More Camping Fun

Before we delve into more camping fun I'd like to mention that Cris has finally been released from the rehab center, heading home after a little more than three months after contacting Covid-19. What happens next is the question, but one thing that is for certain is that it will take lots of sacrifice and dedication on both his and his family's part. Judy, Cris, Katie and Jessica can use all the prayers and good wishes you are willing to send their way.

Secondly, our son David had some long awaited shoulder surgery on Monday and I'm thrilled to report that the doctor is confidant he was able to repair the serious muscle tear. While he remains in some pain from the procedure, he and Michelle will be doing all that they can as a team to get him back in shape in the coming months. In both instances we are praying for better days ahead.

When I sat down to write my last post I'd forgotten to get one camera out of the car, meaning I missed a few things I wanted to document. One of which is getting the kayak on the car roof, a task made easier by a sliding mechanism Bruce bought, but hey, you still have to get it on the roof! I'd gone to the lake with him to retrieve it from the boat rack and I cannot tell you how dadgum hot it was. When I wrote that Fall was here, I was way too optimistic because it is hotter than blue blazes still. Thus, once the boat was out of the water and on the rack, Bruce moved the car into the shade for tying it down. 

Then too I mentioned the cooler which deserves a place in this blog because it such a vital part of our gear. If you are wondering how we can pack so much food, wonder no more.

Empty water bottles are employed for half and half, along with milk, and a smaller than normal bottle of orange juice. Containers to divide the different types of food, along with keeping them out of the ice have been a real blessing. 

Before arriving at our first park, we stopped for gas around Valdosta, and while there had to drive less than half a mile to see one of the very first Darden restaurants Bruce built back in the early 90's, and boy does it still look nearly as good as the day he signed off on the final punch list! Seeing places he has built around the country makes me very happy.

I don't think I did a very good job of showing off the site in Reed Bingham so I'm including another one that shows the entire setting. For posterity you know. Isn't it pretty?

Although we took the Interstate to our first park, that was not the case on the next leg of our journey which is fine by me. The volume of traffic on them is intense and frankly, makes me nervous. I much prefer to glide by on sparsely traveled county roads where you never know what you will see. It did not take much convincing for Bruce to turn around so that I might photograph this incongruous scene we passed. Not a soul was nearby making me wonder what the heck a bright yellow Mustang was doing in front of this worn building.

The scenery was more like this:

Cotton fields as far as the eye can see, along with peanuts and peanut processing plants. Eventually we came across the town of Parrot, stopping there for a snack at the purported country store which turned out to be nothing like we anticipated. We did, however, have a little look around Parrot, which proved very interesting.

No one was manning the tourist information center, however, Bruce did some sleuthing, discovering that this town with a population of around 150 used to be crazy prosperous with many millionaires in residence when cotton was king. The two block downtown had some sad/interesting sights depending on how you look at things.

  

Not quite a flatiron building but close.

I had hopped out of the car to take these photos and not only had it begun raining, but it was down right chilly, suiting me just fine. Here is Bruce coming to pick me up along Main Street.

I'm sure it won't surprise you to learn that it was once used for filming a Western, never mind that it is in the middle of Georgia! A lovely church built in the 1890's.

Had we more time I would have loved going down more of the streets; alas, it was back on the road again.

Because we'd passed loads of Pecan groves, well, we just had to stop for freshly packed pecans.

Is it any wonder it takes us a long time to go from point A to point B? My kind of a road trip is what I have to say about that! Although, stopping in Columbus to have our tire checked was not something we looked forward to, better safe than sorry when your tire light goes on. The guy put the car up on a block, put some air in the tire, and said we were fine. Okay, we'll take that.

Along the road around Columbus is Fort Benning which if I'm not mistaken, my brother Pat spent time there before heading to VietNam as a Green Beret. 

Still raining, we carried on not too much further, coming in the back of Franklin Roosevelt State Park off Highway 27. Beautiful from the get go, we stopped to register then made a left onto the park road leading to the campground. Sadly the rain continued, but when Bruce has a mind to do something, well it gets done whether I'm hip to it or not. Later on I could see the wisdom in setting up in spite of the weather.

BTW-- the photograph makes it look as if the tent is crooked, but hey guys, you know my husband, that just isn't happening! What was happening was glee on his part at the site I'd booked because well, you can see, we were right on the water. Honestly, it was great. 

