Jan 23,2012

Monday, January 23, 2012

Around 10:30 this morning, we left Goldsboro and headed east.  I’d never really seen the Black Angus  in eastern N.C., or the emerald green fields behind the fringe of long-leaf pines that line the straight stretch between Kinston and New Bern.  There are rows and rows of newly planted pine trees behind the fringe.   Planted at different years, these pine groves are in various heights.  Collard patches beside homes, and camellias ready to burst open, are in the yards of the homes along the road. 

Conversations contained questions.  “Do you remember that?” “What was on that piece of property?”  “Something has changed, but I can’t remember what was there, do you?”   “That’s got to be new!”  “When was that built?”  It is amazing what we do not see when things are so familiar.   I once asked my mother where she used to hide Christmas presents and she told me they were always in sight.  We grow older and we no longer see the “new” that is in front of us.  At least that is what has happened to me.

It is wonderful to be home.  We have had a fantastic time traveling.  I have seen things I never thought I would ever see and gone places I have only read about.  What a privilege, gift, and blessing we have been allowed, and you have been a huge part of our blessing.  Thank you for your interest, your emails, the phone calls, your comments and questions.  All of these things encouraged me to be accountable to you, and to ourselves.  A trip of this duration has all run together in our heads.  We keep questioning each other about what we saw where and when.  Because of you and our doing this blog, we’ll be able to answer our own questions and piece together the blogs and the gazillions pictures we took.

Thank you for caring and for your love.  We could feel them all and knew we were engulfed by your prayers.   We are most indebted to you, and thankful.

Continued blessings always,

Dan, Fran, and Junior

Jan 22, 2012

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Today was a perfect day for driving.  Overcast skies are so much easier on the eyes!   We wound our way around the campground at Mocksville.  It is a huge place with lots of summer cottages of underpinned travel trailers.  Many of them had a golf cart stored on the porch that had been attached to the trailer or under a tarp in the garage built into the hillside under the home.  Several of the set-ups led us to wonder how they will ever be moved they are so tucked into the spaces.  Trees are everywhere and the roads curve and twist to miss the trees.  There is a large soccer field, horseshoe area, an Olympic size pool beside a wading pool and a conference center that could easily seat 500 persons.  Two fishing ponds are near the entrance with canoe docks, and vacation cottages around the shore.  There are two water baggans.  I had never heard of water slides being called that before.  I’ll bet this is a busy place during the warm months.  I’m sure other campers were there last night, but not many of us.  The four white geese came to see us again as we prepared to leave.  Junnie couldn’t decide whether to watch the geese on the ground or the squirrels in the trees.

We arrived back at Bermuda Commons around 10:30 to see Neva.  It does my heart good to see how well she is doing.   

She’s had a rough time of it, though.  The physical therapist and an occupational therapist work with her daily during the week.  Her husband, Gene, was there, too.  We were glad to see him.  It is close to  impossible to get down their driveway while towing anything.  They live on a very busy divided highway and access to their home is down a steep, curving driveway.  It’s sometimes nerve wracking trying to turn into their driveway with just an ordinary car.  You turn your blinker on at the top of the hill hoping everyone one will see you by the time you reach the bottom of the hill and have to make a sharp right!  And to think, when they bought their house it was on a dead end street, which now leads to Wake Forest University.  Talk about change…..

We spent a thankful hour with Neva and Gene before we left the Commons and began making our way across this gorgeous state.  Sometimes it is too easy to take what we have for granted.  Our grass is just as green as the grass in other states!  There was a huge flock of Canada Geese by the side of the road, so I suppose you could say that the largest number of wild life we saw on the trip was this group of grass grazing geese along the highway of North Carolina.  There’s just no place like home!

Kryn flew to Atlanta today for the CDC and we didn’t get to see him, but we did stop by his home to deliver Christmas present packages too large for his suitcase for the plane from California.  Of course our key to his house is at our house, but we managed to put things where he said we could, so he can find them when he gets home and then we went in search of a Trader Joe’s.  We had gotten a really good chicken lasagna just right for two people at the one in Arizona.  It was so good we made sure we had room in the fridge to get a couple.  If only this Trader Joe’s had had them!   We did find some tamales which Dan and I both love and a few other things for the fridge.  Nature is not the only thing that abhors a vacuum.  Check out our pantry.  Did I really say that?

