WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We traveled Thanksgiving day and arrived in Valdosta about 2:00 in the afternoon. There wasn't much traffic, so that was nice. Very little truck traffic.



After we got set up and I took a nap, or tried to take a nap. (too much noise) We went looking for some place to eat. We found only one restaurant open, Cracker Barrel. They had a turkey dinner special -- turkey, cornbread dressing, gravy, sweet potato casserole with strussel topping & pecans, cranberry sauce, ham, a vegetable of choice, cornbread, biscuits, pumpkin pie with strussel topping & whipped cream, and a drink all for $8.99. Not bad.



The campground we are in is next to the interstate, so there is a lot of traffic noise. We decided we're not staying here. We spent the afternoon checking out 3 campground. The first one is a possibility, the second one is a no. The extended stay sites are grass sites. If it rains we are in a mess and would get stuck if we tried to move. The third one we had trouble finding, but when we did it was also a no. It was closed, not for the season, but for good and had been closed for a while weeds everywhere. I'm not sure if we'll take the one we looked at, or look at a few others.



There is a nice shopping mall about a mile from the campground and a grocery store next to it. Walgreen's is about a block or so from the mall. There are all kinds of restaurant within a couple of miles. If we go with the campground we liked we would be about 12 miles from all of these things in the town of Lake Park. It would put us about 5 miles from the Florida border. Will let you know what campground we decide on.

WATER TOWERS

On our drives we see a lot of water towers. We saw one that had the colors of the rainbow. The stripes went up and down. I told Vern it looked like a hot air balloon. As we passed the tower I noticed that the pedestal of the tower was painted to look like a basket. It was pretty neat.





On Tuesday when we were driving we saw a water tower that looked like a giant peach. It even had a piece attached to look like leaves. You never know what you're going to see. I'm going to have to keep watch and see if we find anymore neat water towers.

LAST LEG TO ???????????

Thursday we will drive the last leg of our trip south. We have about 300 miles to Valdosta, Ga. We haven't decided on a campground yet. There are a lot, so we decided to wait until we get there. We'll stay at one and then check out the others and see which one we like best. I don't like the ones where you are packed in with no space to move.



The Valdosta area is farther south in Georgia and will be a bit warmer. I decided I wanted it warmer this winter. I don't like the cold. I guess I'm getting older.



Will let you know where we ended up and what the area is like. I do know there is golfing for Vern and some shopping for me. It is flat so will be nice walking.

SOUTH TO GEORGIA???? OR FLORIDA????

Sunday we left Pennsylvania for our trip South. We were on the road by 7:30 a.m. with little traffic. We did have to slow down for a couple horse and buggies. We wont miss them and the clop clop clop. We drove about 400 miles through mountains, and mountains, and more mountains. We were in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virgina. We are in Max Meadows, Va and will leave here on Tuesday. The first part of our trip had little traffic, but as the day went on the traffic picked up big time. For a Sunday the traffic seemed more like a week day. There was an accident on the other side of the interstate and traffic was backed up for miles. Boy we're we glad it was on the other side. I bet they set there for hours. We saw an ambulance going to the accident and was having trouble getting through all the cars backed up. Our next leg of the trip, 300 miles, will take us to the Northern part of Georgia.



Before we left PA we had dinner with Travis, Lynn and the girls. We went to a new restaurant called Dutch Way. It is attached to a market, or what we know as a grocery store. You can order off a menu or have the buffet. The buffet was really good. It had a nice salad bar, 4 soups, 4 or 5 meats, a couple kinds of potatoes, 4 veggies and more. The desserts, mmmmm. All kinds of pies, cookies, puddings, and ice cream. The ice cream was the best I have ever had. It was thick, creamy, and rich. You only wanted a small bowl. It's one we would go back to.



We went into Lancaster on Friday to pick up a couple of things. We went by a garden center that had this sign out front. "Christmas trees, cut fresh daily" That is a first for me. I've never seen that before. That's where I would buy a tree if I was buying a real tree.



Vern has the campground picked out we'll stay in Tuesday and Wednesday nights. It's called Three Old guys. I can't wait to see who runs the campground and if it is 3 old guys.



We had a light rain on and off all night. We are to have a light mist today with temps in the mid 40s. I hope that is all it does, because we're going to go to a mall and to get a few groceries.



We saw several RVs from Quebec yesterday that were headed south. There are a lot of Canadians that go south for the winter. I don't understand why. :-)

A QUIET WEEK??

It is sunny and 60s today. What a beautiful morning. The rest of the week is to be like this, but in the mid to upper 50s. I hope the weatherman is right.



Earlier in the week Vern went golfing and I thought I would have a nice quiet afternoon. I could take a nap and do what ever I wanted. Boy was I wrong! One of the workers in the campground decided to get the leaf blower out and move some leaves. Of course he decided to do the area around our site. For over an hour all I heard was the leaf blower. No nap. All I got was a head-ache that lasted the rest of the day.


A few days later Vern was on the computer, so I decided to take a nap. Just as I was headed for the bedroom a work crew showed up at a site just down from ours. I watched to see what they were going to do. They were going to cut a tree down. For the next couple of hours all we heard was 2 or 3 chain saws. No nap, again!!! Is someone trying to tell me something? :-) I like my naps.


Vern just left for a bike ride and will be gone for a couple of hours. I'll have time to finish my Christmas cards and maybe a little time to read.


For a Sunday the traffic is busy on highway 30. Actually the traffic on hwy 30 never stops. It goes 24/7. That's the noise I'm listening to today. It is nice enough I have the door open, so I really here it. We hear it all the time, so I don't notice it as much.

A UP & DOWN & AROUND DRIVE

This morning we went for a drive to Susquehannock State Park. It is in the southern part of Lancester County. The drive took us through towns and a lot of farm land. When I say the drive was up and down and around you have no idea what the roads are like here. There isn't a flat road anywhere, or a straight road anywhere. We saw signs like 1000 foot drop ahead. The average speed limit is about 40 mph. The roads were also built for horse and buggies, so they are narrow with no shoulders or ditches. You compete with horse & buggies, bikes, and semis. The number one form of transportation here is the horse & buggy, number two is the bike, and number three is the car. When there is an accident, roads are shut down for miles. There is no logical layout for the roads. You can be 6 or 7 miles from where you want to go, but it can take 20 or 30 minutes to get there.



I was disappointed in the State Park. There is one road you drive in on and then back out. There are a couple of shelters and picnic areas and lots of trees. The only nice thing was a lookout over the Susquehanna river. Ledges beats it a dozen times over.



We saw a few Amish farmers in the fields. Most of the corn is out, but the beans haven't beened picked yet. This is the first time we remember seeing bean fields. We hope we are still here when there are harvested. It will be interesting to see how the Amish do it. They use one and two row corn pickers pulled by 3 or 4 horses. The also bail the corn stocks for feed. You also see a lot of dairy cows, open range chickens, and goats. We went by one farm that had a fenced in area full of turkeys.

SOCCER

On Saturday we went to Devon & Jordan's last soccer games. What a morning. Since it was their last game they played a round robin game. Jordan's age group (9) had 4 teams, so she played 3 games. Devon's age group (7Th and 8Th grade) had 5 teams, so she played 4 games. The did play shorter games 15 to 20 minutes. The temps were in the mid to upper 50's with a light mist and windy. The school sets on a hill and it is always windy there. For me it was cold. We watched all of Jordan's games and 2 and 1/2 of Devon's when we decided we were too old to sit out there and freeze. Sorry Devon. I'm not sure how many of the games the girls won, I was to cold to keep track.