Fun, Food and Friends! The 2014 GE&H

WHERE:  We are just west of Montgomery, Alabama on the Alabama River at a COE park, Gunter Hill.

WHO:   Between 70 and 80 fiberglass trailers, mostly 17 foot Casitas.

WHAT:  The fourth annual rally of the Green Eggs and Ham, a St Patty’s Day event.

It’s Saturday morning and the campground is still asleep; everyone resting after a very busy week of activities.

This rally has more scheduled activities than any of the others we attend.  For example, this week we can pick from a craft class, an Alaskan trip talk, a Dutch oven cooking class and a Casita maintenance class.  And that is just during the day!   Each night at the pavilion there is food and music.

Yesterday we squeeze a paddle in just before the cooking class and it is way too much for this gal.  Right after dinner I head back to the trailer, too tired to have any more fun!

We arrive on a balmy, 73 degree Tuesday afternoon finding the park full of little white trailers.  Pleased to see our good friends, Jerry and Wanda, are right across the road in a beautiful waterfront site.  Our site, while not on the water, is private and nestled in the woods…no need to pull the blinds on the back window. 

It’s exciting to walk around and find old friends scattered around the park.  Friends from Georgia, Maureen and Todd, offer us sandwiches, leftovers from feeding others at lunch, and we are grateful not to cook.   That night the warm weather ends with rain and we watch TV in the camper.  Our first night of camper TV viewing since 1/5/14!  The joys of a full hook-up!

The next day there is more visiting and greeting old friends as eggs are arriving regularly all day.  The rally starts today, Wednesday, but campers have been arriving since last Thursday.

While Larry performs some minor repairs we visit with Texas friends at our campsite.  Later, the chili coalescing affair, (the chili dump), takes place at the pavilion.  This involves two large pots and lots of contributions from homemade chili to store bought.

It’s cold, the wind cuts like a knife, and while hubby stays for the music, I opt for the warmth of the trailer.

Thursday, the sun is out and even though it’s too cold to kayak, I find other ways to have fun.  This trike belongs to a friendly couple from Pensacola who we had previously met at this same park last year.

Lots of fun and a good workout…one makes it go forward by leaning side to side!

I try to find something pretty to photograph but the drab water and winter landscape is uninspiring.  On my bike I spot these trees, a promise that spring is coming!

That night we are back visiting with friends.  This is Wanda and Melanie laughing in spite of the smoke.

Donna’s strawberry cobbler did not last long!

Everybody is full of cobbler and brownies!

View from our dinner site!

Alabama sunset….made me miss Arizona!

Picking’ at the Pavilion.

Our boats look forlorn while we wait for the temperature to rise.

A friend joins us and we head down the creek to the Alabama River.  We do nothing strenuous, just poke along.  First time in our boats since returning from Florida one year ago.

Our buddy, Donna from Florida, asks us to be a part of the Dutch oven cooking class.  Could not say “no”, especially after learning it would be fun.  David prepares his specialty, “dump cake”.

We have a blast doing this!  And everyone gets a small taste of all the different dishes!

 

Everyone waits patiently for the food to be done.

As the cooking class ends, the gumbo begins!  Another lovely couple, Bob and Pat host the gumbo night.

Our neighbor, Lora from Virginia, takes a turn stirring the gumbo!

Even with the erratic weather, really having a good time.  Lots of fun, making lots of memories! 

We enjoy having Mike and Gerri of Happytrails  camp next to us and meeting Bob and Sharon from Illinois.  Always special to run into other bloggers, and more special when they know who you are!

This our last day and it’s overcast. Hope the rain holds off until tonight so we can paddle and cook another meal in the Dutch oven.  Another day to visit and eat……

Good-bye Kansas, Hello Chattanooga!

It was not difficult to say good-bye to the Kansas heat but very hard to leave folks who feel like family after 6 days of hobnobbing, telling tall tales and exchanging travel stories.

One of the nights at the rally the sunset is so magnificent I can not stop taking pictures.

Going to work them all in…..as this is the official end of our once- in-a-lifetime Alaska trip.

