American by birth, Southern by the grace of God.
Louis Grizzard, a great American
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's choice ~ not chance ~ that determines your destiny.
Jean Nidetch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Monday, May 20, 2013

Moving right along............

We are on our way to St. Andrews State Park in Panama City, FL, for four months:  from 6/1 until 10/1.  

On the way we are making a couple of stops.  First at Florence Marina State Park in Georgia on the large Walter F. George Reservior.  The campground here is small with only 46 sites but it is very well maintained with many large oaks and pines.  No "overgrown" brush, etc., between the sites.  The bath house is new and exceptionally nice.




Site #20


Today we drove over to Providence Canyon State Park, also in Georgia.  They call this the little grand canyon but to me it resembles Bryce Canyon in Utah, only much smaller.  I would have liked to walk to the bottom on one of the trails but knees won't permit it!  





 
On the way back we stopped in Lumpkin, GA, at  a local BBQ joint, 4 Way Stop BarBQue, appropriately named for it's corner location at the 4 way stop, of course.  Very interesting place:  the owner lives in the large older house and after cooking barbecue on his front porch for himself for several years, he decided why not cook for lots of others?  So he made the large hallway the inside eating area and the large front porch the outside eating areaThe kitchen is in the front corner of the house and the waitress opens the window to serve the "to go" customers.  Usually open Thursday through Sunday, we lucked up as they were open today to feed the crew shooting a movie in the areaFood was great too!

Front of the house/restaurant.

Corner angle showing the stop signs!

  Front wrap-around pouch with seating and more tables and large grills in the gazebo area.

 Inside hall with tables

 Part of the living quarters, roped off living room between kitchens (2).  More living quarters were on the left side of the hall.



Tomorrow we are heading further south to Lake Seminole in Georgia and in Florida.

















Sunday, May 5, 2013

Catching Up..............


This is already May.....and we have been super busy!

Tallie is still with us and doing great.  She fit in perfectly with our family.  She took over almost immediately but Buddy still (thinks he) rules the roost....LOL!

In March we went to St. Andrews State Park, Panama City, FL, to meet up with our friends Barb and Ron from Navarre, FL.  

Sites 37 and 39 at St. Andrews.  Our camper and their motor home.

In April we met up with them again at a great little place in Keaton Beach, FL....Old Pavillion RV Resort, a really cute little Mom and Pop style campground directly on the GulfWe already made reservations to return next April for 2 weeks.  Thanks, Karen at Florida/Georgia Camping for the tip on this little gem.


 Site #24 on the Gulf


 Had a great time exploring the area and finding some new restaurants.  One day we took a picnic lunch and found a picnic area at Bald Point State Park.  
  Ron and Barb

We managed to get the Kayak out for a few paddling trips. 
 That's us beside the 2 palm trees.

We stayed at Keaton Beach for 10 nights then moved over to Chiefland to visit with our cousin at her place.  She has a great set-up for visiting campers, with full hook ups!  
 
Set up at Marilyn's.
We took many, many road trips from these two locations and visited 12 State Parks, 3 Springs and the old Florida cross state canal:

  • Econfina River State Park
  • Forest Capital Museum State Park
  • Wakulla Springs State Park
  • Ochlockonee River State Park
  • Bald Point State Park
  • Lafayette Blue Springs State Park
  • Peacock Springs State Park
  • Troy Springs State Park
  • Devil's Millhopper State Park
  • Itchetucknee Springs State Park
  • San Felasco Hammock State Park
  • Rainbow Springs State Park
  • Ginny Springs
  • Pie Springs
  • Blue Springs
  • Inglis Locks and Spillway
 Suwanee River at Lafayette Blue Springs State Park

Many of the Springs are closed to swimming due to high water levels from local flooding of the rivers.  Suwanee River was 5 to 6 feet above normal.

 Flooded walkway and stairs going down to Lafayette Blue Springs.  Notice the tarnish colored water from the flooding.

Peacock Springs was one of my favorites.  Just beautiful and clear water.  Divers love this springs with over 33,000 feet of underwater passages and one of the longest underwater cave systems in the U.S.  Only divers with cave certification are allowed to explore the caverns.
 Peacock Springs beautiful reflections.
Look close to see the 2 divers (or click to enlarge).
We are now back at Little Tallapoosa Park in Carrollton, GA, for a couple of weeks to see some more little league games and visit family and mother's for Mother's Day.
 
 Little Talapoosa State Park
Site #6 at Little Tallapoosa Park. 




Ethan's 5th Birthday!
 

 Ballplayers!


Heading back to Florida about May 21st for four months of hosting at St. Andrews State Park (and a few more road trips!) 







Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Buddy's little sister..........


 with whiskers*

without whiskers*

 guarding the suds**


She found us at our current location, Little Tallapoosa Park.  She followed Sam & Buddy home from their walk about 4 1/2 weeks ago.  It was cold and rainy and she was soooo cute.  We tried to find her owner but no luck.  But she is so cut and has stolen our hearts already.  We could never give her up now!

She is just so cute and her name, little Tallie-poo, fits perfectly!

*We took her to Buddy's groomer and got a bath and had her errant whiskers on her face and head clipped BUT I liked her look better with the whiskers so we are letting them grow back out! 

**She was worn out and fell asleep on the job!  

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Finally some sunshine, but brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........

Kyle got over his ear infection and we took him home Tuesday night so he could return to school on Wednesday morning.  

Thursday I went to Samantha's school for my weekly hair appointment - shampoo and set.  It's real curly...lol!  I love it and it's so easy to manage.  Just run my fingers through it and I'm done!

Friday found me doing a little shopping at Target, Kroger, and even Walmart.  Kroger had their cocktail shrimp B0G0.  We love them and one pack is just right for lunch for the two of us.  



