Below are the chronicles of our early roaming... We start at the beginning
Duckett Mill [CoE] Gainesville GA May 23-27, 2013
Our first stop was at Duckett Mill, a Army Corps of Engineer [CoE] park on Lake Lanier outside of Gainesville GA. This is a beautiful park on the shore of Lake Lanier. A rather large campground that we had frequented many times while living in Dahlonega. It was convenient for us as well for our girls and their families and we've had lots of family get-togethers here, some magic even occurred here...ask about it!We had camped here in April shortly after picking up the coach and this trip was wonderful, we had the kids with us and had a great time spending time on the playground with Eli, swimming and boating. We both got busy in our spare time getting stuff organized and getting settled in to our new home. We would have stayed here longer but due to government cutbacks they decided to make this park a weekend-only park in 2013 so we were forced to move after Memorial Day.
We originally planned to go back to Bogart after leaving Duckett Mill until June 1st but decided it was pointless and quite frankly I dreaded having to park the rig at that house!!
Old Federal [CoE] Flowery Branch GA May 27-June 15, 2013

Oconee State Park [South Carolina State Park] Mountain Rest SC June 15-21 2013
This was to be our first real test while towing. Our trip up to Oconee was both exciting and dreaded, we were both excited to be going to see Lydia, our youngest daughter who was working in Cashiers NC with her boyfriend Dean, the dread was mine as we were pulling the 10 ton rig up and around curvy mountain roads in route to our destination. We had visited the campground on an earlier visit to Cashiers so I knew we would be able to navigate the roads but the site we had reserved was, what I believed to be too small. I was right but luckily there were other sites available that we could fit in. The first site we chose was very cramped but we were able to relocate to a much better site the next day. Oconee is a beautiful park in the foothills of the Blue Ridge with lots of lush vegetation, a lake and wonderful streams. While here we visited Lydia and Dean a couple of times both at the restaurant they were managing, Dean as the head chef and Lydia as the pastry chef and at their magnificent home. We also explored the countryside finding many beautiful waterfalls in the surrounding area.Paines Creek [CoE] Hartwell GA June 22-July 02 2013
Back to Georgia, this time on Lake Hartwell to a smaller CoE park, more primitive than the parks on Lake Lanier. We had never camped on Hartwell so why not? Back within range of our older Daughter, Erin, her husband Kevin and Eli, our grandson we enjoyed time with them on several occasions. Spending time swimming, at the playground and Eli's favorite pastime...mini golf. I spent time preparing for my trip to the BSA Jamboree to be held in July, trying to wrap-up all loose ends before heading off to West Virginia and getting everything a ready as possible with the rig for Ruth who would spend most of July on her own in the rig.Lake Lanier Islands Resort's Blue Ridge Campground [Private] Buford GA July 02-August 01 2013
One final move before I leave for the Jamboree. We wanted to be at a campground with sewer hookups so Ruth wouldn't have to deal with THAT while I was gone. Lake Lanier Islands campground was at one time a very nice park but no-more. Though the rest of the resort is pristine, the campground has been neglected, the roads are deteriorating, much of the campground has been closed and abandoned, what is open is run down. We got settled into a site that was adequate. After getting settled in and making sure Ruth is comfortable with all the system operations of the coach I head off to the Jamboree on July 6th.


While I'm away Ruth spends most of her time with Erin and Eli, I think Eli spent the entire time I was gone with her. Despite an almost daily torrential downpour they managed to spend every day at the water park and beach, all part of the resort. Of course there were regular visits to mini golf too!! They had a wonderful time together along with Erin and Kevin they shared some very dear moments, ones they all will remember for a very long time.
On my return to Georgia I jumped right in with the daily routine of water park, mini golf and beach life though it was short lived as out time to move on was quickly approaching.

But now our time in Georgia has come to an end, we are packing up everything in preparation for the next phase of our adventure. The RV is readied, the truck is packed, goodbye's given to family and friends...and we're off to Cherokee NC.
Next up... Yogi in the Smokies
No comments:
Post a Comment