Senior Moments

 November 18. 2021

On the homefront

Fall has finally arrived in Florida.  By that I mean we have had a touch of cooler temps....but it hasn't interfered with my pond time.  I still take several dips each day.

Now Momma, on the other hand, is a bit of a whimp.  She headed off to Walmart the other day on one of those chilly mornings so she made sure to add an extra layer to keep her warm.  Of course, once inside the store, the jacket was no longer needed.  As she was filling up her cart, she felt the 'call of nature' so she parked her buggy outside the restroom in the back of the store and headed in to take care of business.  It wasn't until the doors opened to the outside world, feeling that brisk air, that she realized she had left her jacket in the restroom....all the way in the back of the store.  When she was telling Dad her tale, he said, "I could have told you that hiking back to the rear of the store was a waste of time."  You see, the jacket was no longer in the restroom....so back up to the front of the store to customer service/lost and found.  Needless to say, it wasn't her lucky day as the jacket hadn't made it to customer service yet. With groceries to get put away, that meant adding another trip back to the store the next day to pick up her jacket.  Oh well, that's the life of a senior 😄 ...memory decline for sure!   

Dad told her it would be a waste of time to go back to the store.  "You can write that jacket off!!"  But Momma was sure that a Good Samaritan had found it and turned it in to the customer service counter.  Sure enough, the next day when Momma checked in with the customer service desk, she discovered...... Dad was right.  I guess someone decided that they needed that jacket more than she did.  Good Samaritans aren't as plentiful in our current society it seems.

But Momma wasn't the only one with issues lately.  Our neighbors are back from the Georgia mountain area and diving into home projects.  Dad has been trying to knock off the items on his project list as well.  It seems every day, either Tim is inviting Dad to a Lowe's trip or Dad is inviting Tim to a Lowe's trip.

On this particular day, Dad extended the invitation and lucky for him, Tim accepted, because when Dad reached into his pocket for his wallet at checkout, all he found was an empty pocket.  Tim graciously spotted him so Dad didn't come home empty handed.  Now there's a Good Samaritan for sure!!  

When Dad returned home, he immediately went to retrieve his wallet.....BUT...it wasn't there.  MOMENT OF PANIC😕  So he asked Momma if she had seen his wallet.  Of course the answer was 'no', but she offered some suggestions.  And then the moment of embarrassment took over as Dad discovered his wallet in his pants....."But I NEVER put my wallet in THAT pocket!"    OH MY.  Is this one of those 'SENIOR MOMENTS' that everyone gets a chuckle over?  

I'm sure glad I'm not old enough for 'senior moments' and poor memory.  I don't ever want to misplace or lose my toys!!

I'm Chloe

Lumberjack

 October 31, 2021

Camp Chicken Pot Pie, Blairsville, GA

It's 70 degrees. Oh wait, that's the inside temperature.  It's still 51 outside, but the drizzle has stopped.  I'm ready to go outside and enjoy the day.  

Tim has turned into a lumberjack.  

He calls this table his camping furniture.

Perfect for a coffee break.

Our timing is perfect for leaf peeping. 

Lovin' all the color but lovin' chasing after my ball even more now that the drizzle has left us. 

I'm Chloe

It's Apple Season

 October 30, 2021

Camp Chicken Pot Pie, Blairsville, GA

Woohoo!!  The weatherman has promised a high of 53 degrees today!!  Yep, it is still cloudy with a drizzle but that didn't stop anyone from venturing out.  

The first adventure took place at the Union County Farmer's Market

where Momma found some treasures she couldn't pass up....some edible (fresh corn, butternut squash) and some non edible (craft items).  

I'll bet Dad and Tim could make these.....

The next stop was Tractor Supply.  Momma thought Dad had packed for me and Dad thought I had taken care of my own packing.  Ooops!  I guess I'm just so used to being taken care of that I didn't bother to check and make sure I had plenty of dog treats and food.  There is no way my stock would see me thru until we return home so Momma made Dad pull into the parking lot for a restocking stop.  Now I'm good to go for an extended stay, just in case we don't get home on our expected return date.

The day continued with a stop at Mercier's Orchard.  

It's apple season at Mercier's with fresh pressed apple cider, apple butter and of course a variety of apples.

Did you check out that warm jacket Dad is sporting?

So many varieties to choose from.  Luckily they had a system set up allowing for info on each variety as well as safe tasting.  Momma said it really assisted in making a choices among the many varieties.

Seeing as everyone failed to capture any pictures yesterday at Jim's Smokin' Que, it was the perfect excuse to enjoy more of that mouth watering, excellent BBQ.

Dad's eyes popped wide open when they delivered his bulging pulled pork sandwich.  Needless to say, they brought home more leftovers. 

