Fallon does it again! Remember her buying us the camp stove oven for Christmas and how much we love it? Well, after learning that my oven is still broken, for the foreseeable future no less, Bruce returned from helping Bill on Sunday with not just an oven, but a gadget that seemingly does it all, the Vortex Plus! Should you have never heard of it before, neither had I, but after using it for a few days, I'm sold! Not only does it bake, but it has an air fryer function, broiler, dehydrator, and two more things I can't think of. Knowing how much I was missing the oven and baking, she thought of a solution to my dilemma that had not occurred to me. So far I've made the best fried chicken you can imagine, as well as using the rotisserie spit (the function I could not recall). I made a cinnamon and walnut coffee cake and it cooked so fast it was a good thing I had my eye on it, checking it at 15 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly, that's how long it took to bake.
Luckily I was able to find a spot on the counter!
Here's something else from the here and now. On my way home from Costco this afternoon I saw something that frankly, I could not have dreamed up had I wanted to. Yup, a roadside ventriloquist who works for tips, giving rise to the notion that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
Back to camping fun, speaking of which, if you missed
my last post, and seemingly everyone did, I ended it with our setting up camp in the rain following our arrival at FR State park. Fortunately for us, the rain ceased, leaving behind cooler air and calm water in front of our tent. The reflections were mesmerizing.
Night fell and the lights came on. Yup, we got to use our market lights not only in our shelter, but along the fencing behind the tent.
You also learned from the previous post that we stopped in Columbus to have our tire checked and were given the go-ahead. Unfortunately, the next morning, Bruce checked his tire and it was again low. Thankfully, as is not often the case, this campground had wi-fi, so I checked for the closest tire store which turned out to be far closer than I was imagining. The quaint town of Pine Mountain was only about two miles away and the tire shop was easy to locate. Hearing loads of bird calls, I walked a bit in the adjacent neighborhood while the tire was being plugged, and was so pleased to see my first ever, Eastern Bluebird!
Sure enough there was something in the tire; before long it was fixed, leaving us with time to explore the downtown which is on both sides of Hwy 27. There are several murals depicting the area's history,
and the one below giving a nod to Franklin D. Roosevelt and the nearby Little White House.
We spent some time in a neat bike shop that opened just before the pandemic struck, where Bruce gave some serious thought to this neat bike rack, imagining it in the second bedroom Fortunately, clearer minds prevailed. Perhaps I should say more practical minds?
The bike store was just past this adorable restaurant that was open before the pandemic and is now closed because of it. Seriously, a Hallmark movie type town.
Most of our time was spent in a super neat gallery with mostly local art. Coming home with some great finds, Bruce had to use his superior packing skills to find a spot in our already full Subaru.
After lunch, Bruce decided he needed to head back to town for a small hatchet, so I went on, first a hike amongst the woods where the red clay of Georgia was very evident.
Hopping on my bicycle, I rode around the lake, stopping at the boat rental place where they have these super cute pedal boats.
Can you imagine how beautiful this scene must be right about now when the leaves are changing?
While it would have been nice to be there in the second week of October, not only would reservations have been next to impossible to get, especially lakeside, but the larger truth is, I could not wait another minute to go somewhere!!
Back at the campsite, Bruce puts the newly purchased hatchet to work.
With plenty of time to plan and cook, unlike the previous night, I sliced a huge potato, along with an onion. using the camp oven (thanks Fallon!) to cook them, while Bruce prepared the fire for our steak. I'd brought along some corn as well.
You might notice that little teepee looking thing on the table and that is a mesh tent to go over outdoor food which was put to use for the first time and worked beautifully.
One thing that kept this site from being absolutely perfect was the bathroom proximity. Generally that is a priority when booking a site because we are tent campers. A silver lining for us is that because the majority of folks in the state parks are camping in RVs, the bathrooms are underutilized, especially important as we do our best to minimize the risk of Covid-19. At any rate, the bath house in section one, where we were located, was under renovation, meaning I had to walk a fair ways up a hill to get to the section two bathhouse. Not a deal breaker, however, when one gets up in the morning, being closer has some real advantages! Following the rain, the weather was cool and dry, with temperatures in the middle 50's overnight, the first time we have had the good fortune to use more than a sheet as a cover in at least six months. Hallelujah!
Night fell and the nearly full Harvest Moon rose in the sky, somewhat obliterating my beloved stargazing, but that was okay because the moonlight was pretty great. There will be other camping trips when stargazing is on the agenda, or so I hope!!
your friend,
Gail
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