Just a note to keep ya'll updated....

Saturday, Kyle had his birthday party (8!). We didn't go because it was a sleep over for about 16 boys and wayyyyyyy to crowded! They played some carnival games in the yard, had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows, ate pizza, watched movies and spread their sleeping bags out all over the living room to sleep. Kyle said it was a big hit and they all had a blast!

Then on Sunday, Samantha brought the boys over to spend the night....they were out of school on Monday for Columbus Day. It was cool, windy and rainy but they brought their bikes and were able to ride quite a lot.

Their favorite thing is for PawPa to take them for a ride all over the campground in the Mule, which he did 3 or 4 times during the two days they were here. We had a nice fire going when they arrived on Sunday and kept it burning until after dark, to roast marshmallows.

On Monday, it rained a few showers off and on but they were able to ride bikes between the showers. We took the home about 5:30 Monday afternoon and stopped in Newnan at McDonald's for dinner.

We stayed over at their house Monday night and Sam took them to school Tuesday morning since he had to go into Douglasville to get a new battery for the truck. We had been having trouble with it not starting a few times this past week so needed to fix that problem!

We left Samantha's house about noon Tuesday and headed toward Newnan to meet BFF, Judy, for late lunch. On the way, we drove through the newest Georgia State Park, Chattahoochee Bend SP, off Highway 27 near Whitesburg. It's very remote.....11 miles and about 20 minutes from the main highway. Add another 30 minutes to Newnan and that's about 50 minutes to an hour to the nearest "stores". That's a little too far for us as far as hosting goes.....not too bad just to camp for a weekend or so. Being new, it's very nice and the sites are large and clear. There was only one camper there on Tuesday, with two hosts.....one in each loop. The visitor center is beautiful and the playground in Loop #1 is huge.

Visitor Center

I didn't take any pictures so check out their website for more. And I can't believe I didn't take any pictures while the boys were here.......I totally forgot!

We met Judy at Applebee's in Newnan, near I-85, about 2:00 and had a nice visit. We didn't leave the restaurant until 5:30! Buddy was able to get a nice nap in the truck. He needed to rest up from playing with Samantha's dogs! He got some leftover chicken for being such a good dog...lol!

We got back home to FDR and the camper about 6:30 and everything was fine....only 2 campers in our loop after being full over the weekend.

Last fun days at the beach before returning to Georgia & school!

Pontoon Sunday 7/10/11

Nana floats!

One giant leap for Daddy! (and Logan).

Go Karts one last time!

Go Karts for all!


J.Micheal's Seafood Restaurant

Kayaking...

Some kayaking fun...........Kyle and Papa! These were taken from the camper's dining room window.

Tom's Hot Dogs 2011

We're hosting at St. Andrews State Park from March 1 til sometime in the fall so we will be here all summer.....yea!

Not much new to report....had a great week with three of the grand kids here in February. Check out the pictures on Facebook. Lately, there seems to be more time for a quick facebook post. We'll get some more pictures of the park soon and put them on here.

Today we drove out I-20 towards the Alabama line to check out a park we had seen once before, to get some more info and have a better look around. Yogi Bear's Jellystone is a franchise park and the owners live on site. It's an option for us if we want to stay in the area several months, near family. This park is very 'kid friendly', especially in the summer. Today was dark and overcast but I got a few pictures with the cell phone.

Yogi welcomes everyone!

Main office and activities area

Campers on the lower loop

More campers around the circle

And a few more

Friendly pet pig. He came running to the fence looking for a 'snack'. :-) See one of several playgrounds in the background.

While we were out that way we visited John Tanner Park to see our buddies that work there. It is such a beautiful park, we just wanted to sit on the front porch of the office in the rocking chairs all afternoon. We feel like this is our 'home' park.....it always feels like home when we return.

John Tanner Park.....

and ice on the lake last winter.

Last week, Karen, over at FabGrandma, blogged about her personal pantry challenge. That sounded like a good idea so I decided to do the same.....try to use up a lot of the food/staples that are currently taking up a lot of room in my pantry and cupboards.

Upright pantry pulls out....more is stored underneath the pull out.

Pantry below the pull out has two shelves

Cupboards in the slide, over the sofa and dining area.

Cupboards at the end, over the picture window and 2 chairs.

Now the challenge is to use up some of this stuff. Tonight using 2 cans of green beans, some chicken breasts from the freezer and some leftovers from Saturday night. (The Freezer and Fridge are pretty full, too!) LOL!

More mods........

We reworked the dinette area for a design we like much better. It allows more room for a larger sofa, to be purchased in the future.

Before, with one bench removed and the new pedestal on the table top.

After, with both benches removed and new chairs in place.

