Month: November 2018

DAY #41

Wow, it’s the last day in November and here I am in the land of Opp.  Sure not a usual last day of November for me, the weather today is 76 degrees and sunny, with a moderate wind.  In other words, it’s a beautiful day.   It’s such a beautiful day that I slept until that’s right, you guessed it, noon.  I’ve been sleeping a little better at night but still, if I don’t get up when the alarm goes off, I’m back to dreamland, which was the case today.

Putzed around for a couple of hours (I’m really good at putzing around, does that make me a Putz?), then decided to do what I’ve done too little this trip.  I decided to do some walking.  While the park is small in size, it does offer a couple of very nice, well marked out trails.  I walked for a solid hour and oh yea, this fat boy could feel it, but I pushed on and saw it through. I felt good doing it.  Along the way I took some more photos of the lake.

While it’s a super lake, it doesn’t really scream “Down South.”  It looks like it could be in so many places, Arkansas, Louisiana, hey even Minnesota.  Thinking about it, maybe what screams “Down South” is the fact that it’s going on December 1. 

After the walk, I sat down for awhile, and that turned out to be it for the day.  I did drive into Andalusia (really like this name) later to get some groceries. 

It’s supposed to start raining around nine this evening and by the looks of it, rain pretty much straight through to Sunday.   Some of the rainfall may be heavy and they’ve issued a flash flood watch.  My trailer sure has been getting tested for leaks so far this journey.  I’m still in the process of hooking the water up, why am I procrastinating on this?

DAY #40

Left the space heater on last night and when I woke this morning (10:30 am-late start), I thought, man it’s hot. Got up and checked the thermostat, it was reading 79 degrees.  I thought, pretty good bet it’s nice outside, turned off the space heater and began to prepare for the day.  After visiting the little boys room (yes, it was nice outside), I decided to start by taking a couple more pictures of the lake.

It really is a quaint little park, Nice amenities, full hookups, and all the while tucked away on the edge of Opp, seemingly far away from the outside world.

The plan for the day was just to putz around.  I started by lubricating the locks on the storage doors,  charged the batteries for the drill, and lined the edges (not finished the best-rough edges) of the trailer storage compartment with duct tape.  Then I played around with what size hitch height to use to bring the trailer more level when towing.  By turning the hitch I currently have around, I gain 2″ of height.  When I went to Camping World in Dothan, I purchased a hitch that would give me a 4″ height increase.  After doing a dry run to see if it would work, I came to the conclusion that the 2″ will work.  I’m still unsure if I can go higher by using the 4.”  I’m going to try the 2″ and see how that works.  One step at a time.

My next project was to hook up the water to the trailer.  the campsite has water and it also has a hookup for  black/grey water at the site, which you don’t see that often.  I thought super, Now I can test the black/grey water as well.  But first, I headed into Opp for lunch at a place called Benton’s.  Play before work, isn’t that how it goes?

Benton’s began in 1957 and is a walk-up (Ala Dairy Queen) restaurant with a small sit-in area.  The google reviews are positive, with more than one reviewer noting how busy they could get.  When I got there there was no cars in the lot and my first thought was maybe their closed.  So often you see a business listed on google map and when you get there, it’s closed.  They were open and I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and chocolate shake.  It was a good all american meal, better than corporate fast food and I felt satisfied about eating at a local place.

After lunch I decided, hey I’m here in town, let’s check it out.  Opp has a population of approx. 6000.

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While the downtown area survives, it is in a state of morbid decline.  Unlike other city downtown’s that have been given new life with restaurant and entertainment venues (e.g. Pensacola, FL), Opp remains a “working mans” downtown.  After driving around town, I came away feeling that Opp itself, not just its downtown, is in decline.

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This is the major shopping area in Opp.  There are no Walmart or even McDonald’s.  The nearest ones are in Andalusia, about fifteen minutes away.  And the worst of all…NO WAFFLE HOUSE.  If there’s any town where a Waffle House would fit in, it’s here!

I bought some “Cheese Straws” at the IGA.  Kind of like eating a soft cracker with a cheesy taste,  bet you can’t eat just one…

Lots of second hand stores, and dollar stores, and on the other side of town a rent-a-center, all businesses you don’t normally associate with prosperity.  I’m also surprised by all the title loan places I’ve seen and not just in this area.

Opp also has a couple of motels and to be honest, I’m not sure they’re even open.

Saw this building and I had to take a look twice before getting its full meaning.

