plan to be in eastern Arkansas by tomorrow night and hope to be home by Monday evening.

East Coast Bound--Day 30

We've pretty much had down days this week. It had been pouring down rain since last Tuesday evening so we have not ventured out much. We did make a trip over to the body shop yesterday. Not to pick up the car but to take them a second set of keys since the Tech locked the first set in the car. They were planning to finish it yesterday so we could leave Savannah today. Unfortunately, they ran into some problems with the "after market" parts (meaning non-General Motors parts). Mainly the left front fender and the bumper cover. They got the correct parts in last night, plan to paint it today and, hopefully, get it back to us this evening. If that happens we'll plan to head west tomorrow morning. Due to the rain we have been pretty lazy and even sleeping as late as little Bridgit Jeane will let us. (After about 8:00 am she starts yapping to be let out of her kennel and be taken outside.) As you can see from the picture, Buddy Joe does not sleep in a kennel but takes his share of the bed. As we wait around for the body shop to call we are enjoying the glorious sunshine that came out today. The storms have finally moved out to sea and the weather has turned nice, although a bit on the cool side.

One thing that has fascinated me while we've been here is the tide from the ocean. It goes out every six hours and then comes back six hours later. Just down the road is a place where some folks have a small inlet that comes in directly behind their houses. They have built some nice docks and have their boats tied up there. Each time the tide goes out this inlet is completely drained and the boats wind up sitting in mud. When the tide comes back the boats then float again. Guess these folks have to really follow the tide tables when they want to go out fishing. I'm just amazed they let their boats sit in mud for half the day every day. I went over there yesterday morning an took a picture about the time the time was nearly out. In another hour their would have been no water in the inlet at all. Amazing what interest a person when boredom sets in.

It is finally such a beautiful day we decided to walk back down to the Tybee beach. The sun is out but it is fairly windy with the wind coming out of the northwest. When we got to the beach it was at low tide so the surf was out really far. With the wind blowing so hard the sand was really whipping out toward the water. (Not sure if it really shows on this picture but those streaks of white sand are what was blowing directly toward us as we were walking.) Down the beach were so "kite surfers" having a good time in the wind. These guys were amazing in what they could do on these small surf boards using a huge kite to move them around. A couple of them were able to life well off the water and do flips. This last picture is of one of them in the air. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you'll see his lines going up to the kite. I missed getting the actual kite in the picture.

East Coast Bound--Day 27

Our car is still in the body shop. We stopped by there yesterday and they had gotten in the last of the parts they needed to complete it. Once all the parts are in place they can move it to the paint shop and then put it all back together. We were hoping that would happen today but apparently it did not. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow. We figure whatever day it is completed we can head out the next day. So, our return home, which is at least three days away, will be determined on when we can leave here. We have really been enjoying our visit to Savannah, although what was to be a four day visit is not in its third week. Also, the great weather we had for the first two weeks is now gone and it is cool and rainy. This weather is supposed to last through Thursday and then clear up. One of the things we have been interested in is the Cockspur Island Lighthouse. It is on an island in the Savannah River and can only be reached by boat. When the tide is out the base of it is exposed along with the island. When the tide comes back in the island is covered along with the bottom of the lighthouse base. We'd love to go explore this lighthouse since it is open but we are not planning to try to swim to it. This is a close as I could get and still had to use the maximum zoom on my camera to get these pictures.

We are still doing some sightseeing while we are here. Today we went to discover another old military fort. There are two historic forts here in Savannah, Fort Puluski and Fort Jackson, that we explored when we were here in 2007. This one, Fort McAllister, is in the next county south of us. This was very different than any of the historic forts we have seen before. Most are built of wood or brick/stone. This fort is an earthen fort. It was manned by the Confederate Army during the War of Northern Aggression (1861-1864). This fort is on the Ogeechee River and was the first defense of Savannah from ships that were part of the naval blockade by the Union forces. Although it was attacked many times by naval ships from the North they never succeeded in getting through. The fort actually fell when General Sherman attacked from the land during his "march to the sea" as his forces burned a sixty mile wide swath from Atlanta to Savannah. The attack did delay Sherman's forces long enough for the 10,000 Confederate troops stationed in Savannah to withdraw. This actually saved Savannah and, therefore, Sherman did not destroy the city like they did Atlanta and everything else in their path since there was no resistance when they arrived in the city. Most of the fort is underground with tunnels connecting the gun emplacements and the magazines. The center section of the fort is called "the bombproof" and is where the men lived. The shelling from the Union ships in the river did no damage to the fort with the shells bouncing off the earthen walls.

East Coast Bound--Day 25

Yesterday was a day to relax and do not much of anything. Spent some time in the RV park with the dogs, doing a little reading and playing games on the computers. Everyone needs a "down" day every so often. We did drive into Savannah to go to a roadside fresh produce market but did not find anything that we felt we needed. Was hoping to find some locally grown items but it was mostly stuff that had been brought in from other parts of the country. (Georgia is famous for their peanuts but this place was selling peanuts from Virginia.)

Today we went back over to the beach area for lunch and to stroll around there for awhile. Had a great seafood lunch at Fannie's on the Beach. From there we took a long walk out on the Tybee Island Pier to watch some of the fisherman. The beaches were fairly full of sunbathers and swimmers since the weather was beautiful again today. After walking around the area we returned to the RV park not long before the weather changed. A front moved in from the west and by mid afternoon we had rain. It turned out to be a pretty good thunderstorm that appears to about have played out for our area now. It was actually good to get rain since it has been very dry around here with several outbreaks of wildfires over the last week or so.

