On the Road Again!

We will update the blog every couple of days if we have good internet service. So far, our stops in Alabama and Mississippi have not yielded the best service, it was intermittent and often dropped the signal.

Yes, Bob and I are on the road again. No more housework, no more weeding, no more pool, wait a minute I like that last part!

We left home on April 9. Our plan was to drive to Bainbridge, GA. There we would spend the night at Hale's Landing COE park on Lake Seminole. We got a late start, but that didn't matter, we are still RETIRED!

For those interested in our route, our first road was state road 40 west to state road 326. When 326 met I75, we got on the interstate.Lunch time found us on I75 north of Payne's Prairie near Gainesville. After a quick bite to eat we continued our journey to Hale's Landing.At Lake City, we turned west on US90. We made one more stop just west of Madison, FL at a rest area/boat ramp.
We stayed on US90 to Monticello, FL where we turned north on US19 to US 84 which took us into Bainbridge, GA.

We arrived at Hale's Landing to find that it was no longer a boondocking campground, but a $16 a night campground. Most of the spaces were filled so we decided to continue on to a Super Wal-Mart...we wanted to boondock our first night and continue early the following morning.
Dothan, AL was the first town with a Super Wal-Mart so we pulled in and found a quiet spot by the garden shop. As always, the following morning we went in and purchased a few items for the road.From Dothan we headed west on Alabama state roads until we got back to US84. The reason for this was the state roads were a straighter shot to our next destination.

This trip we are trying to stay at Corps of Engineer campgrounds (COE). We haven't found one that was not to our liking. Since we stayed at Isaac Creek COE for one night last March, we thought we would try the other COE campground just a bit north of there on the Alabama River. Well, we found it with no problem--Haines Island COE. The COE book says it accommodates RVs up to 40 feet so off we went down the dirt road to the park. We passed a playground that looked nice, then we came to the boat ramp which was busy. The campground was beyond the boat ramp, but as we turned the corner to head to the campground all we saw was a red clay bog instead of road! We unhooked the car and drove around the bog to see the campground..............it would have been a great place to stay except for the red bog! It was time to go with the known and hope there was an empty site. I drove the car ahead of Bob in the rv and made a beeline for Isaac Creek COE. When we arrived, there was one, count it, one, camp site left that was available for two nights. We took it and set up camp. This time we were going to explore Monroeville and the surrounding area. It poured rain on our visit a year ago.Monroeville is an interesting town in southern Alabama. Its claim to fame are two well known literary figures and a movie which was filmed in town. Harper Lee and Truman Capote were childhood friends in the 1930s. Truman Capote lived in Monroeville from age 3 to age 9, and then returned every summer to visit relatives.

The courthouse in the center of town was used in To Kill a Mockingbird. The town erected a plaque to Atticus Finch near the courthouse.
Our second day in the Monroeville area was spent geocaching. Bob and I plan to have 2000 finds before we return home. While geocaching, we found the oldest building in Claiborne, AL and a shortcut from US 84 to our campground which saved us over 20 miles when we left!

Monday found us on the road again. Mississippi has never been an easy state for us to find campgrounds. We knew we wanted to stay in the Natchez area, but we didn't want to drive from Monroeville to Natchez in one day. We did some research and found that in Mississippi 'water park' means a park with campsites, walking trails, and other amenities near a river or lake, not Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon type water parks in Florida.

We found a water park near Monticello, Mississippi that looked promising. When we arrived, it looked like a nice peaceful place to camp. Since we were spending one night, we opted for a site without hookups. We were right, it was a nice peaceful campground---we were the only campers! Several people visited the park to walk the trail or ride bikes, but no one else was camping at Atwood Water Park.
Tuesday morning we were on the road again. We made it Natchez State Park north of Natchez, Mississippi. Once again, we were glad we arrived early as we got one of the last sites
available for three nights. As we sat and enjoyed the area, we saw campers arriving late who did not get a spot for the night.Geocaching was first on our agenda as that always gives us a good idea of things to see in the area. Not far from the campground was Jefferson College Historic Site. It was built in the early 1800s as a prep school. It is named for Thomas Jefferson, not Jefferson Davis who attended the college soon after it opened.On day two we rode into Natchez to visit some of the famous sites (and to geocache). There are many beautiful homes in Natchez--remnants of the wealthy who inhabited the area before the Civil War. According to brochures, over 50% of America's millionaires lived in pre-Civil War Natchez. One of the houses, Melrose, is part of the National Park system. It is undergoing extensive restoration.Monmouth was another home that caught our fancy. In fact, there was a geocache in a huge magnolia tree located at Monmouth. Bob took pictures of the house, which is now a bed and breakfast while I signed the log in the cache.
Dunleith also caught our attention. The building behind the main house looks like a castle (it is a restaurant and pub). We went in the gift shop, then wandered the grounds as it is also a B & B.
Thursday was a travel day. Natchez Trace is a great road so our plan was to drive north until we needed to cross into Louisiana. More on that when I write the next installment!