We're home from our latest trip, and as always, it was a FUN one. Here's the story of where we went and what we did. This was our final visit to Georgia for the 2016/2017 camping season. Sad to say, but it's true. We LOVE Georgia. The state parks there are SO different from the Florida parks. It's also a GREAT place for Gary to hunt for antiques, and you know how much he loves to do that. We rolled away from home base in St. Augustine early last Thursday morning. All of our gear was packed, and my four little stuffed squirrels were tucked into what Gary calls "The Squirrel Safety Seat". Actually, they ride on my front bed, nestled between my left front wall and a pillow. With all the bouncing I do as we fly down the highway, they always arrive just as they were when we left. We drove about 70 miles in the dark of night, and stopped at a rest stop on I-10 westbound at mile marker 318 for a few hours of sleep. From there, we headed into Georgia, and arrived a while later at Reed Bingham State Park between Adel and Moultrie. It's located about 6 miles west of I-75. We camp at Reed Bingham on a fairly regular basis, and we once again chose campsite #1 for our 4-night stay. I like that big oak tree. It provides a nice shady spot for me to hang out under. One of the reasons we stay at Reed Bingham so often, is because of the semi-annual car shows in nearby Moultrie that Gary likes to attend. On Friday and Saturday, that's exactly where he spent the majority of his time. He bought some miscellaneous stuff at the swap meet, and fell madly in love with a rusty 1949 Dodge pickup truck that I've included a picture of. I think if he had some extra cash in his pockets, that truck would have ended up as the newest resident of the Green Acres Garage. I hung out and watched the Discovery Channel on TV while he was gone. That's always a treat since we don't have cable TV at home. Gary skipped the car show on Sunday, slept in REALLY late, and then we watched all the pre-game stuff before the Superbowl came on. As for the results of the game, we could almost feel the disappointment in the air from the Georgia fans, knowing their beloved Atlanta Falcons lost the game in overtime. It was a shocker for sure. Early on Monday, it was time to leave. We headed east with Gary's cellphone navigation as our guide, and arrived awhile later at General Coffee State Park between the towns of Nicholls and Douglas. Gary had bought carrots during a stop at Wal-Mart, and we paused on the way back to the campground to feed the carrots to Poncho and Jenny, our two favorite donkeys besides Jack and Diane, the two miniature donkeys that live on Gary's sister's farm. Because of Jack and Diane, we have become HUGE fans of donkeys. They are super cool animals. Once inside the campground, we decided to stay in campsite #32. We camped in that same campsite during our very first stay at the park back in 2013. Since this was just an overnight visit, Gary didn't fully set me up like he does during longer stays. The only reason I got unhitched from Dodge was because Gary wanted to go into town to check out a couple of antique stores, and there isn't any place to park the van with me attached. There is no TV reception at General Coffee, but Gary brought along an AWESOME DVD about the touring years of The Beatles that was put together by Ron Howard. We watched that, and it was SOOOOO great! We slept well, and left the campground around 11 AM this morning. We stopped by to feed Poncho and Jenny some more carrots on the way out of the park, and stopped at an antique store in Blackshear as we headed further south. We cruised down US 1 through Georgia, then into Florida, and finally arrived back home around 4 PM. As much as I love being on the road, it's always good to be home. I think I feel a nap coming on. Catch you later!
February 2017 is almost over, so I thought I would check in and tell you the latest news before we slip into the new month. First, we had a WONDERFUL time during our most recent camping trip at Wekiwa Springs. That was our final camping trip until next fall, and we made the most of every single day. We stopped at the gigantic Webster Westside Flea Market on the way home. After Gary got his shopping fix, we were off and rolling. It was an uneventful trip, and that's just fine with us. Unless plans change, it looks like I'll be sitting right here in my usual spot in the Green Acres Garage until next November. UGH!!! Something tells me that it's going to be a long and very hot summer. In other news, the joint business venture between Gary and I (Booth 366) is now over. About 10 months ago, we decided to get a little booth at an antique store in Jacksonville, and sell antiques and collectibles. Gary did all the work, and I gave up my weekly allowance to supply the cash to buy the goods that were sold in the booth. Gary is a really good shopper. He stretches a dollar like nobody I've ever seen, and with diligence and hard work, he was able to make some decent money for both of us. But the catch in this otherwise happy story is the amount of time that's involved to make this work. There's the shopping for goods, cleaning the purchases, tagging them, inventorying them, taking photos for the Booth 366 Facebook page, then going back and forth to Jacksonville to restock the booth. On average, it was taking half of each week to get all of that done. Gary literally has enough ongoing projects to keep him busy for the rest of his life if he lived to be 150. No joke! Things have continued to get further and further out of hand around here, and Gary was no longer having fun doing the Booth 366 thing. So, we talked it over and decided to call it quits. If things start getting done here at home, I think Gary will feel much better. All of these unfinished projects, plus Booth 366, has been wearing on him. The only time he's relaxed is when we're off camping somewhere. But camping season is over, Booth 366 is over, and now it's time for the REAL work to begin. On the bright side, I guess I'll be getting a steady allowance again, so WOO-HOO for that! As things happen here at Green Acres, I'll be reporting in. Love to you all. Your little aluminum pal, Toaster.
