Cotton Hill (COE) - 12/28/20 - 12/31/20 (#2)

2nd trip under our belt(s). This time it was to Cotton Hill CG in Fort Gaines, GA (on AL/GA border) - about 2 hours from the farm. Our first time at a COE (Corp of Engineer) park. Almost all are on some type of water (river, lake, etc) & very affordable.

We spent Christmas Eve w/the In-Laws (including our BIL from ATL). Then had Christmas w/my family at my niece's house. Drove to the farm on Christmas night (freezing cold for the next 2 days). We prepared the camper the next couple of days & headed to camp on Monday the 28th. Weather improved to very tolerable, warm temps. 

Campsite #15 (FHU) which was listed as an extreme angle on the driveway, down to flat level pad. They weren't kidding when they listed as extreme. Got in w/just a little scrape on the back passenger side stabilizer bar. Other campers came in the next day & couldn't maneuver their rigs to get in the 2 vacant spots next to ours & had to move to alternate sites.

Took our time setting up w/o any issues. The site was on the water (Walter F. George Lake) huge & very private. 

Driveway was much steeper than it looks here.

A friend that I 'met' on a FB RV Campsite review page was also there a few sites away. After we got set up we went over to say hello & actually 'meet' before they left the next day.

We brought firewood as well as fat lighter & fire starters this time. Absolutely no issue with starting our fire each evening around 4:00p.

Just one angle of our 'back yard'

The next day we took a walk around whole CG. I think there are 90+ sites. Fished a little & basically just relaxed. Which btw, Greg is having a hard time doing. He's so used to going full speed ahead that it will take some time for him to get in camping speed, but he'll get there.

We walked the nature trail (about 1.5 miles) the next morning. 

Just hanging out in the woods.

Then went for a drive around Fort Gaines. Drove through George T. Bagby SP where we saw a family of deer. 

Turned down one road to see the Dam & found ourselves in AL. Dam was closed so we decided to drive over to  Kolomoki Mounds State Park (will stay there in the future). Then headed over to Bluffton, GA. Interesting history of the town. Went to White Oak Pastures General Store to get lunch (grassfed burger).

On the way home we saw a sign for a Pioneer Village. Never found the village but saw this barn quilt on the end of a house. I hope to paint a few of these for our farm buildings.

Got back to camp just in time to start the last fire of the trip & got this pic of Nelly contemplating whether or not she likes camping.

Met a few of the other campers when Greg saw they were having trouble starting their fires. He gave them each some fat lighter & a couple of my homemade fire starters.

Overall, we loved this CG! So much quieter than Ocmulgee. Will definitely be back. Here are a few additional random pics (Note: all taken directly from our campsite):

Just a lady taking her cat for a stroll.

Close up of new header pic

Additional Notes: Three nights - good.Very quiet, beautiful sunsets, warm (always keep a pair of shorts & flip flops on hand), Janine (Rick) / FB; NY Couple (FT for 4 years) & Vicki & Kathryn (alternative lifestyle couple). Campers love dogs!

Our First Camping Trip - Little Ocmulgee (11/27/20 - 11/29/20)

We purchased our camper (Flagstaff 25BDS) in July 2020 and spent the next few months 'outfitting' it. New tires, shelf paper, sheets, towels, dishes, utensils, hanging racks, etc. It's approx. 26' with Murphy Bed, dinette, decent sized kitchen & decent size bathroom & couch when Murphy Bed up. Lots of storage in general, but no overhead in kitchen. Just going to take some getting used to. 

We decided on Little Ocmulgee SP for our first trip. It was sort of a halfway point from FL --> GA, where we want to store it.

Arrived on Friday, after Thanksgiving. Back-in site #6, FHU. It was a bit unlevel & was our first time setting up. But, we got it done. Went for a short walk around the campground w/Nelly.

After dark, we walked around looking at the Christmas display they had set up just a short walk away.

There were a few others doing the same.

There were many families & lots of kids. Since we were near the entrance there was lots of traffic ... vehicles, foot & bike. It quieted down later in the evening.

They had cable hookup so we watched a little TV & called it a night. Woke up the next morning to rain. Went to turn on TV to see weather & coulnd't find the remote ANYWHERE. Finally decided it had fallen down a crevice when we put Murphy Bed up. Put bed back down & still couldn't find it. Had to empty an outside storage compartment & remove a couple of panels to get it. Note to self, always know where the remote is before making bed.

It cleared up fairly early on Sat. so we went for a hike on the nature trail. Beautiful, wore a flannel shirt over my tee-shirt but had to take it off about 1/2 way during the 2 mile hike. Also walked down to take a look at the dam & passed by 8 or 10 cabins right on the lake. All looked well kept & nice & large.

Later in the afternoon, took Nelly out for a more thorough walk around campground, to scope out any future sites.

