Off to Georgia

Today we packed up and headed for Acworth, GA , which is NW of Atlanta. Unfortunately, we ended up in several traffic jams. There were two or three wrecks and road construction. One guy was so impatient he flew around us and merged right into the path of an 18 wheeler, who was merging into the same lane at the same time. Lucky for him the driver of the 18 wheeler was looking. If that wasn’t enough the same guy almost hit another large truck in front of that one. These people drive CRAZY! Needless to say we were glad to get off of the interstate and get to the campground.

We arrived at McKinney Campground, a COE park. I love these parks. The sites are always fairly large with a deck or patio, a grill and a picnic table on them. Below are a few pictures John and I took while walking with Fred.

Our site from across the road.

This is the view from the corner of our deck.

This is the view from the center of our deck.

Cool boat with the American Flag painted on it.

The view from the other side our deck.

Right before sunset. Taken off our deck.

After we got all setup we went into town for groceries. John planned to grill a sirloin steak outside but the rain moved in so he had to cook it inside. It was still quite tasty. We also had steamed carrots, broccoli and yellow rice. After dinner I decided to try out a new cake recipe. Key Lime Poke Cake. It is called poke cake because you poke holes in it and pour a lime juice and condensed milk mixture into it. It was pretty good.

Tomorrow we will drive into Kennesaw and visit with John’s niece Renee’.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Happy Birthday Dad and MB

Today is my dad, Bob Hill’s, birthday and also John’s niece Mary (MB) Reel’s birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy and MB. Hope you both have great birthdays today.

Up early today as I have a doctor appointment in Greenville. A few years ago I was diagnosed with an enchondroma (bone lesion) of the humerus and was sent to an Orthopedic Oncologist in Jackson MS to check it out. The doctor checked it for two years every six months then I was released for a year then two years. Before John and I left on the road I received a letter from my doctor informing me that he was moving to Greenville, SC. When I called the Orthopedic office in MS I was told they had not replaced him and the closest doctor of his kind would be in Arkansas. Luckily, since we are traveling fulltime now I was able to have my records forwarded to my doctor who is now in Greenville, SC and get an appointment for my two year recheck. This is an advantage of RVing I had not thought about. Anyway……my recheck went well and he has released me for two more years. I was very relieved.

During the afternoon John was on the phone and online doing some research on the truck’s navigation/radio problem. It seems there are others who have experienced the same problem and that once the screen goes black the system is pretty much trash. The options are to replace the unit or pay a bunch of bucks too repair it. Those options don’t sound good to me. Below is a picture of John after trying to get an intelligent person on the phone to answer questions. Note: He does not look happy.

The park is still having voltage problems and most of the people that were parked in our the area of the park have left. There are two others down the hill from us and two at the top of the hill. Below are a few pictures John took of the park as it appeared today. In the late afternoon and just before dark the area started to fill up again.

View out the back window

We will be leaving tomorrow and headed for Acworth, GA just NW of Atlanta to a COE park.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

New GPS System

This morning we drove into Greenville to find the doctor’s office for my appointment tomorrow. Then it was on to Best Buy for a new Garmin nuvi 255wt GPS system and another fan. While in Best Buy John found a digital camera that I can operate. I have always wanted one that is simple to use but takes good pictures. This one is a Nikon Coolpix S6000. Wasn't that sweet of him? His camera is a Pentax and much too complicated for me. By the time we finished with all the running around it was lunch time…..so back to the RV went.

Later in the afternoon John drove me over to a local hair salon for a much needed haircut. I was beginning to look like a shaggy dog so it was time. LOL

Tonight I cooked shrimp primavera with vegetables and we just chilled out watching movies and surfing the internet. A storm system moved through so there was not much else to to.

