THE SUN IS BACK…GULF SHORES, ALABAMA

Wednesday, October 19 – We are back into the Central Time Zone, our favorite time zone. We're here at the Gulf Shores Elks Lodge in Foley, AL. We stayed here before and find it a great place to enjoy the beach, and it's close to all the big box stores if you need to do some shopping. It has about thirty sites with gravel sites and roads.

Our site

Looking down the road

You have a big grassy area outside your door to enjoy. Luckily they aren't very busy giving us plenty of room.

The sites are set-up with two RV's sharing the utilities pedestal parking front to back. So if you had a neighbor, you would be parked quite close.

It was a rainy drive from Augusta, GA. The forecast calls for clearing with warmer temperatures by Friday. The rainy & cool weather gave us a chance to investigate Google Reader for checking our daily blogs. We've read about others using it but just haven't had an opportunity to give it a try. We're sold on it! You list the blogs you read, and it notifies you when a new posting has been made. That eliminates checking all your blogs to see if someone has made a new posting. Now what are we going to do with all this time we save......hmmmm?

Across the street from the Elks Lodge is the Tangier Outlet Mall. So with a cool day on Thursday, we decided to do a little shopping. We mostly walked along the shops enjoying the sunny but cool day, but did find a few items we couldn't live without and a few early Christmas shopping ideas.

Friday, October 21 – With the sun shinning and the temperatures hovering around eighty degrees, we decided to go to the beach today.

It's very comfortable this time of year on the beach. The crowds were gone, it wasn't excessively hot, but the water is COLD.

No swimming, that's for sure! We enjoyed ourselves and soaked up some sun.

I should mention that there is no lingering evidence of last years oil spill. The beautiful white sand is definitely back.

Marsha couldn't help herself. She had to show what some people are wearing on this SUNNY, NICE day. It isn't winter!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

OUR LAST DAYS IN AUGUSTA, GA

Tuesday, October 18 – We left Augusta this morning headed for Foley, AL. The trip would take us about 8 1/2 hours so we stopped in Montgomery, AL, at Woods RV Campground. It is a Passport America campground so $15 for an overnight stop was in order. There is plenty of space between each site, but the gravel drives are a bit narrow.

Our Site #306

Both sides of us.

A FLASHBACK TO OUR LAST DAYS IN AUGUSTA
Saturday, October 15 – Marsha found several sites to see in Augusta today. We started out with the Air Show that we were able to observe from Paul's brother John's back yard.

There were quite a few planes twisting and turning in the air over the city. One larger WWII bomber flew over several times. Pretty exciting!

We then headed downtown Augusta via the Titanic Leno's Butt Bridge. It crosses the Augusta Canal in the old industrial area of Augusta. A unique and very ornate bridge with lions and eagles located at each end. The Butt Memorial bridge was named in honor of Major Archibald Butt who was born in Augusta, Georgia on September 26,1865. He served as an Aide-de-camp to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft, and he lost his life after helping to save women and children on the TITANIC April 15, 1912.

 

Then it was off to one of Marsha's “must sees”......the “I feel good.....do da, do da, do, da, do”......James Brown statue. In 2005 the bronze statue was designed as a tribute to the godfather of soul in his home town of Augusta, Georgia.  It also commemorate his induction into the Music Hall of Fame and the 2003 Kennedy Center Honoree. The "Godfather of Soul", in bronze, with cape and microphone.

The Savannah River flows right through downtown Augusta. They have a beautiful Riverwalk along the western river bank. It's a brick walkway with many beautiful flowers, wonderful shade trees, memorials, and benches to sit and enjoy the river. The Riverwalk consists of two (2) bricked levels the upper level accessible via stairways/ramps. Today was the Walk For the Cure using the park for their fund raiser.

Our last sight to check-out was the HUGE SOLO CUP. This is located in front of the Solo Manufacturing Company. The cup is over 2 1/2 stories tall and ten feet in diameter.

To finish off the day, we headed to our nephew's house to watch NCAA football and enjoy a low country boil.

Ryan & his wife, Holly, recently had twin boys – Graham and Hudson.

They also have a two year old boy, Noah.

These guys are big Clemson University football fans. They both graduated from Clemson. Even the six week old twins were dressed in their “game day” clothes. We wore our VT appeal and helped them on to a big win. Luckily, Clemson pulled out a thrilling victory over Maryland to remain undefeated in the ACC.

