Heading For The Mountains

Our first visit (of two on this trip) with Pat and Dan at their farm had reached it's end, and it was time to head north to the Georgia mountains. We were ready to roll around 10AM. Gary DID NOT want to drive on I-75, which was the way that MapQuest and the navigation on his smart phone suggested. Instead, we headed west and caught US27, and headed due north from there. It was a good choice. US27 is a four-lane divided highway, it's smoother than the interstate, and with the exception of a couple of larger towns we went through, the traffic was extremely light. We stopped to gas up "Dodge" in Carrollton, and made another stop to get ice for the cooler in Rome at the local "Twice The Ice". We continued north and the hills got steeper to climb. "Dodge" is geared for Florida flatlands, and hills are definitely not his thing. But, he never complains, and he got us to our destination at Cloudland Canyon State Park without any problems. After checking in at the park office and gift shop, we drove through the east rim campground. It was okay, but we wanted to see what the west rim campground had to offer. It was more heavily treed than the east rim campground, and we liked that better. Gary picked campsite #3 for our stay. It was a nice campsite, and bigger than was needed for a little trailer like me. But the campground had plenty of available spaces, and we could have any one we wanted. #3 was as good or better than any of the others. I was perfectly happy with it. Cloudland Canyon is a BIG park, and there's lots to see and do for explorers like Gary. It was too late on the day of our arrival to do much, but I knew that Gary would waste no time in checking the place out on the following day. And that he did. Pictures of the beautiful Cloudland Canyon State Park will be posted very soon.

Tearing Down The Shed

As I mentioned in my last post, Gary fell in love with the rusty metal shed on his sister and brother-in-law's property. They had no use for it, and wanted it gone. Gary wanted the metal for use in a project here at home, so he was more than willing to tear down the shed. As Pat and Dan cut down some vegetation on the property, Gary got to work tearing down the shed. It took a few hours, but all the metal was salvaged. So were a few pieces of wood that rot and termites hadn't destroyed. There's nothing left on the property but a pile of decayed wood. As you can see, some of the metal stuck out from the back of the van. Those long pieces needed to be cut to size to fit in the van so the doors could close. When everyone got back to the farm, they got to work cutting those long pieces down to eight foot lengths. It was a NOISY job, but they got it done. This was the first time I got to see this pile of metal that Gary was so thrilled about. Personally, I don't see the attraction. It looks like a big pile of junk to me, but I know Gary has a plan for it. Who am I to argue? Most people would have thought that I was a big pile of junk if they had seen me when Gary bought me. He saw something in me worth saving, and I guess it's the same with this rusty metal. I'll be extremely interested in finding out what Gary is going to do with this stuff. After the metal was cut to size, Gary and Dan piled it up on a stand behind the barn. We had another camping stop on our tour, and hauling the metal there and back was pointless. So, there it would sit until we returned from our next leg of the trip. With the van cleaned out and repacked with all of our camping supplies and necessities, we were off to a place that was new to us. Check back soon to find out where.

Rolling To Woodbury

I am very sorry that I haven't posted for two weeks. Gary and Dodge and I have been on the road in Georgia, and all of our activities have gotten in the way of internet time. We're home now, but lots of things have happened during our travels. Let me explain what's been going on. My last post was from General Coffee State Park. We were alone there on our third of four nights, and only two other campers were in the park on our final night on Tuesday. It was REALLY quiet. From General Coffee, we headed west to Woodbury Georgia on Wednesday for some camping at Gary's sister and brother-in-law's farm. The last time we visited with Pat and Dan was nearly two years ago. It's always fun to go there. I've got a great "campsite" with up close and personal views of all the cool farm animals, and Gary greatly enjoys Pat's terrific cooking. He always packs on a few pounds while we're there, but he's happy to do so. During our visit, Pat and Dan took Gary antique shopping and to an auction among other things. They watched movies at night. I was alone a lot, but I didn't mind. The animals kept me entertained. I got to hang out with Jack and Diane (the donkeys), Red the mini-horse, the heard of goats, the chickens, and the newest members of the family, the twin black cats. On our last day at the farm, Pat and Dan took Gary over to see some acreage they bought last year. On that acreage was an old shed that had been there so long that the roof had caved in. Gary was interested in the rusty old sheet metal on it for use in his upcoming shabby chic/man cave living room renovation. So, while Pat and Dan chopped down some overgrowth on the property, Gary disassembled the shed. I'll have pics of the process during my next post. As it is during all of our camping adventures, our four night stay in Woodbury went by very quickly. We packed up and headed towards our next stop on Sunday morning. I'm determined to catch up on my posting, so I'll tell you all about it very soon. The "Georgia Tour" is far from over.