After setting up our shelters, the kayak came off the Subaru, 

and he was off, well not before dumping the water out of his Crocs. Don't be horrified, he only wears them while kayaking!What with one thing and another, we'd not had a proper lunch meaning food needed preparing ASAP, thus I made chili that was very welcome in the cooler weather. 

The rain ceased, the campfire roared, and we could not have been any more content. Well, maybe a little had there been more stars evident in the night sky, but with a nearly full Moon, what was I expecting?

your friend,

Gail

Reed Bingham State Park

 If you were hoping to read that my oven was repaired while we were gone, I was equally hoping to write that news. No such thing occurred during our absence; in fact, the part is not even in Orlando yet, meaning best case scenario is next Monday. You can well imagine my disappointment.

Aside from that though, the trip went even better than I could have hoped. As with any vacation, there is plenty of before departure planning, however tent camping requires a little different kind. Firstly I figure out the mileage to each park in order to make the driving time reasonable, studying maps from place to place. Secondly, you find a park within that distance, hoping they have open sites. As with seemingly everything, Covid-19 has made finding camping reservations even harder as more people are choosing to camp in order to maintain social distancing which, btw, is very easy to do in a campground. 

Driving over to our storage space, Bruce picks up all of our equipment, followed by an inventory to make sure we have what we need. And while I probably should write down menus, mostly I just think of them in my head, packing all of the ingredients for, in this case, 13 meals. With our extremely handy camp oven I am able to dream up a little more variety. To be sure, we have our favorites, so it is not nearly as difficult as it might seem. From past experience I've learned that the easier they are to get to, the better, so the dry goods go into a laundry basket along with a big cooler packed to the brim. I started out using very large bags for the dry goods but that turned out to be a bit of a hassle.

Leaving Orlando around 8:30 a week ago Monday, our route for the first leg of the journey was on the major highways, something we normally eschew, however we were in a bit of a hurry to get to Reed Bingham, just off I-75 around 250 miles from home. Pleasantly surprised, although not to be unexpected because Georgia State parks are so nice, once registered we drove to our site. It was not a great site,  but I saw one across the way that was much more appealing. Calling the office, they allowed us to use the prefered site, maybe because it was a Monday with fewer campers? Further from the bathroom, which is not ideal, the shade and grass were totally worth the extra steps. I will say that we drove past the park because the signage was not great, but the handy iPad set us straight before we traveled too far. 

Once set up we began some exploring. While it was warm, it was not intolerable. What wasn't quite so great were the flies that hovered over our table. Using the new fan I bought at Costco, the flies hardly stood a chance.

We began our exploring by heading to the lake for Bruce to do a few casts. 

Meanwhile I was going crazy hearing loads of little birds in the massive oak trees overhead that were so quick I never really even saw them. Lovely wildflowers bordered the lake in places.

With not much happening on the fishing front, we drove to the trailhead area to see what we could see during a hike in the woods. It began on sandy soil,

continuing through marshy areas with boardwalks,

Here and there fallen leaves crunched underfoot, gracing the handrails.

The main park lake dumps into the Little River-- this map shows how meandering it is, thus we saw it on several occasions. It was when we were on the portion of the trail called "birdwatching" that I was wishing I had not left my walking stick in the car. Walking amongst giant tree roots is a recipe for disaster for this klutzy lady, however, we managed without incident.

You know what? I saw one bird and heard several owls. So much for birdwatching!

There were, on the other hand, loads of very interesting mushrooms to be found on the many fallen trees 

                            

in the forest. Had I a better knowledge of trees and plants I could tell you more about them. Alas, I am not very well versed in that area.

Back to our campsite, I prepared our dinner, such as it was. Setting up the camp stove, I boiled water for yellow rice, and when that was nearly done, dumped in some cooked chicken and half of a box of chopped broccoli. Dinner is served in the wonderful Falconware Matt and Tom gave us last Christmas.

Because our stay was so short, I was keeping it simple. After the dishes were washed, I went looking in the woods behind our spot, and here's what was happening upon my return.You might notice some campers in the background and that is because there are plenty of them at all campgrounds. In fact, there was but one other group of tent campers in the park. I seriously don't mind the tent at all and am more than happy to continue the way we've been for a variety of reasons, one of which is simplicity. Unless it is raining, we spend very little time indoors making a tent perfect for us.