Not sure of the history of the building but it’s there, you can just see it.  Today it’s being used for recycling.

The housing in the city is typical of the style of homes in this part of the state.  Here are some examples;

Now in all fairness, most of the homes are in better shape than what I’ve shown.  Most are simple, single story homes, some in need of a little TLC. 

Actually, a lot of the homes are nice.

Bonus section with today’s posting.  Opp has a peanut buying business in town and thought it fun to check out.  

Here you can see peanuts in the trailers.  

Those are blowers attached to the trailers which in turn are filled with peanuts.  I think they have to bring the moisture content to a given percentage before shipping.  With all those blowers going, IT IS LOUD.

After checking out the city of Opp, Alabama, I aimlessly cruised around the area for awhile before heading back to the camp.  While driving along, I noticed a lot of helicopters in the area and they looked to be landing so I followed to see if I could find where they were touching down. I found it and it was cool to see four or five helicopters taking off and landing doing training.  the site was like a big field in the middle of nowhere that had asphalt strips (like narrow runways), and a couple of control towers. The sign at the road called it a staging area.   I know that Fort Rucker is in the area, and that’s where army helicopter pilots are taught.  OK, Got my bearings reset and headed back to the campsite.  got back in time to do some touch-up (painting) of the steps but it got too late to do the water.  Oh well, another day, another day.

DAY #39

First full day in the land of Opp and it was a good day.  Started out this morning with some frosty but clear weather.  The plan for the day was to head east, eventually ending up in Dothan, AL.  Dothan is approx. 60 miles east of Opp.  I wanted to check out a Camping World (bought a 4″ hitch) there and it gave me a chance to check out and get the “lay of the land” (so to speak).

Along the drive to the big D (not to be confused with Dallas), I passed fields of cotton and peanuts and the occasional small heard of cattle.  Not sure what kind they are, I’m thinking Black Angus because they’re black in color?  I’ve seen Brahma and Longhorns in Louisiana and I think I’ve seen these guys before, yea, I’m pretty sure they’re Angus.  Oh, did I forget to mention the trees, yes there are trees everywhere.

I do get a kick out of seeing the cotton fields and the cotton they produce.

The peanuts give me a thrill too but the crop’s been harvested and its ground cover collected as “peanut hay.”  After a couple weeks, this is what it looks like .

Didn’t take many photos today, as I said, I wanted to get the lay of the land and that’s what I did.  It ended up being an all day drive meandering around the southeastern corner of Alabama.Damn, sometimes it can be tough getting a photo, this picture for example.  I had been going down this road for at least 2 miles, not a soul behind me, or passing me in the other direction for that matter.  I decided to stop (yes, in the middle of the road) and take this picture. Hey, can you guess what happened next?  You got it, some guy in a truck comes from out of nowhere behind me (I see him in the rear-view mirror) and as he goes around me, he lets me know he’s not happy.  He then stops his truck and it looks like he’s going to get out.  I just calmly looked at him and cruised away.  He passed me a couple minutes later and that was that but geez, IT NEVER FAILS!

Now I do need to fess up and take responsibility for stopping on the road like I did,  regardless what I was thinking.  Maybe that’s why I stayed calm when the guy was yelling at me, I was in the wrong and knew it.  Hopefully I’ve learned Something constructive (I need to say it that way) today.

A couple of observation that I came away with today, unlike Louisiana where people seem to drive slow, here in Alabama, I felt like I was the only one going the speed limited.

Not sure what gas is going for elsewhere, but at the Walmart in Andalusia, AL, it was $1.98 per gallon.  that’s the lowest I’ve seen it (few other places at $1.99 per gallon).  Also have seen it going for $2.59 per gallon not that far away.  Like I said, gas in Alabama can be all over the board.

Guess what, they have Walmarts here (who would have thought).One last observation and regrettably I didn’t get a photo of it, is a Dollar General Market that I saw.  It looks like a normal Dollar General (which by the way are everywhere) on steroids.  I think the big difference is the addition of grocery’s.  Am I seeing the future with that store???  You read it here first.

DAY #38

Up at 9:00 am, and on the road 45 minutes later, all under a blue sky and a brisk northerly wind.  The temperature was 40 degrees and let me tell you, it motivated me to move a little faster in getting the trailer ready to roll. Ya know, it really is nice when everything goes as planned, like this morning.  Maybe the trick for me is to remember this day, and save the good vibes for those days when things don’t go OK.

