Advertisement
Published: January 25th 2017
Edit Blog Post
January 20th I started my journey south for the winter. It only took 4 days to get here but I made it and the weather is finally beautiful today.
I started out in the gray cloudiness of Eastern PA with temps in the mid 30s. The weather stayed the same all the way to GA where it got worse. There were tornado warnings for GA in the morning so I thought driving south at the rate I was going would put me there by early afternoon, missing the front. Winter 2017
What I didn't know was that there was a second front coming later in the afternoon. The rain was heavy with thunder and lightning so driving was a challenge. I arrived in Blythe Island Camp Ground in Brunswick about 3:30 and, thank Heaven, the rain slowed to a drizzle so I could connect to electric, cable and water without getting wet. Watson got his walk in and I settled in to watch the playoff football games.
About 5:30 my phone started dinging away with alerts about sever storms on their way. Then the siren from my weather app went off and I decided it was time to
head for the restrooms for shelter. I carried Watson but he looked like a wet rat by the time we got there, so did everybody else. As it turned out there were about 30 people that found shelter in this restroom building. We all stood on the porch watching the rain and wind keeping an eye on the radar on several phones. By 7 pm we were out of the woods but others around us were not so lucky. 4 tornadoes actually touched down within a 20 mile radius of us, too close for comfort.
The next day I went to Jekyll Island to see the sights. The weather was still cloudy and cool but not raining, so off I went. I discovered Driftwood Beach and was just fascinated by all the "bodies" on the beach. There must have been a terrible storm that ate away at this particular beach and uprooted hundreds of huge old oak trees. There are pictures to describe the scene, I found it fascinating.
Tuesday the 24th I left the campground about 11:30 heading south and west to a campground in Wildwood, FL. The route took me through Ocala, beautiful horse country filled
with huge live oaks dripping with Spanish Moss. It is the horse capital of the world.
I arrived at the campground about 3:30, walked Watson and found a dog park where we played fetch to get some exercise. The weather finally cleared up warming the temperature to about 72. Poor Watson was panting but I enjoyed the sun and warmth.
Tomorrow is check-in at Thousand Trails where I will meet Kim, Kat and Ginnie and spend about 10 days in the park. Check-in is noon til 4 so getting there at noon is a priority because the sites are not reserved and I'd like to be close to my group.
Watson has been a great traveler, sitting in the co-pilot's seat and sleeping or watching the world go by. He loves to get out and smell the new smells and meet new friends. What a treat having a dog that is not aggressive.
My new camper is great. It is easy to drive on the highway and hauls the car so easily I don't even know it's there. Everything is working well but I can't find things. I put stuff away and don't remember where I
put it, then the search begins. I have rearranged a few cabinets and have several more to go.
I need help naming my new camper. One thought was Pennelope II, another Aurora. I am still searching, any suggestions??
Advertisement
Tot: 0.082s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 16; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0546s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Mary Ellen
non-member comment
Safe
I saw the news reports about the tornadoes and had no idea you were in the midst of them. So glad you are safe! Enjoy!