Friday night was birthday part for Tyler (6 yr.) at the Lazy Donkey Mexican restaurant in Carrollton.  For some reason, all the kids love this place.  And the Fajitas are exceptionally good!!  Dinner was late, 9:00 p.m., after baseball practice.  We didn't leave the place til 10:45!  






And poor Tyler got a shiner from a missed catch in ball practice..........OUCH!  



Today we are just chillin', trying to stay warm.  Lot of sun but lots of wind and right now the temp is 39 but "feels like" 30.  Winds at 16 mph with higher gusts.  Low tonight is 26...Yikes!

At least NASCAR is back so TV is on Speed Channel for the next 2 days.  Then more later next week leading up to the 500.  

Samantha, Nathan and the boys are off to Atlanta for the Monster Jam tonight.  They will visit the 'pits' this afternoon then find a spot for dinner, then back to the Dome for the Jam tonight.  Also downtown this weekend is the Circus, a cheer leading competition and the "Hair" show.  Samantha will be going back on Monday with a group from her school to attend the Hair show.

 Instant pics by phone:
Maximum Destruction

Grave Digger

Taco Mac in the Dome

Boys are out of school again all next week so we will be keeping them off and on, depending on Nate's work schedule.  He may be home a couple of days to give us a break....lol!

Monday they want to go the the little Circus here in Carrollton so I guess we will do that with them.  They got free tickets at school so they are all about going.  Hope it's not too lame!

Almost time for the Bud Shootout.....boogity, boogity, boogity!

       

Monday, February 11, 2013

Another rainy Monday..............

Our oldest grand son, Kyle, has an ear infection. Samantha took him to the doctor this a.m. and now he staying with us until tomorrow night. He can't go back to school until Wednesday. I'm fixin' to run to the store for some snacks and supplies for him. They wiped us out this past weekend! lol!

We're back from Ingles with lots of junk food!  We made pizza tonight and have ice cream for dessert.  He's a lot better after a couple doses of anti-biotic.   

I am letting Kyle practice his typing on my Acer tablet.  The keyboard is the same size as my larger laptop.  I gave him the old line - 'Now is time for all good men to come to the aid of their county' - to practice typing.  Only seniors like me will probably know what that is.  I showed him how I could type fast without even looking at the keyboard.  He was amazed.  He asked how I learned to do that?  I told him how we took typing classes back in high school.  He looked confused and asked if there were computers then??  I said No, we used typewriters.  He didn't know what a typewriter was!  I had to google them to show him a picture.  Then he said "Oh yes...I saw one of those at Good Will.  Me and Dad played with it and it dinged."

This looks about like the ones I remember from early years of working.  
 
 I guess this is another obsolete machine!

He quickly moved from practicing his typing to looking at videos on u tube!

More fun ahead for tomorrow (and more rain)! 





Sunday, February 10, 2013

It'a already February....

This winter is going by fast and that's a good thing.  Cold weather is not much fun, especially when it rains.  

We spend most weekends with the grand kids.......usually at the camper but sometimes at their house.  They love coming here and just playing in the woods!  There are a lot of asphalt paved trails in this park (Little Tallapoosa Park, Carrollton, Ga.) and they love to explore them and ride bikes all over. 

Baseball practice has started and the games will begin in a couple of weeks.  That means early mornings at the ball park and chilly weather for a while yet.

Last weekend we visited at mother's house in Buford (1 1/2 hr. away) and went out to dinner with Scott, Angelia, Mackenzie, and Ethan for Scott's birthday.  We ate at an Italian restaurant in Suwanee and were surprised to be joined (in the restaurant) by Falcons' head coach, Mike Smith and his wife.  That was cool!  Great food, too! 

There was another birthday celebration in January at the Mexican restaurant, The Lazy DonkeyLogan was 7!




Two more grand kids' birthdays this month so at least one more Mexican dinner!  

We will be going back to Panama City  to St. Andrews SP for a week in March to meet up with our friends, Barb & Ron, from Navarre, Florida.  Hoping for great weather, like the last few years, for relaxing on the beach.



Thursday, January 24, 2013

Catching Up on November, December & January



Finally posting some of the highlights from Disney World.  After 17 days and over 1000 pictures, it isn't easy to edit them all!



Breakfast at the Crystal Palace

Kyle, Logan & Tyler with Tigger

Desserts at the Coral Reef Restaurant                                              


 

Even more desserts at the Coral Reef


Cute boys outside at the Coral Reef

Sea Horses at the Living Seas

Catching some ZZzzz's while waiting on lunch at the Prime Time 50's Cafe

Boys' dessert at the 50's Prime time Cafe

Kyle trying to finish his dessert at 50's Prime Time Cafe
Dumbo!

Dumbo!
The Castle at night


After Thanksgiving at Disney World, Sam and I went to southern Florida, including the keys.  (See prior posts!) Around mid-December we made our way back to Georgia, stopping along the way at Jonathan Dickinson SP in Florida, and in Chiefland, Florida, at our cousin's home for a few days' visit.  From Chiefland we returned to Georgia via Georgia Veteran's SP and finally settling in at Little Tallapoosa Park in Carrollton, GA.  

At Little Tallapoosa, we are only 25 minutes from Samantha's house.  The park has a monthly rate and we will probably stay here until early summer.  Very convenient for babysiting, etc...lol.

Last week we went back to Florida to visit with our good friends, Ron and Barb in Navarre.  We didn't take the camper but stayed in their gorgeous home.  We had a wonderful visit and ate way too much good food!

Shepard's Pie at McGuire's in Pensacola

Ron and Barb at Fisherman's Wharf in Destin

Naval Air Museum in Pensacola
 
Blue Angels' exhibit

Screened pool/patio at Ron & Barb's house.  Sam and Ron are debating where to go to dinner!