Because it was still a little warmer than I would have preferred I went to the bath house for a shower. Should you be wondering what that is like, here is the excellent shower stall.

More than adequate for our needs.

With a campfire going and dusk upon us, well, what's not to like about this scene?

Nothing, that's what! Actually this is our first time putting the tent up on a grassy spot which was a real bonus. Plus this was an extremely private site with only the forest and grass as our neighbors. I was seriously hoping to see a deer, but no cigar.

Riding my bike down to the lake, sun, water and clouds...heaven.

In the morning it was pretty gloomy but after breakfast I took a little bike ride around the park, riding on top of the dam (not to worry, it was low), and back to the fishing dock.

Many Georgia State Parks have mini golf and this one was no exception.

Other parks have full-sized golf courses, which really surprised us last year when we saw it at one of the parks where we stayed.

And of course, the sign of our times was present throughout the park.

Although not pictured, everywhere we went indoors (not a lot of places mind you), there were signs stating that Georgia state law protects the owners from any lawsuits related to Covid. Interesting, right?

With the car all packed up, we headed to Franklin Roosevelt State Park, this time not on the interstate because, frankly, there weren't any to take! Before we left, one last photo.

You cannot be in the forest for very long before this poem takes over your brain. 

Camping is good for the mind and body, forcing you to adapt to whatever circumstance each site gives you. Maybe there are flies as was the case here, or maybe it is raining while you are setting up, as you will see in my next post, obstacles that are a nuisance sure, but that's camping for you. You just never know!

If camping isn't your thing, I do highly recommend a walk in the woods. 

your friend,

Gail

 

Georgia Bound

Good morning friends!

Just a quick note to remind you, and me later on when I reread this post in the future, that we are bound for Georgia. Unfortunately, it is raining this early in the morning, however, most of the car is packed so it should be okay. Our hope is that 240 miles north, the rain will have run its course and setting up camp, while perhaps messy, is doable. 

Look for a full report in this space in about a week from now and until then, take care.

your care,

Gail

 

Finally Fall

More often than not, the calendar reminds us that Fall has arrived, however, being outdoors usually tells a different story. Not so this year I am happy to report. The air is dryer and the temperature is below 90 degrees for the first time in as long as I can remember. Of course my memory is poor, so there's that! For the first time in months we have returned from the pickleball court somewhat dry, and I don't mean wet from rain. Hallelujah, and can I get an AMEN?

As has been the case for months on end, we've gone pretty much nowhere aside from gathering supplies, so having this arrive in the mail was such a treat. Finally, something to look forward to!

Georgia State Parks are really great, however that comes with a cost. Of course camping in a tent is very inexpensive, but what the heck, as retirees, we save money when we are able, and in this instance we were able. I was booking the reservations online and saw that a park pass costs only $50 annually. With half off stays, it was a no brainer! Surprisingly it came within days which was a pleasant surprise. It's going to pay for itself on this trip alone. The parks we are visiting in Georgia are Reed Bingham, Franklin Roosevelt,  and Kolomoki Mounds, all in the SW part of the state. Before heading home we'll stop by Bill and Lisa's new place in Lake City where they have promised to take us on a Suwannee River cruise in their pontoon boat, the perfect vehicle for social distancing. Although they have a guest room ready we haven't decided about using it. With plenty of room beside their pond, we may just camp there.

Picking up our gear from the storage unit, he followed that by doing an inventory. Shopping at Costco this morning, I found a small fan should we need it, although with the predicted temperatures, I'm thinking we'll be good. Not just good, but excellent.

What? We did something other than play pickleball this morning? Hard to believe but true. That said, we played twice yesterday, so my knee needed a rest! There are some folks that can't play in the morning but are dying to play, so we usually relent and go. What can I say? We are hooked. 

To tell you the truth, it is thrilling seeing Bruce having so much fun after a lifetime of working and stress. Now he is fully realizing the dream of retirement. I wish the same could be said for his brother whose improvement is moving at a snail's pace. We are so lucky to have activities that bring such joy. 

We are still looking for more men to play so Sandy invited Alan who came out the other night for the first time and left very happy.