Short driving day of  less than 130 miles, in which about 2/3 of was done by back roads (off the interstate), although I did take I-10 for a ways.  Felt kind of sad driving away from the ocean but I’m still close enough.  Opp, Alabama is only twenty miles from the Florida border.

On the way to Opp, I stopped at a place called Carpenters Campers in Pensacola,  It’s an RV dealership.  I wanted an opinion on whether or not I needed a Weight Distribution Hitch for towing the trailer and I thought who better to ask?  In doing my homework, I found myself kind of on the fence whether I needed one or not.  the truck does sag a tiny bit when towing so I thought,  it’s on my way, check it out.  Now I knew I was taking a chance in having them say, Ya, Sure, you should have a WDH, seeing the dollar signs in their eyes as their saying it.  I got lucky, the guy was honest and told me that he didn’t think I needed one.  He did suggest turning my hitch around, that would raise the ball and the level of the trailer by 2″.  Good suggestion and one that I’m going to do.

Made it to the State Park around 1:00 pm.  It was a nice day with a strong feeling of fall.  I’m noticing less pines and more other types of trees around here. It looks like mid-September in Minnesota, the trees are turning color and looks to be, not long before their peak.

One of the neatest things happened.  As I was driving down the road, a cardinal landed along the shoulder ahead of me.  It stayed only for a moment and then flew away.  If you believe what they say about seeing a cardinal, then you’ll understand when I say, my best friend is with me, still looking out for me.  This was so cool because it’s never happened before.

Everything went hunky-dory (I think that’s french)  in setting up.

The view from the campsite…Nice.  It should be even better as the temperature warms up over the next few days.  Frigin NW wind really makes it feel cold.

And what I see when looking out the window of the trailer…Double Nice.

There’s a fair number of campers here and most are pretty big.  I’m a baby compared to them.

This is a nice place.  It has decent WiFi and very limited over the air TV (PBS, Bounce, Grit).  The bathrooms are clean, as are the showers, and it’s all a short walk away.  There’s even a couple of washers and dryers.  Welcome to “Sweet Home Alabama” as the sign says when entering the state.

DAY #37

After surviving the torrential rains of last night (man, did it rain) and worse yet, the plummeting temperatures, I spent my last full day in the Pensacola area.  The high went from 70 on Sunday, to 50 on Monday along with a brisk North wind (I’m sure there are those thinking 50 degrees, yea we feel for you…Not!).   I’ve enjoyed my time down here, so much so, I could stay longer.  The weather has been decent (except of late) and being close to the gulf and the trees have been great.  I like how you’re close to being “out in the woods”, but still have civilization near by when needed, kind of best of both worlds.  I regret that I didn’t explore the park more than I did.  It’s a nice place that reflects what this area looked like before development.

The port of Pensacola, back in the day.

Per my usual routine, I didn’t do much of anything today.  Got up late, surfed the net, and watched TV.  I don’t know if that’s such a bad way to spend the day, especially when it’s not very nice (relatively speaking) out, but for me, it left me feeling guilty and introspective.

I’ve been on the road now for approx. five weeks and I’m doing OK.   I’m enjoying the travels immensely and experiencing little homesickness, although I still feel the tug of home (in a good way).  There’s so much to see, and I do feel kind of guilty when I don’t see everything.  I think that feeling is compounded by a tendency of mine to not get off my ass and do things (like today).  I haven’t been very good about changing my diet (still too much junk food) and losing weight (still too darn fat), and I’ve fallen short in being more physically active.  I have been fortunate and thankful for having no issues with the truck (3000 miles) or trailer (2200 miles).  Expenses are running slightly less than budgeted, mainly due to lower gas prices.

I guess my biggest disappointment so far has been in myself.  I find that I’m still judging people too quick, still expecting the world to be as I want it to be, and angered when it isn’t.   I’m disappointing most, in my lack of effort to address these shortcomings, I really need to do better.  Oh well, my ghosts are still with me and I suspect, will continue to be for a least a little while longer.  At least I won’t be alone driving down the road will I?

Having snapped back from reflection land, it’s time to move on.  Tomorrow morning it’s up around 9:00 am, shut down and hook up the trailer, and head off on my way to the next stop in our journey, Frank Jackson State Park, Opp, Alabama.

