Tiffin Service Center

03/28/2018

Alabama in our 2018 Winter Travels – Part Three of Four


Red Bay RV Park, 820 4th St., SW, Red Bay, AL 35582, Site # 4.

It was time for our annual trek to Red Bay, Alabama, home of our Tiffin Motorhome, named Tiffany after our precious tween dachshund (1982-2006).  We had a few pressing things Bill wanted to get done and if the weather cooperated, we would go this winter in March, rather than May.  We didn’t set any winter travel expectations – it depended on the weather. And it looked like the weather would cooperate. As with most full time RVers, we avoid snow and freezing weather. But we never thought we had to consider tornados in March!!!  This post will be in three parts: 1) RV repairs/maintenance/remodeling; 2) Hiking in Tishomingo State Park; 3) Weather issues such as a tornado!

Continue Reading

06/13/2017

2017 Summer Travels: Maintenance at Red Bay to Disaster in Kentucky


Our route from Amity Campground, Lanett, Alabama on the Georgia border, to Red Bay, Alabama. Just about 250 miles, taking less than five hours drive time.

We are a bit behind because of our two recent Memorial Day posts (one I meant to post from 2015 and then the one from this year). Coupled with the fact we have been on the GO all summer! So let’s catch up and review our travels so far.

On May 12, we left Amity Campground on the border of Georgia and Alabama, then drove to Red Bay, Alabama, home of Tiffin Motor Homes for some DIY (do it yourself or rather “Do It Bill”) projects. We stayed there for a week. The drive there was about as perfect as it gets for us, but yet, we hated driving through the entire State of Alabama and not stopping to enjoy its beauty! We really don’t like to drive this far and miss this much.  This is our preferred maximum travel day. Continue Reading

11/12/2015

Getting Hitched: “Flat Tow” our “Dinghy” or TOAD


Happy campers!

Our motorhome and toad, fully hitched.

For those who were following our journey last May and June, you will know this is a big deal for us. If you do not know what we are talking about in this title, it all has to do with driving a motorhome and towing an automobile behind it.

Our home is 40′ and is on wheels. When we park in a new location, we need a vehicle (referred to as a dinghy or toad) to drive around in, such as to the store, to church, to go sightseeing, etc. We bought our motorhome in May and until we came to Myrtle Beach in October, we couldn’t find anyone to hitch us up! So I’ve followed Bill while he drove the motorhome for about 2,200 miles:  from Cocoa, Florida; to Troy, Alabama; to Red Bay, Alabama; to Jasper, Tennessee; to Bristol, Tennessee; to Waynesboro, Virginia; to Milford, Virginia; to Florence, North Carolina; to our current destination, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That means we put 2,200 unnecessary miles on our car.

I was upset when I saw this ugly bar on the front of our new (used) car!

I was upset when I saw this ugly bar on the front of our new (used) car!

There are several ways to tow a vehicle: Trailer Tow (i.e. put a car in a utility trailer), Dolly Tow (two front tires on a dolly while back wheels spin) and Flat Tow (our choice to have all four wheels down).  There are many professional and good quality articles on this subject.  Trust us, we’ve read them all and watched many YouTube videos on “how to.” We did our research. We knew what we were getting into…but until we actually did it, we didn’t know what we didn’t know. (Understand?) So we hope by sharing our experiences, it might help someone else. We hope you’ll laugh with us, now that it’s over. During the process, a few tears were shed. 😂

We also watched a number of videos which helped us learn more about towing. We also have talked to so many people about their hitches and how they like how they are towing their vehicle. But no one shared a story with us like what happened to us. One thing we have learned in this RVing lifestyle is that everyone has a story of something crazy happening to them. This is one of our crazy stories.

First, just to let you know how the name “toad” came about:  Tow-ed = toad.  And dinghy is affectionally what little boats are called. So it’s a play on words.

The hitch is on the back of our motorhome.

The hitch is on the back of our motorhome. It’s a Falcon by Roadmaster. It came with our motorhome.

