Living in the Panhandle Of Florida

Doug was in Red Bay, AL for most of November while we had some warranty work done on Meriwether while I was in Tucson/Scottsdale.  The folks at the Tiffin service center were great; very knowledgeable and conscientious about their work.  There was nothing major wrong with our coach, but nonetheless Doug had a 53 item list for them to work on.  This did not phase them at all and they actually discovered and fixed some other small issues.  Meriwether was in the service bays for six solid days and the bill was $0.00.  Since the coach is our home, at the end of each day, Doug moved back to the onsite campground and returned to to the service bay bright and early the next morning.  Some of the more important work included: fixing one of the gas burners on the stove, replacing a cracked tile (and adjusting the slide-out so the tile wouldn’t crack again), and repainting a section of the exterior paint where there was a minor flaw.

Meriwether on the lift

At the service center

New paint job in progress!

On the day before Thanksgiving, Doug left Red Bay and moved to Yellowhammer RV Park in Clanton, Alabama.  I got back from Tucson a little earlier than expected but immediately got hit with really bad weather.  It was a nice park with a great laundry and a small pond.  I flew into Birmingham on Monday, November 28^th.  We took care of getting in food supplies and doing our laundry in between bad rain storms.  Then came the tornado watches.  They freaked me out.  We decided instead of going east where the storms were all heading, to go south and a little west to the Gulf Coast around Mobile, AL.

Lake at YellowHammer RV Park

Lake at YellowHammer RV Park

We spent a few nights near Roberstdale at the Emmaus RV Resort.  We thought we would have a few dry days.  We did have one and spent that beautiful day on the sugar sands of Orange Beach.  This was my first stay on the Gulf Coast.  The beach was empty and spectacular.  We ate a picnic lunch and took long walks on the sand.

Orange Beach on Gulf Coast

Orange Beach

The next day, although it was overcast, we drove to see the USS Alabama.  It was decommissioned right after World War II and then docked here and made available for tours.  We were surprised at how accessible the ship was – we followed the walking tours and crawled through all but the very bottom decks of the ship.  Everything was still in place from the 1940’s.  Doug went into more nooks and crannies than I did (a little claustrophobia) but it was amazing.  Doug also climbed to much higher decks while I explored a few nearer to sea level.

USS Alabama

I passed on the tour of the USS Drumm, a submarine.  Doug checked that out while I watched some actual footage of World War II battles.  If you are ever in the area, this site is a must see.

USS Drumm

We were glad we got out those two days, because then the storms really hit.  It turns out I am really terrified of tornadoes, so one day we spent a few hours in the big Walmart near our campsite.  My thought was that it would hold up in a twister.  I felt the walls were safe but got a little panicky looking up at the roof which I pictured blowing off and dropping all the metal down on our heads.  We got a lot of rain (and that’s good because this whole area has had a severe drought) but no wind or tornadoes.  Doug was very patient with my fear and never complained that I was restless and nervous for a few nights and we wasted hours and hours in Walmart that day.

On December 6^th we left Robertsdale and landed at Alliance Hill RV Park in Marianna, Florida.  Florida, the Sunshine State, is the 17^th state we’ve stayed in since January.  We expect to spend lots of time in Florida.

We are getting used to being in the deep South.  No one understands what we are saying so we have to speak a little slower.  We smile at the residents’ accents.  At this campground, I was looking through the lending library and commenting to the owner that there was a good selection of books.  He apologized that most of the books would not be to my liking and that he would try to find some magazines for me to read.  When I told him I like Grisham and W.E.B. Griffin, he said he would look for a Vanity Fair for me.   I choose a historical fiction called “New York” and he just shook his head.

I love that everyone is friendly and polite.  But the Confederate Flag flying is just too disturbing.  And the messages on the church signs could be from 50 years ago.  Alabama and this part of Florida are very rural.  Lots of cotton fields.  Lots of empty fields.  A few horses.  No cows.  And plenty of Piggly-Wigglies and Winn-Dixies. We are heading tomorrow to Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs, Florida.

I was able to spend a great Thanksgiving with family and friends in Tucson, but Doug was alone for the big dinner I had frozen for him.  We are happy to be together for the rest of the holiday season but it’s a little strange to be facing Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, Solstice and New Year’s without family around.  This will be part of our traveling experience and we decorated our lovely RV with lights and a few treasured decorations we brought with us.  Our tiny tree’s flickering lights cheer up one corner, while our credenza supports one nutcracker, one candle and one snowman.  These items are part of collections that filled our homes in years past.  Somehow, all we need is just that one nutcracker, that one candle and that one snowman.

Doug’s Thanksgiving dinner

We haven’t had much in the way of white snowy Christmases in the past 20 years and the icy cold rain and one snowy day last year in Portland was enough for us.  We are looking forward to the warm Florida sunshine, some happy, quiet and joyful time for the two of us and lots and lots of phone calls, text messages and photos from all our loved ones.