And so it begins...Day One for Summer 2023

June 1, 2023

Southern Retreat GC site 26

Brunswick, Ga

Three days ago, I wasn't certain that I would be able to sing one of my favorite songs....."On The Road Again".  Notice I said 'one' of my favorite songs as I think my overall favorite is "Rubber Ball...I keep bouncing back to you!" I just LOVE playing ball.  But I also enjoy traveling with Momma and Dad, which is hard to do without the Ram.  As of Monday, the Ram still wasn't back in our driveway and our travel buddies Aunt Carol and Uncle Steve were making preparations for our Thursday departure.  They took their rig out of storage, positioning it at a campground close to their home so they could load it up for our summer adventures. "Don't forget my cookie bone treats Auntie Carol. Even if we leave a day or two late, I'll still catch up with you for my cookie bone treats."

Tuesday, everyone at my household gave a collective sigh of relief when the phone call came in from Williams Diesel with the news that the Ram was all repaired and ready to be picked up.  Then Momma supported Dad so he wouldn't keel over when Williams Diesel shared the cost for the new turbo charger and sensor replacement.  Only 5 grand and the Ram is back home getting washed and polished for our summer adventure.

Maritimes bound....

Today, Thurday, right on schedule, was travel day one.  We crossed the Florida border

Wait a minute...that sign says, "Thank you for visiting Florida".  I thought we called Florida 'home' ....well, at least for part of the year.  But I guess we will be calling many states 'home' this summer as we travel with our home on wheels.

Here we are in Georgia,

for our first night on the road and the first state to visit on our journey.

Yep, we managed to negotiate the construction and new traffic patterns along with all the other vehicles trying to share the congested area near Jacksonville.  

Momma and Aunt Carol had been in contact via phone all morning, but it wasn't until we arrived at the Georgia Welcome Center that we actually laid eyes on them.

They had arrived about 20 minutes a head of us and they were just finishing their lunch as we stopped for a travel break.  I convinced Auntie Carol that seeing as her dog treats were unaccessible at the time, she could share her 'human' cookie with me.  I've got her wrapped around my paw.  She's the best!!

Momma took forever getting us checked in at Southern Retreat Campground.  I was beginning to wonder if she had stepped into the attached restaurant and ordered a tidbit for me.  It seems that the gal who was trying to handle the check-in didn't know how to handle changing the paper.  Then she got confused and was trying to double charge us because she thought the transaction failed....just because she was out of printer paper.  Thank goodness there was a knowledgeable gal in the office with her.  It took a while to convince her that the transaction had really gone thru and she didn't need to run the card a second time. Finally, after a lengthy discussion between the two gals, the knowledgeable gal finally just told the confused lady that they were holding up Momma and to get on with it. So she assigned Momma to site 5.  When Momma asked which side of us our traveling buddies would be on, she said,  "Oh, they are 2 rows away."  WHAT??  We booked two sites at the same time so we would be near each other.  So the knowledgeable lady stepped in once again and gave us side by side sites.  I wonder if that gal was new to her job or just incompetent!! 

The check in took quite a while, but there was still time to toss some bean bags. 

I offered to have everyone toss my jug but they insisted on a game of corn hole.

Auntie Carol and Uncle Steve were treated to a visit by a cousin, also named Carol. 

The three of them had dinner at the restaurant and then they joined us at my rig and tossed my ball for me for an inside game of fetch while they were chatting, sharing stories and catching up.

Day one is about over, but the adventure has just begun with many states to visit along with several Canadian Provinces.  

Tomorrow we will be in South Carolina....On The Road Again...

I'm Chloe