Fall Finale

Tailgating Camp-Style
The Georgia-Auburn game has become one of our fall highlights.  We look forward to this gathering of friends and family each year, alternating between the hayfields in Auburn and the campground behind Big Dog Tire in Athens.

Nighttime in the hayfields

This year was no exception. Our menfolk headed out of town on Thursday, campers in tow, to set up camp in the land of the War Eagle or the Tigers or whatever those Orange and Blue fans call themselves.  They snagged an ideal spot plenty large enough for five rigs and a roaring campfire. Buddy camping at its best.

Plenty of firewood ready to keep us warm; Game Day playing on the TV

A tent full of food at all times

Lots of food, warmth by the campfire and fun-filled team spirit occupied our time in Auburn.

Some of our group attended the game; others of us kept the campfire burning.  Afterwards, we watched the Georgia bus convoy leaving town; Coach Richt drove separately - we wondered why - the news Sunday morning answered: he flew to Washington state to recruit.  It wouldn't be but a few weeks more before we'd learn of Richt's departure from UGA.


Thanksgiving at Hannahatchee
After enjoying a scrumptious Thanksgiving Dinner at the lake with family, we headed over to Louvale to Hannahatchee for a couple nights of camping with John & Becky in their new camper.

We learned that we can survive a few days with a generator and a full water tank in place of electric and water hookups.

Boondocking at Hannahatchee with Becky & John

Thanks to the Gator at the farm, we ventured into the badlands under cover of darkness - oh, it's creepy! Remember when we visited last spring?

On Friday, our foursome toured the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning.  We were especially intrigued by a tiny exhibit on the 1983 invasion of Grenada as we have a cousin who was involved in this operation.  No Black Friday shopping for us!

New Year's at Mike's Place
We rounded out the year with a final trip to St. Joe Beach.  We arrived at the campsite to find the neighbors had celebrated the season with lots of lights.

Signs of the season lit up the neighborhood

We met our friend Mike and his companion there, endured a cool and breezy boat ride up the canal, and watched fireworks on the beach.

The sun came out for a few minutes - seemed like a good idea to put the boat in the water and take a ride.

The rain is about to start. Again.  Can you tell by the photo that it was cold?

We included the traditional New Year menu items to ensure our luck for the coming year: black eyed peas and greens with cornbread.

Always keeping warm with a campfire. Christmas lights remind us the season's not quite over.

We watched movies and television shows while it rained.  With friends around and adequate indoor space in the SolAire, we rang in the New Year just fine.

And, we marked our 50th night in the SolAire: January 1, 2016.

Autumn Escapes

He's been bugging me about not updating this blogspot.  If you've been wondering what happened, I haven't written about our fall and winter escapes because they are just that - escapes!  I left the laptop at school, took no work with me, and enjoyed the chances we had to get out of town.

I figure I'll do some catching up here and maybe that'll get me primed for our spring and summer adventures.

North Georgia Mountains
In October we visited Whispering Pines Campground in Morganton, GA.  Located just off the highway outside of Blue Ridge, this quiet campground is nestled alongside the gently flowing Hemptown Creek. Nestled is the nice word - tucked tightly is more like it.

Hemptown Creek flowing next to the Whispering Pines Campground in Morganton, GA

We arrived late in the evening after all the other campers had burned their day's ration of firewood and called it a night.  Our reserved space spanned a few feet between two other campers.  With a narrow driveway, a couple of trees, and a propane tank all perfectly situated, we tested Jamie's parking prowess. This was a one-shot backup - no retries.  We caught a limb, but luckily no damage.
It was so late, and the campground so quiet, that we chose to forego our usual careful leveling for the night.

Fall in the north Georgia mountains is delightful.  The temperature was pleasant, the leaves colorful.
With Jamie's mother and aunt, who stayed at their cabin, not in the campground with us, we enjoyed the Blairsville Sorghum Festival and the Punkin Chunkin in Brasstown, NC.  The Punkin Chunkin was a real treat - we'd never seen anything like it before. Man, they could toss a pumpkin!  That was some serious engineering for such silliness.

Punkin Chunkin 

Fortunately, I had made an advance reservation at one of my favorite spas, Serenity in the Mountains. I relaxed and enjoyed the pampering on Monday.  To how much I like this spot, read my previous review.

Prior to this trip, we had purchased an Oster roasting oven.  We tried it out.  Oh. My. Yum!  We baked a turkey breast and treated Sandra and Jan to dinner in the SolAire.  It was so delicious that we used the oven again at home for Christmas.

The Oster Roasting Oven

We baked cookies in the Oster.

My lumberjack keeping the fire burning

St. Joe Beach
Fall at the beach is another of our favorites.  We made a quick trip to St. Joe Beach in late October. Sunny afternoon on the beach.  Football on television.

Baked a cake in the Oster!  This little gem is incredible.

Lazy Days for Labor Day

Thursday evening we loaded the SolAire and headed south to our favorite beach spot.  After stopping for dinner in Bainbridge and picking up some groceries at Wal-Mart, we were on our way.  As the sun went down, Jamie noticed the tail lights on the trailer weren't burning. Yikes!

We pulled over. My mechanically minded, ever-prepared husband discovered a fuse had blown.  No problem; he had a spare.  {There are lessons in this:  1) keep some spare fuses and 2) travel with a mechanically minded, prepared person}

Fortunately, we're quite familiar with our camping spot in St. Joe Beach, so arriving at 10:30 PM wasn't a problem.  We backed into our spot -  we meaning he - backed in, while I radioed "c'mon back" until the trailer was strategically placed in reach of the electric hookup.  We use radios to communicate while situating the trailer; otherwise, the neighbors would hear us hollering.

Since it was late and we didn't want to wake the neighbors who are caretakers for this property, we opted to forego the rest of the setup until morning.  We had enough water in the tank for the night. So, Friday morning, we finished the setup, leveling the trailer, attaching the water hose and unhitching the truck.

Our Labor Day weekend was extra long -- we gained an extra day of relaxation when my employer gave us Friday off.  For years, I have felt that I need a two week vacation two weeks into the school year to recuperate from the opening of a new school year. An extra-long weekend -- close enough. How nice to wake up at our destination on Friday morning!

The weather was pleasant on the Gulf.  The wind blew just enough to keep us comfortable while we basked in the sun.

On Game Day, the first day of the season for college football, rain showers ensured we caught some football on television; otherwise, we would have been more tempted to spend the afternoon in the sand watching the waves crash on the shore.

I fiddled with my new Nikon camera and captured a few shots.

I watched a flock of these birds for hours.  Incredible fishermen!

Eye on the Prize - beak open!

Just about there!

Got him!

Beautiful Creature

Funny guy

I captured so many views of the sunset that selecting one favorite was impossible.  So, I'm breaking the one-sunset-picture-rule that Hoda & Jenna shared on Friday morning television.

I just love a colorful sunset.

"Isn't this what the models do?" he asked as he splashed water.

These sea oats remind me of a beach adventure with my parents years & years ago.

This camping trip was not about the adventure, but rather, it was about the rest and relaxation.  We lazed around for four days, doing as much or as little as we pleased.  We had no pressure to sight-see or venture.  Just what we needed.

And just one more sunset.