When we left Warner Robins on Oct. 5th, we first spent 2 days in Savannah and Tybee Island. It was a beautiful area and if I ever make the jump to go to art and design school, I would definitely consider SCAD (Savannah Centre of Art and Design).

Next we stopped in Jekyll Island, a beautiful little island with a strong view to conservation. The highlight here was meeting a group that was doing shrimping over the beach and they let me have a go at it. I had to really control myself when I was constantly getting nibbled by curious little fish and rammed by panicked shrimp. I’m just glad I didn’t get nibbled by any sharks.

Next, we went to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. This was a great little beach town and our hotel was right on the beach where we spent most of the time looking for sharks teeth. It is supposed to be a hot bed for all sizes of teeth. The only one I brought home was given to me by a regular visitor who found one in about one minute. The only disappointing this about Amelia Island is that most of it was for sale. They had not faired well in the real estate collapse.

From there we followed the Flordia coast south and had dinner on the beach in Daytona. I thought it was great to be able to drive right onto the beach. I guess it just makes sense in the birthplace of NASCAR. After dinner we headed to Orlando, where I spent 2 days at a commercial real estate course.

From Orlando we head to the Gulf and stopped in Fort Walton Beach near Destin. This was a very touristy place and also another area hit by the real estate decline.

After ripping through Alabama and Mississippi we stopped in New Orleans. A fantastic place to visit. So much history in the French Quarter where we stayed. We even walked Bourbon Street with the kids at night. Lots to see and surprisingly the kids didn’t even ask why there where so many scantily dressed women in many of the store fronts. For us, New Orleans was all about the food. We sampled everything that Louisiana is known  for and I fell in love with crawfish (not crayfish!!) and Amelia with Gumbo.

We had one more stop in Louisiana and that was for lunch in Breux Bridge, the Crawfish Capital of the World. I had the crawfish platter with crawfish prepared in about 10 different ways. I was all amazing.

Our next stop was in Houston. Unfortunately, I’m not sure this is a city I would return to, but we did have a great visit with some old family friends. The first time since we left Winnipeg in July.

Our next stop was in Frisco to stay with more family friends. This time we took a break and we stayed a whole week. With beautiful weather and great friends it was a welcome break.

Next up was Gurdon, Arkansas for another day with friends of the same family. That whole family is great which is why we planned visit more of them after stopping in Jacksonville, Arkansas to visit a few mobile home parks. Originally, we had planned to stay in Jacksonville for a couple more months, nursing our new mobile home additions to health, but they have not yet come through so we stopped, shook hands and sailed on through to Conway, Arkansas to meet the rest of the family.

Our last “friendly” stop was in Garnett, Kansas to meet friends from the mobile home park world.

After one more night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, we hightailed it back to Winnipeg. But not before getting hit by a nasty, slushy, slick snow storm. Luckily, we did not end up in the ditch like some many others we say and we got past Grand Forks (Super Target) and Canada Customs without incident and back into Winnipeg on Oct 30th, at 7pm.

Since we have been home, I have been get everything back in order. Going through mail. Updated Quicken. Filing. Banking. This next week I spent working on a plan for one of the parks we looked at in Arkansas and fired my mortgage broker. Now we are on our own and looking for someone to help us get another park or two.

Again, sorry I haven’t written for a while. Just needed to focus on the present as the present blew past.

I’m back.

We left the house at about 7:30am and the fog was very think. At first, I thought the moon was trying to poke through and then realized it was actually the sun.

The trip down to the coast was very nice as State Road 96 was lined with trees. In some spots, it reminded me of River Heights in Winnipeg, where the trees from either side reach across and touch over the center of the road. By the time we reach Savannah, my view of forests took a totally different view. The moss just hangs off the branches as you can see from the first photo. It is the coolest thing. Savannah is a beautiful little town and we plan to go back again soon to spend some quality time there.

The main purpose of our trip was to get to Fort Pulaski National Monument. This was a Union fort built as protection from the British after the the War of 1812. However, was never really used for this purpose of course so it was home to 2 people, a commander and a maintenance person. However, at the time of the Civil War, the Confederates knew about the “large” number of forces at the based and walked in and took over. A little over a year later, knowing the construction of the fort, the Union forces used a new type of cannon to take back control of the park.