Once we knew we were buying a motorhome, we formed an opinion, we would “flat tow.”  That means we would have an (ugly) tow bar on the front of the car, attached to a hitch on the back of the RV.  By flat towing, we probably would have to make modifications to our car.  But the downside to a dolly or trailer, is that you have to “store” them and possibly have to hoist around, park and stash when you are on a campsite. Not every campsite has the room for them. But somehow, everyone makes it work. Bill has a back issue, so we just decided we couldn’t handle having to hoist either around. Yes, Bill does the heavy lifting in our family. Plus, I have a few back/neck issues, too.

Hooking the hitch to the tow bar.

We did test drive a few jeeps (probably one of the most popular Toads) a few months earlier when we first thought about changing from a truck and 5th wheel RV to the motorhome. We loved the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was everything we needed and more. Spacious (we wanted to carry four adults and two children), comfortable and more than anything, easy to flat tow. BUT, we later learned, they don’t get the best gas mileage and for long trips (which we’ve done three times since owning it), and it’s really not “luxury” comfortable. With our back issues (and aging bodies), we need a comfortable ride. So we compromised.  The vehicle we bought, a crossover SUV and car, Cadillac SRX, will only fit four adults and one child. Or three adults and two children. But we first eliminated all the other flat towable vehicles before we even thought about the SRX. There is a yearly on-line publication that says which cars are flat towable. The slogan for our motorhome is “Roughing it smoothly.” And that fits us with our little Cadillac!

We stayed in Myrtle Beach for a full month, not only to enjoy a month at the beach but to get our car and RV “hitched.” Parts have to be ordered but we learned, no one wants to hook up a used “hitch.” Except Camping World. And Myrtle Beach was our first location since buying our motorhome that had one. We also needed to have our washing machine replaced, which they did.  We were very happy with that install, so thought the hitch would also go smoothly.

Lots of wires.
Not an easy job.

Well, we were a bit concerned when it took twice as long to rig the car up to tow. We had “face plates” installed, modification to the bumper and grill, installation of a bracket for the “invisi-brake,” made connections for the air brakes,  installed a wiring harness, and probably a few more things I don’t know about (or understand).  In the end, it took a day and a half on the car and 1/2 day on the RV.  So all in all, we spent four days of our 35 days in Myrtle Beach in the waiting room at Camping World, which includes the washing machine install and then to fix that which didn’t work properly on our car. And that is what this post is about. Something had to go wrong, right? Or this would be boring – although it probably is unless you want flat tow one day.

We have learned a lot from other full-timers, but especially one young couple. They not only live in an RV full-time, traveling all over the US and Canada, they are also working professionals. In fact, they inspired us to give ourselves a catchy nickname: The TumbleLees. They are Jason and Nicky Wynn or “Gone with the Wynns!”  Here is their video to learn from my (Jason’s) mistakes, and “How to Properly Connect and RV Tow Car.” We watched these several times, when we started our education on what we were going to do and then while we were getting our hitch set up.

So we now have the set up we’ve wanted. We’re educated. Bill is confident in his ability to hook the toad up. I’m learning and watching….and praying all goes well!  When it took them so long to rig the car, we both had a few misgivings. But Camping World guarantees their work.

Hitched and on the way out of the campground!

Hitched and on the way out of the campground!

We do try to travel without pressures and for this to be adventure travel, right? Well, not all adventures are fun. It was time to leave and our daughter has made a lot of preparations for us to come visit. She has our grandson counting down the days (he’s learned to count to 10! Smart guy). And we are ready to go.

So once we are all hitched and rigged to go, we tested the lights. Humm, the blinkers are not working. But the lights are on. Then we tested the brake, brake lights not on. And there is a beeping noise in the RV.  We called Camping World and they said to bring it on in. So off we go.

We arrive and Bill is exhausted from the 10 minute, five-mile drive. He doesn’t say anything to me, but he is wondering if our 360 diesel engine can tow.  😖 Upon arrival, we looked at the car and see smoke pouring out of the front tires (brake area).  YIKES! We begin to panic. Bill says get me a cup of water, it looked like a fire could start. I grabbed our cups of water, then he throws the water on the wheels like it was a campfire.  It hardly affects the smoke, so I ran back and got a pitcher of water.  Slowly, the smoke stopped.  Our Service Writer then tells us to unhook the car so they drive our RV into a bay.