We had not brought any firewood with us but a nice gentleman we met while checking in offered what they had leftover since they were leaving that day. We hadn't brought any kindling or fat lighter either & the wood was wet so Greg chopped one of the logs into smaller pieces but was still having a hard time lighting it. He had some 2 in 1 oil (I think that's what it's called), that helped a little bit. Then he had the idea to get the bacon grease we had leftover from breakfast. Wiped out the container with a paper towel & viola ... fire! 

We didn't burn all the wood we had been given so we 'gave it forward' to one of the other campers.

We left on Sunday morning to yet more drizzle. Got everything packed up to head to the farm. Since we had full hookup we were able to dump before we left. Got to the farm, got it situated & left to go back home to FL.

Overall, it was a great first trip but realized 2 nights is probably not enough to fully enjoy.

Additional notes ... Maverick across the way, lots of traffic that didn't seem to belong to the campgound & Cheech & Chong somewhere in the park.

2020 Update

No post from me in 2020. Don't want to re-hash that year but I do want to document/update from when I last posted in 12/2019. Sorry it's a long one, that's what happens when you only update once a year (that's going to change this year though!)

My last line from that post ...

"And here's to hoping that 2020 will be better than 2019."

Little did I know what would happen. Things were okay for us on a personal level. I had a new reason not to go shopping (I don't like to shop), I already had in stock, many of the things that got bought up, so didn't have to go out & about any more than I needed to. And, I actually enjoy staying home, so I did, for the most part.

Greg's business was condered essential, why, I don't know. He sells & services commercial lawn equipment. Don't ask me why the government thought that it would be essential to keep lawns manicured. He stayed open & thank goodness, no medical casualties for him, his employees or many of his customers. Unlike many others, his business actually thrived & on the financial front we were ok. He actually never opened on weekends during the summer like he would have in years past, so that gave us more free time than normal for that time of the year.

We came & went to the country house every other weekend & maintained distances. Not hard to do up there. A couple of weddings were cancelled & funerals were kept to graveside services. Speaking of funerals, one was an elderly aunt w/renal failure & the other a younger relative (Mom's side of the family) that had gotten in an accident & died from complications later. The medical authorities tried to classify both as Covid even though they weren't. I was told that the hospitals receive extra "pandemic" dollars if they were classified as such. Not right, in my opinion, but gotta keep those numbers up in order to keep the money coming in.

My sister, a hairdresser, did develop Covid but thank goodness it was a mild case & she recovered. She actually got it from a customer who also recovered & no other customers got it. She & her husband quarantined & she did what the Dr. told her & she's now fine, just a bit of lingering tiredness. My niece who is an RN in a hospital has been unaffected thus far. She actually changed jobs to work in the surgery ward so that keeps her away from the 'general' patients.

My brother-in-law drives a truck for a grocery chain & niece's husband works for a HVAC/Fire Security company & both their jobs were essential. So the family fared ok as well.

My FIL was still in LTC w/MIL staying w/him. She actually got clearance to stay & come & go like an Employee. I believe this was due to the fact that she did many of the things for FIL, like getting his teeth & hair brushed, face washed, etc. that freed up the nursing staff to spend that time with other patients.

However, FIL kicked her out of the facility in April, due to his worrying about Covid spreading in so many LTC facilities. She didn't like it but home she went, to the new house that she had never stayed in. Rough situation for her but we felt it was also the right decision. I went to the store & got her stocked up on essentials that could last her for a couple of months, so she wouldn't have to go out & about. 

In the meantime, we were already working on getting FIL out of the facility. That took the next couple of months, getting everything ready ... daily medical care, supplies, wheelchair, hoyer lift, etc.

He came home in June of 2020. Rough couple of months. But, by around Sept., they had found the right care giver (after going through 5 or 6 (FIL isn't the easiest person to get along with)). She is actually helping him more than any of the staff at the facility & he has improved a great deal. Even w/o the use of his left arm he can assist in getting in & out of bed w/o a lift & can stand/walk/shuffle with assistance. He still needs help with personal care & therapy but it's a whole lot better than it was June, July & August.

MIL continues to decline. Like FIL, her mind is all there but her movements, hearing, eyesight, etc. is rapidly declining. Much of it is due to the stress/demands that FIL puts on her. They've been married 65 years & he's pretty much always been like that. Nothing we can do to change that.

In the midst of everything, Greg was in the process of trying to complete the sell of his business. It got delayed several times over the summer & we were beginning to think that it never would happen. But .....

HE CLOSED THE SALE ON 12/31/20!!!!!!

He has to train the new owners for 30 days & after that he will be fully RETIRED on 2/13/21. It will most likely be quite the adjustment for us(me) but I think we are up to the challenge.

In preparation for full retirement (for us both) we purchased a 25' camper to do a little bit of travel for the next couple of years. We haven't been on a real vacation since 2011 & with Nelly (our pup), we figured it would be easier.

This is where I will document those travels so that's why I will hopefully be posting much more this year.

Whew, I'm done for now. Bring on 2021!