Alabama | FabGrandma

Tripping Again IX

October 27, 2011 By Fab Grandma 5 Comments

Yesterday was the last day of our roadtrip. We started out in Corinth, Mississippi, getting a late start because we slept in. We got all the way to Tupelo before stopping for breakfast at the Cracker Barrell there.

Mississippi countryside along Hwy 72

The leaves are just now starting to change around there, so it looked very autumny all the way. We took Hwy 45 to Hwy 78, and followed that all the way to Birmingham. Ah, Birmingham. I could have done without going through that city! So much traffic, going so fast, and right through downtown! At least it wasn’t at the lunch time rush.

Acckkk! I hate all that traffic in Birmingham!

Once we got on I-20 eastbound, there was lots of construction. I was kind of hoping it was finished–my daughter went to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa from 1992 through 1997, and I can remember the roads being under construction back then, too. But no–it was torn up in many places between Birmingham and the Georgia line, with signs out for “Trucks Use Left Lane” every time there was construction going on. I was never so glad to get off a highway! (well, except for that bumpy one in Oklahoma City).

construction on I-20 eastbound in Alabama, east of birmingham

Construction--just one of many places along I-20 east of Birmingham

We arrived at Jellystone Campground in Waco, Georgia around 4:30 p.m. eastern time. This is a really nice campground, only three years old, and most of the sites are long pullthroughs. The monthly rate is $300 plus electricity deposit–not bad at all.Oh, and it is only about 3 or 4 miles from Cracker Barrell, Wal-Mart, and Ingle’s Grocery Store.

fall colors on I-20 in the Talledega National Forest

Fall color along I-20 Eastbound in the Talledega National Forest

I haven’t been to see any of the family or friends yet. I haven’t had a hair cut since February, except for when I cut my own bangs at the entrance station when they got too long for my hat. Becky is coming to spend the night with us on Saturday, and she will give me a great hair cut. Can’t wait!

Our home for the next month or so at Jellystone Campground.

Filed Under: Alabama, Georgia, Life on the road

Fungii On A Log

June 22, 2011 By Fab Grandma 2 Comments

I took these photos last winter at Payne Lake Campground in the Talladega National Forest. I thought they looked interesting then, and when I came across the photos today, they still did. So, for your viewing pleasure:

Downed wood at Payne Lake hosts many lichens and fungi

These fungi are really pretty to me

Payne Lake Campground

These fungi have some elegant ruffles

I love the unusual shape of these fungi

Filed Under: Alabama, Fun Stuff Tagged With: Alabama, fungi, Hiking

Storms In Tuscaloosa

April 28, 2011 By Fab Grandma 3 Comments

Fabgrandpa and I spent the winter in Alabama, just 35 miles south of Tuscaloosa. Today, while I am so glad we left there two weeks ago, my heart goes out to the people who are still there. Yesterday, a tornado not only touched down, it wiped out a major portion of the town.

This was an F5 tornado, about a mile wide. The area where it hit, around 13th Street and McFarland Blvd, is one of the busiest areas of Tuscaloosa at any time of day. We shopped at that Big Lots. Bought donuts at that Krispy Kreme! We have eaten at Full Moon Barbecue. Both of those businesses are gone. Just a pile of rubble. But the worst part of it is not the homes and businesses lost. It is the people who were killed. It is just so sad that they could be gone just like that! More than 600 people were admitted to the hospital in Tuscaloosa, and at least 50 were killed across the state of Alabama.

Until I started living in an RV full time, I lived in the south all my life. I used to keep a “storm kit” in the closet under the stairs in the den. It had a flashlight, some extra batteries, a change of shoes, some cash, candles, snacks, bottles of water, a tarp, and other things that I thought we might need if the house was hit by a tornado. Weather still frightens me. If the wind is blowing hard, I have a hard time sleeping. Although I have never seen a tornado in real life, I have no desire to. I don’t ever want to be close enough to one to see it.

I also want to mention that there was a tornado that touched down near Andrews AFB, where my son and his family live. My daughter in law said it was less than one mile from their house. The city of Ringgold, Georgia was hit hard, too.

