On the road again

We arrived in Jasper and stayed two nights in Talona Creek Campground just up the road near Talking Rock.  It's a very pretty place a pastoral setting. Just up the road is Biguns' Barbeque where we enjoyed a great dinner. We completed lots of errands and little chores beside the trip to the storage building. We joined our Posse of  Bent Tree friends on Friday for a reunion dinner party. It was just like old times. The party ended early for some when the TV sounded severe thunderstorm warnings. We finally made it back to the trailer around 11pm. Jim stayed up past midnight watching the weather reports. It rained over 2 inches that night and Talona Creek was running 3-4 feet higher this morning.

March 1 - On the road again as we headed for LA (Lower Alabama) to hook up with our Canadian friends, Barb and Terry. We experienced lots of swaying from the trailer which resulted in driving lower speeds. We stopped in Woodstock at Camping World so they could add another sway bar to our hitch. We continued down the road making good time and arrived about dark in Montgomery, AL. Jim did a quick setup while Lydia cooked dinner. No tv so we were in bed early.

We arrived in Rainbow Plantation on Sunday about 3pm and got smiles and hugs from Barb and Terry. It's soooo good to be with them again.  The park was full, so Terry had arranged for us to camp in the back yard of one of the homes in the Village.  It's a full hook up and right behind their site - just under (or over) the fence.  We now have a new moniker - we're no longer "Trailer Trash" but "Squatters", the term given to those who utilize the Village sites instead of the Plantation sites.  Who knew?  We also understand that another term for full timers is the "elite homeless".  What?  We have a home!  We just take it wherever we go ... kinda like a turtle.

Our first week passed in a blur. Lydia attended a luncheon and a cooking class conducted by a resident of the park. She puts these on about every two weeks and they are always informative, fun and delicious! We also participated in an old fashioned hot dog cookout, two suppers per week at the clubhouse, and many interest groups like cribbage, beading, computer forum, digital cameras.  There is a very active quilting group here as well as opportunities to learn chair caning and wood carving.  We also had a few happy hours outside someone's trailer. We teamed up with Barb and Terry's group consisting of Barry and Lori Abbott from Canada and Bill and Ann Hetzel from New York. What a fun group.  We're looking forward to meeting up with them again on our travels.



Some of B&T's creations

Linda Payne is SOO talented!

During one of the clubhouse suppers Jim noticed a guy wearing a Packer hat, and of course he had to talk with him. His name was Lemke and he and his wife lived in Milwaukee, but he attended school outside Green Bay years ago. I wore my Packer hat the next day. At another supper, we met another Decker couple. They live in New Hampshire and we talked genealogy. They just started their search, so he shared some of my stories, but there didn't seem to be a connection.

Our first week ended with a road trip. Our group drove to Orange Beach to attend their Arts Festival. After several hours of walking around looking at all the items for sale, we gathered for a late lunch at a local restaurant called Tacky Jack's. Boys at one end, girls at the other. Some things don't change!

'Til next time ....