Coolpix pics, more to come.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Black Screen on the Navigation System

Today was moving day.  We pulled out of Hardeeville, SC at 10:30 this morning for our four hour drive to Greenville, SC.  The drive was uneventful except for the malfunction of the navigation system in the truck.  We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest stop for maybe 20 minutes and when we got back in the truck the screen on the navigation system was black.  This is a big OH NO moment.   John was not a happy camper.  A new GPS system will probably be in the very near future.  We made it to our destination around 3:00 and got set up.  The only problem with this park is the low voltage which all RVer’s know means running only one air conditioner which equals a too warm RV.  We have one small fan but we will be getting another one.

A little while later we drove into town in search of Wal-mart and Best Buy.  During our search we decided we were hungry so we went restaurant hunting first.  Food always trumps supplies. LOL   John spotted a pizza place called Classic Pizza so ……salad and pizza it was.   Ok, now that the food thing was taken care of it was back to the Wal-mart and Best Buy search.  When we got back in truck at the pizza place the screen on the navigation system was working. Yeah!!!!  So we scratched Best Buy off the list and continued the Wal-mart search.  Six miles up the road was Wal-mart.  The fan search ended with us not finding what we wanted so back to the truck we went.  Guess what….the screen on navigation system is black again.  OH NO.  Well tomorrow is a new day.  We will search again tomorrow.

Remember to laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Happy Birthday John

Today is John’s birthday.  He is 48 years young today.  Happy Birthday to my sweet and wonderful husband. 

After breakfast we headed off to St. Simon’s Island to tour the lighthouse and get my lighthouse passport book stamped.  This area is unique with quaint shops and restaurants.  When we left the lighthouse we walked past a park where a blues/jazz festival was being held.  There was music, food, craft vendors and lots of people.  The smell of food reminded us that it was lunchtime so we walked down the street looking for some place interesting to eat.  John noticed a place called Iguanas Seafood Restaurant which is famous for their shrimp.  The special for the day was shrimp with, slaw, hushpuppies and a side item for $9.95.  Not too bad for seafood.   John ordered the fried shrimp, hushpuppies, slaw and a side salad.  I ordered my shrimp blackened with slaw, hushpuppies and a side of green beans.  The food and service were great.  Since it was John’s birthday we splurged for dessert.  The two desserts they have are key lime pie and peanut butter cup pie.  We ordered one of each.  Both were delicious.

Tonight we ate leftovers and watched The Next Food Network Star competition.   Tomorrow we will be packing up and moving to Greenville, South Carolina.

Remember to laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Pineapple Cake

Up around 9:15 this morning…….even Fred.  It seems like the later we stay up watching movies the later we sleep the next morning. LOL

After lunch it was time to make a Wal-Mart run which is about 10 miles from the campground right outside a place called Bluffton, SC. I find it funny no matter what Wal-Mart store or what state you are in there is always a problem with the checkout.  What is up with that?   There are never enough registers open and then when there are the people aren’t at their registers.  Then you get the cashier that has one speed……extra extra slow with three inch fingernails.  Today the cashier made a mistake on giving change. Apparently they can’t open the cash drawer once it is closed, unless they are ringing up something.  Since the cashier had  already closed the drawer, the manager had to be called.  When she arrived she said, “Oh, I got to get the key”.  A few minutes later she arrives with the key and then……progress!!! Yeah.   Ok.  I will get off of my soap box now.  John laughs at me when I get all steamed up over stuff like that. 

John washed the truck and cleaned the coils on both air conditioners on the RV this afternoon.  

Tomorrow is John’s birthday.  He will be the big 48. He wanted an ice cream cake but that will not fit in our freezer.  I made him a pineapple cake tonight and, of course,  we have already had a piece.

Remember to laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Tybee Island Lighthouse

Slept in today….until 9:00 ….even Fred. I think that is the latest that dog has ever slept. We have not had biscuits for breakfast in a while so I made some. That is not what we should be eating but sometimes you just want something besides cereal or oatmeal.