One last interesting tidbit (at least to me), I finally got to see an armadillo in the wild.  The bummer of it though, the poor thing was road kill

 

 

DAY #36

Into everyone’s life a little rain must fall, and today it fell on me.  The temperature  was nice (upper 60s),  and it wasn’t a torrential rain day, just lite and intermittent.  It was just enough to keep you indoors, but in a soft and gentle way.

Some views from my abode.

Another quiet day, stayed close to the ranch.  I did go and do some more laundry and oh yea, I stopped and had my Waffle House fix.  They really are dives, but that’s part of their mystique.

Here’s an observation of mine.  The border with Alabama is very close and it’s interesting to look at the difference in gas prices.  In Alabama, the cheapest I’ve seen (so far) is $2.19 per gal.  In Florida (around Pensacola) the cheapest has been $2.47 per gal.  That’s a pretty significant difference.  Did some checking and Alabama’s state gas tax is about .14 cents per gallon less than in Florida which explains some of the difference.  Another thing I’ve noticed about gas prices along this journey.  In Minnesota, gas prices are about the same no matter where you go in the state, it may vary by .10 cents per gal by region, but very consistent from one station to another.   Since Arkansas, I’ve noticed that the price can change by as much as .25 cents per gal just by going two blocks.  In short, there really isn’t any consistency in price, it’s all over the board.

Let’s answer a question everyone’s been asking (yea, everyone).  What does the trailer look like on the inside.The bed is a full size queen and it’s comfortable enough.

Watching the news and it looks like when this storm system passes through later tonight, it is going to get cold…like freezing cold (32 degrees).  I don’t like it that cold, that’s one of the reasons I’m down here…Ouch!

Just as I was finishing this blog, up came the thunder and lighting, a thunderstorm to end the day.   Kind of like how it sounds.  And now here comes the torrential rain.  Check back tomorrow to see if I survived.

DAY #35

Another late day getting started.  Damn, I’m beginning to get frustrated with not being able to fall asleep until 5:00 am.  I was planning on going up to Mobile, AL, today to check out the battleship U.S.S. Alabama, along with a WWII submarine, and other military hardware all located on a 100 acre site along Mobile Bay.

It was a beautiful day out. Temps in the upper 60s, and blue sky’s & sunshine.  It did rain last night and judging by the standing water, it rained a fair amount.  I’ve been real fortunate in the weather being as nice (overall) as it has been here.

Since today was a washout for my original plans, I did end up taking a drive for a couple of hours done some back roads of Southern Alabama.

One of the first things I saw and thought, oh wow, how cool, was a field of cotton.  It’s late in the season so I was lucky to see this.

Southern Alabama does a lot of logging given there are so many pine trees down here. This is an area after clear cutting (it’s really a ugly process), they control burn before replanting.

As I was driving along I noticed a road off to my left and a sign designating the area as a state management area.  It seemed really remote so I thought, I’ll go a ways down the road (dirt) and get some good photos.

Down the road I went and as I did, it seemed civilization was slipping away.  Further back I continued until I reached the point where I began thinking, OK, far enough, time to turn around.  Just as I was about to do so, google map pipes in, take a right in 600 feet.  I had forgotten I had it on and was somewhat surprised it was still tracking me.  I double checked the map and sure enough the road would bring me back to the asphalt highway.  So, a right turn I took and off I went, four miles down a road that was showing me Southern Alabama in all its natural beauty at every turn.

While it was really cool, it was kind of scary as well.  What if I get a flat tire? What if the truck breaks down?  What if google was wrong?  Here I was out in the sticks, and I mean about as far out as you can get. I did see three trucks parked along the way.  I don’t know if they were hunting or what, but they did reassure me I wasn’t lost.  Stayed the course and finally came back onto pavement.  The rest of the ride back was pretty blah after the time in the woods.

What started out as a disappointing day, turned out OK.

 

DAY #35

Spent the day wandering around historic Downtown Pensacola, and found it to be an interesting and vibrant area.  I like how Pensacola has embraced its history, and taken efforts to keep it alive.

So sit back and check out some photos from the historic district of Downtown Pensacola.

This was the location of that F.W. Woolworth store.

I have to confess, I took these photos on Thanksgiving which is why it’s so quiet.  Actually went into Pensacola on Thanksgiving and did the Mirror & Laundry thing on Friday.  (is this what they call literary licence?).

What I like about downtown is it still is a functioning area.  Well no longer the center of Commerce for the city, it has become one of Pensacola’s go to entertainment sectors with its numerous bars and restaurants.

There seems to be kind of a french feel to a number of buildings.  

