Spring Trip to Montgomery Bell State Park

Excited to have Mona back, we just "have" to take a weekender! Wayne left work early Friday and we headed out to Montgomery Bell State Park near Burns, Tennessee. We were there 1-1/2 years ago in the fall and enjoyed. The flooding last weekend damaged the campground but the state workers have managed to make major repairs and we look forward to it. The temperature Friday was in the high 80's and humid, making it feel like summer. Rain is predicted for tonight, but is expected to be finished by Saturday morning.

Loading the groceries, the Norcold gave me a CALL ER 13 message. As I looked it up in the Norcold paperwork, I see that the previous owners have a checkmark by that particular error message so there is probably a history of this problem. I talked with Tom Cartwright at C-M two times. First he thought our battery might be low, then he suggested a possible remedy, but we can't get it going. We loaded all our refrigerator goods into ice chests and left the refrigerator on anyway. Rather it break completely if it's sick.

We arrived at Montgomery Bell campground around 4:30 and selected site #103 across from the stream. These sites had all been washed out by the storms last weekend and debris is strewn far and wide. New gravel and site barriers have been installed though and it looks good. The campground hosts, Mr. and Mrs Cooper were helpful and longwinded.

Surprisingly, the campground is only about 1/2 full. Maybe the damage of the storms, along with Mother's Day Sunday, is keeping campers away this weekend. We unhitched Blackie from Mona before making our way down into the campground and we narrowly missed having a close encounter with a tree, but we recovered.

The night was warm, we ate our Publix deli sandwiches inside and put away some more things we'd brought aboard. Both air conditioners ran quite a bit and the 10 o'clock weather indicated 85 degrees in Nashville. Pretty hot for so late at night.

Finally! Bringing Mona Home

Last weekend's flooding subsided and on Thursday, we were able to get through Briley Parkway to get the motorhome. Because of the floods at Gibson Guitars (near Mill Creek), Cam is out of work this week so he came over for a mid-day visit and went with us to Cullum-Maxey. We enjoyed a good lunch at the Chinese buffet before leaving Franklin.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the nearly $2,000 repair bill was assumed fully by Cullum-Maxey. Our part was $0. We saw Bud Maxey and thanked him for taking responsibility (which he should have done anyway, but we were being gracious).

We spent the $50 gift certificate to buy two water filters and we picked up a bottle of the pink washing liquid that was recommended by Anthony. Speaking of Anthony, he did not was the bugs off the windshield as we thought he'd done so we retrieved the $20 we had left with Tonya for him.

It was nice riding home in Mona, pulling Blackie behind us. I pulled a dining chair to the front, between Wayne and Cam and we had a good ride. The weather is already hot -- in the mid 80's.

After supper, Wayne continued his project of going through the boxes of papers stored in the garage. I'm proud of him. He's filling the trash can quickly...

An Elusive "Showing"

After weeks of quiet, finally a second Realtor showing of the house yesterday evening. A mid-day call came requesting an early evening showing, which we, of course, were happy to accommodate even though it was at the dinner hour. We went to Steak and Shake for supper while the buyers looked. The original price of the house has been reduced by $14,500 -- so far.

Mona's Ready; But Then The Flood Came...

Late Friday afternoon, Tonya Chambliss called to say Mona's ready to be picked up. Our plan to pick her up Saturday was foiled when the torrential rains began. With an early start, we decided to stop in at Bass Pro Shop to look around and by the time we were ready to leave, we'd changed our minds about trying to drive in the pouring rain. At that time, there was no flooding, but the highways were beginning to "pool" with the enormous amounts of water coming down. We came on home and planned to get Mona on Monday. That idea washed away pretty quickly as the "Great Nashville Flood" would quickly flood roads throughout the area, leaving motorists stranded and killing more than 15 people. Today is Tuesday and Briley Parkway is still under water. I've called Cullum Maxey and they tell me there's no flooding on their property, but Opryland Hotel is still under several feet of water.

No News About Mona

I called Tonya Chambliss at Cullum Maxey last Thursday to inquire about the status of Mona's repairs. The hydraulic jack is on order and 1 to 1-1/2 weeks is expected. I'm trying to learn more about getting a windshield cover without too much luck. Some people seem to have good luck making their own from materials purchased at Lowes. More research is needed. I'm creative... I can do this.