Let’s all of us be thankful today that we are still alive, and remember in our prayers all those who have suffered such great loss from these storms.

Filed Under: Alabama Tagged With: devastating storm, tornado, tornado in tuscaloosa april 27 2011

Road Trip Time Again

April 10, 2011 By Fab Grandma 10 Comments

As you may or may not know, Fabgrandpa and I live full time in an RV and work at the Grand Canyon during the season. It is time again for us to make our migration west for the job. We hooked up the trailer to our new truck for the first time today, and set out with a destination of Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas. It is right across the river from Memphis, Tennessee. We’ll be staying three nights here so that we can go down and do Beale Street again.

We LOVE the blues, and live blues is the best ever! Our first date way back in 1991 was at The Blues Harbor Club in Underground Atlanta. I think I fell in love that night, while having dinner and listening to the blues with my handsome guy.

FabGrandpa had a goal of leaving by 9:00 A.M, and we actually got on the road around 9:20. He is in his own little heaven driving the new truck. It has a computerized diagnostic and information system on the dashboard, that figures the MPG automatically. I know this feature has been in vehicles for a long while now, but we have been driving a 1997 truck since 2001, so this is all new to him. For a guy who loves numbers, he is, well, orgasmic!

computerized diagnostic display panel f0rd f-250

FabGrandpa loves this!

Although we only drive about 55 mph while we are towing our trailer, we were making good time. However, the trailer seemed to be “wiggling” around back there, something it didn’t do when we towed it with the other truck. We pulled over to the side of the highway for a potty stop, and discovered that there had been a blowout on the trailer!

it was blown UP!

That tire was not only blown out, it was worn completely off the rim! So, from now on, if that trailer starts wiggling, we’re stopping to see what the problem is! We have talked about getting on of those tire pressure monitoring systems several times, but never acted on it. I think now is the time to just do it.

This is where I am so glad I have that Droid phone that I got back in November. It has the greatest Map app on it that functions as a GPS. It shows us as a little blue arrow on the road, and shows us moving along the road as we drive. When we pulled over and discovered the blowout, I had no idea where we were, except that we were on the entrance ramp to US Hwy 78 near Holly Springs, Mississippi. I looked back up the ramp, and there was an Exxon gas station over there.

I found the Exxon Station on the GPS app.

Instead of walking back up there in 86 degree heat, I opened the GPS app, went to the nearby places tab, touched “gas stations” and there was the name and phone number of that gas station. I touched the phone number, and the phone dialed the number. When someone answered the phone, I told them I was in the RV on the on ramp to Hwy 78 with a flat tire and needed someone to come and change the tire. They gave me the phone number for Ricky’s Towing Service. I called Ricky, and less than 10 minutes later, someone was there changing our tire. Incredible! Even more incredible when you consider that I had no idea where I was!

James from Ricky's Towing Service

James from Ricky’s Towing Service got the job done in just a little bit, charged us only $35, and had us back on the road in about forty minutes. We’re going to have to find a tire store in the morning, but I sure that Map app will find it with no trouble.

We finally got to Tom Sawyer about 4:45 P.M., and got the very last site with a concrete pad! At least that was good luck! There is only a small part of the park open right now, because the river flooded. They are working to get the sites that were flooded cleaned up and repaired.

It was still hot when we got here, so after we got set up, we went inside for some A/C and a cold beer!

New Grist Beer is gluten free and delicious

My gluten free New Grist Beer!

And just because the rig looks so good:

The new truck and the trailer look pretty good together.

Filed Under: Alabama, Arkansas, General, Life on the road Tagged With: Life on the road, rv travel

We Bought A New Truck

April 7, 2011 By Fab Grandma 5 Comments

We went on a trip to Georgia last week to visit FabGrandpa’s mother. She had fallen the week before and broke her hip. They operated on her to repair the damage, and then she was moved to a rehabilitation facility near her home. It is not what we as a family would like to hear, but with physical therapy and a lot of hard work, she’ll be able to go back home. I felt so helpless not being able to make her comfortable for more than a minute or two while I was there.