Deciding that one more day of 101 temperatures would be one day too many, we are hitting the road early before the pancake breakfast send-off.   Picking a couple of destinations ranging from  300 miles to 400 miles down the road works best for us.  Nixing the idea of traveling off the interstate, deciding that we rely on the constant Wal-Marts and McDonalds for sustenance and shelter.  It’s an easy travel day until we try to cross the river in St Louis.  Traffic should be light as it is Sunday PM but the lane that we are in is not moving, taking us an hour or so to go a few miles.

Using the handy All Stays Camp app, we find a Cracker Barrel on exit 16.  Looks like we are not going to make it to Rend Lake….a COE where our friends are staying.  During the meal we ask permission to spend the night.  The manager says we are most welcome and very glad that we are asking permission as they do not like unauthorized visitors behind the store after closing.  He suggests that we might want to enjoy one of their breakfasts before we leave.

The interstate is close and it’s melody of traffic soothes us to sleep.  At 1:30 AM a noisy monster goes through the parking lot, eating the trash from the dumpster….loudest waste disposal truck ever!  Why 1:30?

At 6:10 we are eating breakfast and, after another easy 400 plus miles, we are entering Chattanooga!  Feels so strange to be returning after 102 days.  Our house is swallowed by vegetation!

But we are relieved that everything looks like it should….no one had carried off our TV’s.  Only glitch is the Sienna, parked in the middle of the driveway, will not start. 

Astonished at the weeds everywhere!   But it did rain most of July and we were gone a long time!

Overgrown flower beds.

Obedient plant, a TN native, apparently needs no care for 3 months.

May need to dig the whole bed up, use round-up, and start all over!

The path to the patio has disappeared!

My cleome is 4 feet tall!

Hubby trying to tame the wilderness!

The hardy begonia.

Wild ageratum and morning glory.

We are unpacked, clothes washed, cats retrieved, A/C repaired and settling back in to the boring humdrum of life at home.

No regrets!  And enough memories to last the rest of our lives!

Want to thank everyone for coming along with us.  You helped us get through some difficult times.  Love y’all!

Cool on the Coast

 

We are saying goodbye to the marina and are heading south on 101 by noon.  The dry camping area is becoming empty as the lucky  fishermen are carrying their bounty home to their freezers.

Our mission is to see the rest of the Oregon coast as we head to California to visit with hubby’s son.

Cape Perpetua is right down the road.  Devil’s Churn greets us, throwing the sea up into the sky.

The fog hangs over the ocean…..the sun shows up in the afternoon.  I decide this area’s need for caffeine is related to the constant overcast skies! 

The road closely follows the shore as we wind down the coast.  Every turn is a treat for the eyes…..I struggle to decide where to stop and take pictures.

There are national forest campgrounds here and we are looking for the perfect campground for the night.  At Eel River, right above Coos Bay, we find the right one.

This area is known for the great sand dunes….no, the ocean is not on the other side, it’s 3 miles west.  After climbing the dune we discover dune after dune…as far as the eye can see.

Bullard’s Beach State Park is a few miles north of Bandon, OR.  We have missed the egg rally in July but I want to see the park. 

Adjacent to the park, Nina and Paul are working at the Coquille Bay light house.  We stop by to say “hi” and get an excellent description of the light house’s history.

The setting sun lights up the logs between the lighthouse and the river.

Bandon by the Sea is a delightful little tourist town….. we head downtown to view art made from beach trash. 

After a pleasantly cool night at the state park we head south toward Cape Blanco.  There’s another light house…unfortunately it is closed on Tuesdays.  The scenery around the old light is magnificent but it’s real foggy.  Would love to see it without the mist.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse

The whole area was so foggy…could barely see the ocean.

Thought this unusual rock looked like a woman holding a child!

 

Saying goodbye to Oregon……we are entering CA! 

Want to bring everyone up to present but just realized the California pictures are still on the camera!  Pictures will need to come later…..

We saw elk grazing by the ocean and many huge sequoias.  After a long drive we are at a COE park on Lake Mendocino.  Tomorrow we will be starting a family visit in Saratoga, CA and expect to be very busy for four days!

This is the first day in a week that we are not on the road….and more tired than if we had driven 200 miles! 

Posted from Star Bucks in Ukiah, CA!