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| Cindy at a Mardi Gras Parade in Slidell, La |
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| This guy managed to steal a few marshmallows |
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| Natural Camouflage |
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Wild boars and gators absolutely love marshmallows
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We had a very nice site at Abita and this was a very nice campground. The lakes were well groomed and the clubhouse was very clean. I did a little fishing, caught a few and just relaxed.
It was during our stay here that Cindy and I decided to put our travels aside for a bit when we get back to the Kansas City metro in order to help care for our granddaughter while her mom goes back to school to become a CRNA, (certified registered nurse anesthetist).
They live out near the airport so in the interest of economics I decided that I would try to find a place closer to them to minimize travel expenses. I put together a work resume and emailed it off to two local campgrounds in the area and amazingly one of the campgrounds thought I had a skill or two and called me back in less than fifteen minutes. The result of this call was that now Cindy and I would be within 10 miles of Ben and Katie for the three year duration of her schooling working at Basswood RV Resort, which will begin May 15. So if you are in the area and looking for a great place with a great staff, come on by!
Now, on to finish our planned outing, which still had a couple months to go.
We went on to our next destination, LA! Lower Alabama was equally exciting. The next couple weeks would find us at a campground in Roberstdale, Alabama. This was very convenient to the beautiful beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama as well as within 30 minutes of Pensacola Beach, Florida.
Our itinerary here found us taking in some more local Mardi Gras activities as well as going to the nearby beaches. This is also where the new camper bug really sank it's teeth into us. We went into a RV sales lot and found a floor plan and RV that is just what we were looking for. My mind immediately started planning and working on a way for us to achieve this new dream.
Now, those that know me know that I feel that all things happen in order for us to utilize these opportunities to achieve and further life. When I committed to Basswood for three years, the original deal was to exchange x number of hours per week of labor in exchange for a place to park our home and have hookups, so essentially it was a place to live at no charge while we helped out our kids. Cool deal for us and I got a phone call that made it even cooler, if that was even possible. Seems the resort was changing ownership and the new owners wanted x number of hours in exchange for our site AND they wanted to pay me for hours worked as well. Now the wheels were really spinning in my head! Since this was un-anticipated income and not figured into our budget, we decided to make it work to help us achieve the dream of a new home when we resume our travels.
Well, enough of the dream part for now, how about some pictures from the Gulf Shores and beaches of Alabama and Pensacola?
Our time in LA was done so now it was on to the sands and sights of Florida, the area near Destin. We didn't stay but a few days in Florida but we did visit more white sand beaches and stayed at a very nice campground. We had been out since the second of January and between our Ocean Canyon membership and our Coast to Coast membership had only had to pay for our campsite when we stayed a night in Texarkana, until Florida, we didn't have a member campground on our route so for the first time this trip we paid for a multiple night stay, and Florida is very proud of it's campsites.
We left the warmth and beaches of Florida and made way for our next destination, Mountain Lakes Resort in Langston, Alabama, a beautiful place right on the shores of Guntersville Lake, high in the mountains of northeast Alabama.
Needless to say, it was a bit cooler here but we had a site that was front row facing the lakeshore. The vegetation was just beginning to come to it's spring colors. It was very pretty but next time I will schedule this area for a few weeks later in the year. Guntersville Lake is a huge lake that is fed by the Tennessee River and is well known for it's bass tournaments. I did a little fishing but really did more sitting than fishing. One of the highlights of this area is the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro. It is a huge complex where all the unclaimed airline baggage ends up. They sort it, clean it and sell it. There are a few really good deals, mainly on clothing but when it comes to the really cool stuff like watches and unusual items like kayaks, there are no real deals. It was interesting to see the vast array of stuff that people didn't claim.
Now it was time to depart the quiet of the mountains and head for our final scheduled stop before heading back to the Kansas City area and the beginning of achieving our new RV dream, one of my wife's favorite places, Natchez Trace Park and the Pin Oak Campground just west of Sugar Tree, Tennessee and just ten minutes from my Mom's house. We stayed here for a week and it was a very fun week. We had Mom and my sister, Ruth, out for a cookout and did some unsuccessful fishing and just chilled. One of the things I really like about this campground is that none of the electronics work here so no phone, no facebook, no life interferences, just peace and quiet. Now there was something that was very unlikely to happen here that the odds were very slim of happening but nonetheless, it happened.
We had stayed at this park back in November and I even commented about how nice the guy that was camped across from us was in one of my previous posts. Well, we got the exact same site as before and the exact same neighbor as before! What are the odds? He was setting up as I was setting up and I noticed that he had got new wheels for his truck. (I guess this sort of thing is just normal for a guy that spent his life with cars). I went over and told him I liked the new wheels. The look of amazement on his face was unforgettable. He did not know who I was and had no idea how I knew he had bought new wheels. I told him about our November encounter and he was just amazed that I would remember the wheels on his truck.
Our time on the road was drawing to a close for this time in our lives. Life happens and adjustments are made. The adjustments we make now are positive adjustments, we get to spend time with not just one grandkid but all 8, we get to start realizing our dream of a new home on wheels and we get to be paid to live our dream of being full time RVer's.
I'll continue to make additions to this blog, though they may be a bit farther apart and from t he same part of the country but rest assured the dreams and trips are ever active in my head. The fact is I have already laid out our first trip in our new RV and set the date of June 15, 2020 as the departure date!
