Stone Mountain is a huge rock that has quite a history. It’s over 800 feet high and has a nice trail leading to the top with a great view of the surrounding area and Atlanta. The park originally opened on April 14, 1965 – 100 years to the day after Lincoln’s assassination. Along with being over 800′ above ground it goes 9 miles underground. It also has a huge carving of three Confederate leaders of the Civil War: President Jefferson…
Today we took a stroll down memory lane for Jamie. She lived just west of Atlanta for quite a few years of her youth so we went exploring to see her old house, schools and studio that she learned gymnastics, which was a big part of her life and she became very good at. She even tried out for the junior olympics and took third place. Not very interesting pictures for anyone but Jamie but I’m posting them since it…
On the 15th we headed for Atlanta. We slept in and got a late start so made a 2 day drive out of it just so we didn’t push ourselves. Where did we stop? Walmart trailer trash we are! We got to Stone Mountain Heights rv park which is about a half hour East of Atlanta thinking we got the perfect location. It was a half hour from Atlanta, and a half hour and 45 minutes from two of Jim’s…
After Tampa we were planning on heading to Atlanta but our friends, Jessica and Gunther from Jacksonville, decided to finally tie the knot after 15 years together. So we decided to head to Atlanta via Jacksonville. We got a site at our favorite rv park in Jacksonville, Pecan Park. The wedding was at a little “wedding chapel” across from the courthouse on Thursday the 12th. Afterwards we headed to Jacksonville beach for some celebrating. We hit all their old watering…
We got to Tampa on the 22nd and parked at the Lazy Days rv resort. A very nice place. Unfortunately the biggest reason we chose it was because we needed some work done on the rv. The serpentine belt was making some noise even though it was less than a year old and the inverter wasn’t working right. We had some electrical issues at the Marathon resort and I have a feeling there were some power surges there that caused…
We left Key West on the 21st to head back to Tampa so Jamie could get eye surgery done. On the way we stopped just west of Miami for an overnight at a small casino that allowed overnight rv parking. The next morning we booked an everglades air boat tour. We had done one in Louisiana but decided to give this one a shot and we liked it better. The guide was a native American that was raised on the…
After the party we had to beeline it back to Marathon because we had to check out of our campground the next day. We decided to take a chance and see if the naval station on Key West had any openings and we were lucky enough to get one. Not only get one but not a spot on the front row right on the water. It was dry camping but we didn’t care. It was only for 4 days so…
We got back from St. Maartin and 2 days later Jim had to go to work. When he got back we went to a little aquarium called the Marathon aquarium. There were fish, gators, etc. Nothing spectacular but was fun. Unfortunately, the next day we got word that Jim’s Uncle Bill was in the hospital. Jim flew up and within hours he passed away. I’m totally convinced he waited till I got there before letting himself go. Was a sad…
January 17 we headed down to the Florida keys. We booked a great little rv park called Marathon marina and rv park. It was ridiculously expensive but we got a spot right on the waterfront that offered spectacular sunsets and view. They had a nice pool and great outdoor restaurant. The end of the month we flew to St. Maarten with some friends of ours for 5 days. We have started a tradition of going somewhere warm we’ve never been…
On January 12th we checked off one of our must do own. In a town called Crystal River they have a river that the manatees migrate to during the winter for warmth. It’s somewhat regulated but you can actually swim with them and many times they’ll come right up to you. Jamie has a thing for manatees (that and sea turtles) so she was really excited about this one. We decided to book a tour although you can do it…
For Christmas, New Year’s and Jamie’s mom’s 75th birthday we headed north to Michigan. We had another treat for the holidays as Jamie’s brother and family all flew up from Australia for the visit. We only get to see them once a year or less so it was a real treat. Christmas was spent visiting both Jamie’s mom in southern Michigan and her dad in northern Michigan so we got some miles in. New Year’s was down in Detroit with…
We were only able to get the site in Clearwater for a month so we had to move in the middle of November. We didn’t have another reservation and Jamie needed to continue with her physical therapy so Macdill AFB has a section that they rotate people through that didn’t deserve a year in advance. You start in their dry camp area, then move to the electric only area when a spot opens, then to the full hookup sites when…
Following along with the last sentence from my previous post we returned to Nashville on the 14th to some unusually cold weather. The nights were in the 30’s with a forecast to get even colder over the next few days. Besides obviously not being fans of cold weather I also get concerned about pipes and hoses freezing. Or next planned stop was the Tampa area so Jamie did some research into finding a place she could do her physical therapy…
Monday was the beginning of more traveling. Jim started with his annual trip to Orlando for his friend’s Disney golf outing. That went till Friday then we both flew to St. Croix for our annual homeowner’s meeting on Saturday. After the meeting we flew to St. Thomas and meet up with Jamie’s sister and her boyfriend and stayed there till Thursday. While we were there our friends Tiff & Lori just so happened to be on a cruise that stopped…
The beginning of November we did a tour of the Grand Ole Opry, the new one that is, which was right around the block from our campground. This theater, as we learned, is actually the 5th location of the Opry, the first being a downtown radio studio opening in 1925. From there it moved to 2 more locations before moving to the Ryman theater in 1943 where we also went to see a show a few days prior. It remained…
Most of October was spent with some side trips, physical therapy for Jamie, and work for Jim followed by our annual trip to myrtle beach the 3rd week of October. After returning to Nashville we spent a few days recuperating then on the 29th we decided to drive to Arnold AFB to get our military retiree id cards. Jamie did a little research and discovered the Jack Daniels distillery was on the way home in Lynchburg, Tn. So we made…
We finally left Michigan on October 7 and headed to Nashville. This was our first time in Nashville and we found a KOA near the Grand Ole Opry that was a decent enough place, although since we booked somewhat last minute and wanted a site for a month we were put at the back of the park in a not so great spot. But it had all we needed and the location was great so we were fine. They even…
September was another busy month. Jim had 3 work trips plus a week in New Hampshire to stay with his mom while Sue and Dan went on a jeep trip. Jamie had to have rotator cuff surgery so she was pretty much out of commission for most of the month. But as I mentioned in a previous post Jamie set us up for a stay at the Arcadia Bluffs Gc for my birthday. Although I’ve played the course before we’ve…
In Empire, Michigan there are very large sand dunes in a park called Sleeping Bear national park. We took a ride up there with Jim and Cheryl and they were pretty amazing. There’s a trail you can hike from the parking lot, up about a 100′ climb to the top of the dunes, then about a 2 mile walk up and down a bunch more dunes to Lake Michigan. We got about half way to the lake and decided to…
During our stay in northern Michigan Jim got to play one of his favorite golf courses in the country, Acadia Bluffs. He played it years ago with Jamie’s dad and had been itching to get back. It’s a links style golf course that reminds me of St. Andrews, huge pot bunkers and all. The weather was beautiful and as usual the course was spectacular. At sundown they have a bagpipe player that plays at the edge of the course…