The Downtown area has two squares.  Each are thick with old oak trees and man, the acorns covered the ground like grass.  At one of the plazas, ironically the one with the fewer acorns, were squirrels in the number I’ve not seen in such a small space.

Thought I’d take a picture of this before someone or some group gets up in arms and it’s removed.

Some other interesting buildings in the Historical Downtown area.

Some of the old houses found within the historical district, all in very nice condition.

Next to this house was an orange tree full of ripe oranges.  So Cool…Seeing the style of architecture in the houses around here, I’ve come to really appreciate it.  Simple yet with a hint of grandiose.

Did a fair amount of walking around (which is good) and had a solid day in the city.  Drove back to camp and called it a day.

An example of what you would have seen driving down the road in the 1940s.

DAY #34

Thanksgiving 2018,

What am I thankful for? (Not all-inclusive)

• For having been given the opportunity to take this journey.
• For being in good health & mind (in spite of myself).
• I’m thankful for the life I’ve been given to live.

Special Shout Outs:

Marcia.  She gave me life.  She took me from a world of mediocrity to one where “the sky’s the limit,” and she gave it with unconditional love.  I think of her as an angel sent by God to show me the way, and I am so thankful for that.  When Marcia came into my life (again, in spite of myself, I was such an idiot), everything changed, it was like the sun rose and it never set, not another day did I walk in the dark.  God, I miss her so much.  I’m thankful that the day will come when we’ll be together again.

Kathy, Roxanne, Margaret (Ed), Steve (Lee Ann), Nancy (Jeff).  Marcia’s siblings.  If you searched for a thousand years, you would not find more special, caring people.  To be able to be with them as family is like winning the World Series, Superbowl, Stanley Cup, Oscar, and Nobel Prize on the same day.

Sharon (Marc).  I’m blessed to have such a special sister.  I got to tell you, when you have a family like I do, you really do have everything!

I LOVE YOU ONE AND ALL.

The day was a low key affair.  Didn’t do much (gee there’s a shock), spent most of the day hanging around the trailer and watched some football.

Being alone on this day wasn’t a lonely one for me.  Sure the family and I were separated in body, but they were with me in thought (and spirit) and I’m thankful for that.  I feel so sad for people who have no one in their lives.  that’s a cold, hard and scary alone.

I did go out to Walmart in the late afternoon (4:30 pm), and bought some paint to touch up a few spots on the trailer ceiling, and a mirror which I stuck Velcro on the back and stuck to the bathroom wall.  Curious to see how long that stays up.  When I got to Walmart I noticed about five police vehicles outside and when I went into the store, there were employees everywhere.  Seems “Black Friday” was soon to start at Walmart (6:00 pm). and I was there a tad before.  After finding out what was going on, I felt like a minnow with the sharks beginning to gather outside.  Quickly found the paint & mirror and vamoosed out of there.  The other biggie for the day was to do some laundry.  This State Park doesn’t’ have laundry facilities so I had to go outside the campground.

Another day in the life…

DAY #33

Had plans for today but when I wasn’t able to fall asleep until 5:00 am and I had wanted to get up at 7:00 am, I decided this was going to be one of those days when not much happens.  I’ve always been a night person and it’s usually worked out fine, but I am finding that being on the road when all the action happens during the day means I need to make a change or else I’ll have a very dull trip.  Note to self: Need to work on this.  I got up around noon and putzed (is that a word?) around on the laptop,  including paying some bills and oh yea, Peoples Court came on TV so I had to watch that (its how I’m learning for my law degree).  By the time I did all that, it was late afternoon and the sun would be setting by the time I went anywhere, so I went nowhere.  It is a drag that the sun sets around 5:00 pm.

One thing that I did do today, I started to put together the parts needed to have water in the trailer.  I attached a water filter to a regulator (keeps water pressure at 45psi, dont want to blow the hoses in trailer), which I attached to a short piece of hose, which then attaches to the camp site spigot (water source).  I turned the water on and wasn’t sure what to expect.  Good news, nothing was leaking and water was coming out the filter.  At first black water came out the bottom of the filter, thought for a second..Oh Oh, not good, but after checking, found that’s normal and so I continued to flush the filter and yea, the water soon cleared up.  Now onto the next step in the process, actually hooking the hose to the trailer and then turning the water on.  I’m thinking if this is my biggest concern in life right now, things are going pretty well, pretty well indeed.

 

Few photos today.  Thinking, still looking at all of them from yesterday.