March 14, 2014---Perry, Georgia

This morning, the Honda and the ground were covered with frost.  Good grief!

When the temperature warmed up a little we took off to explore the Peaches to the Beaches Garage Sale.  Quite a few of the sites were in big parking lots and some were at individual houses along the route.

We went to as many as we could, but I got very tired.  When we got back to the motorhome, I took a very long nap.  We will go back out tomorrow.

Lunch was at Captain D’s.  Bill loves shrimp.  He was a happy guy!

We watched NASCAR qualifying from Bristol, TN.  One summer, we toured the track.  JP and Natalia were with us.  It was an amazing place and we got a special tour of the track owner’s box.  I wonder what those two kids thought about it.  I was impressed!

March 13, 2014---Auburn to Perry, Georgia

It was 32° when we got up this morning and the wind had the flags standing straight out.  It was a good morning for Bill to cook a big breakfast for us.  We filled our “tanks” and the motorhome’s also, before getting on the road for Georgia.

We crossed into the Eastern Time Zone and Georgia (Honk, honk! Yahoo!) at the same time.  We (I) had a mission in Columbus...a bead store, what else?!  

After unhooking the Honda, I left Bill in the MH to take a nap and watch a movie while I went on my merry way to shop for beads, etc. at The Bead Cage.  The beads were in a small area of a gift store, but they had arranged it to get maximum use of their space.  I spent about two hours there and would have liked to have  stayed longer, but I got hungry.

We went to Steak ‘n Shake for a late lunch.  Getting out of Columbus and onto the correct road was somewhat of a challenge, but we finally made it.  It was still cool and windy, but it was a blue sky day.

Fort Valley, in Peach County, had way more pecan trees than peach trees.  Hm-m-m-m?

Walmart’s parking was nearly full of semis and motorhomes, but we found a place for the coach, unhooked the Honda once again, and drove out to the Fairgrounds where the FMCA Convention will be held.  We decided to move the MH out there early.

With that taken care of, we settled in for an evening of relaxation.  It was a busy day even though we only traveled 115 miles.

March 12, 2014---Brandon to Auburn, Alabama

When we left this morning, Bill thanked Brent for “Mom sitting” for a week.  Brent said it was his pleasure and he would be ready to do more in three weeks when we return.

We were singing our Willie Nelson song at 9:00.  It took us about 30 minutes on narrow, twisting roads to make our way to I-20.  There was quite a bit of traffic on the Interstate.  Once we crossed into Alabama (Honk! Honk! Yahoo!) we immediately took Highway 80.  It was mostly four lane, in good condition with very little traffic.  

Catfish farming is an important business in these Southern states.  In Uniontown, we passed the Alabama Catfish Food Mill.  As we drove on east, we passed a bunch of large square ponds.  I wonder how they harvest the catfish.  I didn’t see anyone with a pole drowning a worm!

We stopped at the Walmart parking lot in Selma to eat lunch.  There was a cache close by so we went in search.  Although the coordinates were off, we were able to find it and sign the log.

Then it was on through Montgomery and to Sam’s Club in Auburn.  We went in search of a craft store.  I needed something special and thought I might be able to get it here.  We finally went to Walmart and were able to get something that should work.

It has been very windy since we crossed into Alabama.  And it is getting older now that the sun has gone down.  

Today’s Travel Totals:  Mileage, 298---geocaches, 1.

March 11, 2014---Brent’s in Brandon, Mississippi

This was the last full day to be at Brent’s for several weeks.  Tomorrow, we start toward Georgia for the FMCA convention in Perry.

Brent had started on a woodworking project and worked for most of the morning on it.  At about 12:30, we told Coleson to ride his bike down to the park and we would meet him there to hunt for a geocache.  It was down a slope in a tree on the bank of a small stream.  Brent and I stayed up on the top of the place while Coleson went down to hunt for the cache.  Coleson is good at reading the compass on my iPhone and soon had the container back up for me to sign the log.  

While he was going back down with the container I stepped in a fire ant bed.  A few of them made a feast of my ankle.  Brent came to my assistance and we were quickly on our way back to the car.  Next time, I will be more careful where I step.  Those little bitty things can really bite.

