September 3, 2023
Spent the first part of the week getting the last of the things done we needed to do before hitting the road on Thursday. Another week of very little exploring and lots of waiting around and taking the RV from place to place.
8/28-8/30- We have enjoyed all the people we have met in Red Bay. Most of the last few days have been getting to know our neighbors at Red Bay Acres RV park. Staying at Red Bay Acres has been a real bonus. They have a building called the Yacht Club with couches, TV, food and most important, air condition and pets are welcome to hang out there with you too. Most of the places you take your RV to want it there at 6 or 7 am and then some will let you hang out in the RV and others ask you to just drop it off and come back later. For the second group having a place to spend the day was great. We finished up on Monday at the Tiffin Service Center and then we headed across the lot to the mechanical department to get our oil changed on the RV and the generator.
Tuesday we got the couch we really wanted. We had put our home recliner in our old RV and it was so comfortable. Both of us prefer having a recliner to lean back and relax in. Unfortunately our home couch in our old RV was just a little too big for this RV so we were stuck with a regular couch. We had bought some hassocks to put our legs up on but we really wanted to trade our couch out for one with recliners. So it was off to Bunkhouse were they pulled the couch out that came with the RV and put the recliners in. We have all really enjoyed being able to recline once more, even Teddi likes the new couch.
Wednesday was our last full day here and we had Fowler Detailing come out and clean our RV inside and out. They put a compound on the roof to make it last longer, shined the wheels and even buffed out the headlights. Now everything is nice a sparkly and we are done at Red Bay for this trip.
Everyone we had met that owned a Tiffin told us how wonderful Red Bay was for getting any service you wanted done on your RV and they were right. Everybody treated us wonderfully, did a great job and were so friendly. We well definitely come back to Red Bay if we need any major work done in the future.
8/31- Headed out this morning to Lake Guntersville State Park. https://www.alapark.com/parks/lake-guntersville-state-park It was only about 2 ½ hours to the East of Red Bay. We stopped there because we have dear friends from Tennessee who live nearby and we really wanted to see them. So glad we did because the campground and surrounding area is so beautiful. We spent the rest of the day hanging around the park. We saw lots of deer and squirrels. Even Teddi enjoyed sitting outside with us and seeing the birds.
This evening when the sun started going down we headed to the water and visited with people down at the dock while the sun set. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect too. Not so hot and humid as it had been for the past few weeks.
9/1- Before meeting up with our good friends this evening for dinner we were off to do some exploring. We had noticed a large building above the campground so we had to drive up and see what it was. It was a lodge for vacationers that preferred to do the vacations in a room instead of in a campground. The views from there were amazing and although the day was gray and cloudy we still took pictures of the lake from up there.
Then we got ready to head to a pocket park we had heard about. Along the way there we keep passing signs for The Trail of Tears. One of the signs had a QR code that you could scan and listen to the recording, so we learned about the area and the tribes that passed through there on the way to Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears was not just one massive group trip. Multiple trips were made that traveled different routes. The Trail that runs through Lake Guntersville State Park was called the Benge Route and traveled through Huntsville, Alabama, across Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas to reach Indian Territory which is today’s Oklahoma. https://www.nps.gov/trte/planyourvisit/alabama.htm
Then it was off to Bucks Pocket State Park which was a small park but was supposed to have a large overview that we were told was amazing. We drove through the park which was only a few miles long and then back through a second time looking for the lookout. Finally we went to the campground and were told we had to leave the park, drive around to another road that lead to the overlook. Although the overlook was nice it was not as impressive as we were lead to believe especially for all the wandering around we had to do to find it. Although we did spot an albino deer in the park we were not fast enough to get a picture of it. Neither of us had ever seen an albino deer before. https://www.alapark.com/parks/bucks-pocket-state-park/scenic-overlook
Then it was time to meet our friends in nearby Albertville, AL. When we lived in Tennessee we were friends with the Wooten family. I worked with Beth and she was a good friend and always there for me. Her oldest daughter babysat our kids and the middle daughter was friends with our son Pieter. We had an amazing time having dinner and catching up with them. Unfortunately it was not until we were heading back to our campground for the night that we realized we had not managed to get one picture of us all together. Still seeing them made our stop in this part of Alabama well worth it.
9/2- It’s my birthday and I got another year older. We spent the day traveling to Montgomery, Alabama where we stopped at a little campsite for the night. I got lots of birthday wishes from friends and family. Our trip today was long and by the time we got to the campsite we were ready to just lay around and take it easy the rest of the night.
9/3- Left Alabama today and made it to Fort Walton Beach, Florida on the panhandle of Florida. My Great Niece and family live near here so we are looking forward to visiting them and spending some time in the area. But after a long trip where we managed to get lost trying to find our campground and ended up in an interesting area of town we were wiped out. We had to stop on the side of the road and disconnect the Jeep and turn the RV around before heading to our campground so it was time to relax and bit and also time to do much needed laundry. Tomorrow we will start exploring the area and visiting with family and we look forward to both things.
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