I close with a few more pictures of this outing and the wishes that you would check back for future posts of what life is delivering for us as we enjoy our time with our kids, grandkids and friends.
It was during our stay here that Cindy and I decided to put our travels aside for a bit when we get back to the Kansas City metro in order to help care for our granddaughter while her mom goes back to school to become a CRNA, (certified registered nurse anesthetist).
They live out near the airport so in the interest of economics I decided that I would try to find a place closer to them to minimize travel expenses. I put together a work resume and emailed it off to two local campgrounds in the area and amazingly one of the campgrounds thought I had a skill or two and called me back in less than fifteen minutes. The result of this call was that now Cindy and I would be within 10 miles of Ben and Katie for the three year duration of her schooling working at Basswood RV Resort, which will begin May 15. So if you are in the area and looking for a great place with a great staff, come on by!
Now, on to finish our planned outing, which still had a couple months to go.
We went on to our next destination, LA! Lower Alabama was equally exciting. The next couple weeks would find us at a campground in Roberstdale, Alabama. This was very convenient to the beautiful beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama as well as within 30 minutes of Pensacola Beach, Florida.
Our itinerary here found us taking in some more local Mardi Gras activities as well as going to the nearby beaches. This is also where the new camper bug really sank it's teeth into us. We went into a RV sales lot and found a floor plan and RV that is just what we were looking for. My mind immediately started planning and working on a way for us to achieve this new dream.
Now, those that know me know that I feel that all things happen in order for us to utilize these opportunities to achieve and further life. When I committed to Basswood for three years, the original deal was to exchange x number of hours per week of labor in exchange for a place to park our home and have hookups, so essentially it was a place to live at no charge while we helped out our kids. Cool deal for us and I got a phone call that made it even cooler, if that was even possible. Seems the resort was changing ownership and the new owners wanted x number of hours in exchange for our site AND they wanted to pay me for hours worked as well. Now the wheels were really spinning in my head! Since this was un-anticipated income and not figured into our budget, we decided to make it work to help us achieve the dream of a new home when we resume our travels.
Well, enough of the dream part for now, how about some pictures from the Gulf Shores and beaches of Alabama and Pensacola?
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| Water tower at Orange Beach |
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| Working on my tan..... |
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| Mardi Gras from The Wharf at Gulf Shores |
Our time in LA was done so now it was on to the sands and sights of Florida, the area near Destin. We didn't stay but a few days in Florida but we did visit more white sand beaches and stayed at a very nice campground. We had been out since the second of January and between our Ocean Canyon membership and our Coast to Coast membership had only had to pay for our campsite when we stayed a night in Texarkana, until Florida, we didn't have a member campground on our route so for the first time this trip we paid for a multiple night stay, and Florida is very proud of it's campsites.
We left the warmth and beaches of Florida and made way for our next destination, Mountain Lakes Resort in Langston, Alabama, a beautiful place right on the shores of Guntersville Lake, high in the mountains of northeast Alabama.
Needless to say, it was a bit cooler here but we had a site that was front row facing the lakeshore. The vegetation was just beginning to come to it's spring colors. It was very pretty but next time I will schedule this area for a few weeks later in the year. Guntersville Lake is a huge lake that is fed by the Tennessee River and is well known for it's bass tournaments. I did a little fishing but really did more sitting than fishing. One of the highlights of this area is the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro. It is a huge complex where all the unclaimed airline baggage ends up. They sort it, clean it and sell it. There are a few really good deals, mainly on clothing but when it comes to the really cool stuff like watches and unusual items like kayaks, there are no real deals. It was interesting to see the vast array of stuff that people didn't claim.
Now it was time to depart the quiet of the mountains and head for our final scheduled stop before heading back to the Kansas City area and the beginning of achieving our new RV dream, one of my wife's favorite places, Natchez Trace Park and the Pin Oak Campground just west of Sugar Tree, Tennessee and just ten minutes from my Mom's house. We stayed here for a week and it was a very fun week. We had Mom and my sister, Ruth, out for a cookout and did some unsuccessful fishing and just chilled. One of the things I really like about this campground is that none of the electronics work here so no phone, no facebook, no life interferences, just peace and quiet. Now there was something that was very unlikely to happen here that the odds were very slim of happening but nonetheless, it happened.
We had stayed at this park back in November and I even commented about how nice the guy that was camped across from us was in one of my previous posts. Well, we got the exact same site as before and the exact same neighbor as before! What are the odds? He was setting up as I was setting up and I noticed that he had got new wheels for his truck. (I guess this sort of thing is just normal for a guy that spent his life with cars). I went over and told him I liked the new wheels. The look of amazement on his face was unforgettable. He did not know who I was and had no idea how I knew he had bought new wheels. I told him about our November encounter and he was just amazed that I would remember the wheels on his truck.
Our time on the road was drawing to a close for this time in our lives. Life happens and adjustments are made. The adjustments we make now are positive adjustments, we get to spend time with not just one grandkid but all 8, we get to start realizing our dream of a new home on wheels and we get to be paid to live our dream of being full time RVer's.
I'll continue to make additions to this blog, though they may be a bit farther apart and from t he same part of the country but rest assured the dreams and trips are ever active in my head. The fact is I have already laid out our first trip in our new RV and set the date of June 15, 2020 as the departure date!
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| The view from our front door in Langston, Alabama |
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A Florida rest area featuring the world famous Blue Angel's
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Brutus and Matilda in Florida
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I loved reading about your adventures!
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