Being a person who is confused by the literal meaning of things, this thought occurred to me today.  Do birds become as disoriented as humans sometimes do on an overcast day?  We know we’re headed east and we’re pretty familiar with the roads, but there are hawks sitting in the trees.  We have seen them the past three days which have been overcast, misty, or drizzly.  We rarely, if ever saw a hawk sitting in a tree on a sunny day.  For me it’s a, “ hummmmmer”!  What about other animals?  No one has told me yet their thoughts about tag less clothes.

We arrived in Goldsboro and set up early enough to have time to spend talking with Nancy and Charles before we went out to dinner.  It’s been a fun day.  We compared notes with Neva and Gene about their trip out west in the late 70’s and tonight we did the same with Nancy and Charles about their camping adventures.  We swapped stories all day long with family and friends and we’ll be telling others about what a great time we have had.  Tomorrow we should arrive at home.  I’m looking forward to being there, but I am also sad this wonderful experience is closing quickly.  We’re not there yet, so there will be at least one more blog!

Blessings,

Three Tearing Travelers

jan 21,2012

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Drizzle, drizzle, fires will fizzle…I don’t think Shakespeare has anything to worry about from this corner of the globe.  The drizzly, misty, foggy day found us moving up on US 221 and then US 64 to I-40 in western NC.  As we passed Rutherfordton, I yelled hello to the Best family there.  Please tell Mary Lou and Merle we couldn’t pass that way without sending greetings to their son and his family.  I doubt they heard me, though.  Try saying Rutherfordton quickly three times.

What a beautiful drive through the woods on those windy country roads.  Oaks and dogwood trees are covered in leaves which leaves me very confused.  That old wife’s (or is it wives)tale of leaves left on trees means a cold winter, is either wrong this time, or there’s going to be one “mell of a hess” before March 21!  Views of the tree covered mountains would come and go as the clouds thinned and the mists lessened and then crowded back in to protect the privacy of the landscape.  Pasture lands sported sheep, cattle, and horses.  Smoke curled lazily from stone chimneys providing peaceful pastoral places.  Junnie wanted to stop and relax a bit in the trailer so we pulled into a church parking lot and shared a tangerine.  We are so kitty-cat trained!

The rains really descended as we drove up the ramp to I-40 and headed to Winston-Salem.  My sister is at Bermuda Commons Convalescent and Rehabilitation Center.  We found a campground at Tanglewood about two miles east from where she is, so we called her husband and told him we’d be camping there and going to see Neva.  It was good to see her.  She still has a long way to go, but she is doing so much better than she was.  She has no recollection of having been in the hospital.  We stayed and visited with her for a couple of hours.  When the rain slacked, we decided to take advantage and set up camp.  We didn’t want to tire her too much.

We arrived at Tanglewood campground about 5 minutes after leaving Neva and were told they’d be glad to have us return around March 1.  Until then, they are closed.  Mocksville is only about twenty-five miles west of W-S, so off we went heading west.  We are definitely here and set up for the night.  Four geese do not make a gaggle, I don’t think, but they came to watch Dan set up while I kept Junnie sane inside the truck.  The ground is not level and we’re doing a great job of listing to starboard.  I hope Dan doesn’t roll out of bed during the night.  I’ll never be able to pull him back in and as narrow as the aisle is, he would probably get stuck.  Horrors!

Tomorrow’s church service will be spending time visiting my sister.  Thank you for your prayers.  Please continue to pray.  Later in the day we will head closer home.  Nancy and Charles in Goldsboro have a perfect place for us to camp for the evening tomorrow night.  No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn’t work it out to go to St. Paul tomorrow.  One day soon, perhaps, we’ll be able to visit with other friends in Goldsboro.  We loved living there and miss our wonderful friends there and at home.

