2011

Has arrived with warmer weather. It is 63 F now at 5;00.
On New Year's Eve there was a camp fire and fireworks display overlooking the ponds. Although there was a light periodic drizzle, it didn't stop us from having a good time.
New Year's day had us drive into Waffle House for breakfast with our friends Dale and Ester. At noon there was a pot luck in the hall. As always, it turned out well.
There are a couple more of the "regulars" here now and some more coming shortly.
We haven't done much exploring of late, but will shortly, as we have picked up a local map showing some of the smaller towns in the area.
More to follow !!!!!

Over Due

Oh yes, it has been a while. We were pleased that Kristine and family made the detour to Troy on their way to Fla. They are there for 2 weeks as part of the celebration of thir 20th wedding anniversary. The weather was about 70F and sunny, a nce hange for them from the Ontario weather. We had a gift whitch we had not planned on until March....nice surprise. The weather has been cool for a few days, but so has most of North America. There were actually snow flurries on Sunday. It is supposed to be up to 70 for Thursday.
On Christmas Day, the people that are here for an extended period, pooled their resources and had a great the dinner. Plans for bringing in the New Year are now underway and will no doubt include food.
The batteries in the truck had to be replaced yesterday ( Monday). They didn't seem to hold a charge very long.
I will update this blog on a more regular basis.

W/O 12-12-10

Yup, that's our Christmas tree....all 32" of it and sitting on the picnic table at the side of the trailer.
In summary, last week had us receive a parcel from daughter Kristine containing their Christmas card and photo as well as Christmas COOKIES....they WERE delicious. We also found out that they will be coming in for a short visit on the way to Florida for a family cruise to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.
We went to a Christmas concert in Montgomery presented and performed by Troy University. They have several campuses in different cities. This concert was done at the Davis Theatre which was built in 1930 and served as a vaudeville theatre before becoming a Paramount owned movie theatre ( one of the best in the South). The Montgomery Campus has about 3500 students, mainly people that have come back to University after being in the work force for a while and most are night students. The Troy Campus has about 7,000 students. This concert was the first time it had been performed with all performers together because of the various schedules of the students. It was very very good. Last Saturday ( 11th) had us go to Dothan, which is about an hour South of Troy, where we went to the large flea market there with a couple from the park. Yesterday, Monday, was the day to decorate the trailer with Christmas decorations.It turned out quite nice when you consider what we had to work with........most everything is in Shelburne

Then and now

Yup, some things do change. Dec 4 was our 45th anniversary and it appears that I have gained facial hair, and misplaced that suit. This past week has been one of visiting some of the smaller towns in the area. The people at the camp had a coffee and cake together yesterday afternoon for us ,which was very nice. Supper last night was at Red's Country School House which was built in 1910 and was a school until the 1950's. Plans are in the works for a Christmas dinner for all those in the park with the meal supplied by those that attend.
The blog will only be updated once a week now I think, as we are not "out and about" as much as before. Sue was given a 1 1/2 hour massage from her wonderful hubby as a gift and performed by the campgrounnd owner who is a massage therapist. She took 1 hour yesterday ( Sat). The balance will be done in January.

Black Friday

The Thanksgiving dinner worked out well, as most "pot luck" efforts seem too. It was well attended and enjoyed. It would appear the folks here are not accustomed to turnip, as that was the one item that had any amount left over.
The weather has been behaving it's self by keeping comfortable ( in the high 60's to low 70's.) It has been dry with the exception of Wed. when our accumulation was 7/10" in total. Last night was cool with the temp about 34....today will be 65.
Yesterday was Black Friday, which is in essence, similar to Canadian Boxing Day and signals the start of the Christmas Season down here. Most of the stores opened at 4:00 a.m. for the heavily discounted prices. Six of the ladies from the park left about 10:00 to do some shopping ( no flat screen tv came back with Sue).

Full circle Troy to Troy

Our final campsite in Georgia was the Georgia War Veterans Memorial State Park and it was a very nice surprise. Some of the State Parks are quite primative, this one however, was on the edge of a lake, with a definate warning posted ( see picture #1 ). It turns out the warning was primarly for the back waters and rivers of the lake, so we were FAIRLY safe. Leaving there on Sunday morning got us into Troy Alabama, our "home" for the next 3 months at about 1:00. The whole area between Georgia and Troy is Pecan trees and cotton fields. The bottom pic is of a truck with cotton bales aboard. These are about 8 feet in diameter and baled with a machine much the same as a hay or straw baler, but rolled off the side rather than the rear. We're getting settled in so to speak and had supper at Santa Fe's last night with two other of "the group". A Thanksgiving Dinner is planned in the rec hall for Thursday ( ladies please provide side dishes and desserts).
The weather at the moment ( 10:45 CST) is sunny and 73F :-)

Very nice city

As it turned out, we spent two days here in Savannah when only one had been planned. That allowed time to take a trolley tour with some "old folks" ( the oldest of whom was 104 !!!!!! ). The city was laid out by an English fellow, General Overthorp before he had even seen the site. It is basically planned around squares. Everyone of the original 24 squares ( 21 remain) had to have at least one church and civil building facing the square. The historic area includes many Live Oak and Cyprus trees along with Palms. We went to the Pirates' House for lunch. Construction of the first part of this building started in 1734 as The Herb House which was part of the Trustees Garden. This experimental garden was started to see what would grow in this area. In 1753 the House opened as an inn for seafarers. It retains most of it's original structure, including dowel joined beams in the Captain's Room ( which is where we ate). The Herb House is incorporated inside the main structure.
The top pic shows some of the wrought iron work which is very common in the Historic Section. Number two, is the smallest house in all Savannah at 530 sft. It is for sale.......$250,000.00+. The bottom photo is the exterior of the Pirates' House...not much to look at outside ( it's 257 years old ) but the inside has "patina".