My Baby Doll

When we got back home, FabGrandpa checked the oil in the old truck, the one we always called Baby Doll. She was so low on oil that it was not registering on the dipstick. That was so unlike her–in the more than 10 years that we owned her, she had been an excellent workhorse, and served us well. But, since we are getting ready to travel almost 2000 miles pulling a 34′ travel trailer, I did not feel comfortable taking a chance with a truck that was leaking oil. He called the Ford dealership in Tuscaloosa and talked to them about making a repair, and set it up for dropping Baby Doll off yesterday.

Townsend Ford

On the way to Tuscaloosa, we decided to look to see if Townsend Ford had any used F-250′s on the lot. They did. As a matter of fact, they had at least four, and one used F-350 dually that I was in love with. Larry Price, the salesman, showed us all five of them. We drove all of them, and decided that this tan 2006 Ford F-250 Lariat 4X4 Diesel Power Stroke V8 with 89,000 miles on it was the one for us. It is loaded! It has a 6-disc CD player, heated seats, defroster on the side mirrors, all the razz matazz you can think of:

Our new truck--yet to be named

We had to go back to the dealership today for them to put on new tires and a new switch for the mirror adjuster. All of the people who work at Townsend Ford were great! They treated us like we were valued as customers, and that really makes a big difference when you are making such a big purchase. From the sales manager, (sorry, I forgot to get his name) to the service tech, they were all smiling, and I’d like to think it wasn’t just because we’d just dropped a chunk of change there.

Manager at Townsend Ford

Larry, our salesman, probably spent more time with us today than he did yesterday, helping us get things squared away. I can not stress enough how smoothly this purchase went, and how good I felt about the service we had at this dealership. I have been to car lots before to buy a car, and have salesmen treat me as if I was invisible and only discussed the vehicles with my husband. I hated that, and I can tell you, there are several dealerships in the Atlanta area who lost sales because of it. I did not feel that way at all at Townsend Ford.

Here I am with Larry

Oh, and look at this:

I only wish!

Too bad it won’t haul the Jayco! But don’t I look mahvelous, dahling?

It's a little high off the ground!

The only thing wrong with this truck, is that it is soooo high off the ground. I have a hard time getting in and out of it. So, tomorrow, FabGrandpa is taking back to Tuscaloosa to Truck Supply to get running boards and a tonneau cover for the bed. Can’t wait for those running boards!

Filed Under: Alabama, General, Life on the road Tagged With: Life on the road, truck

I Am A Big Weather Chicken

April 5, 2011 By Fab Grandma 4 Comments

We spent the day yesterday listening to The Weather Channel and looking at the Radar Now on the Droid, in anticipation of the severe weather that was forecast for the area. I am a Weather Chicken! I lived in Georgia for 49 years, the last 16 years or so in the same house on a hill. I had to have the roof repaired four times in 16 years due to storm damage. I kept a “Weather Basket” in the downstairs closet that was under the stairwell, just in case. It had among other things, a change of clothing for each person in the family, a flashlight with extra batteries, some matches, candles, and a weather radio. I was P.R.E.P.A.R.E.D for anything that might happen, and was just lucky that nothing ever did. I like to think it was BECAUSE I was prepared.

The wind blew yesterday all day long. All day, that is, until about a half hour before the storm hit. Then, all the wind just stopped. That was very creepy. Not a leaf on a tree was even wiggling. I can’t remember ever seeing something like that happening. The electricity went off a few minutes later. I think if the power had stayed on, I would have been less frightened. I went into my “self preservation” mode of distracting myself from the weather. I have had a stack of quilting magazines sitting on the dresser for months, waiting for me to tear out patterns I want to keep. So, I sat on the bed going through those while the storm raged outside. (we have a battery on the RV that keeps the lights on when the electricity goes out. It just doesn’t power the TV.)

It was all over in about an hour, and we survived it with no damage, but other areas of Alabama were not so lucky. While there were no tornadoes in Alabama yesterday, lots of trees and other wind damage did happen throughout the state. In Georgia, five people were killed! I hope there are no more storms here until after we leave.

Filed Under: Alabama, General, Life on the road Tagged With: Alabama, storms, weather