After lunch we drove over to Tybee Island and toured the lighthouse and museums surrounding it. On the drive back to Savannah we stopped on a pullout and took a picture of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse which was surrounded by water. We then drove to Fort Pulaski to get my lighthouse book stamped for Cockspur Island lighthouse. The funny thing was we only had $3.00 in cash between both of us. It cost $3.00 a person to go beyond the gate. Since all I wanted was to get my lighthouse book stamped John said he would wait at the gate and I could go and get it stamped. It took all of five minutes if that long….good thing because it sure was hot outside. I got the book stamped and picked John up at the gate and headed for the campground. The ride home was interesting because I was driving. John usually does all the driving when we travel and of course we don’t agree on …..let’s just call it driving strategy. LOL Yeah…even though I had to drive through the City of Savannah during the late afternoon traffic, we made it home in one piece. LOL

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Touring Savannah

Fred decided to get up at 6:30 this morning so I fed him then we went for an early walk.  John did not rise until around 9:00. 

Before lunch we drove into Savannah to see what we could get into.  We decided to take one of the trolley tours and site see through the city.  Savannah is a beautiful city with loads of history.  They also have an over abundance of restaurants.  Close to the end of the tour John and I got off on River Street to find a place to eat lunch.  There are so many places to choose from.  While walking down River Street we saw a place called Dockside Seafood Restaurant that looked interesting so we decided to stop there.  We had the lunch buffet which was loaded with fried chicken, fried shrimp, pot roast, mashed potatoes, rice, squash casserole, collard greens, green beans, macaroni and cheese, creamed corn and last but not least……peach cobbler.  Funny how it always comes back to food. LOL

After arriving back at the camper I decided I would cook spaghetti and meat sauce with meatballs and a meatloaf so I could freeze it for when I don’t feel like cooking.  That does happen from time to time. LOL

Remember to laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Sea Trawler

We got up around 8:30 this morning and finished laundry and other household cleaning. After lunch we drove over to Hunting Island Lighthouse in Saint Helena Island. It was open to the public so we walked to the top and enjoyed the scenery. By the time we completed this lighthouse tour it was mid afternoon which allowed us enough time to drive to Hilton Head Island to see Harbor Town Lighthouse. We were not able to tour this one but John did get a picture. Now it was time to head back to the campground.

John and I had notice a restaurant called the Sea Trawler in Bluffton, South Carolina on our way back to the campground and since we were both hungry……well…….you know where we went. LOL This was the best “restaurant” meal we have had on the road so far. John ordered wild salmon in a citrus ginger sauce with rice and vegetables and I chose the stuffed flounder with lump crab meat topped with a Dijon sauce with mashed potatoes and vegetables. When the server brought our drinks he also brought a bucket of hushpuppies to snack on. These were so tasty we brought the leftovers home. While we were waiting on dinner John enjoyed a cup of Low-Country chowder which contained shrimp, clams, bacon and corn in a creamy sauce. I tasted a spoonful of this and it was delicious. The service and food were both excellent. If you are ever in this area and feel like splurging on a tasty dinner try this place.

Tomorrow we plan to ride a trolley through Savannah…then…who knows. I sure we will find something to get into.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Ridgeland Fire Department

Slept in until 8:30 including Fred. He usually wakes up around 6 to eat but failed to wake up early this morning thank goodness. After Oatmeal, I called All American Direct to get set up with ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX on our satellite. Luckily this park has a free long distance and fax service. They called this afternoon and had us reset our Dish receiver so we are set up.
Around noon we headed out to Ridgeland Fire Department and talked with the guys there and checked out their trucks. I will be retiring from Ridgeland FD July 1st, Ridgeland, MS that is, we visited Ridgeland, S.C. today. After spending an hour or so there we received the lunch recommendation of Jasper's Porch, a buffet. Good food and we left FULL. Found a Walmart not to far then back home we went. Unloaded grub and headed to the visitor center in Savannah for info on things to do. Charles gave us alot of info when we were in Jacksonville visiting them. Some of our readers know Charles (Roz) on the RV Dreams forums. Sadly we received an email from him saying their dog Rex passed away yesterday, he was 14. Please remember Charles and Ethel in your prayers as it is tough losing a pet.

Stay Safe