The fort is surrounded by a moat which is a playground for a few alligators (Amelia saw one). The mounds that you can see at the front of the fort in the picture are actually underground rooms. I was amazed that in the heat of Georgia, the inside of the fort and especially the underground, stayed nice and cool. Of course, out in the open the sun was pretty scorching.

After leaving Fort Pulaski we head to Tybee Island. We had no idea what to expect, thinking it was going to be a little beach and some place for us to get lunch. When we got there, we quickly realized it was so much more. Tybee Island is a little beach/surfer town that comes with the style of many towns like it. Brightly colored, very busy and many young people walking around in bathing suits.

Every where there was a spot to park, there was a meter or parking station for you to put money in. Every where! We lucked out and got parking right at the beach and then went for a walk to visit the shops and get some lunch.

We got to the beach and ran right into the water. I expected that the water would be cold or at least cool. To my surprise the water was really warm. I guess I have to stop using my trip to the Bay of Fundy in April as my basis for measurement and expectation.

However, looking out over the water you could see two storms coming in with lightening and everything. We weren’t in the water for 5 minutes when the life guards called everyone off the beach and 10 minutes later the water was coming down in sheets. By the time we were changed and driving away again, the street were flooded with water. So we had a short visit, but Amelia is already figuring out when we can go back to visit again.

Leaving Tybee Island we headed for Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. The coast is dotted with tons of fair sized islands, but only a few are accessible. Basically, between Tybee Island and Hilton Head Island there isn’t much to visit.

I used to work with someone who visited Hilton Head a lot and when I saw how close it was to where we were going to be in Savannah, I decided we simply had to go. I am very glad we did, for two reasons. First, Hilton Head Island is designed with a purpose in mind. All of the commercial centers along the main roads are build behind a layer of trees. All you see are the signs and entrances. It feels like you are driving through the bush to get to the store.

The other reason is that they had a public beach, which meant we got another chance to play at the beach. The clouds were still there, but they weren’t threatening. The waves were just big enough for the kids to play in. It was great to watch them jumping and body surfing in the waves, being so confident in the water. Amelia’s swimming lessons are quickly paying off.

After getting our fill at the beach, it was time for lunch. We ate at the Smokehouse Restaurant. The food wasn’t the greatest, but Katie was an excellent server.

Back in the car and headed for home. We got home around midnight, fully satisfied with an excellent day.

I was on Facebook this morning and I noticed a YouTube video about a 13 year old boy named Andrew Johnston who sang on Britain’s Got Talent. I have included the video here and I wanted to point out something that is said in the video. It is when Simon Cowell asks young Andrew if his friends support his singing (paraphrased):

Simon: Do you friends support your singing?

Andrew: Well, I get bullied a lot at school.

Simon: Why do they bully you?

Andrew: My mates say they don’t like that kind of music.

Simon: And how do you deal with it?

Andrew: I just carry on singing.

Sometimes, it takes a child for us to see how our fears stop us. What is it that you enjoy doing? What do your friends think of it? Are you going to carry on or are you going to let them tell you what they think and leave your dreams behind?

It’s your choice, not theirs.

I was pretty happy about that this morning when Natalie and I went to clean the van. The van was filthy inside after the road trip. The kids drop a lot of things between the seat cushions and on the floor and the constant in and out at camp sites tracks in tons of dirt.

While I worked, Natalie played in the playground across the drive. She made me go and wipe all the seats because they were wet from an overnight rain. Then she hung out inside, in the shade because she was sweating so bad. Then she found stick and when I was done washing the van, we parked in at the apartment and walked down to “Crocodile Lake” so she could through it in.

All in a morning’s work.

To find a hotel, we took advantage of Priceline.com to find a good rate. If you have never used Priceline, I would recommend it. We got a room at Jameson Inn for $38 a night! While it is only a 2+ star hotel, it is also one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in. The staff is excellent and friendly and they have everything we could have needed from a hotel, short of a kitchenette. We have a microwave, a fridge, complimentary wireless Internet, expanded continental breakfast, swimming pool and exercise room. The hotel is beautiful. Honestly, I have been in some great hotels in many cities around Canada and the US and it turns out that most every room in every hotel is the same except for the fact that some of them have certain features. But essentially, each is about the same. In my experience, when it comes to the things that count, Jameson Inn has what we need.

