Moved on again

Following our lovely time in Cocoa Beach/Patrick AFB, we headed north to Jacksonville, FL. Jax was mostly about reconnecting with old friends, and relaxing a little. The RV park at the base ended up being a great fit for us, and it was really nice to have friends just down the road. Four short nights there wasn't nearly enough, and although we did make it to St. Augustine for church at the Cathedral Basilica, which was beautiful, although I wish we had spent more time in the downtown area of St. Augustine. As with so many places, we just don't have enough time to do everything we want to do, but we had to get this show on the road.

Nap time

Sharing a snack with an old friend

We moved on with an eye toward Macon, GA and Robins AFB. Unfortunately, we arrived to find no available spots, and warning signs about alligators and bears on site, so the thought of dry camping was not appealing. We traveled down the road a little longer, and stopped at a place advertised in our Passport America book, Al Sihah Shriner Park. The camp host who lived on site was not super inviting, and the place was barren with no other campers that I could see. After considering things, the kids and I decided to head on down the road a bit further. Just didn't get a warm and fuzzy feeling about this camp, and I always try to heed that sense.

But then, we are looking at arriving later in the evening, and the only place we could find was a KOA in Forsyth, GA. The park was lovely, but we arrived as night fell, and in the morning, the kids couldn't WAIT to check out the playground. So as I finished up the morning dishes, the kids went to explore the playground. I watched them out the window and was in the process of drying dishes. All of the sudden, within five minutes, a knock at the door telling me that kids aren't allowed 50' away at the playground, within my sight, but rather I have to be there will them the whole time. Seriously, people? In my opinion, the purpose of a KOA is for families to relax and play, but apparently, only kids can relax, and they can only play if mom or dad is right there. Needless to say, we left when the dishes were finished and would not go back to that park ever.

I decided we were due for a break and we headed to Ocmulgee National Park, where the kids got to check out some of the native American inhabitants, and their lodging, habits and lifestyle. The kids earned Junior Ranger Badge #15, and even in the heat of Georgia in May, enjoyed the experience.

Entering one of the ceremonial mounds

Checking out the interior of the mound 

The altar, or ceremonial chieftain's "throne"

We left Ocmulgee NP and headed for Dobbins AFB, northwest of Atlanta. Only we couldn't find the right gate. It was absolutely nowhere. Signs, signs, signs, then nothing. Over an hour to find the right gate, only to get to the RV park, which we had been told had 4-5 open spots, with two spots. One was on a hill that we would never have been able to get into, the other was a very narrow spot, that I finally got this beast backed into, only to discover the electric didn't work. This wouldn't have been a problem, but we had planned to get gas once we got to the base, only there was no gas station on base, and the gate to get in and out with an RV closes for the evening at 1800 (6:00 p.m.), and we had less than 1/4 tank, so we couldn't run the generator because it only runs with more than 1/4 tank. Soooo, we truly dry camped for the night after all and no one slept well.

In the morning, we moved to a new spot, going out to get gas while we were out and about, but fortunately, we were able to get the electric working and we stayed for a few days. We visited with another friend from our time in California, and took a tour of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Park and memorial. The kids enjoyed it, and I think they learned a great deal more than I intended, including the words negro and nigger, both of which were foreign to them, and I had to explain, to the best of my ability, as Dr. King used both of them in the movie at the visitor's center. But at the end of the day, I think their racial awareness was raised, and they understood a little more about racial issues and the evolution of race relations in the 60's. And they earned Junior Ranger badge #16!

Studying the history of Dr. King

One of my favorite all time quotes

Ebeneezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King once preached

We also went to the Chattahoochee National Park briefly, but the river was toxic due to recent rains, but we did get to see deer on the drive in, so that counts, no?

Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee...

When we left Georgia, and headed to Alabama, we enjoyed the hills and valleys and it was very nice to be in rural America for a while. We arrived without fanfare at Redstone Army base in Huntsville, and settled in for a few nights. They have another amazing pool on base, with a diving board and a high dive, both of which were utilized liberally.

A beautiful part of the state, for sure

Beautiful

And fearless

We had hoped to go to the US Rocket and Space Center today, but a sick little B led to a quiet day at home instead, and we hope to go to the space center bright and early before we head out on the next leg of our trip..