July 4, 2008

After months of planning, shake down trips to Spirit of the Suwannee, Reed Bingham SP, Crooked River SP, Withlacoochee State Forest, Myakka River SP, Manatee Springs SP and Fort DeSoto we sort of think that we are ready for a month long trip a long way from home. We have gadgeted and “Gatored” up the RV so there is nothing left to do except take off for Maine.

At 10:30 am (just a little late) after figuring out the logistics of getting us PLUS 5 kids (including Andy) and 2 boats from St. Pete to Camp Blanding and back while working around crazy work schedules we are on our way. The kids are NOT going with us to Maine, but we always have the Burnsed Family reunion on the 4th of July weekend so our first stop is Kingsley Lake. Keith and Sandy meet us at the lake, we swim, jet ski, eat K&S’s food (thank you!) and end up watching the fireworks going on around the lake. What a great day.

July 5, 2008

Family reunion day! Kids are up early and on the lake skiing. Andy brought his mom’s boat so there is plenty of power to pull 2 skiers. Good fun on the tubes, wakeboarding, knee boarding and also watching, Food is fabulous…low country boil, brats, dumplings, ribs…more deserts than you could imagine. Matt has to leave early but everyone else stays until dark. We are beat but happy.

July 6, 2008

Greg and I decide that we will get on the road as soon as we wake up (without alarms), Well we are up at 6 and on the road by about 7:15 heading for Savannah. Uneventful trip, even through the “Woodbine Triangle”. We arrive at Skidaway Island , feState Park just south of Savannah. The people in Georgia really know how to do state parks and this one is no exception. Large wooded campsites…very beautiful, We ate some of the ham and pasta that Sandy sent with us and took off for Savannah proper. By the way…if you set up the RV and turn on the electricity right at noon you don’t have to reset the clocks! In Savannah we visit the information center and get a map and directions to some of the sights along with a warning that it is not a good town to bike in (lots of cobblestones and crazy students!). So, we got on the bikes and took off! Savannah is so beautiful with all the “squares” and we biked through much of the town. We stopped at the city market and drank a beer and listened to a band…there was a really old guy out in front of the band with an electric guitar not plugged into anything that he was “playing”. Our waitress said he “plays” with all the bands and they keep his guitar at the restaurant. Rain was on its way so we finished our bike tour and headed for the car. We needed some internet information so we Navi’d a Starbucks and looked up some information on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had to sign up for t-Mobile hot spots but it was well worth it. After the coffee and internet we went back to the Riverfront for dinner on a terrace, rain gently falling, free margaritas…what a nice end to the day. **Personal note: be sure that when you leave for a month that you wake up your kids to say goodbye. We decided not to wake them and we missed seeing them by about 10 minutes…As Maggie said, “I didn’t get to give Daddy a hug!” Dad sends virtual hugs.

Monday July 7, 2008

First – “Happy Birthday Meredith!” We decide to get a little later start today to possibly avoid any Savannah traffic and fill up with gas. After many changes in plans we have decided to head to Iva, South Carolina to see Uncle Edward. There are a few State Parks in South Carolina near Iva and they have space available. On our way, while I am driving, Greg (the unofficial spokesperson for Georgia State Parks) finds Richard B. Russell State Park right over the state line from Iva in Georgia. We decide to take a chance and go by. It is supposed to be on a lake and has a golf course. I always feel blessed to get to a State Park without reservations and still get a site and today was no exception. After arriving at about 4pm and checking out the campsites we choose one that overlooks Lake Richard B. Russell. This is an amazing place. We set up, get out the chairs and have a drink while watching the lake and enjoying the breeze. We then set out for Iva in “The Toad”. We have a nice visit with Uncle Edward and Edna. They have a nice place out in the country with a little garden and it is almost on the lake…I think it is part of the same group of lakes that we are staying on. Iva is a very good place to get gas…$3.79 a gallon (I know I promised not to talk about this…but this was a nice surprise) and also a good place to eat…2 dinners = $11. After arriving back at our campsite around dark we sit by a lovely campfire and Greg roasts his leftover French fries from Saturday night (he says they weren’t as good as the ones we had at M&C’s lake house!)
Personal Note – we seem to be having a little bit of disagreement between our 2 GPS systems in the RV. One GPS (global positioning system) has been with us for about 3 days. The other GPS (Gaye’s positioning system) has been working for about 37 years! Now granted, Gaye’s system gets us lost every once in a while, but it does refer to Greg about the route to take. The problem is that Greg trusts the new GPS system more than me sometimes. We also have the new GPS system doing a lot of “recalculating”. We just aren’t used to someone telling us where to go. It is good at finding Wal-Marts though!

Tuesday July 8, 2008

The weather is beautiful here in North Georgia on the lake. We have decided to play 9 holes of golf before we head out, so after breakfast outside we get as much of our getting ready to go done before we leave for the golf course. The course is called Arrowhead and it was voted 2nd best new public course in 2005 by golf digest. We really didn’t play well (just a few nice hits…thought Greg was going to actually par #9!) but we had fun and the course was spectacular. We took a golf cart tour of the back 9 after we finished just to see the rest. Many of the holes ran right along the beautiful lake. The fairways and greens were “Disney worthy”. After golf, it was noon so we ate lunch, hooked up The Toad, took showers and hit the road. We are heading for a little town called Union Grove, North Carolina. As we cross the North Carolina border the rain begins to fall and really doesn’t stop until we stop for the night at 7pm. Along the way we hit the North Carolina welcome station (and get a call from Matt), the Wal-Mart along with the only liquor store in Statesville. At least they don’t close at 6pm like they do in South Carolina. We end our day at our first private campground…VanHoys Farm in Union Grove. We are spoiled by State Parks, but it is late and we aren’t going anywhere else so it is working out just peachy. We have a pull through site so we don’t even unhook the toad! VanHoys is the Spirit of the Suwannee of North Carolina. It hosts many must festivals and has a huge pavilion that will seat 12,000. No music festival right now though. It is so nice here that we do not have the AC on. Finished off some leftovers for dinner. One really nice thing about this place…internet access!