Ryan had prepared a Low Country Boil to enjoy before the game. He cooked sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob, shrimp, and Cajun spices in the pot of boiling water. Ummmm....Ummmmm....good!!! This was topped off with Key lime pie of dessert.

We got to play with the kids, and Marsha was so excited to hold a baby again.

The family minus the twins.

We had a wonderful visit with the Augusta Weavers. Thanks so much John Ryan and Holly for your southern hospitality! We truly enjoyed it.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!

CELEBRATING OUR 2ND YEAR OF FULL TIMING

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take.....but by the number of moments that take our breath away!”

UNBELIEVABLE.....the end of our 2^nd Year on the road! When we began this full-timing adventure, Paul asked Marsha to commit to two years of traveling. Well, time flies and we aren't near ready to settle down. Where did the year go? What amazed us? How many events took our breath away?

We began our second year amazed by the beauty of the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert in Holbrook, Arizona. Soon after, you could find us “Standin' on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona” listening to the song made famous by the Eagles.

From there, it was off to one of our favorite campsites – Elephant Butte Lake SP, NM where we saw our first coyote in the wild and enjoyed the “enchanted land” of New Mexico.

After nearly six weeks exploring New Mexico, we moved into Texas. Talk about seeing a BIG STATE. We stayed in Texas from October 25, 2010 until May 23, 2011. One of our goals for our second year was to slow down....I'd say we did pretty well!

We explored the gorgeous Hill Country of Texas visiting Boerne, Bandera, Fredicksburg, New Brunfels and other quaint little towns. We climbed Enchanted Rock where Paul helped the scared stiff Marsha off that geographic wonder.

And what would fall be, in the German settled Hill Country, without attending the Beer Wustfest in New Brunfels. We met up with friends, Jay & Betty Crane, who convinced us to head to the Rio Grande Valley for the winter.

We visited the Texas Gulf cities of Rockport, Port Aransas, and Corpus Christi. This is where Paul checked off an item on his “bucket list.” We saw a HUGE alligator in the wild at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. We also saw Whopping Cranes and Javelinas.

After a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday in Houston with our two daughters it was off to Mission Texas in the tropics of the Rio Grande Valley.

We spent January, February, and March enjoying the warm weather and making a whole slew of new friends. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are returning there for two months this winter.

Spring found us back in Houston to spend some time with our daughters. We decided to continue our tour of Texas.

This decision was largely due to the extreme weather occurring in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Alabama – our intended destinations. We weren't ready to experience those wild tornadoes! Ahhhh! But Mother Nature intended to throw us a curve ball.....

Oklahoma Bombing Memorial

Arkansas..Pinnacle Mt

After a short stay in the Escapee's Rainbow's End in Livingston, Texas, we were off to visit three college towns. First was College Station, home of Texas A & M. Next was Waco, where we explored the beautiful Baylor University, and finally Texas Tech in Lubbock. Also in Lubbock was Paul's favorite museum – The American Wind and Power Center. You just have to see that museum!

Heading west we stayed in the beautiful San Angelo State Park. Another awesome Texas State Park where we recharged our bodies in preparation for the rest of Texas.

We entered Texas Oil Country visiting Midland and Odessa. This is home of one oil well after another. You could just hear the “ding” of the cash register driving through the land dotted with all this wealth, all these jobs, and all these oilmen. Paul feels like he is still cleaning off the motor home from all the dust stirred-up by all the pick-ups and oil service trucks.

Heading into the Texas Pan Handle we visited Amarillo. We stayed at Palo Duro Canyon hiking for several days on the many wonder trails. What a beautiful park!

We then left Texas after seven consecutive months in the state.....and we still haven't see it all. We were off to Oklahoma City. We were there to see the Oklahoma City Memorial. What a moving experience. A very sad day in American history and one of several highlights of our second year. We wanted to see the College Softball World Series but had difficulty obtaining tickets and after several near misses by Mother Nature and tornadoes, we decided to head back to the safety of Houston.

Paul took a break from “full-time life with Marsha” to help move our daughter, Kelly, to Ohio. She's been in Texas for two years and decided to return “home” to Ohio. After Paul flew home, it was off to Arkansas.

We searched for Diamonds in Murfreesboro, AR and spent the July 4th holiday weekend in Maumelle State Park. This was another favorite campground for our second year. We spent time in Little Rock and hiked and biked on many of the local trails.

It was then off to Red Bay, Alabama and the Tiffin Factory Service Center. Here we met up with friends Brian & Janet Henderson and enjoyed about ten days with them while getting some updates and repairs done on our motor home.

