SOUTH SAVANNAH, GA  We left St Augustine this morning around 11:30 am and arrived here at the South Savannah KOA around 3:30pm.  I am sorry to report that it is as hot, humid, and buggy here as it is in St Augustine.  No improvement by travel so far.  Otherwise, this is a very nice park, having a sizable lake with swans swimming tranquilly.  Tomorrow we leave for Greenville, SC to visit with some friends and see if this Asheville competitor is all that we have read about.  It has several very good PCA churches, we hear.  Stay tuned . . .

Our site at the South Savannah KOA

Lake at South Savannah KOA RV Park

Swans Gather at Lake's Edge

AS WE PREPARE TO DEPART ON OUR NEXT RV TRIP, we are mindful that we shall have left here this year by the time we were only preparing to leave last year.  If you look back at late July last year in this blog, you will see that we posted a USA map with the outline of our future trip highlighted in green.  This year, we leave in mid-July and travel until mid-November, four months altogether.  As we learn more about RVing, we become more ambitious.

Once again we incorporate an RV tour into our overall trip.  Last year we were part of a tour that began in Nevada just outside Death Valley (130 degrees).  This year we shall head northwest toward a tour of the Northwest USA, beginning near Mount Rushmore, then proceeding to national parks and other scenic locations in that part of the country.

After the tour ends, we shall travel eastward along the southern edge of the Great Lakes, stopping to visit Betty's relatives near Chicago, then stopping at Niagara Falls, Rochester NY to see the George Eastman Museum, a Fall Colors Tiffin rally in Vermont, Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park, and Gettysburg.  After that, we shall visit some of my relatives in Virginia, then to Williamsburg, followed by showing Betty my hometown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  After that it is down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and on home down the east coast.

The snapshot of this trip is shown below.  I used the same green highlighting that I used last year for consistency.

2018 4-Month RV Trip Itinerary Map

FLORIDA GULF COAST TRIP - APRIL 23 - 27, 2018.

Took a few days to explore the west coast of Florida.  Had heard of great places to see north of Tampa before the coast bends south of Tallahassee.  Stayed at an RV park in Inglis, just north of Crystal River, named Gulf Coast RV Resort.  A nice park with a heated pool, but the pool is located under the limbs of an oak tree that kept shedding leaves into the pool.  All other facilities were very nice.  In the past the park was an independent business, but now has recently been bought by a corporation that will standardize it along with several other parks.  Time will tell whether this will be good for the customer.

Our site at the RV Park.

We had naively hoped to swim with the manatees while there, but found out they return to the Gulf with warmer weather, which came this year in mid-March.  To see a lot of them for such an experience, one must come December-February, which we may do in the future.

We limited our exploration to Cedar Key, Homosassa Springs State Park, and Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.  I had visited Cedar Key in 1966 with my parents, but found it to be quite different now.  The area is a cluster of islands, with the boundary of the town having been moved since my last visit.  The old pencil museum is not the highlight that it used to be, and the petting zoo was no longer there.  We went on a Tuesday only to find that much of the town was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  The focus of the area now is for retirees from the north who come down and drive around in golf carts, which outnumber cars.  We ate at one of the restaurants, but found the food not to be very good.  It is all atmosphere in this place, as aging "hippies" congregate to share common memories.

On the way to Cedar Key we saw a rather unpretentious road to the left named, "Follow That Dream Parkway."  On the way back to the RV park we turned in to see how it got that name.  Turns out that Elvis Presley filmed a movie there by that name, so the town named the road after the film.  A road sign further explains that the filming mostly was done near the bridge over Bird Creek, so we followed the road to the bridge, which is in Yankeetown, a place I had heard of but never visited before.

Sign Along Follow That Dream Parkway

Bird Creek Bridge Area

We got the movie after our trip and was surprised to see how much the area had changed since 1961.  The whole area to the right side of the bridge, which we mostly ignored in this photo, was a sandy beach along the water leading far to the right in the movie.  Now it is all covered with a jungle of palmettos and underbrush too thick to penetrate.  The bridge area, and all to the left, is still a beautiful place.  In fact, all of Yankeetown is a gem of an area.  If you continue down this "Parkway" to the Gulf, you find a boat launch area that is also beautiful.

Area to Left of Bridge

Betty Watches Windy Departure of Fishing Boat By Launch Area

Sun Setting Beyond Boat Launch Area

Homosassa Springs State Park was the highlight of the visit.  The collection of wildlife was a joy to see and photograph, with wading birds present nearly as abundantly as at St Augustine's Alligator Farm rookery.

