Georgia “Two Ways”

This post is about Georgia, done “Two Ways”.  Two Ways? How so?  Way One is CROWDS – Last week we were camping in Perry, Georgia, with 2700 other RVs.  Way Two is NO CROWDS – This week we were camping in LaGrange, Georgia with very few people…the geese outnumbered us. 

Last week was the 97th International FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) Convention also known as an RV Rally.  We met up with our friends Paul and Kay (from Southwest Maine) and we worked as the Advance Crew.  Jim and Paul helped park RVs (like they did last year in Chandler, Arizona…see my Chandler RV Rally Blog Post).  Kay and I helped were we could.  We sliced tomatoes and onions for a cookout.  We helped stuff Welcome bags to give to attendees.  And we took three 2 hour shifts to drive around in a golf cart and deliver the Welcome bags.

Here is the Welcome Bag stuffing brigade. Just get in line, grab one of everything, and when you get to the end of the table, put it in a bag.

“We are the welcome bag ladies!” Here, Kay and I in our golf cart, with boxes of Welcome Bags behind us. “Here’s your bag.  Have a great rally.”  And yes, it was that cold.

This being our fourth rally, we pretty much know what to expect.  Jim attends all the seminars and spends major bucks.  I attend the seminars that interest me and sew in my spare time.

Our new TPMS a.k.a. Tire Pressure Monitoring System.  It tells us the tire pressure of all the RV tires AND the Jeep tires.  Before, if the Jeep had a blowout while towing, we wouldn’t really know it!

This is a charity quilt I’m pushing to get done this week. Janelle’s Graduate Student Association is going to use it to raise some funds. Since the school is full of ocean water type majors, fish seemed appropriate.

One of the seminars was a meeting of On Road Quilter’s.  Forty-nine quilts were collected for local charities (five of the quilts were mine!). 

This is Show and Share!  Everyone loves to see everyone else’s quilts.

After the quilting seminar, all the donated quilts are put on display in the main lobby for others to see.

And of course, there are some shenanigans.  Check out the video below (use this link if you need to:  https://youtu.be/E4Wiq9WWExQ ).  Here’s what happened…we were sitting in the RV and keep hearing a honk blowing.  Further investigation led to the discovery of this dog left to his own resources in his owner’s RV.  Play the short five second video. It’s worth it.

And more shenanigans….

Meet Paul and Kay, the friends that parked next to us. They decided to buy a new couch. This is the old couch, which came in handy to sit on outside!

But what do you do with an old couch once it is no longer needed as patio furniture? Why of course, you put it on top of your truck and go couch surfing!!! Paul…I told you I would put you in the blog! Fortunately, the couch is no longer on the truck. Let’s just say it was disposed of somewhere.

This RV rally we really tested the capacity of our black and gray tanks.  It was 11 days of dry camping.  That means no electricity, no water, and no sewer connection.  We did pretty well.  The solar panels and Lithium-Ion batteries worked great.  Next time I would use paper plates, since I filled up the gray tank that held the dish water.  We also came close to running out of fresh wash.  But this proved with some modifications to our normal routines, we can do 14 days off-the-grid.  14 days is the max number of days you can stay in one place on BLM land in Southwest.  We are looking to the future.

After the rally, we stayed in Georgis.  We headed west to the Whitetale Ridge Corp of Engineers Campground on a reservoir along the Chattahoochee River.  Paul and Kay had suggested this as a post-rally destination for our merry group.  It was heaven!!!!  We were camped on the shores of the reservoir in a beautiful site with water AND 50 AMP ELECTRIC!  Let me tell you, after running off solar panels for 11 days, plugging into 50 Amp power and not having to worry about what-to-turn-on-when was a luxury.

Our little slice of heaven along the Chattahoochee River.

Ahhhh. This is what I had been waiting for!

We didn’t do too much this week.  A trip into town to do laundry was necessary.  But mostly we stared at the water, caught up on life, and relaxed.  This campground is definitely a new favorite.  Although I would be curious to see what this campground is like in the summer.  I suspect the peace and quiet is spoiled by the sound of ski boats and jet skis on the lake.

The azaleas were in bloom all over.

Our spot on the left, Paul and Kay on the right. These camping sites were HUGE!

Dinner time! Grilled steaks anyone?

I snapped this sunrise picture the morning we left. We’ll be back!

We parted ways with Paul and Kay this morning.  We hope to see them again next winter in the desert Southwest.  Tonight we are camping at the Golden Acres Ranch in Monticello, Florida.  This a Harvest Hosts location that allows people like us to stay on their property for free.  Spring has certainly come to this part of the country.

This was the road up to the ranch property. We navigated it OK…but it was a bit bumpy.

Here is our spot for tonight. Note that we are parked right next to a pen of goats!

Yup, those are goats outside our RV door!

The owners raise Great Pyrenees dogs.

We saw some two day old kids (goat babies).

We are within 100 feet of this chicken coop. Note the rooster sitting on the fence. I suspect we won’t be sleeping in tomorrow morning!

From here, we are driving to Dade City, Florida tomorrow.  Jim is going to join a group called the Care-A-Vanners who are participating in a Habitat for Humanity build for the next two weeks.  Since Jim will be otherwise occupied, I am going to fly to Arizona to see my Dad for a week, then to Texas to visit with Janelle and Callie (also flying in).  It will be the Goeke Girls in Galveston!!!  Then it will be back to Florida for more adventures.

6 thoughts on “Georgia “Two Ways”

  1. dominiquefeather

    Nice quilt — hope it raises lots of money!!! Nice site on the river. Have a nice visit with your dad and your daughters. Safe travels for all.

  2. Amy

    No shortage of fun, friends or sights on this trip! Loved the honking pooch and beautiful views! Looking forward to future posts of the Goeke Girls as they take on Galveston!

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