Wouldn’t you know, it won’t unhook!  (We have since learned, that is a common problem. You just need a drift pin and a hammer to knock out the pins.) The hitch seemed frozen and the brakes appeared to be  gone, pedal to the floor. We are thinking worst case scenario. I posted a plea for prayers on FaceBook. This can’t be happening!

We were prayed up, praying daily for the Lord’s protection – oh, I’m sure that is what happened…HE did protect us! What if the blinkers worked ok and we just thought the beeping sound was how it is supposed to be? What if we just went on the nearly 200-mile drive we planned to travel? That would have been a disaster. So in reality, disaster was averted.

Camping World was very busy, every bay tied up when we arrived. But the Shop Foreman took our job to get ‘er done. It turned out that the air brake flow was one way. When the RV brakes were on, the car brakes were off. And when the RV brakes were off, the car brakes were on. It took about 5 hours to diagnose it and repair it.  Fortunately, the car brakes were fine, just overheated, and we are now on the road to our daughter’s home. She’s a bit sad as her maternity leave is ending and she wanted to hang out with us a few days before she returns to work. It’s so great to be loved and your only child wants to spend time with you!

So in the end, what lesson did we learn? Expect the unexpected! And what does the Bible say about planning? We have to have faith, we may have been spared something worse. It just wasn’t our time to leave Myrtle Beach.

You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail. Proverbs 19:21

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Sunset after we settled back into the campground, on this Veterans Day! Loved seeing the flag flying.

07/22/2015

Do we live our faith?


BrickWallThis will be a two part blog as we share a look back into our marriage as we face another huge disappointment in our decision to upgrade to a motor home. Actually, it’s not another, it’s a continuing disappointment that hit a brick wall today.

Everyone we talked to about upgrading to a motor home knows one of the main reasons was to have our own washer and dryer. While we have tried to make the best use of our time while using the campgrounds facilities, it does always crimp our precious time. As we all know, the more fun you are having in life, the faster time flies by, right?

So back to our time at the Tiffin Service Center in Red Bay, Alabama. We thought we made it clear how important it was to have a working washing machine; and, how disappointed we were the previous owner said it worked. We were very green at owning a motor home and repairing/replacing appliances. BUT, in our 40 years of marriage, we do know a thing or two about washers and dryers. We went through so many, we finally bought a set of Maytags. They lasted 15 years before we sold our sticks and bricks home last year.

Today, our new Maytag washing machine was going to be delivered and installed at the campground. We were so excited as we also bought a five year extended warranty at a great sale price (ordered over the 4th of July sales). That gave us the assurance it would last at least five years! We did a lot of research about this purchase, so we thought, and were so happy today arrived.

So back to the marriage aspect, part two of this blog. We used to be very active with young married couples in a marriage ministry in one of our former churches. To be able to do this, we became very transparent in our own marriage and even took a few Bible studies focusing on marriage. One of our favorite authors, marriage counselors and speakers is Gary Smalley. In looking for a link to his works, we found out that his one son, Greg Smalley, has followed in his footsteps.

It was an interesting read as today, we relived a moment that Gary Smalley had with his then young son, Greg. We can’t agree exactly this marriage moment played out, but we agree this is the essence of the story. Gary and his wife bought a brand new Class C motor home. We understand all the excitement that goes with this and the hope of have a great time – soon after the purchase.

When Gary and his young son arrived home, they saw the overhang to the garage smashed in and the motor home seriously damaged.  Gary just sat for a few minutes with his eyes closed while his young son was staring at him. He finally looked at his son and asked why he was starting at him. Greg said, “Well dad, you preach and teach husbands how to treat their wives with respect. I’m just watching to see how you’re going handle this!”  Gary knew he had to dig deep, so he went in and embraced his upset and sobbing wife. He held her tight and told her how much he loved her and he was grateful it was just brick and mortar and that she was ok! Wow, we loved that story when hear it about 25 years ago and we relived it today.