Can you put in a good word for me and lay a guilt trip on Momma and Dad so they will share with me?  After all, I do an excellent job guarding the rig while they trapes all over.  I think that is worthy of a tasty reward!!

Another visitor arrived at the camp this afternoon....well, I guess you could really call her family as she is T & J's daughter.  She has volunteered to hook up her truck to the 'work trailer' and haul it back to Florida.  We'll have a small caravan heading south on Tuesday:  Us,  T & J towing their camper and their daughter towing the work trailer.

I have to admit, the highlight of the day for me was GAME TIME.  There were 5 people sitting around the table full of dominoes in our rig,  but the side game of toy toss was the best game of the evening.  I'm sure glad our friends LOVE me!!  Tim thought winning the last round made him the top winner of the night.  I didn't bother to correct him because it was obvious to everyone else that I was the winner of the best game ever.....toy toss!!  What a way to end the day.  

 

Life is good....

I'm Chloe

Best Campsite in Blairsville, Georgia

 October 29, 2021

Camp Chicken Pot Pie, Blairsville, Ga

We headed further north today with hopes of some gorgeous views as we traveled to the higher elevations of Georgia.  The views weren't a 10 today as it was misting off and on and there was loads of cloud cover, but it was still impressive.

Our destination today:  Camp Chicken Pot Pie.  We are visiting our neighbors from Florida at their Georgia Camp.

Not only are the views outstanding, but the hospitality is over the top.  Check out the step our site comes with.

I didn't mind leaping to the first rig step, but Momma is spoiled. No high kicking stretches to gain access to the first step for her. 

With all the wood available, Tim has put his creativity to work enhancing the camp with everything from harvest wood pumpkins to bubbling water running over precious stones.

Julie has added to the color that mother nature has provided this fall

with strategic planting of flowers.

Now just check out the color Mother Nature is offering up this fall.

But all these wonderous views and leaf peeping adventures come with a price.  You have to be willing to put up with the below 50 degree temperatures.  It was 48 when we arrived and it is STILL 48 degrees.  Last night Dad had the AC chugging along to keep him comfortable but this area calls for cranking up the furnace and fireplace.

Dad said all that great BBQ from Jim's Smokin' Que was another special treat. Can you believe this is the only pic Momma captured? 

Where's the shot of the ribs?  Dad reported that as soon as the waitress set that red basket lined with red and white checked paper loaded with mouth watering, smoky smelling, dry rub flavored, meaty ribs, all anyone could think of was diving in and savoring that delicious BBQ taste.....even before adding a blanket of that delicious homemade BBQ sauce.  Then one bite led to another and no one gave the camera a thought. Especially seeing as everyone had sticky fingers.  YUMMY!!

And would you believe they brought home a nice styrofoam container loaded with leftovers?  I'm sure hoping it becomes a doggie bag. 

I'm Chloe

Georgia Bound

 October 28,2021

Twin Oaks Resort, Elko, Ga

The wheels are rolling once again.  Tonight we are doing a layover in Elko, Georgia at Twin Oaks.  Wait one minute!  Didn't we just get back home from a week in Georgia at Creekfire Resort just outside of Savannah?  Yep, it was the SE Rally for our Open Range friends and a few SOB (some other brands).  32 rigs total for a week full of activities, food and good times.

Amazingly, we FINALLY received a high rise toilet bowl that was in one piece.  Sharon's brother in law had hoped to have the new toilet in use on September 27th, but that didn't happen as the projected delivery dates weren't met.  The tank arrived on the 28th.  The seat arrived on the 29th.  And the bowl was MIA (missing in action--stalled out in Davenport)  On October 3rd, we FINALLY got to talk to a human who actually knew something about the situation.  It seems the bowl broke during shipment but no one let us know or even bothered to start the process to ship another bowl.  Bowl #2 and followed by bowl #3 both were delivered in pieces.  Now tell me, why wouldn't you label the box fragile?   After finding it impossible to receive a bowl delivered at the house that was still in one piece, it was decided to try to have a bowl shipped right to the store.  Less transfers/fewer trucks and maybe a better chance of no damage.  The delivery date was pushed out twice....do you think the extended delivery date was due to more broken bowls?  We do!!  But alas, sweet success finally occurred.

So the first project for Dad upon returning home from the Georgia gathering was a toilet installation for brother in law Carlos.

The throne is finally ready for action!!

Yesterday, Dad reported to the out patient eye surgical facility for cataract surgery on his right eye.  I helped him sleep off the mild anesthetic as we both reclined in the living room recliner for the rest of the day. This morning, Momma drove him back for his follow up check up where he received his good report.  As soon as they got home, we got the tires rolling with Momma behind the steering wheel.  Doc used some powerful dilation that still hadn't worn off from the day before so things were a tad fuzzy for Dad.  It was a nice cloudy day which really worked in Dad's favor....no bright sunlight!!  And seeing as we have traveled our route in the past, Dad had no major navigation duties while sitting in the co-pilot seat.

