Day 48 - (11/11) Home Again

Tuesday - We got home at 3:30pm today. The trip from Berea, KY was an easy 234 miles. The sky was overcast and there was a little misting rain.

A few highlights from the trip:

• 48 days
• 6,539 miles driven
• 4,698 miles of towing
• 4 days with some kind of rain (3 occurred at night)
• We had everything we needed
• The trailer and tow vehicle performed perfectly
• We found our country to be much more beautiful and educational than imagined
• There was so much to see that we can only consider this adventure a "sampling"
• It was a great experience ... we're ready to go again

Thanks for travelling along with us.

Carol and Dick

Day 47 - (11/10) Berea, KY

Monday - We've finished our planned sightseeing and visited friends we'd hoped to see. It's time to head home. The drive from Cartersville, GA to Berea, KY was 304 miles. We arrived with a little time to do some touring suggested by the Nielsen's.

Berea is the folk arts and craft capital of KY. We saw it as a quaint college town (Berea College) with lots of art influence. Many of the shops employ students. We did a bit of shopping in the Log House Craft Shop. Then we had a fun dinner at BC&T (Berea Coffee and Tea Company) ... a typical Internet cafe with many students working on assignments or visiting.

The historic Boone Tavern Hotel was closed for renovation. The part we could see was magnificent!

Walnut Meadow RV Park completed our run of good fortune. They had a nice spot for us. We have had no reservations on the entire trip and none of the parks have been full.

Day 46 - (11/09) Cartersville, GA

Sunday - Today was a good time to hit the highway from Norcross via I-85, I-285 and I-75. The 58 mile trip to Cartersville allowed us a casual start and a stop for breakfast on the way. We easily got space at a KOA campground that had been packed to the gills the night before.

Paul and Joyce Nielsen joined us at the park at 1:00pm. Paul and Dick worked together in San Diego for many years (at Genesis Computer Systems and FASPAC Systems). Joyce spent those years trying diligently to keep us out of trouble.

We had lunch and then toured Cartersville.

One stop was at Etowah Indian Mounds a home to several thousand Native Americans from 1000AD to 1550AD. We saw a wattle and duab house (below) and carvings that Paul recreates for the gift shop with his computer controlled router equipment.

We also saw Rose lawn Museum, the home of Rev. Sam Jones (one of the most famous American evangelists that ever lived). It's most interesting because of the way he expanded it. He raised the base of a one floor home and added a floor below it. Seems like a strange way to go about it ... but, he did keep the roof intact.

They gave a tour of their home. Paul showed us what he's been able to create with his router. His artistic and technical skills have combined to create a great hobby and business.

It was great fun to reflect on the "old days".

Day 45 - (11/08) Norcross, GA

Saturday - This entry opens with an apology. We had a wonderful day with Carl and Vickie Eckert and didn't take a single picture to share. This account doesn't give proper credit to their hosting effort. Sorry folks.

Carl and Vickie are friends from CheckFree. They retired before us and have been sharing pointers on how to do it. Today showed us they're really getting the hang of it.

We had lunch at the Flying Machine Restaurant at the Gwinnett County Airport where Carl has taken flying lessons. It was great fun.

They provided a tour that included:

• Chateau Elan Winery and Resort - yes, we did do a bit of wine tasting


• Lanier Raceway - where they race a Legend class car


• Road Atlanta Race Course - where Carl has taken racing instruction


• Their beautiful home - where they were preparing a classic Midgit class car for a race in FL next week

Videos of some of Carl's racing completed the picture of what they're doing in retirement. This is serous stuff folks. He is a great driver, don't even think of a challenge.

Vickie topped off the evening with a lovely dinner. The time flew by. Many thanks to the Eckert's for a day to remember.

Day 44 - (11/07) Norcross, GA

Friday - today was a long drive (290 miles) into the big city of Atlanta. We carefully planned the route so we'd arrive there at quitting time on a Friday! We were blessed with smooth flowing traffic and were able to check in at the RV park at 5pm.

US 319, I-75, I-675, I-285 and I-85 were impressive but didn't earn a memory spot in a picture.

It started to rain just as we finished set-up. Atlanta desperately needs the rain. Unfortunately, it didn't amount to much. This was the 3rd time in 44 days we've seen rain.

Day 43 - (11/06) Tallahassee, FL

Thursday - we finished our "Gulf of Mexico coastal adventure" today with a 266 mile drive from Pensacola to Tallahassee. Most of the journey was on US 98 ... it runs along the coast.