The Blue Ox Cover and Electric Extension Are In!

Kim called late last week to tell me the cover for our tow bar and the electric extension cord are finally in. I didn't call her back until today because I wanted to try to add the bicycle cover to our items before making a trip to Columbia. As usual, there's no pressure to pick up the merchandise and I'll get down there next week, probably.

On The Search for Bikes

The type of bicycle acceptable has to be comfort first. Desires include in order of importance: no more than 5 speeds, fenders, fat seats. Of course the seat thing is easily remedied. I'm still not convinced a standard cruiser isn't okay with me. However seeing a lady my age learn the ease of uphill pedaling has me almost convinced that a bike with gears would be best. Still not sure. We're looking on Craigslist and at all the department stores. We'll take new or used, but we're not spending a fortune. Those collapsible folding bikes aren't for us and neither are the recumbent ones. Too weird. On Saturday, in the pouring rain, we drove to M'boro looking for the Swoopes Bicycle store on E. Main Street only to find them closed for a week's vacation. We've checked every K-Mart, Target, Walmart and some bicycle stores and nothing is right. We'll just have to keep trying...

Mona Goes For Repairs

On Tuesday, April 20, we took Mona to Cullum Maxey with our list of repairs and questions. The hydraulic jack is by far, the worst of them and the kitchen sink leak worries me. Wayne drove Mona and I followed behind in Blackie. We're have no idea how long the repairs will take or what we will be expected to pay for them.

Saturday Night at SunCoast RV in B'ham

It was still light when we pulled into SunCoast RV in Calera, Alabama on Saturday. The temperature was very nice as we unhitched Blackie and backed Mona into the overnight campsite. We ate dinner early, as usual and took our walk up to the sales office and back again before going in for the evening. The night was cool and we were forced back into sweatshirts the next morning.

2010 Spring Vacation to Destin

Sunset King Lake RV Resort - DeFuniak Springs, Florida

Wednesday - Saturday, April 14-17, 2010 were spent at Sunset King Lake RV Resort in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. We'd noticed the place on the way down last week as two oncoming motorhomes were turning onto the road leading into the park as we passed by. There was some problem leveling Mona as the hydraulic jack worsens. Finally we were able to get her leveled manually and we used the drip pan under the jack. We like everything about the park except the lack of shade. Our campsite K-3 has patio shade during the first half of the day but is in direct afternoon sun. We've found the windshield to be a huge source of heat and we have to close the curtains to keep the camper from becoming too hot. Our rate is $28 per night for 50/w/s/c. It seems like a friendly place and there are lots of snowbirds. We stay on the third night and plan to pull out on Saturday morning.

Monday, April 12, 2010: From Topsail to "Camping on the Gulf"

By 11 a.m. we were loaded and pulling away from Topsail Preserve State Park in Destin, once more unsure of a new destination. Because we hadn't really gotten our "fill" of beach, we decided to splurge for two nights at a place called simply, "Camping on the Gulf" .. also in Destin. It's in Destin, along Highway 98 on a narrow parcel of land that runs several hundred yards from the highway to the gulf. There really are camping sites right on the beach, but we opted to be away from the surf and sand so we're nearer to the highway in an area with a few pitiful looking trees. Certainly none that could be mistaken for shade trees however. The rate is $87 per night so we're spending $194 for two nights in site #310. We do have 50/W/S/C. The only open pool has a large tenting over it and is just hideous. We will not be swimming. The campground has many vacant sites and lots of retirees. Our kind of place. We enjoyed cooking out and taking walks around the campground and to the beach where we sat on a picnic table. Funny how we avoid getting sandy in our old age. That's another weird thing.

Saturday, April 10, 2010 - Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

We set a destination of the Gregory E. Moore RV Resort at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. On Saturday morning I called to see if we could, by chance, expect to get a site when we arrived. It does not look promising as we are still in the "spring break" season and many families, of course, go to the beach during the vacation week. It doesn't matter to us, we will go into the area anyway and take whatever we can find. Our exploring spirit makes us take such chances.
Wayne used the new sewage mascerator system to dump our tanks before leaving Greenville. What a fabulous piece of equipment! The pump works like a charm. For the first time yesterday, we extended the patio and door awnings and the pull down window shades. The shades presented a challenge as it took me some time to figure how to keep them from rolling back up.