Sunny Jacksonville, FL (well, sorta sunny)

Birds on the drainage canal at Pecan Park RV Resort, Jacksonville

We've had a nice trip so far and a good stopover here in Jacksonville, Florida.  We had evening stops at Roanoke Rapids, NC and Walterboro, SC before arriving Sunday evening here in Jacksonville.  We try to put in some slack time in any trip where we have definite reservations to allow for any emergency repairs.  Turns out I was the "emergency" this time. I broke a tooth sometime Thanksgiving evening and no dentist offices were open until we got here.  No pain, but there's a new little dagger back by my right molar that I want checked out (and destroys any dental floss that I put back there).  After a round of x-rays and a quick check, that dagger is what's left of a front corner of my crown over the molar.  No leakage, so the sharp edge is shaved a little and dental appointments are made to get it replaced when we arrive at Gulf Shores for our winter stay.  A good ending for a Monday, if you ask me.

Jacksonville-Baldwin Bike Trail

This past weekend's cold front came through here Monday afternoon.  Tuesday started off sunny with a cool 46 degrees.  After a quick trip to a local truck wash to rinse off the truck, we struck out for the Jacksonville-Baldwin bicycle trail.  It's 14+ miles of pave path along a railroad bed that runs between Jacksonville and Baldwin. We managed to make it from the east entrance to the 10 mile marker (10 miles one way for you guys that think we just did the shorter, 4+ mile stretch) before turning around.  

Seemed pretty flat going out.  Wasn't flat coming back!  Too much exercise for a guy my age!  Anyway, we survived and celebrated by using our Cracker Barrell gift card Frank & Beth gave us.

So we're back at the trailer this evening recuperating.  Bikes are back on the rack, laundry is done, and we're (more or less) ready to travel to Fort Wilderness at Walt Disney World.  Wish us luck - backing into those campsites at Fort Wilderness tomorrow is going to be a bear.  There's no straight lines at Disney.  So there's no straight roads in the campground.  And that means we'll be unable to get the truck straight in front of the trailer before backing.  And usually, the bend is such that the truck is angled the wrong way.  You guys in Class A's wouldn't have that problem!    I know, I know - tough, tough life of a full-time RVer!

Later, David

If you can enlarge the picture enough, this is a map of the bike trail.

At Pecan Park RV Resort, Jacksonville

New Green Acres RV Park, Walterboro, SC.  Can you see the kitty?

Happy Thanksgiving!

 It's our last week in Fredericksburg and it's Thanksgiving, birthdays, and Christmas all rolled into one.  First was BK with Frank & Beth, then dinner with Doug & Stephanie.  All good opportunities to over eat, and I took advantage of both!  Here's what breakfast looked like before I got to the table.

 Beth and Frank purposely decorated early for Christmas so we could continue our tradition of celebrating Christmas when we're in town.  Since Beth and I have the same birthday (though she'll quickly remind you not the same year), we celebrated that, too.  Too bad she and Frank can't make it down to Disney World  so we could celebrate our birthdays there.

 You've read several of our posts where we talk about walking the Fredericksburg Battlefield trails.  Here's a shot of Lee Drive that we often mention on our blog while in Fredericksburg, VA.  The road's great for biking or walking.  Then there's the trail through the woods you can take as well.

 Lee Drive runs along the Confederate trenches.  If you can't make the picture larger, the sign notes these trenches were part of Gen "Stonewall" Jackson's line.

 Lee Drive ends at Hamilton Crossing - the most northern point of the Confederate railroad.  In the picture of Donna walking Lee Drive, we're walking toward Hamilton Crossing.

The Fredericksburg Battlefield is part of the national park that includes the Wilderness campaigns and Spotsylvania Courthouse battlefields.  In the picture to the left, Lee Drive is on the right side of this plaque.   Just for trivia purposes, the KOA we've stayed in is just to the left of the the Jackson Shrine (see the little "blow-up" box in the lower right-hand corner) along Guinea Road.





So our time here is almost over.  One more get-together in the morning for breakfast with Terry, Forest, and Beth.  Then we're southbound to Florida.  More later, David 

Week 3, Fredericksburg, VA

Dead Horse Hill, Fredericksburg Battlefield (Lee Drive)

Week three is almost a repeat of the last two weeks.  Donna continues to visit and help her friends & Mary Washington Hospital cohorts while I shuttle her around and try to do the impossible - keep the leaves off the trailer to minimize leave staining.  Since we're close to a Navy Federal Credit Union branch, we've taken advantage of our time here to prepare our finances for next year's road trip to the northwest, talk with a financial planner, complete an initial interview with a nat'l park as volunteers at a visitor center next spring, and begin researching potential 2013 wintering sites on the coast of Oregon. (I'm well aware that Lewis & Clark were rained on the whole time the Corps of Discovery was there.)

