Said goodbye to Kentucky, crossed through Tennessee and into Northern Georgia. Another 500 mile day. Have come to appreciate Cracker Barrel Restaurants. Great food, reasonable price and double pull-through parking spaces. Did I mention fresh baked bread and a Georgia Pecan Pie to go.
Cracker Barrel even lets you spend the night in their lot. We are welcome at K-Marts and Costco's too. Not the prime RV locations, but you can shop easily!
Our destination was Altoona Lake; McKinney Campground. This is a Corps of Engineers camp. My cousin, Rene Berberich, has been running the Berlin Dam and campground for the Corps in Ohio and put us onto the Corps for good places to camp. With our America Senior Pass all days are 50% off regular price. Good thing to know! We play the "senior" card as much as possible!
We planned for one night, but was so nice, we stayed two. Beautiful campground with privacy and fragrant pole pines and lakefront lots. We understand from March 1-Oct. 31 it is reservation only and first come, first served. We quickly have become appreciative of traveling in the "off" season. We pulled our rig into a lakefront spot that was amazing! Cool, not quite southern enough, but the view and park were delightful. So cool, in fact, on the water, the second night we moved up into the woods.
Our camp hosts had the infamous South Dakota plates on their rig. We knew what that was all about. If you go to a certain town in SD and stay 3 days, register your rig, get a PO Box and mail forward you become a resident of the State...great tax benefits. You only have to return every two years (sure would do that in the summer). They are full timers and work at parks for their parking space and utilities. An interesting way to live...not ready for that commitment.
I have not mentioned Eze. He is quite amazing. He loves the RV road life. He has always loved to ride in the car and is experienced, been on the Florida trip twice. He has freedom to roam in the Lark while we are underway. He picks a fav window or pillow or jacket to curl up in and sleeps like a baby. He has most of his meals with us and seems quite content to wait in his carrier while we partake of rest stops and restaurants. He likes to stay up at night listening for the sounds of the wild in the dark. He also is glad to curl up with us to stay warm and snuggly. Give that cat 3 squares and a clean box and he will follow you anywhere!
I look at the Lark as a travel "Glamper", Ed more so a "camper". He couldn't wait to build a first camp fire in McKinney. It was a sunny but cool day when he saw his first opportunity. I watched with a cup of coffee from the window as he gathered firewood and carefully built a perfect teepee fire with only kindling and a match. Boy Scout style. There he was in his hiking boots and flannel shirt and just the elements. I realized in a moment of sentimentality, I have watched him do this for over 50 years. I choked up with love, grabbed a blanket and went out to sit with him by his fire.
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