On Friday, October 11, we left the Thor Diesel Club Rally in Goshen, Indiana on a mission to meet with a number of RV Driving School's instructors we don't often have an opportunity to visit.
Our original trip planning map looked like this:
First stop was at Canal Winchester, Ohio, just south and west of Columbus. We parked the Mandalay overnight at the Walmart Super Center towards the back and center of the parking lot with the manager's permission. For dinner, we walked across the parking lot to Chipotle's Mexican Grill and enjoyed afairly quiet evening.
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| Instructor Terry Bacus |
Saturday morning we met with instructor, Terry Bacus, for breakfast at Bob Evans, which was just across the road. We had a great meeting, even though Terry's wife, Mary, was unable to join us due to her work schedule.
Saturday evening we stayed with permission at a Walmart Super Center in Ripley, West Virginia. October 13 and 14 we stayed at a KOA in Blountville, Tennessee to catch up with laundry and business before heading on down to Paul and Kristina Nordan's in Columbus, North Carolina on Tuesday, October 15th, so we could visit before Paul's upcoming surgery.
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| Blountville, Tennessee KOA |
We paid $45 a night with a ValueKard discount at the KOA for a premium pull through site with deck and patio furniture -- more than we like to pay, but we needed a break and it was convenient. The site was shaded, well decorated for Halloween, and there appeared to be lots of activities for the kids.
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| I love photographing barns and churches! |
Of particular interest as we entered the "Bible Belt" were the tall white church steeples against the background of fall foliage on the hillsides. Rand McNally GPS again took us off the anticipated route in Charleston, West Virginia, onto Highways 119 and 23, where the roads became narrow with little to no shoulder. We passed through the location of the legendary feud between the Hatfields and McCoys, and I found it interesting that the bridges all bore the name of someone who must surely have been famous locally. I later determined the GPS settings needed an adjustment in the preferences for interstate highways.
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| Mandalay at the Nordans |
Paul and Kristina provided some fine southern hospitality where we parked the Mandalay and spent the night in the driveway next to their home. We later enjoyed dinner at the Southside Steakhouse in nearby Landrum. Kristina has since notified us that Paul is recovering following his surgery, and he looks forward to teaching again maybe late January.
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Kristina and Paul Nordan
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Because we learned that Don Lundby was not yet in Campbellsville, Kentucky, our route needed a major modification. To further complicate matters, we recalled that Beau Endres was leaving Myrtle Beach during the time we would logically meet with him for the Good Sam Rally in Atlanta. But where there was a will -- there was a way, and Beau and Connie Endres met us along with Don and Maureen Lundby at a Pilot in Lugoff, South Carolina, where we were able to enjoy a sandwich before some of us needed to get back on the road. Beau and Connie got away before I got out the camera, and Beau is not certain whether he move into Florida this winter. Don plans to teach in Campbellsville, Kentucky until mid-December.
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| Don and Maureen Lundby |
Our modified route then looked like this:
Wednesday, October 16th, we stayed at the Elks Lodge in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where we had 30 amp electrical hook-ups only. For $6 each, we enjoyed a wonderful buffet and a quiet night's sleep.
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| Elks Lodge #897 Orangeburg, South Carolina |
Thursday found us ahead of our planned schedule in Jacksonville, Florida, where we were able to move up and extend our reservation at Flamingo Lake RV Park, where George planned to fly out to Minneapolis for his sister and brother-in-law's surprise anniversary party. We paid a weekly rate of $270 at this nice resort near interstates, JAX airport and shopping. There was a lake with two swimming beaches, a nice pool, a dog run, and we especially enjoyed breakfast at the lakeside on-site cafe. WiFi worked surprisingly well. I personally would not have been comfortable in the lake due to the turtles that begged for food near the deck, or the thought of gators, but I'll admit I am a pro when it comes to worrying.
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| Flamingo Lake RV Park in Jacksonville, Florida |
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| Gayle and Chuck Urwiller |
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with instructor Chuck Urwiller and his wife, Gayle, on Sunday evening, October 28, at Millhouse Steak House in Jacksonville and prepared the coach to leave first thing Monday.
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George Mayleben and Tom Keyes
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We departed with uncertainty as to where we would meet Tom Keyes, who was en route south. We stayed at a rest area outside Pensacola and enjoyed spending time with Tom in nearby Robertsdale, Alabama for breakfast on Tuesday morning at the Derailed Diner.
From there we drove a good part of the day and then stopped in Alabaster, Alabama for another Walmart overnight. After dinner we walked across the parking lot and took in a movie -- Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks. The acting was marvelous, but even though I knew the outcome, I found it awfully intense.
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| Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama |
From Alabaster we headed up to Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama, to meet with instructor Jimmy Johnson. We really enjoyed our time with Jimmy and his wife, Gail, at a Ricotoni's Italian Grill in nearby Florence, and the fall foliage was spectacular! I am amused by the colloquialisms -- it seems that traffic signals are actually 'red lights' in Alabama, and that single syllable words are somehow drawn out into two, i.e. well is pronounced we-ull, down becomes da-own, here becomes he-err. And Jimmy reminded us that the plural of 'y'all' is actually 'all y'all'.
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Gail and Jimmy Johnson
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| Leaves, acorns and twigs from slide topper |
November 1 it took an extra 20 minutes or so to get the Mandalay ready to move out of the state park since it had rained and the slide toppers were covered with wet leaves and acorns. George got the ladder and a broom out and went to work on it, which was a small price to pay for the gorgeous surroundings we had enjoyed.
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| Cleaning off the slide toppers |
We headed south again stopping for an overnight at a Walmart Super Center in Pearl, Mississippi, as always with manager approval.
Saturday we drove to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, where we stopped at Pioneer Acadian RV Park to catch up on business for a few days before making the last leg of our trip into Escapees Headquarters in Livingston, Texas for the next few weeks, where George is scheduled as one of the instructors/presenters at two consecutive Boot Camps.
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| Downtown in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
Our site here at Pioneer is well kept and well shaded yet we were able to connect the roof-mounted dish to DirecTV. WiFi is also working quite well. We've been told to check out the bath house, which we will do. If you are bothered by highway noise this is probably not the park for you, but it's convenient to I-10, a fascinating little town, and the owner, Jennifer, is just awesome!
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| Breaux Bridge - the Crawfish Capital of the U.S. |
If you've RVing or considering RVing and have not attended one of these popular weekend intensive programs, we highly recommend it. There are typically instructors available for private abbreviated driving lessons at a discounted rate before and after the seminar schedule. It's a great way to gain a good deal of information and make some great friends who share a common interest. http://www.escapees.com/BootCamp/Default.aspx. We've also posted the link for a deal on the school's Facebook page for a special 50% discount currently being offered for new memberships. https://www.facebook.com/RVDrivingSchool?ref=hl Be sure and tell Escapees that RV Driving School referred you!
So, here I am, blogging along in future tense from our site in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Hopefully I'll do better moving forward at keeping things up-to-date.
When the trip is all said and done, although our planned route was greatly modified, the actual number of miles driven, versus those planned, will amount to only a difference of about ten miles and less than an hour -- 2716 became 2726 with less actual driving time. We will have at least driven a mile through 14 states, including Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.
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| Gorgeous fall foliage! |
But the most important part of our journey will have been time spent with some of the most caring, talented and courageous professionals in the country -- the instructors of the RV Driving School and their supportive families!
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