Last Sunday in 2012

We attend church with the family.

Psalms 5:7
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship toward the holy temple. KJV

Let's Go Flying

Chris took us flying on the Friday after Christmas. It was so exciting and fun. Everyone had a great day.

Christmas 2012 continues

The day after Christmas we traveled to the Ft Bragg area and camped at Smith Lake family camp. We visited Carmen, Chris and the children. We dearly love our family and are so blessed with happy children. Each one are so special.

Christmas Day 2012

We spent Christmas at home. It was a nice Christmas and we enjoyed the boys. It is always fun with kids around. We are so thankful that Kelly, Spencer, and the boys are all together with us this year.

October and December Travels

Since October, we have not traveled much.  We did make a trip to Atlanta.  I had tickets for Celtic Thunder at the fabulous Fox Theater and my husband was so gracious to take me.  We camped at a Corps of Engineers park on Lake Allatoona.

Then a few weeks ago we spent a few days in Charleston and camped at the Air Force FamCamp.   We always enjoy going to James Island County Park and view the wonderful display of Christmas lights.

Skyline/Blue Ridge Journey

I see that it has been since September16th that I posted.  Since then, we have been many miles and beautiful scenery.  We had limited cell service and internet service so that is the reason why I am just now getting around to catching up.

We arrived on the Skyline on Sep 18. at Sperryville, VA  We decided to camp at Mathews Arm.  It rained all day and all night, but the next morning it was a beautiful day and we woke up with visitors in the park (or were WE the visitors)?

We wanted to drive the complete Skyline and Blue Ridge so we drove to Front Royal at mile zero.  The drive was beautiful.

Our next campground stay was at Big Meadows.  We had a nice sunny spot and the campground at Big Meadows is very nice.  Of course none of the parks on the Skyline have hookups but we didn't have much problem boondocking.  We realized that a small generator would have been nice to knock off the chill during the night.  Here we are at our site.  Our little cub worked out nicely.

We were so thankful we didn't have the 5th wheel on this trip because we never could have made the complete parkway with the low tunnels.  This is Mary's rock tunnel.

While at Big Meadows, we went to an Apple Butter Festival.  The festival was small but nice with arts and crafts, music, cloggers and of course boiling of the apples.  Here is a picture of the large kettles.  The butter has to be stirred constantly.  This particular butter making places 7 pennies in the bottom of the kettles and whoever gets the jar with the penny is supposedly to have good luck.

 

While at Big Meadows, we hiked to a water fall near the campground.  It was a beautiful walk but in some places fairly steep. We enjoyed the views.

We left Big Meadows on Sept 23 and our next camp was Loft Mountain.  We never drove very far between camps.  We wanted to enjoy the park and take our time.  Our next campground was Otter Creek, then the next night we were at Peaks of Otter.  Before we left Peaks of Otter, we took a bus trip up Sharp Mountain.     At a point, the bus lets you out and you can hike to the top of  Sharp Mountain. There were of course beautiful views.  The climb was a little steep but worth the trip.

Peaks of Otter Lodge Lake

Here is an interesting tidbit about "Otter's Summit".

Well....that is all for now...I don't want to bore anyone with a lot of pictures, but this blog is really about logging our trip and to help jog our memory later on.  Thanks for stopping by.

Ft Bragg -- Smith Lake Campground

September 13 - September 16 2012

We camped near Ft Bragg to visit with the family and attend a horse riding competition the grand kids participated in.   The three that rode did well. Blue and Red ribbons were awarded

At the campground was a Renaissance Faire.  Saturday we spent a few hours at the faire. I especially liked the knights jousting.

On Sunday morning we had to check out but before, we attended a continental breakfast and met
S. B. Newman, an author of military fiction.  It was interesting to meet him and his wife.  Wish we could have visited longer.  Will diffinately follow him and read his books.

We left around 10:30. Heading to tour the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive.

Recently we had the opportunity to go camping for a few days.  We also recently bought a small hybrid camper, an Aerolite Cub.  We bought it primarily to go to the mountains and on trips that would be a little difficult taking a 35 ft. fifth wheel.  

On our first day out, we camped at Pointes West Recreation Area, an Army famcamp,  Ft. Gordon.  We had a nice camp site on Strom Thurmond Lake aka as Clark Hill.  We stayed here two nights and the second night, we experienced our first rain storm in this 16 ft hybrid.

We then went on up to Tugaloo State Park.  It is a beautiful park on Lake Hartwell.  We camped three nights and really enjoyed our time there.  Unbeknownst to us, the Triple Crown Watercross competition was being held on the lake.  It was fun watching the races.  The jet skis get up to well over 80 mph at the start of the race.  Also, there were trick competition on the standup type jet skis.  One did 5 flips on his ski!  I think it was a new record.

After a day of competition, we enjoyed relaxing at camp.

This little guy watched over the camp while we were having fun.

After three days at Tugaloo, we drove on to Unicoi State Park.  Again, this park is a nice park in North Georgia and only a few miles from Helen, GA.  In my opinion, Helen isn't the little town it used to be, but many people enjoy shopping and experiencing the festivities of summer.  We had a nice camping spot and spent two days around camp and driving the mountains.

After spending two nights at Unicoi, we decided to camp at Vogel State Park.  We had a beautiful site (#54) beside the little creek that runs through the park.

It was so nice to open the back bunk window and listen to the little creek.  Here are a few thoughts I wrote on my phone note pad early one morning:

.At 6:30 i see the first appearance of a new day. It is dispelling the darkness ever so slightly; revealing the trees behind the camp. The little creek lets me know it is still busy at work all through the night as the water ripples over the creek rock-bed. The soothing sound puts to sleep and awakens again at first light. At 7:05 I hear the first sound of a birds call. Sounding an awakening song to the forest. At 8:00 I smell the campfires and bacon whiffing through the air. I love the sights, sounds and aromas of camping. Ah. But now it is time to head for home. It has been a wonderful week.

Happy Camping

Explosion Birthday Box

Our grandson is having his 7th birthday soon but we won't be able to visit on his day but we were able to visit this past week.  I had made him an explosion box for his birthday and I wanted to see his reaction.  I think he enjoyed finding his "treasure".  He will have other gifts to open on his birthday.  He is a sweetheart and so smart.  He invents interesting creations out of ordinary objects.  Maybe he will be an engineer when he grows up.

Travel in the Planning Stages

I have been itching to get on the road again and was hoping to travel up towards Niagara Falls,  but with summer winding down, that trip may have to be put on hold until next summer.  Maybe only a few short trips are in the future.  We have had the 5th Wheel in the shop for several repairs, but found out that we had a major repair to contend with.  It appears that the bedroom slide had water damage from a very, very small hole in the roof.  We don't know exactly when we got a small hole, but suspect a storm we experienced in Oklahoma City last summer. Finally all the repairs are complete.  We should be able to pick up the camper on Monday.  To top all that off, the truck has had to have some major repairs also. Last summer, we evidently got some bad diesel in Wyoming and had to change the fuel filter many times.  Finally, on a trip to MO that my husband took, and after much truck troubles, he took the truck to the dealer and to a  diesel mechanic.  To the tune of about $5000.00 and all new fuel injectors, they say the truck will run like new.  I hope so. 

Maybe our first trip will be back to the Ft. Bragg area to visit with my daughter and family.  I miss the grands, all 5 of them.  I am anxious to hold my little new baby girl.  She was born May 29.  We were fortunate to be there for her birth, but now she has already grown so much.....

Our next trip may be back to the Jacksonville area, or maybe Pigeon Forge.......we will just have to see.....