QUINCY, FL.  It was mostly overcast and windy as we drove today.  We stopped at a rest stop along U.S. 331 where rose bushes and rhododendron were in flower.  There was also a fully flowered but rain damaged lilac bush, which I did not know would grow this far south.  As we passed into Florida, we drove past the highest point in the state, Britton Hill, at 345 ft in elevation.  No nose bleeds to report.

We reached I-10 and proceeded eastward.  As we neared Leon County, we noticed on both sides of the highway trees snapped in half with the upper half tilted onto the ground.  There was debris everywhere for miles.  It was not until we got here to Pat Thomas Park in Gadsden County that an internet search informed us that the same storm that spawned tornadoes in Alabama and Georgia March 3rd (five days before we came this way) also spawned them in South Carolina and the Florida panhandle.  The damage in Alabama was in the eastern part of the state, so we saw no evidence of it on our trip to Red Bay and back, but the evidence here in Florida's panhandle is dramatic and lingering.  It will take quite a while to clean up.  The damage done on the road to this park has been cleared, and the park seems to have been spared.  The site assigned to us at reservation was impossible to get our motorhome in and out of, but a better one was available which we took (see photo below).  One more time we have been glad that our motorhome is relatively small and can weave through large trees and make tight turns.

Tomorrow we drive home.  It has been little more than three weeks that we have been away.

Our Site Between the Trees

Rhododendron Blossom

Rose Bush in Flower

GREENVILLE, AL.  Checked out of the Tiffin service center this morning.  Drove through varying weather and some strong winds, finally arriving here around 5:30 pm.  In a very nice small city park, Sherling Lake Campground has beautiful azalea bushes in full bloom now.  The price is low and the grounds are well kept.  Great combination.  Tomorrow we leave for Quincy, FL outside of Tallahassee.  From there it will be a day's drive back home on Monday.

Below are a few photos shot with my phone.

Formosa Azalea Bush

Azalea Closeup

Our Site at Park

RED BAY, AL (Day 12).  This morning early the TV analyst stopped by, but instead of working on our motorhome where we were parked, he wanted us to drive it to a location on the other side of the campground where there was a cable hookup.  This meant that we must unhook, pull in the slides, stow everything for driving, and drive over there as quickly as possible.  This was a rather impatient young man as well.  After getting over there, I once again experienced the embarrassment of not being able to repeat the problem for him.  Also been through that with garage mechanics on my car.  Anyway, it worked fine, so we needed to hurry over to Bunk House RV Conversions to have them work on the new cabinet drawers they had made.  While doing that, we mentioned the issue we had with the refrigerator.  One of the men there took the panel off one side of the motorhome to look inside.  There was a puddle of water on top of one of the water tanks in which lay an electrical junction box that fed the refrigerator.  They managed to hoist the junction box up out of the water using zip ties, but the leak that produced the water was the drain hose from the kitchen sink.  They said that would take a day at least to fix and they could not take the extra time.  Our hopes to leave tomorrow seemed dashed.  Once the drawers were fixed, we came back to the Tiffin service center and told the scheduler of service about our new information on the problem.  She doubted anyone could get to it today.  We drove back to our parking site to wait.  We were surprised by a phone call from her at around 1:15 pm saying to come to Bay 10. After arrival there several men worked until about 3:15 pm and managed to fix the leaking hose and replace the damaged junction box.  It was quite an effort by several men at once.  We managed to check out and pay our bill by around 3:30 pm, and can leave here tomorrow morning for home.  Everyone we tell about it say how "lucky" we are that it all happened here rather than out on the road where it is hard to find a service area this knowledgeable.  We know, however, that Providence works in mysterious ways.

RED BAY, AL (Day 11).   Today we drove to Bunk House Conversion, RV of Alabama.  We had been told by them that they would call us to come over around lunch time, but at 8 am we got the call to come over at 9 am.  We scrambled to get ourselves and the motorhome over there on time.  No time for breakfast.  After we got the motorhome over there, we asked them where would be a good place to get breakfast.  They said McDonalds or Jack's, a local chain.  We tried the latter, which was no better than the former would have been.  We also killed some time over at the local coffee house.  We finally were called to come pick up the motorhome in mid-afternoon.  After arriving back here at the Tiffin Service Center RV Park, we noticed that the refrigerator was not running.  The breaker switch was off, and it switched off again when I tried to turn it back on.  After some investigation, it seems to me a strong possibility that the breaker has shorted out.  I rushed in to the scheduler of service to see if anyone could help us.  It would be tomorrow at the earliest.  We already are to see the TV guy tomorrow morning, so we would hopefully get that worked in. Then Betty noticed that our newly-acquired custom cabinet from Bunk House had flaws in construction where the pieces were not joined together completely.  We would have to get back over there also tomorrow.  If we cannot get all this done tomorrow, we will not be able to leave for home Saturday.  No one in this town works on the weekend. 

RED BAY, AL (Day 10).  Drove to Bay Diesel this morning.  Experience there was like so much in this town.  They were nice people that communicate poorly, so that you were never sure they heard you correctly.  That quandary is compounded by the fact that they do not talk to one another very much, so that all the work may not get done unless you follow up with them all, and tracking them all down is not easy.  Due to the inherent miscommunication, some things either were not done or not done completely.  Getting explanations was time-consuming and exhausting.  In the end, it appears that all has been done to get the engine and chassis ready for our upcoming long trip.

RED BAY, AL (Day 9).  Today they opened the service bay door a little after 7 am to allow us to return inside for the completion of work on our new windshield.  The seals they installed today were dry by 3 pm and the mirrors and windshield wipers reinstalled, enabling us to drive back to our site in the service center RV park.  It has been raining a lot, and tonight the temperature will drop to 36 degrees.  We really are getting tired of this place, though we have met some very nice people here.  Tomorrow morning we have a 10 am appointment at the Freightliner place down the road.  It will be a welcome change of scenery.  Nevertheless it is very good to have a beautiful new windshield and to have completed all the other repairs that were done Friday.

Rain-soaked Crowded RV Parking Area at Tiffin Service Center

RED BAY, AL (Day 8).  Arrived at the glass work bay at 7 am.  The workmen removed the windshield wipers and mirrors, then removed the windshield and installed a new windshield, which they glued into place.  This was done while Betty and I were at the visitors lounge reading.  By mid-morning they were standing around waiting for the glue to dry and for any other customers to come by.  They were idle the remainder of the day.  At around 3 pm they backed the motorhome out of the bay and closed the door.  I put down the jacks and put out the slideouts to prepare for spending the night there.  Tomorrow by 7 am we reverse these steps to enable me to pull the motorhome back into the bay for the final steps, which includes sealing around the windshield and reinstalling the mirrors and wipers.