Great North American Rally

In March 2001 we left to attend the Great North American RV Rally in Perry, GA. We met Jim and "Torchie" at a camp ground so we could get into the Rally area together. The weather was cool and cloudy. Guess what??, the next day it started raining and rained each day for a week and stopped the day we were to leave the Rally. It sure was a lot of fun walking in the "mud" and cold. There was a man parked down the hill from us and the next morning he started out of his RV and stopped cold. He was in a "lake". It had rained hard all night and he was flooded. They had to put some boards down so he could get out of his rig.

The entertainment was GREAT and well worth walking in the mud to see. The Oak Ridge Boys put on a show that was SUPER, they were the only act that got FIVE standing ovations and call backs. They responded too.

There were several RVers that wanted to leave early due to the rain and mud and they had to be "towed out". There was a man with a wrecker that was towing people out. He charged $75 to hook up and another $75 to tow you out. A lot of RVers complained about this and it turned out that he was working a "SCAM'. Sue Bray of Good Sam Club was notified and she said they had a contract with a towing company but their rigs had a 'Smiley Face" on them. She notified the Sheriff and he contacted the unofficial tow man and had him come to tow him out. When the man arrived he said if would be $75 to hook up and $75 to tow him out. The Sheriff gave him the money which had been "marked". When the man took the money the Sheriff arrested him. The man asked about bail and the Sheriff said that the Judge was at the Rally somewhere but he wouldn't be back in court till Monday and this was on a Wednesday. He told the man not to "fret" cause they served the best "fried Bologna" and he could have all he wanted.

With all the rain at the Rally we had some water leaks at our bedroom slide. We had to go to the Monaco booth to see if they could help. They did send a service tech down but there was not a lot he could to at the Rally. We borrowed a wet-dry vac and got it cleaned up.

We went back to Montgomery to wait for the trip to the Smokeys camp out. While there tragedy hit our home. Our beloved Poncho got killed. He had been outside playing and had come back inside. He wanted to go back outside again and Jerry let him out. About an hour later a neighbor came over and said our dog was dead. He had been attacked by a larger dog that was around a dog in heat. We were sure we'd never get over the loss. He was our baby and we'll miss him a lot.

Family Reunion

Carmichael Home Place

On October 20th we headed to Meridian, MS. for our first visit at the "Carmichael Family Reunion". This has been going on for several years but this is the first time we've heard about it and been able to attend. My mother was a Carmichael but since she died when I was 3 years old I didn't really know very much about her side of the family.

The first night we met at the old Carmichael home place which strangely enough is located in Carmichael, MS. I had a chance to meet several cousins that I have never seen and even had the opportunity to meet my "Great Uncle" whom I've never seen. In about two years there will be a big reunion of the Carmichael Clan at the ancestral castle in Scotland. Jerry and I would love to be able to attend

Carmichael Clan Members

Smokey Mountains

We came to Sevierville TN in the Smokey Mountains to visit with our good friends Jim and "Torchie" who were leaving shortly for parts unknown. Jim had just retired from the U.S. Postal Service and they were making plans to see the country. Jim favors using the "red roads" in his travels cause he can see more of the country that way.

The fall decorations in Sevierville were beautiful and every place of business had some form of decoration.

We're now heading home for a while to do some things around the house that need to be done to hopefuly get it sold. I'm getting too old for painting, cutting large yards. I'm ready to get into a nice soft hammock and relax for a while, that is until the urge to get "On The Road Again" hits us.

Williamsburg, VA

We arrived in Williamsburg about a week early for our camp out and were surprised to find our friends Trish and Mickey there early as well. We planned to take some trips to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.

We spent a couple of days seeing some of the sights in and around Williamsburg and Jamestown.

The Williamsburg OLC camp out was hosted by James and Roberta Ringstaff and it was a big success. We had about 25 OLC members there from all over the country. There was a lot of good fellowship, food and of course an old time bond fire each night. The weather was not bad although we did get a few showers but not enough to dampen the spirits of the campers. We had a chance to put a face to those we had talked to and become friends with in the OLC chat room. That was great and well worth the time to travel to the camp out. Roberta is already talking about having another one next year. When the time came to leave it was like leaving "family".

We left and headed to the Smokies to see an old friend before she and her husband left to hit the "red roads". She was really glad to see us and each night we got together around a camp fire and talked about all sorts of things. The fall decorations were beautiful.

