Ready to Roll!

Although the interior was not complete, we were ready to roll! We took a trip to St. Mary's so we could go to Cumberland Island. Scotty had a fresh new look on the inside and outside. At the time of this trip we only had the bed and dinette. All our cooking had to be done outside or we had to go out to eat. We stayed at Crooked River State Park which was pretty awesome. Our adventure to Cumberland Island exceeded all our expectations and we look forward to another trip to see more of the island.

Since we came home from this trip the sink and stove have been installed and we are in the process of selecting a refrigerator.

Restoration

While this has taken a while to restore, we are really moving along rather nicely. I use the word we loosely. I have not had nearly as much participation as John--oops, Clark! He is such a hard worker. I haven't had an opportunity to take more pictures but we are really much further along than this. Clark has already completed the trim, installed all the wiring and lights, installed the ceiling and sealed all the seams. He is about to paint the interior. I can hardly wait. Although we will not be entirely done, we plan to take another trip in Scotty sometime in November. We'll at least have the potty and bed in there. Since we'll be camping we do not need the store and sink nor the dinette complete as we can use all our  "outdoor" equipment for cooking, eating, and even cleaning up.

Our first trip with Scotty!

We bought our first camper less than a month ago (2 weeks to be exact) and we are really excited. We had been looking for a “Scotty” for more than a year. Although our Scotty is more than 40 years old he is in pretty good shape. Not really good enough to take on a trip, but certainly weekend worthy. We chose a state park not too far from home, Cloudland Canyon. There were many more parks close by but we had visited all of them and this was a special trip.

Worn out, tired and not really ready for a camping trip, Scotty trudged on behind us. We were so excited and so unprepared. Not that anything really went wrong. Scotty was good to us—even in the rain. No leaks that we are aware.

Scotty needs so much work and looks his age, but he was a true camper. We loaded everything up in Scotty. We arrived to discover that isn’t such a good idea. We didn’t put things where they belonged, nor did we tie things down for the bumpy ride. No, we pretty much threw things in thinking we would take care of things once we arrived. It took us about 5 ½ hours to make the 2 ½ hour trip. We stopped at 3 Wal-Marts, a Marvins, Freds, and Wendy’s. We kept remembering things we had forgotten. No problem—we are planning to have a standard check list for future ventures. By the way we still managed to forget some things. Oh well.

We arrived much later than planned only to discover we had a ton of rearranging to do just so we could get into the camper. We spent about an hour or so trying to get things more organized so we could at least find things and make the bed. We wanted to do some hiking before dinner and relaxation.

Our first night, though uneventful, was not as restful as we had hoped. This was not because of Scotty. We do not have an air-conditioner for Scotty, but we had a small fan. Not bad, but a little hot at first. Luckily we were high in the mountains and it cooled off quickly. Of course I didn’t think to bring sheets because we had sleeping bags. John got up several times during the night, which woke me. We ended up sleeping in until 8:51. OMG! In camper land, that is sinful.

Today we cleaned things up and organized things better. I think I am going to like Scotty once we clean him up and learn to organize things better. Tomorrow we head home and Scotty will most likely go back into the garage until he is ready for a “real” trip. I can’t wait.

Our Little Scotty Camper

Clark and I just bought our first camper--a vintage Serro Scotty. We are very excited about about restoring this camper and then heading out for some adventures. I will keep you all posted about our little excursions.

Naples, FL

We finally made it to Naples and this is what was waiting for us! Beautiful white beaches, calm blue water, sunny skies, more than I could have asked. It was just beautiful! Of course my family was there and that just made things so much better. We had a great time. John got to fish from the pier and he went out on a boat Sunday to go fishing. Of course the seas were too rough so he did not get to fish but he had a great time out at sea. I spent a couple of days with my family. Got to take some great pictures and off we went back home. Every time I go to Florida I want to move back. I know it will never happen, but I sure would love it!

Alabama, Take it or Leave it!

I do not mean to be so harsh on the state of Alabama, but OMG I thought I would die of boredom. We drove from the Northwesterly tip to the Southeasterly tip of Alabama and there was nothing worth stopping to see accept this. This is at the Pioneer Village in Troy Alabama. We did not stop to go in although it only cost $6.00 per adult (if I remember correctly). We had already been in the car for about 5 or  6 hours and knew we had another 5 or 6 to go so we really didn't want to spend too much time. It looked interesting. There were a lot of buildings inside the gated area. Aside from this, I did not take any pictures. Nothing. There really is nothing from corner to corner. I must say I was a bit disappointed. I didn't even see a barn worth stopping to shoot. I can assure you this trip will not be made again.

Don't write Alabama off your list because of this. I can assure you there are some pretty sights to see, they just aren't from the Northwest to the Southeast. Remember Alabama has Talladega. That in itself is worth seeing. Cheaha State Park is a nice place to visit as is Talladega National Forest. And down South Alabama is Fairhope along the Gulf Coast--definite place to visit.

Alabama is my neighbor so I will continue to visit and find treasures, just not that one route.

Memphis

We just visited Memphis, TN for the first time. What can I say. For starters let me assure you pictures will follow. Can you believe I forgot my card reader so I could not download my pictures.
The trip there was quite uneventful, more like boring. From our house to Birmingham there is very little. From Birmingham to Tupelo, MS there is nothing. Really there is nothing. An occasional gas station, no food, no stores, no nothing. For two hours after passing through Birmingham we just hoped and prayed for  something interesting. All we got was construction.
What can I say about Memphis? Hmm, not much. I only took about 40 pictures. Of course we went there for a concert and I could not bring my camera in so we had to pack it away in the car most of the time. We could not find any clear advantage points to take a night shot.
Memphis is a cool city. It has lots of neat architecture and I would imagine a lot to do if you are staying awhile. We walked the entire length of Beale Street which is a bunch of shops and bars and restaurants. There is a lot of history in town. Lots of history about the Blues. I think I would like to visit again some day, but I surely do not want to go through Alabama. Of course that is the most direct so I will probably have to go that way if I go back.

Silly me, John got some pictures so you are going to get one.