East Coast Bound--Day 23

Good news, a little bad news and a trip back to historic Savannah.

Talked to the folks at the auto body shop this morning. They were hoping to have our car completed by today but that did not happen. They had all the parts in but had not gotten it to the paint shop. Looks like that will not happen until Monday. So we are still "stranded" here on this beautiful island for a few more days. The good news was that the City of Tybee is picking up the cost of the RV Park, which would have been $45.00 per day for weekdays and $55.00 for weekend days. I had been discussing this with the folks from the cities insurance company but was glad to see the city was just going to take care of that themselves. We also were told we can remain on our site for as long as needed so that means we won't have to unhook and move the coach. It is unfortunate that all this happened but we have to admit that everyone has been just great and have done everything they can to accommodate us. I've told several people that if you have to be stranded somewhere Savannah is one of the better places to be stranded.

This afternoon we headed back down to the historic section of downtown Savannah. All the flowers are in bloom here and the city is beautiful. Parking downtown, like about any large city, is a real problem. After circling several blocks looking for a place to park we wound up in an underground parking garage. Actually, we wound up four levels below ground, under some of the historic buildings, before we found a space. First stop was the City Market area for lunch at the Cafe at City Market, where we had eaten last week. This is a great place to eat, out on their patio. Afterwards we just wondered around the downtown area looking through the many shops there for the tourist trade. We worked our way north to River Street, which is a couple of levels below the main part of town. One of the shops was a candy store/factory. We were fascinated in watching a machine that made salt water taffy. It was a tiring afternoon but with nice weather we had a good time in old Savannah.

East Coast Bound--Day 22

A walk on the beach and a great dinner.

Today was a relaxing day of not doing much. Checked out a couple of the surf shops here on Tybee Island and then came back to the coach to vegetate. Later in the afternoon we walked down to the beach and strolled up and down there for awhile. The City of tybee has an ordinance against dogs on the beach so the "kids" had to stay behind in the coach. Joanne took off her shoes and tested the surf as it rolled ashore. We are told the water temperature in this part of the Atlantic is around 58 degrees. While we were out there the tide started to come in and the waves picked up a bit. I still have not figured out the tide tables here. You would think an old sailor would know something about these things but that was not my responsibility. I left navigation and ship handling to the Quartermasters and Boatswain Mates. I always thought the tide went out and came in once per day. I'm told that here the tide goes out and then returns every six hours.

Later in the evening we drove over to Diane and Russ' house for a home cooked dinner. We took the pups with us so they could play with Diane's dogs. In addition to her usual six dogs she still has the little Poodle she started fostering when we were here last November. Also, she has two very small puppies, that are only a couple weeks old, that had been thrown into a dumpster in a sack. Diane has a big heart when it comes to animals and is always taking them in and finding homes for them. Our little Bridgit Jeane had a big time with the dogs she had spent several weeks with before we were able to get here last November to pick her up. On the other hand, Buddy Joe was a bit overwhelmed again with all the commotion. Dinner was great, as it usually is at their house, and we had a good visit. Here is Diane with her two Miniature Schnauzers and the little Poodle.

East Coast Bound--Day 21

Rubbing elbows with the wealthy.

We decided today that we should go across the bay and explore Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Can't say we were all that impressed. It is very crowded with way too much traffic. It also is a playground for folks with a bunch of money. One of their landmarks is a lighthouse, that was actually built in modern times and never used as a true lighthouse. The lighthouse was built strictly as a draw for boaters and tourist. In the area where the light mechanism would be was a gift shop. It is located on the south end of the island in a very restricted residential area. It cost $5.00 just to drive through the gate in this area and then we were given very strict rules about not getting off the main road and into the private home streets or we would be fined. Once after we got to the lighthouse I felt obligated to climb the 114 steps to the top. (Although Joanne loves lighthouses she has decided climbing them is no longer something she can do.) It cost another $3.50 to climb up to their gift shop. There were some good views of their marina and of one of the fairways of the Harbour Town Golf Links where the Heritage Golf Tournament is held each year.

After the lighthouse we spent some time looking at some of the shops located there and then had a late lunch at the Harbourside Burgers & Brews. This was an outdoor cafe with several tables with umbrellas. Due to the wind the waiter was going around putting the umbrellas down just after we got seated. Anyway, we did have some very good hamburgers for our effort. All in all it was a good afternoon but Hilton Head Island is probably not a place we'd return to and we definitely would not spend the kind of money it would take to stay anywhere over there.

East Coast Bound--Day 20

A return to the scene of the crime.

Yesterday was a travel day. We made an uneventful trip back down the coast to Savannah and out to Tybee Island to the RV Park. Unfortunately the folks over at City Hall had not communicated with the RV Park and the staff on duty was not aware of our return. (The folks working in the office when we left were off duty yesterday.) The park is almost full and they have reservations for the few empty spots that are here. They did find us a good spot and we should be able to stay here through the end of the week. If the car is not complete by Friday, so we can head out, we may have to move to another space within the park. Hopefully that won't happen because this is a great spot. Have communicated with the insurance company and everything seems to be going good. The car repair has been approved and it is being worked on. The insurance company has rented us a car to drive while we are here. (We were lucky enough to get a HHR so we are familiar with it.) The only thing still to work out is getting them to pay for the RV park while we are here and the rental car cost for the one we rented last weekend in Myrtle Beach.

Today was a lazy day of relaxing around the coach, after picking up the rental car. We did meet up this evening to have dinner with Diane and Russ Abolt. They suggested meeting at Johnny Harris Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in Savannah, being in business since 1924. It was formally a dance hall in it's heyday. The food was good and the company was even better.