We decided to go with three chairs instead of two, in case of company. We also have TV trays that will go in front of the lounge chairs, if necessary. 98% of the time, there is only the two of us eating at the table. Usually, with company, we would eat outside anyway.

Looks like we'll be leaving here (Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Battlefield Park) by the end of September, about 9/27 or so. Sam's last day to work is Friday 9/24, just 3 more weeks.

We're going down to John Tanner State Park for a couple of weeks to visit and get doctor appointments done. We'll probably leave there on 10/13, after grandson Kyle's birthday, and head south. We may stop in south Georgia for a day or two on the way to Florida. We haven't decided exactly where in Florida...........just around the general area of Chiefland (Manatee Springs S.P.) and Cedar Key. We're looking forward to some down time, just goofing around in Florida. We may take a campground host position at O'Leno State Park, just north of Gainesville (FL) for November and December.


Manatee Springs

View from my dining room window.....

Panoramic picture of view from the "dinning room" window.

Our site is on the end of a row looking across at the by-the-night area. Most of these guys are traveling and arrive in the afternoon, set up, walk the dogs, go eat somewhere, then leave the next morning. A few will stay a couple of nights. Some have children, mostly grand kids from the looks of them, and they might stay 2 or 3 days to enjoy the pool and go to Ruby Falls.



Occasionally there will be a club meeting. This weekend was a group from "Good Sam" camping club. They meet and eat potluck dinners in the conference room.

Got a new book from Amazon this week. _Best Backroads of Florida_, The Heartland Volume 1, by Douglas Waitley. It's copyright year 2000 but has good interesting history. Hopefully most of the roads will still be passable when we visit this fall/winter.

Who's been here?

My wish is that everyone who clicks on my blog would leave a comment. I know this is impossible but I'd really like to know who is reading and what you think. And it's a good way to keep in touch with everyone.

In over two years, there has been over 7500 'visitors' to my blog but I only know a few of you. Bloggers really love to get comments.......good, bad, or indifferent. I always try to leave a little note when I read blogs to let them know I was there and enjoyed (or not) their thoughts, opinions, etc. Speak up and let me know! Thanks in advance. :-)

That said, here are 4 wallpaper borders I'm considering for the camper to replace the ugly factory installed grape (?) motif. Keep in mind I am looking for the old-world, slightly worn, 50's-60's Florida look. The curtain, valances, cornice boards, furniture, etc., will eventually be changed with matching colors, prints, etc. The basic wall color will remain the same.

Here are a couple of pics of the original wallpaper border and the cornice covering and swag curtain. Very dull and boring. This border is 5 and 7/8" wide.

The first two borders are 8" wide and the second two are 6" wide. Either size will work.

#1

#2

#3

#4

I've already decided on which one I like but would love to hear your opinions.

9 Weeks to go (on Friday).....

Just 9 more weeks to go before we leave this area and head south. Time has gone pretty fast, so far. Looking forward to moving on. Not planning on staying so long in one place any more - unless we want to. Not planning on any more government jobs. Just a few volunteer positions at places we want to be. We're looking at St. Andrews SP in PC Beach or Big Lagoon SP, near Pensacola, for volunteer spots next summer (2011). We're already scheduled for John Tanner SP (GA) as campground host for Nov/Dec. 2011.

The next couple of months, we're planning a few mods to the camper. We've already replaced the solid white screen door slide with a clear one and added clear Lexan over the screens in order to leave the solid door open and keep the a/c or heat inside. I like being able to see out. This is much better. It's hard to tell the difference in the picture except for the slide opening, which is now clear instead of white. There are two Lexan (similar to Plexiglas) panels covering the screen, attached with white, industrial strength Velcro. Lowes cut the panels to fit and Sam rounded the top corners with the jigsaw and sanded smooth. The Velcro allows them to be removed, if necessary, for cleaning or if we just want screens in the fall or spring.
(Also added the handle. Something to grab instead of the slider),

Also added a shampoo/soap dispenser to the shower. Love the convenience of no bottles. Works great!

Another sweltering day of 99! So much for being in the mountains. I checked the elevation on World Atlas. This area is actually at a lower elevation than Samantha's (in Douglas County) or Mother's (in Gwinnett County).

Catoosa County, GA, and the surrounding area, including Chattanooga in Hamilton County, TN, has an average elevation of between 670' and 810', with a few areas over 1000. Of course, Lookout Mountain is the exception. Besides Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, there are no mountains around here. Elevation in Douglas and Gwinnett Counties average around 1065' to 1090'. Lake Lanier (our lake) in Gwinnett and Hall County, GA, is shown as 1076' at the Dam. Corps of Engineers calls it 1070' at full pool.

FYI, elevation at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City, FL, is 3'! ;-) I'm lovin' it.

Is it just mine, or are all grand children beautiful??