Blessings,

Three Tranquil Travelers

jan 20, 2012

January 20, 2012

Grey, overcast skies greeted us this morning as we prepared to leave Stone Mountain in Georgia.  We listened to the Canada geese honk into the night, but there were no other sounds.  What a view of Stone Mountain lake.  The setting of our camp site was lovely and we could have stayed there for another day or two.   But…we can smell home!  We returned to the carving in the mountain to see the half-hour movie about Georgia’s part in the War Between the States and then there was a short movie about the creation of the carvings on the mountain.  The fellow who began the sculpture was stopped by the advent of the first world war and after a huge fight with “money” people, he went on to do the sculptures at Mt. Rushmore and others worked on the project.  Interruption after interruption caused the carving not to be completed until the 1960’s.  It is magnificent.  You can easily pick out Jefferson Davis, R.E.L. and Stonewall Jackson.   The master carver did a wonderful job of carefully representing the likenesses of each of these persons.

After the movies we moved upstairs to the museum which outlines the history of Georgia and Stone Mountain from prehistoric humans to the completion of Stone Mountain in the 20^th century.

After we left there we headed north on I-85 and we are camped for the evening at Forest City in North Carolina. It is good to be back in our home state.

The rain is coming down in the quiet area where we are.  Cold weather may not be the most conducive time to camp, weather-wise, but for finding places to camp it is GREAT!  We have only found one place that we could not stop because they were full, but there was another campground directly across the street.  Oh yes, it’s the campground in Quartzsite I said was Shady Lady.  I discovered the name was really Shady Lane, but I liked the name I gave it better, so I didn’t tell you about that mistake!  I don’t want you to know how often I am mistaken.  It spoils my persona for the public.  Do NOT talk to Dan!!!

We will communicate tomorrow!

Blessings!

Triple Traveling Troopers

jan 19, 2012

January 19, 2012

Is today Robert E. Lee’s birthday?  Lots of things happened in January!

The road was an avenue of pines as we left Montgomery on our way to Atlanta.  Hawks circled in the air and the cedar trees lining the road reminded me of lollipops, showing three feet of trunk before they began to branch, and then the bamboo.  It is everywhere.  Someone must have given somebody one of those cute little curly bamboo plants and they had the great idea to plant the gift outside…or…a little fellow had a fresh bamboo fishing pole and when he was tired of waiting for the fish to bite, he stuck it in the ground and went in search of rocks, forgetting where he stuck his bamboo.  From Montgomery to Atlanta, there are bamboo forests.  Pandas could live for years in this area!

As we passed Auburn, I yelled “Hey”, to Patty Springles’ relatives and friends.  Ten miles later at Opelika, I yelled greetings to Kay Allen’s relatives and friends.  If you see either one, please tell them I shouted at their loved ones.  I also yelled, “Hey” to Ty Pennington’s relatives and friends.  His mother is from Opelika, too!   None of the Pennington’s know me, nor do I know any of them, but it’s always good to be friendly.

Who is Robert Trent Jones?  We’ve passed three golf courses named for him since we entered Georgia.  He must be really famous in the golfing world.

At 11:53 AM we crossed into Georgia and it immediately became 12:53 PM.  No wonder we’re hungry.  As we were looking for a place to stop and fix lunch we passed a billboard for Frisky Whisky and I was reminded of the time Kathy and I passed an ABC store in Columbus, Ohio and she told me we’d passed the Frisky store!  Kids do say the darndest things.

In Alabama we passed a huge Hyundai manufacturing company.  They’re the ones who advertise they have a 100,000 mile warranty.  In Georgia we passed the Kia plant.  Dan…the proud owner of a Toyota truck…informed me there’s no way he’s buying a foreign car.   I slid my eyes in his direction!

Most of the day was spent on the road from Montgomery to outside Atlanta, Georgia at Stone Mountain state park.  It is a beautiful site on the lake that sits at the foot of Stone Mountain and January is a good time to camp here.  We arrived in time to visit the mountain, set up camp and enjoy a bonfire.  The smell of wood burning  is wonderful.  We have a good view of the lake and Stone Mountain, with stones of our own on our camp site.  We are the only campers on this leg of the campground.  “Peace and Quiet!” my father’s favorite request when asked what he would like.

