I agree with David.  I think there is some gypsy in both of us.  I can understand why people enjoy full time RV-ing, though wouldn't want to do that myself, even if we do spend more time in our camper than in our house.  I just need those roots and a place to call home! (Lynda

The "KEY" Place

Well we have made our goal.  The trouble is even though many will say we should be happy in fact at the moment we are not.  The reason is we enjoyed our travels and don't relish one place when we have this wonderful rolling home.  So Lynda and I have to get used to growing some roots again in one spot.  The trip down was an adventure and Lynda has put together some pictures of the time starting with the beauty of New Hampshire in the Fall.  Hope you have enjoyed our experiences.  (David)

We traveled from Tampa to the Everglades and camped at Seminole State Park which was really a nice place.  Being on the edge of the wilderness we hiked a trail through the hammock and enjoyed the various foliage.  By the waters edge we saw two Manatees and lots of jumping fish.  These state parks are so great especially in Florida.  Spent two days there. (David)

Lazy Days in Tampa FL

Getting close to the Keys.  We stopped to see our friends Ray and Joan Noel from the Keys campground in Ocala FL.  Spent the night there then headed for Tampa and a RV dealer/campsite called Lazy Days.  It is one of the biggest dealers in the world and is interesting for us to look around and get a few bits at the Camping World store.  Lynda got the new folding chair she has been eyeing and I got a new hose and pressure regulator and the high pressure in the last State campground blew out our new hose.  Isn't this all exciting?  We will stay here again tonight and then head for the Everglades and a state campground there.  We will wait a bit to go to the Keys as a hurricane is out in the ocean off Cuba.  Ugh.  But the season will be over at the end of November.  Anyway all is well.  (David)

Things are a bit anti-climatic now that the election is over.  We couldn't wait for it to be over, but now it is we're missing the excitement of it all.  I was overwhelmed by emotion on election night. I hadn't felt that way for many, many years.  I hope Obama's plans for the future can be fulfilled. It will make this country a better and more caring place to live if he succeeds. 

Having spent four nights in a beautiful state park surrounded by nature, we are now in central Florida, where every square inch seems to be taken up by houses or shopping plazas.  Thank goodness for the state parks which allow people from every walk of life to experience Florida (and other states) before it was spoilt by "progress".  (Lynda)

Today is Monday the day before the election and we are just relaxing and enjoying the widerness here.  Yesterday we took a long ride along the shore line of the Panhandle, the Gulf of Mexico sid  of Florida.  We ended up at a state park on St. George Island and it was beautiful.  They have a campground there also and we shall make it a point to stay there in the future.  Putting is some pictures of the area.  Along the inner shore line they have been hit hard by the hurricanes and the fact that Georgia has damned off the river that put fresh water into the bay.  That has hurt the Oyster fishing and as a result the area is very depressed.  Lots of abandoned homes and shops.  This was not the case on St. George Island where the homes were posh and sell for millions.  (David)

Well we finally left Alabama and the motorhome place.  We traveled a couple of hundred miles to Montgomery Alabama the day we left.  Took a campsite there and spent and uneventful night.  It felt good to be on the road again that's for sure.  I walked over to a fish place and got some nice flounder and shrimp for dinner.  We left early the next day.

Drove all day and after stopping for some fuel, mileage was 11 miles per gallon by the way, and for some food at Walmart then we made it to Ochlockonee River state park in Florida.  www.floridastateparks.org/ochlockoneeriver/default.cfm    It is on the southern tip of the Apalachicola National forest and is simply beautiful.  After we set up in a campsite near the river we went for a walk on one of the trails.  During that walk we saw much wildlife including deer, various birds, and several all white squirrels.  Our camper went from being the lowest on the totum pole at Tiffin, we were surrounded there by expensive rigs, to the top shelf amongst the pop up trailers and tent here.  The campers here are so friendly and down to earth.  We are going to do a paddle tomorrow and may stay here a few more days until after the election.  Go Obama.