WasherWallToday when we woke up, when we realized the 24″ washing machine would not fit between the 21″ space through our bathroom area to the the washing machine.  And that’s when Bill had to dig deep and embrace Debbie and tell her he loves her….You see, Debbie overruled Bill at the Tiffin Service Center when he said he wanted a new washing machine. Debbie pinched pennies and let the service technician help us save a few $100. And now, we still don’t have a washing machine. But at least the dryer works!

If you’re a husband and would like to know more, here’s a great read:

IfHeonlyKnew

Wives, what do we have for you? Probably Debbie’s favorite book to help her in her relationship with Bill:

PrayingWife

 

07/09/2015

The Journey to Bristol, Tennessee and beyond….


We have to include a selfie of us enjoying this day to the fullest!

We have to include a selfie of us enjoying this day in Bristol to the fullest!

We have embraced the full time RV lifestyle. And we appreciate being retired, not being in the daily grind. But for whatever reason, it seems we have been in the daily grind since May 2, 2015 (day our truck was totaled).  However, on April 24, we also received very sad family news. The news helped us keep things in perspective….A dear relative was given the news of a terminal illness with only months to live.  We were so blessed to be in the area twice since then, so we were able to go visit him. And of course, we’re praying for more opportunities….

But since May 2, while it has been all a constant stress and strain, it’s all working out to the good: buying and selling our homes on wheels, having the insurance claim settlement over the wreck of our truck (no injuries), learning how to drive a 40′ Class A motor home, buying a car that can be “flat towed” and not being able to find anyone to configure the car to be towed, taking a two week “side” trip in our car up to Illinois to visit Bill’s family to help begin the process of his mother moving into assisted living…and then about 10 days of our motor home being in and out of the shop for repairs.

So with all that stress, we had hoped after we left Red Bay, we would enjoy our travels to our next destination, and in our dream motor home….And as with most RVers, we prefer to only go 200-250 miles a day. And we’d love to stay at least a week at each location. But there just doesn’t seem to be enough time for this luxury. We at least kept our drive at our limits while we strategically stayed in locations on the way to enjoy the journey.

From Red Bay, AL, to Jasper and Bristol, TN, to Waynesboro, and finally Fredericksburg, VA

From Red Bay, AL, to Jasper and Bristol, TN, to Waynesboro, and finally Fredericksburg, VA. Allegedly 780 miles.

We were heading back to Fredericksburg, Virginia to spend time our grandson, await the birth of our next grandchild (due August 15, 2015) and help our very pregnant daughter and her husband prepare the nursery.

As we wrote in our last blog, ““No More Doubts” we thought we were now comfortable with our new home on wheels. Well, maybe we spoke to soon! Let’s just say, the trip to Bristol was pretty harrowing because of a terrible weather system, coincidently a tropical depression named “Bill.”  Heavy rains and high winds.

After about 100 miles on our way from Jasper to Bristol, Tennessee, we stopped to fill up while we also sought refuge from the weather.  So we also  desperately looked for a campground nearby. It was too grueling to drive in the heavy rains and wind. But we were also short on time….we wanted to get to Bristol as we knew it had lots of great places to hike and explore….so the rain finally let up and Bill said, “let’s press on.” So we did and we were so glad. We found a real gem in Bristol!

We love learning about the history of our nation but also about more current things to help make our country, and it’s landscape, better. We had no idea what we would learn or stumble on in Bristol, Tennessee. Of course, we knew about the National Forests (so great hiking) and the speedway, but fortunately, while Bill is a “car guy” he’s not really into watching races….We love nature and the outdoors, so that is where we focus.  Tennessee is famous for it’s great hikes and water falls. Sadly, there weren’t any hikes close enough for us to try during our short stay. But we discovered something interesting about the Tennessee Valley Authority and where we went, we had a blast!

Bill discovered there was an island nearby – how could we resist seeing an island near mountains? So off we went to Osceola Island….not realizing, it was near a dam and that’s where we found a real gem! So after a stroll around the island, and looking at a strange sight, we learned so much…The strange sight was an earth and rock dam, 285 feet high and 1,600 feet long, with a generating capacity of 38,500 kilowatts.