Coleson rode his bike back home while Brent and I continued continued on our way.  After lunch we went for a short visit at our friend, Debbie’s house.  We spent some time playing with her dogs.  One of them really took a shine to Brent.  All of the girls think Brent is wonderful!  So do I!

We went to see Polly and Pito and visited for about two hours.  They are fun to be around.  Pito works on an off shore drilling rig and leaves tomorrow for his two week work assignment.  When we got back home we went to see Robyn and Wesley to tell them “goodbye.”

Brent came to the MH to visit.  Coleson was out on his bike.  When  he came home, Willie was the only one in the house and the motorhome was dark.  Coleson was a bit unsettled by it all.

March 10, 2014---Brent’s in Brandon, Mississippi

I had planned to spend some time with Coleson today.  I was only halfway successful.  While he and Brent went to Dick’s Sports Store to get Coleson some shorts, I went to Michael’s Crafts just a couple of doors away from Dick’s.  Now that’s my kind of shopping!  I was able to find some black beading wire that I needed for a special project.  I had looked several places for it.  Now I can stop looking...for that, at least.

Coleson’s choice for a place to eat lunch was Chick Fil-a.  They were very busy, probably because this is Spring Break time, but our order was ready fairly fast.  And the food was good.

We had planned to go to Sam’s Club because it is a place Coleson likes to look around, but after eating, he wanted to go home.  There was a geocache not far from Brent’s house, but we skipped that, too.

I had a lot to do in the motorhome so I guess it was a good thing we cut the day’s activities short.  Yesterday, Polly brought me a beading project from her sister who owns several trendy shops in the area.  When she was last in Paris she got lots of medallions for necklaces.  She must have been overwhelmed by the amount of work it was going to take.  She wanted Polly to tackle it for her, but that didn’t pan out.  Polly asked if I would do it.  

I will see how much I can get done before we get back to Brent’s in a few weeks.  Then I will continue or bail out, depending on how it goes.  I spent this afternoon getting all the supplies organized.

Bill has been hungry for shrimp so tonight Brent and I took him to Penn’s.  They also serve good catfish.  We all went home with happy tummies.

March 9, 2014---Brent’s in Brandon, Mississippi

With the time change and all, we didn’t get off to a very early start today.  In fact, it was rather late when we finally got around to eating.

Robyn is a food rep for a large company and she brought us some breakfast egg and sausage rolls.  Brent warmed them and brought a dishful out to the MH.  Grandpa contributed orange juice.  We had a nice late, late breakfast/kind of early lunch together.

Brent and I went grocery shopping.  We are having our “annual” liver and onions party.  Yum, yum.  Brent made mashed potatoes, a Brussel sprouts and bacon dish that was really good, Polly brought garlic bread, a fresh fruit platter, and chips and dip.  I made a peach cobbler.  Robyn got back from a trip to Alabama in time for the feast.  Peto, Polly’s husband, got back from a trip to Louisiana for a short visit before the party broke up.

It was a fun time, but we were tired by the end of the day.

March 8, 2014---Brent’s in Brandon, Mississippi

Today, Brent and I went to a Southern buffet, Mama Hamil’s.  Bill was invited to go, but declined the invitation when he heard a trip to the bead store was also on the agenda.  I’m beginning to question his bravery!

Mama Hamil’s serves hundreds of people a day a variety of “down home” cooking.  Things like fried okra, boiled cabbage, black-eyed peas, butter beans, fried chicken livers and gizzards, ribs, fried chicken, potato salad, and green beans, just to name a few.  

There were also rolls, cornbread, tiny corn fritters, and johnny cakes.  Brent and I were not familiar with the last thing, but they were small cornmeal pancakes.  I thought they were good, but Brent wasn’t too impressed.  But he isn’t overly fond of cornbread.

On the dessert bar were peach cobbler, chocolate cake, banana pudding, and bread pudding.

All of the food we tried was good.  The place was packed, al four dining rooms.

And we did go to a bead store and JoAnn Fabrics before returning home.  We did some neighbor visiting before the day was over...to see Robyn’s remodeled kitchen and to Polly’s for an evening of entertaining conversation, to put it mildly!