Departed Georgetown in our Unity motorhome, driving I-35 North, with all the trucks coming out of Mexico, to Waco where we left the freeway and traveled Hwy 31 toward Tyler through lovely green fields, some trees budding out and the odd jonquil in bloom, past lots of cattle in the pastures and a couple of buffalo chomping grass. A beautiful drive until we got to Tyler and continued east on I-20 with more trucks. Upon arrival in Longview we entered our campground for the night, Fernbrook Park, a very nice comfortable park. We were tired so a little happy hour, a snack and to bed.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
From Longview, we got fuel and began our day traveling toward Shreveport LA and after much maneuvering of really bad streets we arrived at Ralph & Kacoo’s seafood restaurant where we used to eat a lot and today we ate a lot again. Iris claimed the crab was good while Bob had grilled and fried catfish fillets with a fantastic sauce after we both had seafood gumbo. Our waiter, Jamershea, was attentive and was helpful making our choices. When asked how he got such a name it seems his father had an African roommate in college with that name so hung it on his son when he was born.
From Shreveport we continued on through Monroe crossing the Ouachita River then further east we left LA by crossing the Mississippi River to arrive at Vicksburg MS. Our park here was River Town Campground and another great choice. Bob tried to get the satellite dish set up but was unsuccessful so we watched the one channel available on antenna. Called Dish about the problem but wait time was too long so another early night.
Friday, March 9, 2018
Vicksburg and another fuel stop where we knew the price was good as they were covered up with dump trucks. Finally got filled up and back onto I-20 to Jackson and Meridian. Had a stop for lunch at the Alabama Welcome Center, a huge truck parking area that was unoccupied so we were able to put out our slide room and open the door while we cooked fried chicken and left-over carrots from Ralph & Kacoo’s then enjoyed our meal. Continuing from the LA/MS border on I-20 we had lots of trucks and cars until we got to Birmingham and Pelham, our destination for the Birmingham South RV Park. Nice enough park, large, former KOA so sites very close. Got set up and found that our tow car, Honda Fit, had dead battery. Seems our charger from the motorhome was not functioning and the phantom power eaters ran the battery down. The fun was only beginning - a busy train crossing lies less than 100 yards from the campground and trains blew their whistles every 15 minutes all night. Not much rest. We’ve marked our book so we don’t stay here again.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
We left the noisy campground at Pelham and after getting fuel, our most expensive diesel so far on this trip, it was back to I-20 to continue East. Crossing the border between AL and GA we stopped at the GA Visitor Center for a rest stop and continued on to Hwy 61 and turned north to get to Cartersville. This road was through a combination of built-up commercial and residential, very hilly so on the two-lane the folks behind were probably not too happy with our speed but we maintained the posted limit. There were large areas of just woods so it was a pleasant drive and it allowed us to avoid 70 miles of interstate highways including I-75 that is such a mess with traffic. We arrived at the Allatoona Park, checked in, got the power and water connected and just as we sat down the rain started. We had a quick sandwich snack listening to the rain. Just as we were ready to leave to visit our friends, Collyn & Helga in Acworth GA the rain stopped long enough for us to get to the car. Helga was a neighbor when we lived in New Orleans in 1980 and after we left NO she and Collyn married 33 years ago. They will both be 87 this year and while their travels have been curtailed they still enjoy life. We had asked them to choose their favorite restaurant and we’d all go to dinner. Little did we know that involved a drive into downtown Atlanta on I-75 but Collyn drove so no bother. We had a great dinner at Babette’s Cafe and if you’re in Atlanta it’s worth a visit. Saying our goodbyes we drove back to the campground about 12 miles distant and were glad to see our bed. We lost an hour today crossing from AL to GA then after we went to bed we lost another hour with DST.
It rained all night but that muted the sound of the trains which were nearby again.
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