Bruce is across the court in the photo above with Diane as his partner. They are playing against Patti and Lisa. The stage is set for my story....you may notice the racket in Lisa's hand has a big Z on it? She bought a new racket and did not like it at all, so she and Bruce switched and they are both happy. In a note about how small this part of Orlando is, I worked with Lisa's dad at the hospital for about twelve years.  

Yup, playing night and day! 

A trip to Publix was one place I went this week and it still shocks me that there are empty shelves in the cleaning department. 

While I don't buy tons of cleaning products, I would be happy if I could find a bottle of 409.  Additionally I was pleased to find plenty of fabric at Hobby Lobby, so now I have fabric to work on the dust ruffle.

Not that I have started it yet; at least I have the supplies. Going through my blog I found photographs of when I began that quilt and was shocked to learn it was in November of 2019! Never has a project taken me so long.

What I was searching for was any post related to my new range. Alas I found none, but I did come across this one from Vancouver that is filled with pretty spring flowers. Not to mention a quilt I made while there.

With humiliation I have to admit that the new appliance guy came, was extremely professional, and he confirmed the previous diagnosis, however, he is going a step further and replacing not just the board, but the housing as well. When the part arrives is another story altogether that at this point has no ending. Maybe while we are camping? If that is the case there are multiple people here in the village that will come to our aide. That is one of the great things about living here, helpers abound.

The change in weather was precipitated by a cold front that came through on Saturday night, staying all day on Sunday, with dreary, rainy weather in its wake. Bruce had gone to help Bill leaving me with more than enough time to begin a new puzzle.

Unlike several other Pomegranate puzzles I've done during the pandemic, this one was relatively easy and I finished it the next day. 

Isn't it cute? Charley Harper's artwork is so enchanting making the puzzles a joy to assemble. I'm thinking I might go back and re-do one of the puzzles that gave me fits before to see if I'm improving.  

There is but one thing that I don't like about playing so much and that is that it leaves me very little time for photography. Of course I could do it in the afternoon, but the harsh light is unfavorable for great photos. Every now and again, I do get something pretty. 

With that in mind, I cannot wait to put my camera to use again during our upcoming trip. There will be new lakes, hills, forests with predicted ideal weather. With overnight temperatures predicted to be in the middle 50's, seemingly campfires are in our future too. Stargazing, oh how I have missed you. 

Just when you thought you'd seen every sunrise on Lake Willisara, here is yet another one from this morning. And no, the old red sky at morning played no part in today. 

Thank God, it is finally Fall.

your friend,

Gail

p.s. Should you be a new reader, the text in a different color is a link to another website, in this case the parks we are visiting should you care to know more about them.

A Disappointing Turn of Events

Currently I am on hold with Whirlpool, hearing a recorded message telling me that my estimated wait time is zero minutes, however, at present I've been on hold for 6 minutes and counting. To say that I'm frustrated is an understatement. Didn't you just buy your appliances Gail, you ask? Indeed, we did. In spite of that, two years ago, almost to the day, this symbol came up on my range.

I'd only just baked a cake two hours earlier using one of Bruce's Mom's old recipes as shown on this card that she gave me many, many years ago. As you can see, it has been a well loved treat.

On this occasion I added some chopped apples, imagining it would make it a more nutritious cake for breakfast, the time of day when we eat this sort of thing. It baked up beautifully.

So, I was a happy camper, thinking of having it the next morning and that it was large enough for sharing. I've been most pleased to find a willing recipient in Patti who is a cake is perfect for breakfast gal.

Having a digital oven is great when it works, but not so much when it doesn't. Still I was hopeful that all would be well once the breaker was flipped for a reset. Except it was not. After holding for 30+ minutes, Bruce spoke with a "representative" who told him to unplug it. Great. That meant sliding it out away from the wall, which he did, hoping it would not scratch our floor. Unplugging it for the requisite 10 seconds, he plugged it back in. You guessed it, an hourglass. We left it unplugged overnight to no avail, so back to square one, we called an appliance repair company to come out. There's a long story connected to that which I will skip but I do want to mention that Brian from Reliable Appliance Repair in Longwood came out and he was super. Confirming our worst fears, he told us that it was the "motherboard" that needed replacing, to the tune of $800 for the part and installation. We said to go ahead and order it.