Years ago, mother went to Georgia State Normal for Girls in Athens.  It just so happens to be the University of Georgia today.  She was living with a cousin and her family in Athens when the figures of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis were being carved on the face of the mountain.  Often several friends would drive out to see how things were progressing, and there are pictures of them sitting on rocks at Stone Mountain.  Evidently she wasn’t very knowledgeable about the social mores of the time.  At one time, she had accepted fraternity pins from three different male friends.  I gasped in horror when she told me this!  Joseph Jarrell and his wife used  to visit us when we lived in the house on Marsh St. and then on Front St.  He was one of the three who had given a pin to Mother.  I’m just glad to have been able to be so close to the mountain and to have stories to remember about her being here.

Blessings,

Thinking Thankful Thoughts

jan 18, 2012

January  18, 2012

Drumming rain with an erratic light show and accompanying sound effects,  escourted us into deep sleep last night.  Falling temperatures sent Junnie scurrying onto the bed and I felt his frantic digging at my back, trying to get under the covers.  Failing to accomplish that, he curled up behind my knees as I slept on my side, only groggily aware he had joined us.  Fickle, cold weather cat!

As we left this morning, we were surprised to see azaleas in bloom, tulip trees waving their lavender and white blossoms, and the red buds trees along the road we were traveling.  Has spring really come to Mobile already or is this Mother Nature’s wishful thinking?

We’re heading north on I-65 from Mobile to Montgomery, Alabama.  For sure the 18-wheelers love this road.  It must be one of their most favorite avenues for fast transportation of goods.  We could certainly understand why because it is a well maintained and clean road.  After two hours traveling the road, we had not seen a single dead specimen of anything.  There are long stretches without exits…even rest areas, and most unusual, the absence of birds.  We saw none flying, none roosting, none congregating on the ground.  Strange.  Of course, as soon as we mentioned the lack of rest areas, we came upon one after we had stopped to give Junnie his morning break. 

The minister at the first church we visited was correct.  We were driving through pine forests and there was a little bit of sky that we could see above.  It seems so normal to us, but it must be so different to persons from the mid-west and beyond.  From what we saw, their sky is a huge dome visible at all times.  Often we just have patches of sky.  The minister had said that what he remembered most of being around Duke, was the tall forests and tiny bit of sky.  Perception is often all we have.

Alabama red clay is home to millions and millions of fire ant hills.   Once in Goldsboro I stepped on a fire ant hill.  Because of the lack of sensation in my extremities, I did not know they were all over my feet until I looked down and saw them.  Immediately I “ran” to the water spigot and washed my feet.  Dan counted over thirty bites on one foot and at least 14 on the other foot.  Did you realize that it takes over a year for the little red freckle from each bite to disappear?  Isn’t learning new things fun?  I had no bad reaction from these bites, but I am extremely careful not to step on those little critters’ homes!

Drat!  I missed taking a picture of the dead tree with two big birds.  The birds were either buzzards or vultures.  It’s hard to tell what they are when you’re riding down the road at 60 MPH and you’re looking up.  They were surveying their kingdom from a great lookout point.  It would have been a super shot!

As we moved along I was struck by the stark beauty each deciduous tree skeleton made.  Some trees were draped in Spanish Moss; some sported mistletoe growths.  Other trees were calmly waiting to don spring green.  When the leaves are gone the structure, the bark, and the branches have a beauty of their own.

We reached the Southern Montgomery RV Park and set up in time to have lunch before heading to  The Rosa Park Museum and Library, housed on the campus of Troy University located in Mobile.  The museum is at the place where Mrs. Parks was removed from the bus and arrested.   It is a well thought out museum.  You enter a theater where a brief history of Mobile (really the south) is given from both blacks and whites, then the doors open into a room that contains a bus with holograms of blacks and white passengers entering the bus and sitting.  You hear conversations on the bus and then, as the bus takes on more people, the driver demands Rosa give up her seat.   The drives leave the bus and you hear him call his boss who tells him to call the police.  We watch and listen as the police  enter the bus and escort  Mrs. Parks off.     We then move to another room where there is a step-by-step progression of what happened within the next three days that led to the almost 15 month boycott on Mobile’s bus company; the rise of a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. and his non-violent  resistance movement.  The exhibit ended with a commentary about Mrs. Parks, the awards  and accolades she has received from all countries around the world.