Anhinga Swimming at Homosassa Springs

Blue Heron at Homosassa Springs

Blue Heron Closeup at Homosassa Springs

Golden Eagle at Homosassa Springs

Very Tame Gray Squirrel at Homosassa Springs

Green Heron at Homosassa Springs

Hippopotamus at Homosassa Springs

Ibis at Homosassa Springs

Manatee Being Fed at Homosassa Springs

Pelican at Homosassa Springs

Roseate Spoonbill at Homosassa Springs

Roseate Spoobills at Homosassa Springs

Flamingos at Homosassa Springs

Whitetail Deer at Homosassa Springs

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park is of interest if you want to go into the water with scuba or snorkel gear and see the fish in crystal clear water.  The water park portion is like the water parks in Orlando except here one lands in crystal clear spring water instead of a large swimming pool.  The part of the park where one sits in a theater and watches "mermaids" swim in the crystal spring has pretty much seen its day.  There are TV screens on the wall that show mostly black-and-white videos of the heyday when many young shapely ladies swam in mermaid outfits, doing stunts with water scooters and other props.  Now all you get are a couple ladies swimming the same loops over and over.  All the talent has fled to Orlando.  It is a wonderful setting and a shame to be such a shadow of its former glory.  People still pack the theater to watch, but word of mouth will eventually change that.  We took a boat ride along the river that feeds the springs area but found it to be a short ride with little to see.  A beautiful area, and likely a joy to swim, but not worth the price of admission unless you want to get into the water.  This is likely true of other springs in the area also.

"Mermaid" Doing the Roll, Which Is All They Do

Weeki Wachee Springs.  Theater on Left.  Water Park on Right.

Very Tame Peacock at Weeki Watchee Springs State Park

Gray Squirrel at Weeki Watchee Wildlife Walk

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the area this time of year is the flying swarms of "sand flies" (locals call them "flying piranhas"), which are so small that a pencil point dot on paper would be no bigger.  They come in as the sun sets and cover you, even swarming into your hair and biting your scalp.  They slowly disappear as darkness sets in, only to return the following sunset.  Some call them "no see ums," which we have on the Atlantic coast but they only bite individually, not in swarms, usually around the ankles.  We had never experienced anything like these pests.  Our visit last year to the panhandle of Florida also exposed us to a host of flying pests, but those were big enough to see and swat.  One can either avoid this area this time of year, or simply flee indoors at sunset.  It seems the Gulf has its own ecosystem for bugs.

Today we drove away from the very nice RV park in Savannah and arrived at home a little after 2 pm.  We were held up a long time due to a traffic accident on the Buckman Bridge.  Welcome back to the Jacksonville area!

The weather was generally clear but quite warm.  It actually was normal for this time of year, but we had become spoiled by the cool weather farther north.  When we got home we looked around the yard at all the damage caused by Hurricane Irma.  There were several felled trees in the back lot.  The sun screen that I had mounted on one side of the motorhome port had been ripped down by the wind.  I had gone to a lot of time and trouble to mount that.  Thankfully the house was in fine shape.  Walking around the yard I see a lot of projects that I need to schedule, assuming the weather gets cool enough this winter.

We started unloading the motorhome, a very taxing job.  I see why so many become full-time motorhome residents:  you no longer have to load and unload for long trips.  We still are not ready for that.  Some day soon we must wash the motorhome, which we could not do along the way since RV parks forbid using their water to wash any vehicle.  We also need to clean its inside.

A lot of mail was sent to our house even though we had forwarded our mail to my sister in Jacksonville.  A lot of magazines, fliers, calendars, catalogs, etc.  And Xfinity mailed me a new cable box that they expect me to install.  Our TV now will not work, so I guess I need to get started figuring out how to install the new box.

We slowly are adjusting to being back home.  The motorhome became our home in a very real sense.  We often talked about how we never felt away from home or wishing we were back home.  We had our home with us.  We did get tired of bad weather as it turned sour in mid-October in lower Michigan, then followed us through Tennessee.  Then the RV parks were horrible in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.  Our last stop in Savannah, thankfully, was very nice.  Would not have minded staying there much longer.

By the end of this month, Betty will have hip replacement surgery.  We soon begin all the preliminary doctor visits that lead up to that.  With all the other things we must do to care for this property, this should translate into a very busy remainder of the year.

I wrote yesterday that I would try to capture what it was like driving into our driveway after being away so long.  As you can see above, it is seeing things that need to be done and scheduling chores to do, and then doing them as time allows.  That is what being home is like.  When traveling across the country, one is not thinking about chores around the house.  The vehicle is also the residence.  When one goes places and sees things, taking many photos and updating a blog along the way, chores are not a part of it.  Little things may be needed to be bought or fixed, but they are rather small unless the vehicle needs something major, and that would be an expense but someone else's chore.  When one is traveling, he is not involved in church or community activities either.  So coming home is a return to chores and outside activities.  Nothing mysterious, just life as usual.

On Monday, Oct 30, we left the terrible Shadrack RV Park for Elmore RV Park in Charlotte, NC.  Getting there was quite an experience, where my RV GPS said to go one way and Betty's phone GPS said to go another.  We should have followed mine, since Betty's phone sent us into downtown Charlotte at rush hour.  We were being told to turn right at intersections which had signs saying no right turns.  One way streets everywhere (like downtown Jacksonville).  This sort of thing went on quite a while.  I finally picked a road that looked like it would take us out of the city and followed it.  While I drove away from downtown, Betty called the RV park to ask for better directions.  Following those directions we made it to the park, but it was not too great a park.  It was behind a used car dealership, requiring a drive over curbs, around a large tree in the road, then backing into a short slot.  I was promised 50 amps but only got 30 amps.  The place was a wreck, but its reviews were the best in that part of Charlotte.  It was, thankfully, close to the Billy Graham Library.  We got set up for the night and made plans for visiting the library the next day.

