sandcastle – Page 153 – The Sandcastle

Beds

When my mother was a child, I think she and her twin sister slept in a twin bed. I remember Mom telling me that when one wanted to roll over both had to roll over.

When I was an infant, my father got me a 6-year crib. So, I slept in it for six years. You’d think I’d be embarrassed to be going to school and still sleeping in a crib but I don’t remember that being so and I have memories going back to age two.

At least, I didn’t have to share my crib. Except once. My cousins came to visit after my brothers and I were already asleep. So Mom and Dad tucked me into the the foot of the upper bunk where my brother, Wayne, was asleep at the head. They put my cousin, Karen, who looked a lot like me except she was three years younger than me in my crib across from the bunk beds. When Wayne woke up and looked down at my crib he started screaming, “Mom! Dad! Come quick! Linda shrunk!”

I slept alone until I got married. As a new couple we had a double bed. Which is not quite as wide as two twin beds. In fact it’s about as wide as two cribs. Good thing I had lots of experience sleeping in cribs, huh?

When we bought our first house, a mobile home, it came furnished with a queen sized bed. I felt like royalty.

Now I have a memory foam bed. It doesn’t seem to be helping my memory, though.

TTYL,

Linda

Apalachicola and Perry, Florida

Leaving Hickory Landing we went just a short way south to see Fort Gadsen. This was a challenging trip in our RV so I don’t recommend anyone else try it in anything bigger than a pickup truck. If it has been raining, you’ll want four wheel drive.

Fort Gadsen had been in existence in many forms for many years before the actual Fort Gadsen was built. This location on the Apalachicola River was a strategic one for everyone who lived here.

You can still see some remains of the fort.

Heading on south we passed Tate’s Hell State Forest. According to Wikipedia: “Local legend is that a local farmer named Cebe Tate went hunting in the woods in this area. He went into the swamps hunting for a panther that was killing his livestock. Most stories end with Tate being lost in the forest for 4 to 7 days until he finally came to a clearing near Carrabelle. There he stated “My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell!” He then died.”

We pulled off by bridge for lunch. I used the packet of sour cream that came from Lambert’s Cafe to make dill dip to go with baby carrots. I’m still eating from that $12 meal back in Alabama. Would I go to Lambert’s again? You bet I would.

Our next sightseeing stop was at Forest Capitol Park in Perry, Florida.

There we learned more about the making of turpentine.

We also visited the Cracker Homestead Interpretive Site there.

Florida “crackers” lived in rural areas of Florida from the mid 1800s through the early 1900s. One of the possible sources of this nickname is the cracking sound of the whips they used to drive their cattle and oxen.

The house consists of two good-sized rooms with a dogtrot between them and big front and back porches.

The main room was where Ma & Pa and the newest baby slept.

The other room is where Granny and all the other kids slept unless there got to be so many kids they had to add rooms off the back–one for the boys and one for the girls.

Activities of daily living went on in both rooms, both porches, outbuildings, and the yard.

This family had everything they needed for daily life including the above cane grinder and syrup kettle. Aren’t you glad we don’t have to make our own sweeteners today?

TTYL,

Linda

Long Day

We were awakened early by construction equipment. If it had been only the low roar of their motors I probably would have slept through that but one of the machines had a backing up beeper I couldn’t ignore. So we were on the road much earlier than usual.

The beaches of Gulf State Park are still in the process of being rehabilitated. There is now a very long boardwalk leading over the dunes. Sorry about the reflection in the windshield; that light wasn’t going to stay red forever, you know, and I keep my maps and lists of potential destinations on the dash where we can refer to them quickly.

ReMax Realty had a sign out front saying “The turtle only makes progress by sticking her neck out.” Trying to shame people into tackling more than they should? In a place they probably shouldn’t?

There are a great many new houses, hotels, and condos here which, while they are pretty, make me feel sad thinking about what came before them.