Ghost Town Campground

It's Monday here at General Coffee State Park, and all of our fellow campers have left us here alone. As I look out over the campground, the only other trailer here is the campground host, and it is here continually. It's weird to have the campground entirely to ourselves. I don't think that has ever happened to Gary and I before. Talk about peace and quiet. It's almost scary it's so quiet. As I write this, it's after 5PM. I doubt if anyone else will check in at this late of an hour, but we will see. It's lightly raining as the weather gurus predicted. It's been overcast and kind of gloomy looking for most of the day, but the breeze has felt heavenly. Gary fed the donkeys early today. Other than making a Wal-Mart run to get more carrots, he has been right here with me all day. It's nice to have him around to keep me company, especially when there is absolutely nobody else here in the campground. He's been reading and listening to music, just as he did yesterday. I've fallen asleep a couple of times. That's an easy thing to do under these circumstances. I can't believe this is our third day here. Time goes by much too quickly, that's for sure. Gary is planning to go antique shopping tomorrow, so I will be totally alone unless another camper or two shows up. The weather gurus are predicting a nice day for this area, and I'm predicting that I'll be doing some SERIOUS sleeping. That's my forecast, and I'm sticking to it!

Another Park, Another Sunday

After a great night's sleep on Saturday night, we awoke to a beautiful blue sky Sunday morning. What a GORGEOUS day! You can see what a bright and sunny day it was by looking at the sun reflecting off Gary's bald head. Sorry buddy, I couldn't resist! Gary whipped up a light breakfast, and then decided to walk the West River Swamp Trail that leads from the campground to a large picnic area in the middle of the park. Over and back was 2.8 miles. He didn't appear to be tired when he got back, but he sat outside in a camp chair and listened to music while reading a book about one of his favorite groups, HEART. He spent most of the day out there. He was either really interested in the book, or was more tired from the hike than he looked. I'm pretty sure it was the book. The majority of campers left one by one as the day progressed, leaving only four of us (counting yours truly) to spend another night. Gary finally got up from reading his book, and went down to feed Poncho and Jenny some carrots. The lazy day carried over into the evening. Gary took an early shower, ate a couple of sandwiches for dinner, and then we both fell asleep watching a movie. It was another GREAT day here at General Coffee State Park.

We're Off To See The Donkeys

Okay, folks, guess where we're camping at? Those of you that read my blog regularly, know that there's only two places we go to that have donkeys, so that should be a BIG hint. Give up, or did you guess that we are currently at our favorite Georgia State Park, General Coffee in Nichols, GA.? Yep, we're back here again, and in the same campsite (#47) that we were in when we were here at New Year's. We liked this campsite a lot, and hoped it wouldn't be taken. We got lucky. Although there isn't a lot of campers here, there is more than we normally see. Our closest neighbor is that gigantic Prevost bus that Gary snapped a picture of. It's nice to see something like that instead of the typical modern day boring motorhome. At least it's got style. And it's shiny. I like shiny. We got here around 11AM. After setting me up for our stay, and having a couple of sandwiches for lunch, Gary headed into nearby Douglas, GA. to look through a couple of his favorite antique malls. He bought two things and only spent ten dollars, so it was a pretty cheap afternoon's entertainment. He left the radio on for me to listen to. I sang along with a few songs, and quickly fell asleep. It's so peaceful here that falling asleep is VERY easy to do. On the way back from antique shopping, Gary stopped at Heritage Farm. It is located inside the park and just around the corner from the park office. His mission, as it always is when we are here, was to feed Poncho and Jenny, our donkey friends. Unlike our last two visits, they were in the same pasture together, along with Pepper the horse. Pepper is very aggressive, and chases the donkeys away, thinking he will get all the carrots. He gets an occasional carrot for distraction purposes, but 99% of the carrots go to the donkeys. Gary got some great pictures of them today. Aren't they cute? We will be here for four days, and I don't dare blink because I know if I do, it will suddenly be time to go. Time always flies when you're having fun, and this place is nothing but fun. This is the first stop on a fairly long camping adventure. I'll let you know about our next stop soon, but for now, I intend to enjoy every second of our stay here at General Coffee. If you've been here, you know what a GREAT place it is. If you've never visited, bring some carrots and come on over. Poncho and Jenny can't wait to meet you!