On the Road to South Carolina

After leaving Georgia we headed to Aiken, SC to visit two more grand children for a couple of days. The drive and weather was nice and it's nice to be "On the Road Again".

We stayed in a small but nice camp ground in Aiken. We met a couple of "full timers" from Ohio who were going to spend the winter in SC. They said they had spent several winters in Mission, TX and really liked it. They said they had stayed in an RV resort for an annual cost of $750. That included everything except electricity and their power bill was never over $30 to $35 per month.

We spent a couple of days with the grand children and then the urge to get on the road hit us again so we took off for Williamsburg, VA. We drove from Aiken to the border of North Carolina. We spent the night in a nice camp ground. We don't like to drive too far a day, maybe 300 to 350 miles. Hey we're retired and don't have a schedule to keep. We'll stop at least every other rest stop to let our "baby" potty and "mark the trees".

Highway Through South Carolina

The drive through SC, NC and into VA was beautiful. The leaves had just begun to turn a little and the mountains and foot hills were alive with color. We really can't wait till the time comes when we've sold our house and can go where ever and when ever we want and stay as long as we feel like it. We envy those who are doing it now.

On the Road to Gadsden

On September 7th we arrived in Gadsden, AL. for our Good Sam Chapter camp out. The trip went very well in spite of the "wash board" road on I-59. Again thank goodness for eight air bags and eight shocks, if not everything inside would have shaken loose.

When I hooked up the water at the site I had a BIG problem. When I turned the water faucet on it broke and water went every where including all over me and the coach. Some of my friends who were close by had a BIG laugh. We finally got the water turned off to the site but of course it turned off the water to two other rigs near by. I had to move to another site so I wouldn't be camping in a "lake". The park manager gave me a complimentary two night stay to make up for the problem.

We ate at a real good sea food restaurant and both the food and service were great. I had boiled shrimp and really had all I could possibly eat. That's strange too since I'm known for being able to hide a lot of shrimp. The waiter gave me a "doggy box" to take home those I couldn't eat and he added some more too. The next day I had them for lunch and there were about 20 shrimp. Needless to say I gave the waiter a good tip.

After a relaxing weekend we hit the road to Commerce, GA to visit our son and two grand children. We took I-20 to Atlanta and the road was good until we hit Atlanta and then it went to bits. The road began with four lanes and dropped to three, two and then to one and that was the left lane. Naturally the drivers had to drive right up to the open lane as far as they could and then crowd over in front of you. How can you hide a 40 foot motor home? After about an hour of the "fun and games" we finally got through the construction. We saw a really bad wreck on I-85 north. It looked as though a car tried to "fly" through the trees but didn't make it.

We finally got to Commerce, GA and stayed at the camp ground we've been to before. A real nice and quiet place. We had a real good time visiting with our son and grand children

Home...But Not For Long

We got back from our long trip the afternoon of August 9 th. The first "Long Trip" we just completed covered 6,172 miles. We really enjoyed very mile of it too. We left the next morning for our Good Sam Chapter camp out at Gulf Shores, AL. One of my friends asked me, "if you've just gotten home and you're leaving again, why did you come home? Good question.

We had a good time at Gulf Shores with out friends from the Heart of Dixie Ramblers Good Sam Chapter, the food and fellowship was great. We had 18 rigs at the camp out.

We were getting ready to leave on Sunday morning when I noticed a big crack on the lower left side of the windshield, it looked like a "stress" crack. I have no idea what caused it but I was afraid to drive it so we spent another night. Monday I took it to the Monaco Dealer in Robertsdale to be checked out. The service manager confirmed what I thought, it was a stress crack. The dealer in Dothan ordered a new windshield that day and said they would call when they got it in. We drove back to Montgomery with no problems at all.

Emerald Coast RV in Dothan called me Monday August 21st to let me know the windshield had arrived. They made arrangements to have the windshield installed and we took it down on Wednesday, August 23rd. On the way down we were driving on a real narrow road when a lady was crossing a bridge and came over into part of my lane. I moved over as far as I could. There was a sign post leaning over into my lane and the right mirror hit the sign and demolished the mirror. At least no one was hurt and there was no other damage to the coach. Thank goodness the dealer had a mirror in stock and was able to get it installed while the windshield was being installed.

We drove back to Montgomery to rest up before our next trip which is to Gadsden, AL Hey, we're retired and we can't be expected to do too much at a time.