Staying home

Today I'm staying in and keeping cool. Yesterday I met Carolyn and we went into Birmingham to a farmers market. It was very good. Lots of different tomatoes. Most I had never heard of. Then we went to their house and dropped off our purchases and then went to Annitson to a museum and yarn shop. I bought some really knit yarn for a scarf and some ribbon to see what I can knit.

We went to the Natural History Museum and it was very good. We stopped at an antique store, but they did not have any that I could not live without. Carolyn fixed dinner and we had a very nice visit. I'm so glad I caught up with them. They are friends of Dan and Rebecca that I met several years ago.

Tomorrow I plan on getting all ready to leave Tues for Bluff City, Tn. It is in the smokey mountains and I am really looking forward to seeing all that I can while there.

Tannehill Ironworks State Park

Yesterday I went to see the Tannehill Ironworks State Park. I reccommend it to everyone. It was very interesting. The museum is wonderful. There are a lot of machines, etc from the ironworks that I don't understand how they worked but just the fact that they did is amazing to me. The forge was gigantic. I can't even imagine working it.

I hiked over to the ironworks and that also was very interesting. On the way there they have restored cabins from that era. It is a state park with camping and rv sites so they had a playground tucked up in the trees and there was a creek. All in all a good place to take the family.

I had lunch at the local bbq spot. Good but messy!

On the way back I was not paying attention and passed the I-20 exit. I took the next one thinking I would get off and then backtrack. But no that did not work. The next exit was miles away and took me north and east of where I wanted to be. I did get off and decided to see if I could find my way back to I-20. I did pretty good but panicked and called On Star to find out that I was only about a mile away from it. I think I did pretty good though as I was on country roads that did not look like there was a destination. I love OnStar!!!

Lakeside Landing RV & Marina, Cropwell, Al

I made it! I got here about 3:30 pm and got set up. It was so hot and humid I was dripping wet and overheated by the time I got everything done. I am on a lakeside spot and have a great veiw of the lake. There are dozens of ducks and I think some swans. Billie and I went for a walk this am and there was a heron on the dock. It is so peaceful and beautiful here. I think I will like it.

I checked out things to do and there are caverns and hiking trails. Also antique stores. Yeh!

Coca Cola and Old Court House Museums

Yesterday I did museums. The Coca Cola Museum was small but interesting. Evidently a local store owner decided that if Coca Cola sold so good in town he needed to get it to the outlaying areas. He bottled it and started selling it that way.

The Old Courthouse Museum was very interesting. One of the best museums so far. There was a lot of Civil War memorbelia. A must see if in the area.

I'm leaving today and going to Alabama. Not sure how long I will stay, I usually stay for a week but I do want to see Tenzin this trip and she will be in Virginia in a town close to DC.

Longwood in Natchez MS

Saturday I drove to Natchez and found it to be a very quaint town. I stopped at a Trading Post and was given ideas of what to visit and where to eat. One of the places I was told to visit was the Longwood home. It is the largest octagonal house in America. Construction was started in 1860 before the Civil War. Unfortunately it started before the home could be completed. It was to be 6 stories but only 1 was completed and the family lived there and never finished it.

I then went to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians. It had 2 mounds and 1 replica of their homes. The grounds were beautiful and I enjoyed the walk around the grounds. There were tons of birds and I thought I would get my binoculars and sit and watch them for a while. Well I got them and naturally they were quiet and not flying around when I got back to the bench.

I wake up to birds singing and I love it. There are tons of song birds in the area.

Vicksburg National Military Park

I got up and thought I would go to the Vicksburg Battlefield Museum. Well the csr at OnStar did not listen to the whole address and sent me to the wrong one. In my effort to find it I came to the National Military Park and decided to go there. It was a very good decision. The park is beautiful and there is a large number of statues to commemorate the Civil War battles. One of the most surprising was USS Cairo one of a fleet of iron clad ships. It was the first ship to be sunk by a remote detonator. Very impressive.

I did find the Battlefield Museum and went there too. It was ok, but not as good as the park. I went back home and took a nap.

Trip to Vicksburg, Ms

I left early this morning, about 8:30am. Nothing unusual, just rolling along and then wham! Up ahead of me an accident between a car and a motorcycle. I put on my brakes and managed to pull off to the side. I went up to see if I could help but there were already folks there to help. I helped the man over to the side of the road and checked him out for any dangerous injuries. He was dizzy and had some scrapes on his hands. His wife was on the ground and was breathing, they finally got her to talk. I pulled my rig up to protect her and make sure no one drove up to the accident. Everyone was so helpful and patient. No horns honking etc. The EMS got there right away and got her on a back board and in the ambulance. Her husband went with her and his friends took his motorcycle. I lost about 30 minutes in all. Which was not bad for that type of accident.

I arrived at the RV park around 1pm. it is nice and there is a sewer connection. I can take a shower and shave my legs. I had to take very quick ones in Slidell as they did not have sewer hook ups, but did have a dump station on the grounds. The water was so soft I thought I would never get the shampoo out of my hair.

It is good to finally be someplace again for a while. There is a lot to see, so I best get my schedule done. Right.