Thursday, November 29, 2007
Trip Complete....Wrapup!!!
Each time we venture out on a trip I post pictures (more to come on our return to Florida), and then in a post or two i add comments on happening....events....things we saw....random thoughts on RVing, etc.
Sign on a lawn care truck in Houston: "Vegetation Engineer!"
The Natchez Trace Parkway: Take it if you get the chance.....It runs from just outside Nashville all the way across Mississippi to Natchez....or vise versa....and it is neat! 50 mph speed limit, and beautiful wooded drive on a two lane road with an average for our 1.5 days on it of about 10 vehicles an hour.....with NO commercial vehicles allowed. If you've been on interstates for several days, this is a really relaxing nice break......and, you will average the 50 mph as there are very few slow downs, or other breakups of the drive. As one fellow we met at a campground in Tupelo put it, "It's like the Blue Ridge Parkway....without the mountains!" We drove the Trace from Muscle Shoals, AL to Natchez.
Natchez: We planned a stop there.....a place really out of the way, no matter where you are going or coming from.....as Duchess had read about the waterfront, and so forth. We had two problems. 1. The waterfront is a pair of casino boats....plus a restaurant or two. 2. Natchez is old South Bible Belt....Sunday night, the time we were there, the entire place is C-L-O-S-E-D! We found a little pizza place and had a good meal, but all else was closed.
YOU Can Go Back! At least somewhat! In a post below I tell the story of our trip back to my WWII home at Joe Wheeler Dam on the Tennessee River. My Grandpa was Supt. of the dam and we lived in the "big house" at the end of the road on the lake above the dam. The house is still there, and it is still the home of the Supt. for Joe Wheeler....
Small World Syndrome is working.....We met two people on our sojourn who saw my credit card from the Suncoast Schools Credit Union and immediately said they also had accounts with this strictly local Tampa institution.....One, a young man who worked for a state park located just South of Birmingham, is from Tampa area, and still sends his checks to his account here (he showed us an envelope already addressed for his current deposit. The other, a young lady working in a campground in Tallahassee was also from here and a member of the CU.
Texas/Dickinson: This burb of Houston is home to Daughter Teri and Son-in-law Lance plus two lovely grandkids. We stayed at the Bay Colony campground...a park Lance refers to as an "Executive park" as many folks working at NASA, or for FAA (his employer) stay there for months on end. It is neat, clean and has few outside amenities....BUT has fine cable, WiFi, and such nicities as both a car and an RV wash! I used both.
Our holiday was fine with the full dose of Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and lots more topped off by pumpkin pie! Yum.....Loved the time with the kids and grands. We don't get to see any of our kids/grandkids often enough!
We had the usual repairs/etc. on this trip. I had to replace the cover on our roof AC unit which shattered 1st day out for some unknown reason (it was brittle as it is 7 years old). I also had to replace the propane sniffer alarm which failed and began to chirp at ten second intervals to indicate its failure. I replaced both in Dickinson, TX, where son-in-law Lance had a great little RV parts place just a couple of miles away. The AC is now covered by a knockoff brand cover which works fine and cost about 2/3rds the cost of the major name brand AC our coach has. The repairs were fairly uneventful, except this old body does NOT like climbing a ladder to 12 feet off the ground in 25 mph winds to replace things on the roof!
Another successful trip and en route home along Rt. 19 down Florida's "Nature Coast" Duchess commented....."I don't want to go home!" Such is our life in retirement. We have things here in Tampa that need doing, and we also love the road and cannot wait to be off again with our companion, C.J. the Cat!
Duke
p.s. Had several ripe tomatoes on my vines when we arrived.....both Better Bush and Cherry varieties.....One eggplant is on its way, and the Roma tomatoes are nearing ripe! Love my own tasty grown-at-home tomatoes! Considering a future of miniature bushes which we can take along and set out each night when we stop.....not sure that will work.
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Sign on a lawn care truck in Houston: "Vegetation Engineer!"
The Natchez Trace Parkway: Take it if you get the chance.....It runs from just outside Nashville all the way across Mississippi to Natchez....or vise versa....and it is neat! 50 mph speed limit, and beautiful wooded drive on a two lane road with an average for our 1.5 days on it of about 10 vehicles an hour.....with NO commercial vehicles allowed. If you've been on interstates for several days, this is a really relaxing nice break......and, you will average the 50 mph as there are very few slow downs, or other breakups of the drive. As one fellow we met at a campground in Tupelo put it, "It's like the Blue Ridge Parkway....without the mountains!" We drove the Trace from Muscle Shoals, AL to Natchez.
Natchez: We planned a stop there.....a place really out of the way, no matter where you are going or coming from.....as Duchess had read about the waterfront, and so forth. We had two problems. 1. The waterfront is a pair of casino boats....plus a restaurant or two. 2. Natchez is old South Bible Belt....Sunday night, the time we were there, the entire place is C-L-O-S-E-D! We found a little pizza place and had a good meal, but all else was closed.
YOU Can Go Back! At least somewhat! In a post below I tell the story of our trip back to my WWII home at Joe Wheeler Dam on the Tennessee River. My Grandpa was Supt. of the dam and we lived in the "big house" at the end of the road on the lake above the dam. The house is still there, and it is still the home of the Supt. for Joe Wheeler....
Small World Syndrome is working.....We met two people on our sojourn who saw my credit card from the Suncoast Schools Credit Union and immediately said they also had accounts with this strictly local Tampa institution.....One, a young man who worked for a state park located just South of Birmingham, is from Tampa area, and still sends his checks to his account here (he showed us an envelope already addressed for his current deposit. The other, a young lady working in a campground in Tallahassee was also from here and a member of the CU.
Texas/Dickinson: This burb of Houston is home to Daughter Teri and Son-in-law Lance plus two lovely grandkids. We stayed at the Bay Colony campground...a park Lance refers to as an "Executive park" as many folks working at NASA, or for FAA (his employer) stay there for months on end. It is neat, clean and has few outside amenities....BUT has fine cable, WiFi, and such nicities as both a car and an RV wash! I used both.
Our holiday was fine with the full dose of Turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and lots more topped off by pumpkin pie! Yum.....Loved the time with the kids and grands. We don't get to see any of our kids/grandkids often enough!
We had the usual repairs/etc. on this trip. I had to replace the cover on our roof AC unit which shattered 1st day out for some unknown reason (it was brittle as it is 7 years old). I also had to replace the propane sniffer alarm which failed and began to chirp at ten second intervals to indicate its failure. I replaced both in Dickinson, TX, where son-in-law Lance had a great little RV parts place just a couple of miles away. The AC is now covered by a knockoff brand cover which works fine and cost about 2/3rds the cost of the major name brand AC our coach has. The repairs were fairly uneventful, except this old body does NOT like climbing a ladder to 12 feet off the ground in 25 mph winds to replace things on the roof!
Another successful trip and en route home along Rt. 19 down Florida's "Nature Coast" Duchess commented....."I don't want to go home!" Such is our life in retirement. We have things here in Tampa that need doing, and we also love the road and cannot wait to be off again with our companion, C.J. the Cat!
Duke
p.s. Had several ripe tomatoes on my vines when we arrived.....both Better Bush and Cherry varieties.....One eggplant is on its way, and the Roma tomatoes are nearing ripe! Love my own tasty grown-at-home tomatoes! Considering a future of miniature bushes which we can take along and set out each night when we stop.....not sure that will work.