Just before entering the bridge across the entrance to Escambia Bay is a sign that says, “Check Fuel. Long Bridge Ahead.” BIG bay! And signs on the bridge warning you not break down there. If you do you are required to keep driving anyway. If you get a flat tire, drive on it until you get off the bridge. It made me think of Sprinter vans having what is known as “limp home mode” which drops your speed if there is a problem but lets you keep moving. We have not experienced that but it’s always possible.

We stopped at the Gulf Islands National Seashore Visitor Center and Administration Building where we got a Florida State Highway Map.

Displays there were mostly about the Live Oaks and their usages such as becoming hulls for warships back when all ships were wooden.

Technically, this is the same park we stayed in while camped at Davis Bayou campground in Jackson, Mississippi. Can you remember back that far? Me either. That’s why I take notes and write these blogs.

Gulf Islands National Seashore has bits and pieces all along the Gulf Shore. Many of its campsites are pack-in sites you access by ferry boat. Back when we were young backpackers we might have done that but our RV won’t fit on the ferry and I’m no longer fit for anything else.

We went to Wendy’s for lunch because Dave has no leftovers from Lambert’s Cafe. Since we were there I ordered one of my favorite food combinations there: a plain chicken sandwich and a sour cream/chive baked potato. I take the chicken off the bun and cut it up onto the potato. Yummy.

We saw some people kite boarding but the area went by much too quickly to get a good photograph. This is the best I could do. See the two little specks over the water? You don’t? Oh, well, I tried.

It’s Easter Week but schools are in session here. We slowed for three school crossings with flashing lights this afternoon. Since the kids are getting out of school it must be time for us to find a place to park for the night.

We planned to stop for the night at Grayton Beach State Park. We wanted to see this place where the Yahoo View/Navion Owners Group has gatherings. We didn’t get to see it, though. Local schools may be in session but families from other states are here on Spring Break so the campground is full. The ranger was not encouraging about what we are likely to find in other parks ahead of us, either.

Leaving Grayton Beach we turned right instead of left thinking we’d be taking a more direct route to meet up with Highway 98 again. We were right. More direct–but not faster. We drove through lots of communities that appear to make a fair amount of money off college kids on Spring Break. I wish I hadn’t been so busy looking that I forgot to take pictures. It was just like my imagination has always told me it must be. Lots of barely dressed young women with sunburns, lots of full sidewalk cafe’s/bars, and lots of beach houses with multiple cars parked outside them.

At 6:00 p.m. we finally pulled into Pineglen RV Park in Panama City Beach, Florida. It has some big sites and some not so big sites. Five sites still available. Fortunately, we were able to get a site between a road and an empty spot with a pond in front of us.

But, we paid $43 for one night! That will mess up our camping fee averages for awhile.

TTYL,

Linda

20 mile day

Yesterday we drove from Summerdale, Alabama, to Gulf Shares, Alabama. Short but good day.

We started the day at Rainbow Plantation, an Escapees park where we had been sitting for several days. It was a leisurely start allowing time to sleep late, do our normal morning computer stuff, and take advantage of the park’s book exchange to get five new-to-me books. Check out time was noon and we managed to make that by doing the garbage run and the book exchange after checking out.

While we were parked in front of the office with Dave inside checking out I suddenly realized what was parked in front of us.

Look closer and you see this.

That won’t mean anything to most of you but those of you who participate in the hobby of geocaching will recognize that as a travel bug. A travel bug is usually something you find inside a cache that wants to go to a different cache so you help it move. This one moves without my help but I can go online to geocaching.com and log this find.

While I was taking that picture the owners came out, pleased to find me finding their travel bug. Then they asked if I had looked at their motorhome yet. Sure enough…

Easiest finds I’ve ever made. But harder for others to find because they move a lot. If you happened to be parked at Rainbow Plantation last night, go quick and see if they are still there.

Since we had been parked there for so long, our grocery supplies were seriously depleted. Instead of our usual stop at WalMart, though, we went to Winn Dixie hoping to get Mocha Mix or Coffee Rich. We got lots of food but neither of those.

So we drove across the street to Piggly Wiggly. They had Coffee Rich! In pints. Dave bought TEN of them. We are thawing two and the other eight are in our freezer. I will be able to eat cereal for a long time now.