Tuesday, Oct 31, we slept late and had a quiet breakfast together.  After lunch we drove to the library.  The GPS took us on another roundabout route to get there, but once there it was worth the trouble.  Beautiful well landscaped grounds, with pretty, tasteful arrangements and architecture.  Billy Graham's childhood home has been disassembled and reassembled on the grounds.  It is no humble farmhouse, but rather a beautiful colonial design home.  It must have been one of the best in the area where he grew up.  After walking through the home, we went outside to the library, which has a front that looks like a barn, but once inside one is taken on a computer-assisted tour of a much larger building that extends back behind the barn front.  The tour begins with an animated cow that speaks and sings about the tour you will be taking.  Click this link to listen to part of the cow's talk: Talking cow The tour is entitled The Journey of Faith.  They have recreated in several rooms -- all connected by tall doors that open automatically at the close of each presentation -- the key events in the life and ministry of Billy Graham.  It is called The Billy Graham Library because it is patterned after the presidential libraries.   After having seen the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum & Library in Grand Rapids, I can see the similarities.  Outside and inside the library beautiful hymns are being played and sung over speakers tastefully hidden from view.  It gives the whole place a worshipful ambiance that envelops the whole visit.  One enters the library through a cross-shaped door and exits to the lobby through another cross-shaped door.  The centrality of the cross was emphasized throughout, a welcome change from all the Mormon buildings out west that have no cross, since they associate it with death and sadness without understanding their need as sinners for a Savior; and that salvation comes only through the cross.  The volunteers everywhere were very gracious and helpful, always asking if we needed anything.  They were of every race, which would delight Graham who was a leader in healing racial injustice, always insisting that meetings be integrated everywhere, particularly in the south.  It was an unusually talented team that God in His providence assembled in the 1940s, Graham, Barrows, and Shea.  After the indoor tour one exits the building to the prayer garden, a beautifully landscaped area with walkways that eventually lead to the gravesites of Ruth Graham, George Beverly Shea, Cliff Barrows, and Billie Barrows (Cliff's first wife who died of cancer).  Remembering how I as a teenager sat glued to the TV screen in the 1960s watching the many televised crusades, loving the old hymns being sung by huge choirs led by Cliff Barrows, enjoying the solos sung by Shea, and watching Billy Graham perform his enthusiastic exhortations; I was stunned to stand over the gravesites of these instrumental people who left such a lasting impact upon me.  We had lunch inside at the small eatery they have provided.  And, yes, we could not leave without visiting the gift shop and buying a few things.  We left as they were closing at 5 pm.  The volunteers were also leaving and had kind words for us, wishing us well, even asking if there was anything for which they could pray.  There is a wonderful aura of saintly service about the whole place.  It was a shame to drive away back into the mad traffic of Charlotte and our awful RV park.

Today, Wednesday, Nov 1, we carefully hitched up our Jeep to the motorhome and drove through the obsticle course of that park out onto a very busy highway that was not friendly to a motorhome pulling a Jeep behind it.  We made it safely out and onto the interstate highways of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia until we arrived at the Savannah South KOA Park.  The wind died down when we got to I-95, so I could drive near the speed limit and arrive here sooner than anticipated.  It took a little over 6 hours of driving to get from Charlotte to just south of Savannah, GA.  It was a relief to be in a decent RV park again.  This place is tastefully laid out, clean, and neat.  The sites are level and long enough to keep the Jeep connected overnight so that tomorrow will not require the extra chore of re-connecting the Jeep, which requires many careful steps to keep the Cherokee's electronics from getting scrambled.

It was a moment of reflection this morning as I turned the page on the calendar that has taken the trip attached to the front of the refrigerator.  We left St Augustine on August 8, and now it was November.  So much had happened in October alone and now it had passed into history.  Tomorrow's trip will be relatively short, especially compared to today's trip.  It will be a little over 2 hours for the ride down the short east coast of Georgia and into Northeast Florida.  Betty and I have been asking ourselves what it will be like to drive into the driveway after having driven this motorhome over so many kinds of roads, some really bad, up and down mountains, over countless bridges, and through many states.  I shall try to capture it for you tomorrow after it occurs.

Sign out front of childhood home

Childhood home on left, library and garden on right

Closer view of library

Childhood home dining room

Childhood home living room

Panorama view from front door

Kitchen where young Billy told mother he had been saved

Childhood home mother's study

View inside front door of library

Small cafeteria inside library

Recreation of 1949 Los Angeles revival scene that launched nationwide notice

Billy and Ruth's home hearth

Pulpit carried from crusade to crusade

One exits the library as one entered: through the cross

Ruth Graham's gravesite

Ruth Graham's gravesite sign

Better view of sign above

Closeup of grave marker

Gravesite of Cliff and Billie Barrows, and George Beverly Shea

Closeup of gravesites of Barrows and Shea

Gravesite sign for the Barrows

George Beverly Shea gravesite sign