After a swim yesterday, we got ready for bed and watched a bit of television (had not seen any for a week). When we woke this morning, we had a great breakfast and then got ready to go to church. We found the only Roman Catholic Church in Warner Robins. Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a newer, big, beautiful church. Everyone we met was very friendly. In fact, we may even sign the kids up to play soccer.

After church we went swimming because it was getting pretty warm already. Then we walked across the street to check out the stores and find out some information about getting a new cell phone. From there we went out to get some groceries for dinner and then some more swimming.

The day is essentially done now and we just have to get ready. Will update again once we are in the apartment.

Take care.

At the end of Thursday (Day 5), we were supposed to stop just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, but along the way we found Mammoth Cave National Park, in Kentucky, and decided to visit. Amelia had heard about it from a friend who had said it was a great place. She was right. They have a network of caves that is the longest in the world, coving several layers and passages. At this point they have mapped over 360 miles and believe that there are about 500. Since we arrived late, the chances of rain were 70%, and they offered a camp theatre, so we decided to stay the night. Luckily, for a little more money they provide a nice tent with hard sides, two bedrooms, a bathroom and four beds. A bit more comfortable I must say. If you are ever out this way, you should definitely visit.

On Friday, we woke up and got out as early as we could, but didn’t do much better than any other day. Very quickly, along the way I saw a sign for the National Corvette Museum. I figured, if it was what it sounded like, it would be fun to visit. Well, unknown to me, the Chevrolet Corvette plant is in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the museum is right across the road from it. It was very cool and of course they had tons of cool cars and exhibits to look at. We also drove around the plant, but that was kind of depressing because there were hardly any cars on the lot. I’m not sure if that plant has been affected by the issues that GM has been having.

From teme museum we headed to Nashville to drive through the more famous areas. We started with the State Capitol building. It sits atop the highest point in the city and has some very good views of the city. We did a self-guided tour and I explained as much as I could to Matthew. I think the best part though, was when we drove up to the building. We stopped at a security booth and the state trooper there was very friendly. He asked where we were from and then gave us some premium parking in the employee parking area. Very nice. Unfortunately, when we came back after our tour, he was gone. It was a great experience though.

After all the touring around, Natalie decided that we were going to McDonald’s. At least we had Internet.

I also had to make some phone calls and needed a pay phone. Did you know, with the progress of cell phones today, there are almost no pay phones around. I ended up in what I figured is probably the last place left. A place of last resort. The Greyhound Bus terminal. I think they had ALL the pay phones in the city.

Calls made, and more lessons learned, we were back on the road. This time we decided to drive as long as we could to get as close to Atlanta as possible. We hit some speeds along the highway that I never expected. I think I was doing 90 mph at one point and people we easily passing me. Funny thing is that this was the area that had the most warning signs for speeding.

The driving has been pretty amazing the entire trip. The Interstate system is excellent and for the most part the road surfaces are nice. The scenary is surprisingly beautiful. Of course, near Lake Michigan it was expected, but I never expected it in Kentucky and Tennessee. It is like driving in the mountains. Fast going down with brakes on the keep your speed in check. Slow going up, trying to balance between air conditioning and speed and checking to see if the gas gauge is working.

Today, Saturday, we are driving past Atlanta (no time on this trip through), to Macon to do some banking and then to Warner Robins to check into our apartment. Then the fun begins. Laundry, laundry, laundry…

On Monday we found our way to the Outlets in Albertville just before Minneapolis. All the trouble to get there and we only visited a couple of stores. Doesn’t take long to get bored of that, so we made our way to Oakdale, Wisconsin, but not before stop at a the Cheese Haus to pick up some Wisconsin cheese.

The campground that we were at that night was basically a field, but it did have some simple climbing structures for the kids and a very nice shower. Off again bright and early at 10am (it takes a while to pack up).

On Tuesday, after leaving there Oakdale, we drove to Zion, Illinois via the I-94, around Madison and then along Lake Michigan. It was a wonderful, slow drive with amazing neighbourhoods and views. If there was ever a place that I would consider buying a house on the great lakes, this would be one place.

The camp site we had that night was in the Illinois Beach State Park. It was very nice. Not as clean as the others, but that is what government control is all about. We set up camp, then headed to town for some ice cream and grocery shopping at Piggly Wiggly. We even had a camp fire with marshmallows that night. After cleaning the dinner mess, we headed over the to beach. It was on a deserted section of beach (known for the occasional asbestos debris) but the water was very nice and the sky over the water was lit up by the setting sun behind us (we were looking east, just so you get the picture). The water was kind of cold so no one ventured in past their ankles. The kids just played in the sand, as always. At dusk, the mosquitos…oh the mosquitos…had their fill as well.