We had no idea we were in such a strategic location, either.  The South Holston Dam is located 50 miles above the South Fork Holston River’s confluence with the North Fork Holston River (which forms the Holston River proper). The dam site is situated in an area where the river descends out of the Appalachian Mountains and enters the upper Holston Valley. The dam and the Tennessee half of its reservoir are surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest, and the Virginia half of the reservoir is surrounded by the Jefferson National Forest. The reservoir includes parts of Sullivan County in Tennessee and Washington County in Virginia. The city of Bristol straddles the Tennessee-Virginia border a few miles northwest of South Holston Dam. So what is unique about this dam?

In 1991, TVA built a weir (a unique structure that if you arrive at the right time, you will see multiple ‘water falls’ ) below South Holston Dam to add oxygen to the river when the hydropower plant isn’t generating electricity. Oxygen-rich water helps create a sustained habitat for aquatic insects, vegetation, and fish.

South Holston Reservoir is on the South Fork Holston River in northeast Tennessee. It extends 24 miles east of the dam into Virginia. Construction of the dam began in 1942 but was halted in favor of other wartime construction efforts. Building resumed in 1947 and was completed in 1950.

South Holston is operated for several purposes, including flood damage reduction, power production, aquatic ecology, and augmentation of the flow of water during drier periods.

The South Fork Holston River is home to an annual spring migration of white bass. Locals say that when the serviceberry and dogwood bloom, the white bass run.

A footbridge from the parking lot below the dam leads to Osceola Island and its one-mile-loop wildlife trail. Early in the morning or late in the evening are the best times to sight waterfowl, deer, and other wildlife.

We said we will have to come back to this area….we were only there for two nights.  Here are a few pictures from the Shadrack RV campground (and our review), the view when we left church on Sunday, our drive to Osceola Island and finally the South Holston Dam. To see more, click here to see more photos of this beautiful location on Flickr.

Our home and auto
The drive to Osceola Island.
We attended church and when we came out, this was the view!
On our way to the Dam
Bill walking around the island, taking photos.
Heading to the Dam, which is made from earth and rock.
From the Island, sitting on a bench, we could see what looked like a dam. Later we will look from there to this spot.
Walking on the dam. This side views the South Holston Lake and the other side, we look to the Island and can see where we sat.
This lake was stunning and was the hidden gem we discovered!

After this quick stay, we then headed to Waynesboro, Virginia, approximately 245 miles, where we again stayed for only two nights. Fortunately, even though we traveled on Interstate 85, the beautiful weather made this leg of the journey more tolerable. But Bill has decided he hates being the slowest vehicle on the road and being passed by other vehicles as big and bigger than we are.  At least, this is another great area, near the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Mountains. So he had to focus on the prize!

While we thought the campground was pricey, and no discounts, it was satisfactory. To read our review, click here.

This time, we were close enough to some great hikes, so we just decided to look for the best possible hike. We absolutely love the Virginia Appalachian Mountains, because we are so familiar with them and there are such great views and usually great water falls. We selected White Rock Falls Trail, which would be a 5 mile round trip hike. We didn’t realize it also met up with the Torry Ridge Trail, which is where we ended up hiking to. These trails were off of Mile Post 18.5 off the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). We learned you have no cell service or GPS on the BRP so I couldn’t use our “Map My Hike” app.

We have no idea how far we actually hiked as we went beyond the initial Falls Trail we started on. We had a great hike, but the falls were disappointingly small, in fact, we went beyond them because we couldn’t imagine they were the 30′ falls we read in the description of the hike.

We had to find something beautiful, after all, we were in the Appalachian mountains! So up we went and what a work out in the end. And the reward was well worth it. Here are a few pictures of this hike:

Our campsite.
Checking out the trail options
So we can remember where we were!
Bill taking a picture of the 30″ falls
The Falls! Can you see them?
So we began our ascent up….
And we made it!
Trying to show the depth and these dogs were tired!
This was our reward!