Frank Lloyd Wright's House in Florence, Alabama

This house was built for the Rosenbaum family at the end of the Great Depression. Wright believed that the house should be the focal point of everything and that any embellishments, such as pictures would take away from the design and art of the house. In other words, for him, his architectural pieces were works of art. He insisted on designing the furniture to go with his buildings, although it did not look very comfortable, but certainly very beautiful in the surroundings. His buildings were designed to fit into the surroundings so that if they were no longer there, they would be missed. He also believed in minimalism and that there should only be enough in a house as was absolutely necessary. By today's standards the house looked quite small and lacking in wardrobe and cupboard space. The original kitchen was only as big as a galley in a boat or motor home. It has been restored at great expense by the city of Florence and it is great that they chose to invest in such a wonderful piece of architecture. We both loved it. (Lynda)

Frank Lloyd Wright house in Florence Alabama

Lynda and I escaped the Tiffin factory for a bit and went to see a wonderful house built by Frank Lloyd Wright the famous architect.  It was a real treat and we enjoyed the tour and the trip there.  We ate at Ruby Tuesday's which is fast becoming one of our favorites as I can get fish, salad and brown rice to fit into my diabetic needs.  We will be out of here Friday and have nothing but good things to say about the service they give and the way they back what they sell.  The only downfall was the large group of McCain people that own the more expensive rigs.  

Tiffin Motorhomes Monday 10-26-08

"Lynda and Charlie with horses next to Tiffin"
Red Bay Alabama, 5th day. sigh.............

Still here in Red Bay and it looks as if it could last a day or two more until all the repairs are done on our motor home.  The town of Red Bay has nothing to offer, and we find ourselves swpending time sitting in the cusotmer lounge talking to other motor home owners about their repairs and travel experiences.  Some of it is interesting, but most of it is boring - they're mainly McCain supporters!  Main talking point is usually dogs.  A large number of campers, many full timers, have dogs or cats.  For this generation our pets are an extension of the families we had before, when our kids lived at home.  Charlie is known to most people here who like dogs-what's not to love?

Tomorrow we hope to go to the town of Florence (Not Italy, Alabama) whose claim to fame is a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright.  There is also a Walmart-yippee= we hate Walmart, except when we haven't been to one for several days!  More tomorrow maybe.  (Lynda)

Still at Tiffin 10-25-08

Yesterday was a good day.  This company has such good service on what they make and the main reason we bought their product.  They just go out of their way to make you happy and tended most of the things we had on our list.  They have a full hook up area to park overnight or until your rig is done with.  We are in a site that has full electric, water, sewer and internet for free.  It is Sat and they don't do any service on the weekends so we are just chilling out.  We both chat with fellow motorhome owners who have come from all corners of the country to get various things done, mostly for free.  Being a family business the Tiffins have developed over the years,  a reputation for standing behind what they build.  With the severe economical hardships affecting everyone these days the plant is down to a crawl and they have had to lay off a large percentage of the staff due to lack of orders.  We hope they can stay in business and be there for us in the future.  Motorhomes are such complex units with many components that get juggled on bumpy roads.  Being with many other owners is good for me as I learn the in's and out's of keeping these rolling homes, rolling.  We plan to go for a walk today and tomorrow visit one of the famous architect's Frank Lloyd Wright's homes.  (David)

Thursday 10/23/08 in Red Bay Alabama

Tonight we sit in the parking lot of the factory that made our Bus.  Tiffin industries.  We have some things that they will take care of as part of the warranty and so here we are.  Had a good ride today from the mountains in Tenn but a long ride.  Almost four hundred miles and some of it on twisting mountain roads.  Hair pin turns to be exact.  To top it off the 12 volt plug for our brake buddy, the device that puts the brakes on our towed Honda broke.  I stopped at a radio shack and bought a new one but couldn't get the wires right and just drove with the coach brakes.  Good thing we have a diesel engine with an exhaust brake to help on the steep roads.  Running the generator now as we have no hook ups here.  Have to get into service at 7 am, ugh.  Talked to a guy from Tiffin and they have been hurt like many with the economy and are laying off workers and cutting production.  Oh we had a bad thing happen.  Lynda and I put Obama stickers on the car and some crude creep keyed the car.  Goes to show you what a coward will stoop too.  Shame.  We put away the big sign in these RED states. (Oh Lynda said to tell everyone that Red are Republican or right wing states, the opposite of the UK) I guess they haven't gotten over the civil war.  David