When we zipped (okay, so we were really crawling at 37 mph) past the Gainesville exits on I-75, it looked like we were traveling in the middle of the night even though it was late morning.  The clouds were unloading water buckets of sheeting rain and blocking any light so it was as dark as a gloomy Halloween night.  The traffic was kicking up the road water and adding to the poor visibility. YUCK!!  Thank goodness we were able to find better conditions north of Gainesville so Momma could quit white knuckling the steering wheel. 

No rain in sight during our set up so it was a smooth landing.

Catch you tomorrow when we get to the higher elevations of Georgia and the colorful leaves.

I'm Chloe

Back in Florida

August 31 - September 3

Fairgrounds,, Tallahassee, Fl

Aunt Carol is excited.  Her son and family live in Tallahassee.  Time with the grandkids is on her schedule!!

Momma is in need of her chiropractor so it looks like we will be departing a day early as the chiropractor is only open Monday - Thursday.  If we time it right, she can slide right onto his table on Thursday afternoon and have a more comfortable weekend.  

Aunt Carol and Uncle Steve will be heading on to St. Augustine, Florida.  

It has been a delightful 3 months of travel loaded filled with memory making adventures as we meandered on the highways.  A summer to remember.

Don't they sell dogfood?

 August 29, 2021

Hillside Family Campground, Cochran, Ga

Getting to our campsite was almost as long a trip as it took to arrive at the campground.  We wound over unpaved 'roads' that twisted through the campground and trees to land at the edge of a field for our full hook up sites.  They definitely don't have an 'age of rig' requirement here.  

The convenience of the location to M & T Meat was the enticement to camp here.  

Momma and Dad love shopping at the meat counter.  They always make an effort to arrive with lots of freezer space.  The only thing wrong with the market as far is I'm concerned is that no meat ever comes MY way.  I would surely enjoy some chicken and rice!!

I'm Chloe

A trip back in time

August 28, 2021

Scenic Mountain RV Park

Milledgeville, Ga

Another missed opportunity!  If they had taken me with them today, I could have had some new playmates.  I may have been overwhelmed though if these peacocks decided to fan their tails.

 

These peacocks were located in a pen at Andalusia, the home of writer Flannery O'Connor.  
 

Andalusia was a cotton plantation and farm in the 1800's until purchased by the Flannery family in 1931 when it became a dairy and beef farm.  

Flannery was diagnosed with lupus in 1951, so she moved to the farm to live under the care of her mother.

This was the period when Flannery O'Conner wrote.  

The home was gifted to the Georgia College.  The docent was a current student of history attending the college.  Touring the home, the lifestyle of the 1950's was on display.

Many of Flannery's books were available for purchase at the ticket counter.   

I'm Chloe

Ice Cream Fix

 August 26-28, 2021

Scenic Mountain Resort, Milledgeville, GA

Aunt Carol said that this is not the best location for the ice cream 'fix' that seems to have developed into the routine of this summer's excursion.  Three locations were located (researched) so on the afternoon of arrival, the two-legged headed out to Cravers ...not much selection...so on to Blackbird two doors down.  Out of choccolate??!!  Who ever heard of such a thing!!...and no pistachio for Aunt Carol.  Everyone thought that the cherished parking spot that they lucked out on in the historic downtown area was  good sign....wrong!!  So they headed up the road to DQ for blizzards.  

The following day, Baskin Robbins was tried out.  Slow service, dirty tables,  no waffle cones, and small, inconsistent serving sizes.  You couldn't tell a one scoop cup from a two scoop cup. huh????   But they did have chocolate and pistachio flavors.

Ice cream pickings may be poor, but Milledgeville does have quite a bit of history, especially when you take in the fact that it was once the capital of Georgia.  A visit to the Old Governor's Mansion, complete with tour, took everyone back to the Antebellum period of the 1800's. 

The three story structure once housed several Georgia governor's families, with each governor paying for their own upkeep and living expenses, including the servants needed to keep up such a large structure.  Yes, some were owned slaves in those early days but not all.  

The photo below is the equivalent of the 'man cave' where the men played cards and gathered.  It was interesting to note that this room was twice the size of the lady's parlor where the females did their needle point, etc and gathered together.

The large ballroom had ....what looked like small stoves...but they were acturally incense burners ....to assist in masking the body odors of the attendees who were gathered in a non-climate controlled room,  wearing many layers of clothing over a body that had probably received the equivalent of a sponge bath. 

 

I'm Chloe