All that grocery shopping helped us decide it was time for lunch. So we went to Lambert’s Cafe in Foley, Alabama.

This is another Guy’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives place. At 2 p.m. parking was challenging. They have several extra long spaces marked bus parking but they were full of cars. So we found a space next to a car using one and a half spaces and backed in next to it leaving our tail end hanging over a curb.

They have activities to help you wait your turn to be seated.

And activites to help you wait your turn once you are seated. This guy is entertaining everyone by throwing hot dinner rolls to anyone who holds up their hands to catch one.

Then they start bringing you food. And more food. And more food.

Here’s the “glass” of Diet Coke they brought Dave.

I ordered chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, cottage cheese, and fried apples. When it came the pieces of meat was so large, about 5″ diameter” it hung off the plate where I couldn’t cut it. So I set aside the bowls of cottage cheese and apples to make room for the meat. That didn’t work because of the Pass Arounds. Servers wander the aisles offering more sides. Besides the throwed rolls there are fried okra, black-eyed peas, macaroni with tomatoes, fried potatoes with onions, apple butter and sorghum for your rolls. Before I could get my meat moved further onto my plate it looked like this:

It took me two large take-out containers and a go-cup to get out of that place. Dave had a hamburger and potato salad and ate all his. Sometimes, I don’t understand that man; how could anyone pass up all those goodies?

Then we went to Gulf Shores, Alabama, to the Gulf Shores museum. A small but powerful place.

I learned a lot about bar pilots but the best stuff was about hurricanes. We watched video taken by professional storm trackers of hurricane Ivan hitting Gulf Shores. I got so emotionally overloaded I had to leave without seeing all the exhibits. Powerful, powerful stuff.

Then we drove to Gulf State Park wondering if we would get a site since it is Spring Break here for a lot of families. While Dave was in the office trying to register us I took this picture.

No they don’t really pack in the people like that. Those units are in the storage space across from the office. It gives you an idea of how popular this park must be, though, doesn’t it? There’s another row just behind those, too.

To give you an idea of the actual spacing withing the park, here’s the units parked on each side of as as seen through our windows.

Look at all that sunshine! Makes you warm just looking, doesn’t it? In reality the high in Mobile was 61 degrees so people were wearing sweatshirts and jackets but that’s a LOT better than what they are having in Minnesota now.

It did get a little warm in here, though, when Dave plugged in the electricity. Somehow the toaster oven got turned on after we unplugged from the previous park. So it started heating when we plugged into this park. While it was still packed for travel! We shove a flexible silicone bowl sideways into it to keep it from rattling while traveling. The white line on the red bowl is where it was pressed against the heating element.

Fortunately, I heard odd crackling sounds coming from the galley and checked that out before this turned into an actual fire. That white line is ash, though. They say most RVs have a kitchen “event” at some time. I hope this was ours so we never have another one. The toaster oven is now unplugged.

TTYL,

Linda

Research is Fun

Did you know pirates kept their loot in caves along the banks of rivers? Do you suppose that has anything to do with the fact that most of us today keep our money in banks?

You were the Boatswain on a pirate ship. Following is your Article of Agreement and the prize captured. How rich are you?

Article of Agreement

Captain and Quartermaster received two shares in a prize. Sailing Master, Boatswain, and Gunner receive one-and-one-half shares. Other officers one-and-one-quarter shares. Sailors, one share. If one lost a limb or became a cripple in the common service, one received more of a share.

The Crew

Captain, Quartermaster, Sailing Master, Boatswain, Gunner, seventeen sailors, and two additional officers. – No one was maimed during the capture.

The Prize

Three chests of jewels (each chest contains 17 jewels; each jewel is worth $250.00)
Nine silver bars (each bar weighs three pounds and silver is worth $80.00 per ounce.)
Thirteen bags of gold dust (each bag weighs two pounds; gold dust is worth $190.00 per ounce)
A variety of gold and silver coins worth $5,730.00

Want some more fun activities like that one? Check out: http://www.piratemuseum.com/ec.html

TTYL,

Linda