Fuming, after thinking about it for a bit,  I thought better of that decision and called Whirlpool to let them know that I thought it was unreasonable for a two year old oven to break. What could they do for me even though the measly one year warranty was expired? After a long conversation, Patrick said Whirlpool would make good and replace the motherboard at no expense except we had to use their preferred vendor, the very one I had been trying to avoid due to absolutely tons of horrible reviews. He said he would set it all up for me which I was hoping would streamline the process. Okay, so this happened on Tuesday afternoon; I'm typing this on Friday afternoon, and I am far from closing out this case. Fields Appliance Repair is coming on Monday to make their own diagnosis and then they will order the part. Again, I took to the phone, calling them directly to explain that I needed an oven ASAP and having someone come out and confirm the earlier diagnosis was a silly waste of time. We need a motherboard!! I'll spare you anymore except to say that now I've learned that they are on backorder!!!! More phone calls did nothing to change that status and now I fear that it will be weeks before I have a functioning oven again. Apparently this is yet another problem brought on by the pandemic. The fallout continues, seemingly unabated.

For some folks this would be an inconvenience, but for this blogger who uses her oven for more than baking cakes, this is horrible news. Perhaps I can find a friend willing to loan me a toaster oven? That's my next idea. At first I was just imagining it would be the following Monday, September 28 which was going to come with another problem and that is.........we are going camping that day!! Yes, I'm hoping the weather in Georgia will be cool enough for camping, and have made reservations at two parks, neither of which we've visited before. According to our friend Gayle, the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park is amazing, and we are soon to find out for ourselves. To say that I'm excited is putting it mildly.

And why am I so excited? Because, much as I love doing puzzles and playing pickleball, I am hungry for a little change of scenery, something most folks can surely relate to. Speaking of puzzles, I ordered the one below from Amazon and was it ever fun. Just hard enough.

Thinking of change in scenery, coming across the photo below from our time in Vancouver, it almost seems as if that time were all a dream two years later.

While that view was extraordinary, the one we have today is pretty nice as well, in an entirely different way. 

The air has been stifling, the humidity is so high. In the mornings the windows are covered with condensation, as is everything else outdoors, including our front porch chair cushions. Although we've had them less than two years, their light color was not my best choice. Every week when landscaping crews blow the parking lots, just outside our gate, sand and dirt fly everywhere including on our furniture.  First I washed one of them in the machine, and it did not much of anything. Next up was spraying the heck out of the other one with OxyClean, again with no improvement. Following that I went to Amazon!

Two good things came out of letting my fingers do the walking. One, the new cushions are clean, and two, they are thicker! One cushion arrived around 5 in the afternoon, thus the above photograph. Around 8:30 the other came and now we are all set, hopefully for more the next couple of years!

My goodness, the days are getting shorter and it seems to be happening so fast. Of course all of time seems out of whack these days. 

Should you be wondering about Cris, his improvement has been not nearly as rapid as was hoped for but on the flip side, he is not declining so that's something to hang onto. Bruce called him the other evening and I overheard what was being said. Bruce asked Cris if there were anything he wanted to tell me and his reply kind of shocked me. "Tell Gail I am sorry about the quilt." Knowing nothing about what he was saying, Bruce explained that it had been lost. Naturally I was sad, having spent countless hours making it, but I knew that once I'd given it away, this kind of mishap was a possibility. Well, the good news is that, whereas once it was lost, now it has been found. Yippee! 

In other news, the carport outside of our gate, where I park the MINI Cooper part of the year, is not what it used to be, with one of the metal support poles rusting off at the bottom and causing the roof to cave in a bit. All cars had to be moved, so we shall be looking at caution tape for a bit. Thank goodness one of the maintenance guys noticed it!

And yes, it rains even while the sun is shining! Yet another misery from rain and wind in the Panhandle and Alabama. Our friend Yvette's daughter lives in Pensacola and her in laws place on the beach suffered some serious damage, including flooding and torn out doors and windows. The good news is that no lives were lost. Apparently there is yet another storm system in the Gulf of Mexico as I type. Ugh!

To tell you the truth, it's a wonder I've got much to say because as far as I can recall, I've gone nowhere this week, maybe even dating back to last week. That's even saying something for this homebody, although I am set to leave after typing my final words because, the cupboards are becoming increasingly bare. Time to put on my mask and hit Publix!

your friend, 

Gail