12-8-18

Yesterday we had the great pleasure of meeting with Linda Emroch Leithner, an old friend from camp days in the early 60's and her husband, Arnie in Pensacola Beach.  We had a great lunch at Frank and Lola Love Pensacola Restaurant and enjoyed our all-too-brief reunion so much!  She even baked us a delicious cake which was a recipe of her mother's.

On our way to Pensacola Beach we saw pelicans painted to represent the Armed Forces in Pensacola.  We saw others but didn't have time to photograph them.  They must be the art symbol of the city.

All around Foley, AL we have noticed fields of cotton ready to be harvested.  I learned that cotton can be grown 300 days a year in some areas.  Above is a cotton field and some bales of recently harvested cotton.

Here is a view of a typical pecan grove.  There are many.

We are experiencing the big storm that is beating up most of the country. 
This is a view of the Mobile skyline as we headed for the art museum.

Unfortunately, we drove an hour from the RV park to the Mobile Art Museum only to find out it was closed today for a children's event.  We were happy to be able to see some of the pieces on the grounds, though.

On our way home, the bay and rivers had almost reached flood stage.  Here are some motorists foolishly trying to negotiate water-covered roads by Mobile Bay.

Scary!!!!

12-6-18

Today David took us to the amazing Fort Morgan near Mobile.  It was built during the War of 1812 using slave labor.  The slaves were leased to the government for $150 per slave, per year and turned out millions of bricks and the mortar to build it.  The fort was rebuilt and modified over the years and was used in the Spanish American War and by both sides in the Civil War.  It was also activated in both World Wars. 

Six different flags have flown over Ft. Morgan.

On a lighter note, here is where we went for lunch.

There is a shopping center, Pelican Center near our RV park.  Here is how the pelicans look by day and by night.

12-5-18

In the woods at the Tallahassee RV Park we found this old, lonely tree house someone must have built and abandoned years ago.

The rear of a great big Class A RV had this bumper sticker - I am not camping, I am in my condo.  Sounds like the truth.

On a somber note, we saw the lingering signs of the great devastation done by Hurricane Michael on I-10 beginning just west of Tallahassee.  There were thousands of trees down, guard rails damaged, road signs destroyed and crews cleaning up fallen logs and other debris.  We saw some motels and gas stations getting new roofs, as well.

Our close friends, Bob and Mary Morgan Long sent us a picture of a typical street in Panama City, FL where they live.  They were lucky.  They moved into their new house the day before the storm and the house stood up to it.  They have to get a new roof and much of the new interior had to be replaced, but at least they have a house.

 Goodbye to Florida and hello to Alabama and Central Time today.

Also, hello to Foley and to David.

12-4-18

This is the lovely Tallahassee RV Park.  We are only here for one night.  This is our 64th day of travel and our first day heading back toward home.  We have put 5500 miles on the truck so far.

Today we saw many wonders.  At the junction of  I-75 and I-10 there is an enormous solar panel array.  It covers many, many acres, as far as the eye can see.

Today was the Day of the Billboard.  We have gotten used to seeing the ones with lawyers advertising compensation for accidents and the ones near prisons advertising bail bonds, but these were new. 

The first one we saw advertised Vasectomies.  It said, "No needles, no scalpels" and directed those interested to Vas.com for more information.

The next one advertised Black Kow, the mature manure.

The third one was an anti-abortion billboard which said, "Save the baby humans." and showed a giant cartoon baby white seal holding a cartoon infant. 

Tonight was the first time we used a food delivery service to bring us dinner.  Usually, when we don't want to unhitch the truck from the trailer, there is some restaurant within walking distance.  Not here.  We ordered fajitas from a local Mexican restaurant and the food was good.

Tomorrow we will move to Foley, AL to see David.

12-3-18

Poor Grandpa Gaggy has a cold.  You can also see the raccoon eyes he got from wearing his sunglasses while golfing.

This RV park is covered with live oak trees, so whenever the wind blows everyone gets pelted with acorns.  It doesn't bother us much, but the folks with great big bus-shaped RVs have more surface area on their roofs and experience lots of noise thanks to Mother Nature.

Ken told us something about The Villages we didn't know before.  You can always tell when you are in a premium neighborhood because the street lamps have two lights on them.  When you're in a regular neighborhood, the street lamps are singles.  Who knew?

Tomorrow we say goodbye to The Villages and turn west toward home.  We will be away about six more weeks.

This lizard was stuck to the door of the truck tonight.  We figured he was saying goodbye.

12-1-18

This is a picture of the three sisters in Jacksonville, FL.  Nancy and I visited Janis at River Garden.  It was very cold so we didn't go out but brought in some good food, watched some old family videos and generally just kept each other company.

The weather was in the 30's that night and the next with a high in the low 50's during the day.  Today it reached 75 and tomorrow is supposed to be 85.  You never know what to expect here in November.

These are two views of life in The Villages.  You never know what is around the next corner.

Nancy and I went to a Villages Talent Show last night.  A couple of the volunteer singers were really good.  A couple, meaning two.  The rest were mediocre to terrible but some of the terrible ones were really funny.  Nancy and I got the giggles during one lady's performance and nearly lost it.  Thank goodness, no one noticed us.  I should mention that the ticket to the show included a free drink.  I think this was the first alcohol I have had since 2012 and it went straight to my head.  It didn't help with my self-control, as you can imagine.

The bottom singer had a red tie painted onto his t-shirt.  I never saw that before.

Jazzy and Baby got groomed today.  They really needed it after 8 weeks on the road.  Don't they look lovely?