Our weather here in Virginia has been exactly as expected - warm to below freezing temps with a little rain thrown in to make things interesting and keep the truck dirty.  So far we haven't had our freshwater water hose freeze, but we're running the holding tank and plumbing heaters on the cooler nights as a precaution.  We've managed to have a tree limb fall on us.  Unlike 2005, this time we took a small dent in one of the gutters and the fiberglass roof survived with no signs of even a scratch.  However, the sound of that thing hitting the roof made you think a tree had fell on us!  (For those unaware, in 2005 we had a tree limb fall on our Sunline travel trailer making a nice V-shaped dent in the front fiberglass.  By 2007, the front fiberglass was delaminating from that strike and the repair by Downtown Auto Body here in Fredericksburg took five months.)  I'm still of the opinion that if you can get away without striking a tree limb with your RV, the trees will find a way to attack you, anyway!  I don't hate trees. but I don't like being around them with a RV.

So that's our excitement for this week.  Enjoy your weekend and have a safe Thanksgiving!  Unless something happens, we plan to join the great migration south next weekend.  Later, David

Happy Veterans Day!

 A very special Happy Veteran's Day to all our veterans!  We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you!

Week two at the 'burg continues with visiting and Donna having fun doing special projects for her cohorts she left behind at the hospital.  We had a good weekend visit at Salemfields, visit with Frank & Beth (nice TV for football!),

and David, Linda & family (who are growing up by the minute!).  The truck's back and it's nice to be able to see out the backup camera, again!  Also had a great ride down to Lynchburg with Paul as we shuttled a friend of his down to pick up a plane.  Paul is a fortunate guy who's business makes a plane necessary.  Hard to work various crews across the US and keep tabs on crews and customers in a dual wheel pickup.

The plane in these pictures is leased by Paul.  Any plane is wonderful, but this was a nice one.  Paul, however, cheats, as his tow bar has an electric motor to move the plane.  Guess I shouldn't say much - it takes a F450 to move our trailer!

Today's sate-of-the-art electronics are way more usable and reliable that those of old.  Hard for me to realize that those little vacuum power dials in the center are for back-up now.

Fall colors almost past peak.

So this week was a great week.  I'll close by where I started.  I'm fully aware people died so Donna & I could live life the way we do and enjoy all that we have.  Never, ever forget.  David

Better view of the Blue Ridge Mountains

First Week, Fredericksburg, VA

First week is almost over.  Truck still at the Ford dealer (awaiting parts) while we run around in a rental car.  Picture, above, is us in one of this KOA's refurbished 50 amp, FHU, pull-thru sites.  Note how pretty the trees are.  I'm on the roof regularly sweeping the leaves off to minimize any stains on the trailer.

Donna's running the work-gamut getting all her buddy-time with all her buddies at work. (She says she's real busy there and learning new things while I enjoy retirement.) We've visited with Frank & Beth Allen and Paul & Tricia Taylor this week.

As for me, now that the KOA has a decent WiFi I hang around the trailer and do my internet surfing here.  Been getting an hour to an hour and a half walk in each day, too.  I've also done some "hunting" (vice "shopping").  Donna said she missed going to the stores with me until she recalled what "shopping" with me is really like - get in, spear it, get out.

More visiting on the way this weekend. Later, David

Back in Fredericksburg, VA

Yes, we brought the weather with us!

We're back where we started in May.  Truck's in for it's 60,000 mile service & a couple of repairs while Donna's out running around with the rental car, today.  Me?  I post pictures to Facebook and the blog!

Here's some pics of our travels from Birmingham to Fredericksburg, VA.  We spent the first two days running ahead of the Halloween north-easterner, but stopped at the Natural Bridge, VA Jellystone campground for the weekend as the storm passed over us and rushed north.  While we missed the snow, the temps did drop into the high 20s.  Who'd thought we'd see 8 to 9 inches of snow in Shenandoah Nat'l Park, either?

Anyway, we're here through Thanksgiving.  On black Friday, we'll join the RV race south to Florida.  We have Nov 30th reservations at Fort Wilderness in Walt Disney World.    More later, David

I-64 at Blue Ridge Parkway (eastbound)

The southern tip of Shenandoah Nat'l Park

Leaf color almost at peak in Chattanooga, TN