In the morning, the weather was perfect so we had a good solid breakfast of fried luncheon meat and scrambled eggs. Not the champaign of luncheon meat the Maple Leaf makes, but that is the sacrifice we make.

With everything cleaned up and the van packed we headed to the water again. This time we were there to swim. At least Amelia and I were. We had our wetsuits and boy did we need them. I stood in the water for about 5 minutes waiting for my body to adjust to the temperature, but that didn’t happen before the pain of set in. I decided that I had better just jump in. The water was cold and after a little swimming, my muscle didn’t hurt quite as much. Seeing me come out of the water looking all fresh, Natalie wanted to join me. So I carried her into the water. She was rather shocked from the cold as well, and she did well after a minute or so. Amelia took about as long to get in as me and enjoyed it about as much. Very refreshing!

On Wednesday, we made our way along the coast towards Chicago so that we could drive along Lake Shore Blvd and Michigan Ave. As far as cities go, downtown Chicago is one of my favourites and we quickly added it to places to live during our lives. The activity, the sites, the lake. All wonderful.

After a little driving around the city, we made our way onto the highway again and headed out towards Indiana. We stopped in Munster, Indiana for lunch, and I was disappointed that I didn’t see any hearses driving around. Off again with focus on getting to the next campground. However, along the way I found a field of wind mills and having never been close to one, we ventured off the highway to get a closer look. They are HUGE. And so it the corn in the fields around it.

Back on the road with a focus on getting to the next campground (kids are getting anxious). However…we found another outlet mall and Amelia wanted to check to see if the Columbia store had any kids rain coats that we couldn’t find in Albertville. No luck. Back on the road with a focus…

And we finally made it to the Columbux Woods and Waters campground. This was a great campground for fireflies and frogs and we were lulled asleep by hundreds of frog getting their courting on. In the morning, Matthew made friends with a firefly and they played with it for quite some time. Now we are busy working and they are playing with another boy in the basketball court.

Today, Thursday, we are off to Nashville (or at least outside of it). Not sure what we are going to do. First things first, I have some emergencies to handle, we have to go swimming and get some lunch before we get out on the road again. I will write again as soon as possible, and that might be in Warner Robins.

Today we are going to Oakdale, Wisconsin. On the way we will be hitting the outlet malls just this side of Minneapolis. I know Amelia is looking forward to it. I hope I find something interesting for me.

The day started very well. We are approaching 10am and the kids are in the van and ready to go. Marv and Karen the owners of the campground are great people and make the stay very enjoyable. I will pass along a story about them when I have more time. Amazing!

One last thing. I wanted to comment about our border crossing yesterday. I noticed that the Homeland Security flag was at half mast and so I as the roder agent about it. He said that there was an agent in Arizona that had been shot in the line of duty. It made me think of the couple who crossed at the same border crossing as us. They mistook the husband for a criminal and held he and his wife at gun point. Hearing these two stories, I realized that so many people complain about the border crossing agents for wahatever reason, and simply do not understand the importance and responsibility of the job that these people have, both side of the border. I just want to say that I think they do a fabulous job and I am thankful that they are willing to put themselves out there, even if it is an “inconvenience” to me.

If I get another chance, I will post about the day’s events later.

About an hour later we were in Emerson at the US border crossing. Getting through the line there took about an hour. But once they got to us, it went very quickly. I think it was because of three things. 1. We were friendly. 2. We tell the truth. 3. We expressed interest in the agent. This combination has always made our travels very easy.

After getting through the border, we were off to Grand Forks where we stopped from lunch at Subway, our favourite travel stop. Back on the road towards Fargo where we stopped at Target to get some groceries. Finally, we made it to our campground just outside of Ashby, Minnesota just before 6pm. Very easy day of driving and lots of stops to keep the blood in the legs and the sanity in the kids.

The campground is very nice (for an RV park) and the kids loved the brand new playground. They played for about an hour while we got camp set up and dinner ready. The weather was beautiful for an outdoor meal, after which we got the kids ready for bed.

Now, here I sit writing this post on a picnic table in the middle of nowhere. I love wireless. The sun just set a while ago so the bugs are telling me to get into the tent.