Things of note:

• Henderson Beach State Park (just east of Destin, FL) is a place we'd like to stay. It's been rated the best state park in the country. Three people were on the waiting list for the last spot available today. They suggested making reservations 11 months in advance. Apalachicola is a quaint, little town with a beautiful main street. It's a place to visit again.
• The drive took much longer than we planned and we lost an hour when we passed into eastern time zone at Beacon Hill. We got to Tallahassee late (7:00pm) and had to set up in the dark.

Day 42 - (11/05) Pensacola, FL

Wednesday - We toured the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station today. The experience was made extra special because of Glen and Janice Monks. Both are volunteers at the museum and Janice is Carol's classmate from their days at Bexley High School. They’re part of a team of 300 volunteers that work to provide the most complete and beautifully presented aircraft display we’ve seen.

Glen gave a personal, behind-the-scenes tour of the restoration center. They do an amazing job of turning sunken, shot-up, broken aircraft into real beauties. If parts can’t be restored or don’t exist, they make them!

We saw all the planes Dick worked with at North American Aviation 40 years ago.

• OV10 – Bronco (restoration nearly complete, ready for painting)
• RA5C – Vigilante (on the flight line)
• T2B – Buckeye (on the flight line)
• T28 – Texan (restored, in the museum)

The internet connection here is unreliable and slow. We’ll post pictures separately.

We're off to Tallahassee tomorrow

Day 41 - (11/04) Pensacola, FL

Tuesday - we explored Pensacola today.

We drove downtown and took a driving tour through the historic district.

We then drove the 3 mile Pensacola Bay Bridge to Gulf Breeze island and then on Bob Sikes Bridge to Santa Rosa Island. We walked Pensacola Beach. The beach was beautiful, clean, white sand stretching for miles.

We returned to the city and went to the Wentworth Museum to take in some of the history of Pensacola. It dates back to 1559 and is known as the City of Five Flags because of the struggle to control it by Spain, France, England, America and the Confederacy. The road to Ft. Pickens (west) and Navarre Beach (east)

We spent the evening watching election returns.

Day 40 - (11/03) Pensacola, FL

Monday - we travelled to Pensacola today. It was a relatively short drive (109 miles).

We continue to take the beach routes. They offer wonderful views of small communities and life in the area. There's much less evidence of hurricane damage here than in LA and MS.

The weather continues to be wonderful ... 38 of our 40 days of travel have been sunny and clear. What a blessing!

We're now in the FL Big Lagoon State Park. It's located on the Gulf coast just west of Pensacola. We're surrounded by palms, pines, sand and marshland. We're warned that alligators and snakes are legitimate residents here.

Special sights ...

• The drive across Mobile Bay was breathtaking
• The battleship USS Alabama, a B52 and an F4 were on display at a museum on the Bay

Day 39 - (11/02) Gautier, MS

Sunday - this was a relaxing day of touring Pascagoula, MS. First we went on an airboat tour of the swamps and saw an alligator ranch. Then we went to the shipyard and saw the USS Makin Island (LHD-8), an aircraft carrier under construction. We finished the day with dinner at Huck's Cove.

The Alligator ranch is where alligators are raised for population growth. Natural survival rate is about 1%. Ranches increase survival to about 98%. An alligator farm is where alligators are raised for business (leather goods and meat). Did you know alligators grow 1 foot per year for the first 6 years, then 1 inch per year? They don't eat if the temperature is below 73 degrees and live for well over 100 years.

Bert was our tour guide. He's a retired tugboat captain who was raised in the swamps since age 5. He works as a volunteer and is devoted to his "gators".

This airboat really flies! Carol loved it when Bert went FAST.

This is the USS Makin Island under construction in the Pascagoula shipyard. The keel was layed 05/22/03. It's scheduled to be deployed at San Diego in late 2009.

Oil rigs under construction.

Huck's Cove - front door. Pretty impressive huh?

Huck's Cove - back door. We ate on the back patio.

Day 37 - (10/31) Convent, LA

Friday - this was a day of touring plantations. We saw Poche Plantation, Laura Plantation and Oak Alley Plantation. All were quite different and beautifully restored.

Poche Plantation

View of Poche RV Resort from river dike

Carol on the dike ... waving toward RV park- tankers, tugs and work boats are behind her.

Laura Plantation displays life of a Creole family who ran the farm for 200 years. Do you remember Brer Rabbit, Tar-Baby and Uncle Remus? The slaves on Laura Plantation were the source of these stories.

Laura Plantation - home and office

Slave quarters at Laura Plantation - there was a row of 2 that stretched for 3 1/2 miles.

Oak Alley Plantation was built for the owner's new bride. She didn't like plantation life and spent most of her married life partying in New Orleans.

The "Big House" at Oak Alley Plantation.

Carol - the alley of 28 live oak trees in the background.