Day in the Smoky Mountains

Last year in May we had visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and were in awe of its beauty and wildlife, so decided to visit it again this trip.  A special place on our first visit was Cade's Cove Loop Road where we had seen many bears and deer.  We decided to make this our first stop, but were fairly late starting the day so didn't get there until early afternoon.  We were so disappointed not to see one single bear and just a few microscopic deer in the distance.  We had seen more in our back garden in New Hampshire!  A hike in the high mountains was also on the agenda, but David wasn't feeling too great so we decided on a short hike at the earliest possible place after the loop road.  We walked along a pleasant enough trail, but it was nothing spectacular so that after ten minutes or so we headed back.  Suddenly David called out, "Bear!"  As usual I thought he was kidding until I saw a black shape above us.  I had read that black bears don't usually attack unless they are mothers with babies.  I told David not to move or speak and we just watched it.  It turned out to be a mother bear with two cubs!  Although the family had spotted us they did nothing aggressive and just seemed to want to be on their way as quickly as possible.  The cubs soon followed mum, speeding up when they saw us.  I must admit that I was a little scared, but also thrilled.  It was even better seeing them like that than driving by in a car.  (Lynda)

"SMOKIN" in the Great Smoky Mountains, Love it!

We are back in one of our favorite areas.  Nice quick ride and settled in a rustic campsite at the foot of the mountains.  We will ride through them tomorrow and hike some.  Poor Charlie can't come as he would be no match for a black bear and their are many up here.  David

Monday Oct 20th 2008 to Radford VA

Zooming along Interstate 81 we landed in a small campsite on the New River at Radford VA.  The water was right behind us and I was so tempted to get my boat off the car and go for a paddle.  But I was tired from the drive and chose to be lazy.  Site was nice and cheap, $14.95 with our Passport America membership.  A bit noisy as it was near interstate but we did fine.  There was a small store/cafe with lots of locals eating in the morning and I enjoyed chatting with them.  Lynda and I walked Charlie along an old railroad bed before we pushed off for the Smoky mountains in Tennessee.  We plan to spend a couple of days there and do some hiking and Bear watching, we hope.

Oct 19th the Elks in Hagerstown MD

Had another good ride today.  Went quite far.  We are spending the night at the Elks in Hagerstown Maryland right of route 81.  Have taken a lot of pictures, at least Lynda has and will post them on Picasa photos with a link when I get a chance.  Trying to make up some time so we can spend a couple of days hiking in the Smoky Mountains before we get to Red Bay and the Tiffin Motorhome plant.   (David)

Picture of Lynda in front of Bus at Moose Lodge.
Nice first day.  We made it all the way to Danbury Connecticut Moose Lodge.  There we stayed in their parking lot and plugged into the building.  They were very nice as always and bought us a drink.  This is the third time we have stopped there on the way south.  With it being the end of the season for campsites up north this place works out so great.  Right near by are a Red Lobster and an Olive Garden so we stop in for a bite.  Very cold that night.  Glad we are heading for warmer weather.  Everything gets easier each year we do this and today was a cinch.  (David)

Sat Oct 18th and packing up

Well here we go again.  Can't believe how fast the summer went.  It's cold out and gives us some peace of mind knowing we are leaving the cold long winter up here.  29 deg. F last night, burr.  Have to get going as last things are draining the whole house and locking it up.  We did most last night.  Heading for East Hartford Moose for tonight, will write more later.  Cheers (David)