It was then off to Ohio, our hometown, to visit family and friends. We had doctor, dentist, and vet appointments to take care off. Paul and Bella checked out okay but Marsha needs some unscheduled surgery. She had an eye lid giving her problems and the doctor recommended corrective surgery. Unfortunately, they can't get insurance approval and the surgery scheduled until December.....JEESH!!!

We also upgraded our toad. Our Jeep Liberty was showing it's age and since it doesn't get very good miles per gallon, we decided to purchase a new Honda CRV. So far, that has been a delightful upgrade.

We found ourselves enjoying the Kentucky Bourbon Tour, near the end of our second year. A delightful experience spread out over two days in late September.

Then it was off to Ashville, SC to enjoy Mother Nature's paint brush and the fabulous fall colors.

We ended our second year of travel at Paul's brother John's home in Augusta, GA. We enjoyed visiting with John and Paul's nephew, Ryan and wife Holly and their family. They recently added twin boys to their family so it was a house full of kids!

The last two years have been quite an experience. I wonder what this year has in store for “WHERE'S WEAVER?”

SECOND YEAR INTERESTING STATISTICS

Starting Date: October 17, 2010
Starting Location: Albuquerque, NM
Ending Location: Augusta, GA

MH Miles:
We drove the motor home and our towed vehicle (Jeep & CRV) quite a bit less the 2^nd year. The motor home was driven a total of 12,357 miles (compared to 22,186 the first year). Our car was driven 15,631 miles in our 2^nd year (compared to 22,186 our first year).

We stopped in 34 different cities for over-night stays during our second year.
Private Campgrounds: 94 days
Escapee Campgrounds: 33 days
Nat'l, State, City Campgrounds: 24 days
Elks : 106 days
Winter in Mission: 69 (Thanks Norm and Donna)
Free: 39 days….Thanks family, Tiffin Motor Service Facility and FMCA

Average nightly CG Cost:  $12.25

Longest Stay:
Leisure Valley Ranch (Norm's Place); Mission, TX

Best CG:
Maumelle State Park, Little Rock, AR (Marsha's favorite)
San Angelo SP; San Angelo, TX (Paul's favorite)

Worst CG:
Midland RV Park; Midland, TX…practically a gravel pit...so dusty.

Best Elks:
Lubbock, TX…A beautiful campground and a friendly group of people in the Lodge.

NO FUEL PURCHASED: JANUARY/FEBRUARY/AUGUST
Total Gallons of Diesel Fuel Purchased: 1031.41 
Highest price: $4.05
Lowest price: $2.83
Average Price of Diesel Fuel: $3.63
Average Miles Per Gallon: 7.23
Best MPG: 9.36

Longest Driving Day: 364 Miles 
Shortest Driving Day: 58 Miles 

Number of States First Time Visited: (4)  Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma
(NOTE: States visited must be in the MH since we began full-timing and we must spend at least one night in the state).

Paul's Top Ten Favorite Places but not in any particular order:
Enchanted Rock – Texas Hill Country
LBJ Ranch – Texas Hill Country
Port Aransas National Wildlife Refuse (gators)
Mission Texas – new friends & country dancing
Houston Rodeo
Micro Brewery in Houston with our daughters, Kelly and Carrie
Windmill Museum – Lubbock, TX
Oklahoma City Memorial
Palo Duro Canyon – Amarillo, TX
Garvan Woodlands Gardens, Hot Springs, AR

Marsha's Top Ten Favorite Places but not in any particular order:
Helen Keller Museum
Windmill Museum – Lubbock, TX
Port Aransas National Wildlife Refuse
Mission, TX
Houston Rodeo
Oklahoma City Memorial
Palo Duro Canyon – Amarillo, TX
Garvan Woodlands Gardens, Hot Springs, AR
Oklahoma State Capitol Building
Fredricksburg, TX (Hill Country)

Best Tour:
Bourbon Trail

Best Festival:
Wurstfest, New Braunfels, TX (Hill Country)

Best Restaurant:
McClard's BBQ in Little Rock, AR (Bill Clinton's favorite spot)

Marsha's Scariest Experience:
Enchanted Rock, Hill Country, TX

Paul's Scariest Experience:
Mt. Mitchell, Asheville, NC…car sick

Bella's Worst Experience:
Sand Burrs in Mission, TX ........ no grass to walk in

Largest Budget Expenses: 
MH Upgrades                                          
MH Tires
Groceries    
Campgrounds                                          

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!