In Alabama

As most of you already know, we made it safely to Alabama on Friday. We made the stupid decision of driving straight through with just a couple of naps on the way. Believe me, we won't make that choice again. It was just too exhausting, and there really was no reason to be down here any earlier than a two day trip would have taken. But we both like to keep going once we start driving. We will just have to make a rule that we won't do that again, no matter what.

We have been spending all the time we have been here getting our fifth wheel all cleaned out and all our stuff packed in bags and storage tubs ready to move over to our new Salem Grand Villa when it is delivered. The driver called Lynn on Saturday and told him he would be leaving Fulton, NY on Sunday (yesterday) and would probably be down here on Tuesday.

We have been reacquainting ourselves with the area (and the restaurants!) and seeing what is still here and what has gone out of business, or new businesses that have started up.

We went to church yesterday at Morgan's Chapel in Bon Secour. It was great to see all our friends there. The pastor and his wife were away on a retreat, so we didn't get to see them yet. I was happy to be singing in the choir again. They started their rehearsals for the Christmas Cantata already, but I didn't stay after yesterday because we had plans to pick up our grandson, Grant, for the afternoon. He has graduated Boot Camp in the Navy and now is stationed at Pensacola Naval Base in Pensacola FL which is only about 35 miles for where we camp, so hopefully we will get to see a lot of him this winter! Right now he is waiting for his "A" School to start -- he is in for Air Traffic Control, but the school won't start until after the holidays, so he will be here almost the whole time that we are here as well.

We spent a very nice afternoon with him. We took him on a short tour of Gulf Shores AL, stopped at the seashore -- beautiful clear blue skies with plenty of sunshine. It was a bit breezy so not a great day for walking the beach, but it's still beautiful to look at! We took him to the Shrimp Basket for lunch for some good seafood. We had such a great time reminiscing about times he came to visit us during the summer. We had lots of laughs. We are so blessed that he likes to spend time with his grandparents. Especially now that he is "all grown up."

Well, I am feeling guilty because Lynn is outside scrubbing down the camping trailer, so I better get back to scrubbing down the inside!
Our prayers are with all our NY friends who may be facing more flooding, power outages, etc. due to Hurricane Sandy. Be safe, everyone!!!

Lots of travel lately

We have been traveling around a lot lately. Last week we took Lynn's Mom for a fall drive to see the leaves. Unfortunately, it drizzled most of the day, but the leaves were still pretty and we stopped at the Andes Hotel and had a nice lunch. It was a nice long day with lots of good conversation. We only took a couple of pictures and with the weather, I will be surprised if they come out well.
Sunday we went to Greenfield, MA for our first "gig" as KCBS Certified BBQ Judges. What fun we had! We got to meet a lot of nice people who were also judging. Quite a few others were from NYS as well. Spouses are not allowed to sit at the same table during judging, so Lynn and I both got to meet different people. The food entries were quite good. I had to judge 4 different chicken, 5 ribs, 5 pork, and 5 beef brisket. Lynn had 5 chicken, 5 ribs, 5 pork, and 4 beef brisket. I sure was full by the time we were done. 
We learned a few things, though. Like to bring a plastic container so you can bring leftover samples home; and bring a wet washcloth to clean your hands (NO FINGER LICKING ALLOWED!) instead of having to use bottled water and paper towels. 
Must be Lynn didn't get as full as I did, because he was (willing and) able to go to the Beer Tasting Garden afterward to sample the area microbrews. Don't worry -- I drove home!
It was a long day because we couldn't find any hotel rooms because it was also "leaf peeping" season up there, so we left home at 4 AM and got back home at 7:30 PM. The ride was really good until we got about an hour from home then we kept hitting rain pockets, but we made it okay. And as I said, we had a LOT of fun! We are definitely doing it again. As a matter of fact, we have sent in our applications for about 5 more contests in 2013.
Then today we drove out to Fulton NY to Great Outdoors RV to do our walkthrough on our new trailer http://www.greatoutdoorsrv.com/rv-info/2013-salem-grand-villa-408reds-by-forest-river which will be delivered to us in Gulf Shores AL on November 1st.
We are planning on leaving on 10/27 to get down to Gulf Shores on the 28th, get our existing 5th wheel set up on site so we can pack everything up in tubs for the transfer to the new Villa when it gets delivered. We are very excited about it!
Guess that's all for now. "Talk" to you soon!