 

We didn’t mention, this whole journey also included numerous conversations with Tiffin Service Center. One of the main reasons we felt we needed to upgrade to a motor home was to have a washer and dryer. We are so active and on the go, we need to not waste precious time waiting for washers and dryers! And we had seriously downsized our wardrobe for our “extra lite” and very small 5th wheel. So long story short, while we paid too much to have a 5 year old washer fixed, Tiffin was only trying to save us money. In the end, the aggravation and the fact I did have to wait to do laundry, they refunded us all our money on the repair. We’re now waiting on our special order and we sure hope it works out!

So now our focus is on our arrival to the Fredericksburg, VA area and at least two months with our grandson and his parents! We will help get the nursery ready for his sibling, paint the guest room, and just help around the house while we enjoy our little lad, Colin!

Normally, he comes running when we pick him up from day care. This day, he wanted to keep climbing!

Normally, he comes running when we pick him up from day care. This day, he wanted to keep climbing!

Next up, we will celebrate our one year anniversary as full-timers. We sold our “dream” Florida pool home on July 16, 2014. We don’t miss it at all!

11/12/2014

Itinerary of First Year- Tumble-Lees Adventure Travels


First, our favorite view, location and doing what we love. Below is our first year travel itinerary with hyper-links to those locations where we have posted a blog. For some, we don’t have a separate blog, so that is incorporated in the “Summary of our first five trips.” We’ve included our “rates” for these. A 1 means we will never return and 5 means we will be back! If there is an * by the name, we have stayed multiple times.

Our favorite view!
The highest point on the parkway (south of Waynesville, near Mount Pisgah in North Carolina) is 6053 feet or above sea level on Richland Balsam Mountain at Milepost 431
We were on our way to hike at Graveyard Fields

This is our initial itinerary. For the next year, see our It’s Our One Year Anniversary as Full-Timers blog.

These are our locations visited since September 2013, with the most current first, with a rank based upon OUR experiences.  We tried to include the addresses, phone number, dates we were there, how many nights and a brief description of our time there, unless there is a hyperlink to the blog about our time there or to Compendium (our review of the campground).  Reflecting back (in March 2015) we have really enjoyed every location and have seen some great sights and learned a lot of history about the founding of this great country.

If there is an * by the name, we have stayed multiple times. The ranks are our personal opinions, with 5 as we must stay there again down to 1 where we will not stay again!

140 nights total from our first year as “extended stay” travelers

24). *Jacksonville North / St. Marys KOA, (rank 5) 5/19/2014 (3nd stay-one night)

23). Lake Aire RV Park & Campground, (rank 3) 4375 Hwy 162, Hollywood, SC 29449; Phone: 843-571-1271; 5/13-19/2014 (6 nights) (Toured Charleston, SC). LOVED the history here. Campground was ok. See the hyper-linked blog.

22). Campfire Lodgings, 116 Appalachian Village Road, Asheville, NC 28804; (rank 3) Phone (828) 658-8012; 5/9-13/2014 (4 nights). GREAT time. See the hyper-linked blog.

21). *Mayberry Campground, (rank 5) 114 Bunker Road, Mt. Airy, NC; Telephone: 336-789-6199 5/6-5/7/2014 (3 nights). Mt. Airy is Andy Griffiths’s home town and his show, Andy of Mayberry, was modeled after the town. The town has exploited this in a good way and have so many things to help you relive that wonderful show. We loved it and everything about the area. We wanted to watch some of his movies and/or TV shows afterwards, but the only way was to buy DVDs and we can’t carry around anything else in our RV! Very welcoming and relaxing. Great hiking nearby.

20) Jellystone at Natural Bridge #160; (rank 5) PO Box 266,16 Recreation Lane, Natural Bridge Station, VA 24579; Phone: 540-291-2727; 5/5-5/6/2014 (1 night). We did as much as possible here for an over nighter. Main thing was to see the Natural Bridge!

19). Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA, (rank 5) 484 Walnut Hills Road, Staunton, VA. 24401; Telephone # (800) 562-7566; 5/2-5/4/14 (2 nights). Beautiful resort and great location. We had a blast and hope to return.