It has been a good day.

Blessings to one and all,

Three Thankful Travelers

jan 17, 2012

January 17, 2012

It’s Tuesday and we’re outside Mobile, Alabama.   We left Louisiana this morning and drove into Mississippi under overcast skies that sometimes splattered an occasional rain drop on the windshield.  Junnie totally ignored us last night.  The weather must be moderating and he didn’t need warmth from the two of us.

The drive today was through pine forests that were familiar and comforting.  Had we not known better, we could have thought we were on the straight stretch between Kinston and New Bern…even 70 MPH there, too.

So Far, Mississippi wins the most beautiful welcome center award.  The interior is reminiscent of an old southern plantation with the beautiful side boards, settees, marble top tables and gilded mirrors. There were two rooms  on both sides of a huge entrance/reception room where you are immediately offered  a cup of coffee.  The reception people were very well informed and were able to give lots of help to those of us who really know very little about their beautiful state.  In each of the four parlors were manikins dressed  in Mardi Gras costumes.  They were all designed and made by Carter Church from Bay St. Louis.  The elegance of each costume was magnificent. One head dress alone (with NASA   identification on the back) was over 5 feet tall.   Whoever wore it must have had a football players’ neck, for sure.  The men’s costumes were as elegant as the women’s’ costumes.  In fact, the King’s costume, head dress, cape and shoes were the most beautiful and intricate of all the costumes.   The handwork of beading and jewelry work must have caused many headaches.

Once again as we left a stop, we headed in a different direction from what we had  planned.  We headed south to the scenic US90 highway along the Gulf Coast through Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Gulfport,  and Biloxi, to Pascagoula.  90 actually runs beside the water of the Gulf of Mexico.  The beach is 300 feet wide and from Bay St. Louis to Pascagoula.  Miles and miles of white sand and the beautiful quiet waters of the gulf, along with humongous homes, are along this road .  There is still destruction from Katrina, but a lot of building and rebuilding has gone on as is the repair work still being done.

We found Jefferson Davis’ last home around noon and decided to eat before going on the tour.  The guard at the entrance suggested a place.  It was closed.  We had seen a sign touting the Rotary meeting on Tuesday.  Yeah…so we tried it.  It was closed.  We began to think that maybe no one eats in Mississippi on Tuesdays, but the Picayune cafeteria was open and Dan had catfish while I had a stuffed pepper.  We didn’t think it Kosher to ask for LA crawdads in Miss.  Sure would have loved to have had some beans and rice.

Just inside Biloxi we came to Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’ home.  What a magnificent house.  It was built by a cotton farmer and the Davises bought it from them for $5,500.   Extensive damage was done by Katrina in 2005.  Even though Beauvoir is built on piers to catch the gulf breezes and to have magnificent views of the water, gale force winds ripped the roof off the house and allowed the floors and furniture to be soaked.   Renovation and restoration has taken over three years for just the house.   Each ceiling in the two parlors and two bedrooms on the entry floor have trompe faille work on the ceilings and the entrance reception room even has beautiful “fooling the eye” archway designs.   The docent was well versed, not only in the history of the house, but also in the history of the area and the other families who have lived in the home.  At one time it was used extensively by Civil War veterans.  Jefferson Davis’  library was available for them to use.  Do not forget that Davis was a US Senator and Secretary of War before he was President of the Confederacy.   The Library is under construction.  It was cheaper to build a new one than to try and restore the old building.

After leaving Beauvoir we headed back to I -10 and over to I-65N.  We are camped on the west side of Mobile, Alabama and will be heading farther north tomorrow. ( And below in typical Fran fashion is a question which has nothing to do with anything in the previous paragraph – Dan)

Wonder what exciting things we will encounter tomorrow?  Have you ever considered who is affected more?  Many in the clothing industry are going tag less in all garments.  Will a person who depends on feel (sightless) have more of an advantage or disadvantage than one who relies on their eyes in getting dressed?  I would really be interested in your answers and how you reached it.   That should give you something to contemplate for a while.

Blessings,

Triple Tripping Trekkers