18). North Fork RV Resort (small spaces-staff not very pleasant), (rank 1), Front Royal, VA 5/1-5/2 (2 nights). We had a fabulous time hiking and exploring. But the resort was not pleasant. Too small of spaces and the staff was borderline rude.

17). *KOA Fredericksburg 4/18-5/1 (13 nights), (rank 5) Jessica’s birthday and family time.

16) Waterway RV Resort, 850 Cedar Point Blvd., Cedar Point, NC. 28584, (rank 4); telephone # (888)318-1243; 4/13-18/2014 (5 nights). Read about this great time in the hyper-linked blog.

15). *KOA Fredericksburg, 3/26-4/13/14 (13 nights), (rank 5) Took Colin to Doc for 7 mo check up. Family time.

14). *Pirateland, 5401 S. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, SC, (rank5) 3/22-26/2014 (4 nights). We found more to do and really enjoyed our time here.

13). *Jacksonville North / St. Marys KOA, (rank 5) 3/22/2014 (2nd stay-one night). Again, just a stop over.

12). *Jacksonville North / St. Marys KOA, (rank 5) Scrubby Bluff Road; Kingsland, GA; Phone: 800-562-5220; 1/7-10/2014 (3 nights). This was a convenient stop coming or going to Sebring and heading to our daughter’s home.

87 nights total

11). *Pirateland, 5401 S. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, SC, (rank 5) 1/2-7/2014 (6 nights). We loved the beach at Myrtle Beach and tried this campground, which we now preferred over the other one. Friends from our first church now have a home here so we got up with the husband to catch up, went to their church and learned more about the area. But it was freezing (literally) so that put a hamper on things. But we found some great historical places to visit. We can walk on the beach no matter the weather.

10). *KOA Fredericksburg, 12/19-1/2/2014 (rank 5) (14 nights) Christmas with Jessica and family.

9) Jolly Time Acres, (rank 4) 289 home Taylor Road, St George, SC 29477; Dec 18 (one night). Bill stayed here alone as I flew up to Fredericksburg to care for Colin who was pretty sick. Bill drove up later after he handled a few things at home.

64 nights total

8). Panama City Beach RV Resort, (rank 5) 4702 Thomas Dr., Panama City Beach, FL 32408, Phone: 850-249-7352; 11/26-12/1 (5 nights) With friends. No blog. We stayed here over Thanksgiving. The park was fabulous, but it was freezing cold believe it or not.

7). Scenic Mountain RV Park, (rank 3) 2686 Irwinton Road/Business 441 N, Milledgeville, GA 11/22-11/26 (4 nights). No link to this blog, but I hope to write more one day and show pictures. This was a fascinating little town, originally the capital of Georgia. So much GREAT history. We rank this as having our favorite tour of a historical building, the Governor’s Mansion. The tour guide was a local college student majoring in history.

6). Forest Lake RV & Camping Resort, (rank 2) Thousand Trails Drive, Advance, NC 27006 11/19-11/22 (3 nights). No link to blog because this was such a short visit. We began to explore NC and had a few great hikes, met up with Bill’s cousin and we toured and throughly enjoyed the Billy Graham Library/museum.

5). *KOA Fredericksburg, VA, (rank 5) 10/10-11/19 (40 nights). No link to blog because this was family time.

4). Ocean Lakes Campground, Myrtle Beach, SC, (rank 3) 10/7-10/2013 (3 nights). No link to a blog. This was a nice resort and we had a good time.

3). Jekyll Island Campground, (rank 5) 10/4-6/2013 (3 nights). Oh we just loved this time! Read about it in the hyper-linked blog.

2) Port St. Lucie RV Resort, FL, (rank 5) a Passport America Campground, 9/17-9/21/2013 (4 nights). Fantastic!Read about it in the hyper-linked blog. Our only complaint was that the beach was about a 6 mile drive. The Campground is very isolated and not in that great of an area and it was so windy on the beach every day we were there. Not sure if this is typical or just the time of the year.

1). Tampa East, FL, Sun RV resorts, (rank 3) 9/5-9/7/2013 (2 nights). Great time. Read about it in the hyper-linked blog.