WE'RE ON THE TRAIN AGAIN

Yes, we're back in Georgia but we were beginning to wonder if we'd ever get out of PA last month.  Twice, we sedated poor Calvin and hit the turnpike only to have to turn around at the Lebanon exit because of truck engine issues.  The third time was a charm and we got to Cordele GA just in time for the SAM Shortline's Thomas the Train event's first weekend.   The director told us afterward that this was their second best year, selling over 10,000 tickets for the five-day event. 

With all the drama around leaving home this year, I have to say that we had a very good summer...with just a few hiccups.

The first 'not so much fun' event was on April 22.  We were watching TV and had heard that a storm was coming.  All of a sudden I noticed the trees swaying in the wind.  No sooner had I told Keith to look out the window when a tree came crashing through the ceiling.  Luckily, only about six feet of it came through because there was about 15' still attached outside.  Thanks to the maintenance crew at Sun Valley who came the next morning with a chainsaw, we were able to remove the tree and cover the hole till the insurance agent checked it.  It's been repaired and looks like new.  It could have been so much worse.

Keith spear-headed the building of an RC (radio-controlled) race track at our campground.  He designed it, the park provided the site and materials, and he and his friend Bill, built it.  It's been such a success, the park has decided to expand it for next summer.  He's looking forward to that.

Keith and Bill at work??

Father's Day weekend, Shawn, Kristi Drake and Robby stayed in one of the cabins at the campground.  They tried their luck at fishing in the pond and then Grandpa introduced the boys to "Washers." 

Robby checking out the worm



Drake, the fisherman



In the Hole!

The end of June, I went to Cedar Run Inn at the PA Grand Canyon for a few days with my BFFs Gwen and Mare.  I have wanted to see this area for years and even though the weather wasn't the best, we had a great time.  Loved the inn; would love to go back with my bicycle because the bike trail goes right by the inn.  

Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon



Cedar Run Inn - feeding hundreds of Hummingbirds

The bike trail

The campground held it's annual 'water wars' weekend in July, and our little group of neighbors really got into it.  As I was retreating after throwing a round of water-filled balloons, I tripped and landed hard on my elbow.  Three hours later, I'm at the Urgent Care center getting X-rays.  It's a broken radial cap at my elbow and bruised ribs.  The good news is that they didn't have to cast it and it healed pretty quickly.  The ribs took a little longer.

At the end of August, just as I was feeling good again, I broke out with a case of Shingles in my head.  Ironically, I had just gotten the Shingles vaccine six weeks earlier.  We had plans to spend the second week of September with Dan and Kim in Ocean City MD.  Luckily, I had a mild case (a benefit of the vaccine).  The rash and pain cleared up within a week, and we had we had a good time.  We even got Keith on the beach!

Relaxing in the shade

Competition on the Boardwalk

We ended the month visiting cousins Rod and Ellen in Maine.  They took us along with Tony & Donna and Joe & Sue to Vermont's Jay Peak Ski Resort where their daughter's family has a condo.  It was the perfect time of year for 'leaf peeking.'  We spent a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon in Sherbrooke, Quebec.  The downtown area has huge murals painted on the sides of buildings.  The biggest adventure of the day was trying to find a place to eat lunch and then deciding what to eat since every sign and menu in the town was in French.
Ellen was once again the perfect tour guide.  On the way back to Maine, we stopped at the Cabot cheese outlet where we could sample at least two dozen different flavors.  Who knew there were that many?   Then, on to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour in Waterbury.  It was interesting and, oh my, another sample!  Our final stop was to view Quechee Gorge and to walk through the Simon Pearce glassware showroom and see the glassblowers at work in the original workshop.  It's an amazing craft to watch; what precision!  We had such a good time!  Did I mention 'fresh lobsters'???

On the tram to the top of Jay Peak





On the top of Jay Peak



 

View of  colorful foliage



One of the amazing murals in Sherbrooke

Keith imitating the man in mural

SPRINGTIME!

On March 1, we left Calvin and the camper at the park and drove to Tampa to pick up friends, two couples from Sun Valley, at the airport for a week in Clearwater Beach.  We had rented a condo close to the beach and nightlife.  We had two beautiful days to relax next to the Gulf waters.  Dan and Kim are our 'water babies' so naturally they spent time in the surf.  For the rest of us, it was nice to just soak up the sun.   Then, dinner at Frenchy's or Crabby Bill's or Palm Pavilion where we were introduced to Rum Runners and Crab Traps...nom nom! 

Tuesday was overcast but it didn't rain on our parade...literally.  We spent the day at a Mardi Gras celebration and parade in nearby Dunedin.  The floats were amazing and every one of them was throwing BEADS!

Bobbi, me, Kim

Dan, Bobbi, Keith and Fred

 

Wednesday, we headed to Clearwater for a Phillies Spring Training game.  Fred and Bobbi are from Philly and huge fans and had enough Philly T-shirts to share with us.  I'm not a big sports fan but it was another 'first' for me and fun day.

Four Philly Phanatics and us!!

The weather turned cloudy and cool for the next two days and sadly I came down with a stomach virus and spent the time resting.  On the sunny side, it was a fun week with good friends.

Do they look like they're feeling my pain??

After dropping our friends off at the airport we drove back to Ga Vets to host on the train one last time before leaving for the season.  We had hoped to spend a few weeks traveling through FL but found that campground reservations were hard to get at the last minute in March.  We were able to get three nights near St Augustine which made me happy because I'd never been there and had heard how nice it was.  We thoroughly enjoyed this town and its history.

 We spent the last week of our winter get-away at Skidaway State Park visiting with Don And Barb and getting the 'lay of the land' for our 2015 stay as camp hosts. 

I KNOW IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS...MY ONLY EXCUSE: PROCRASTINATION

The last two months on the Sam Shortline have been relatively quiet, only three excursions to host.

We celebrated New Year's Eve together with our "host family" at a party in the Hawkins lounge car of the train (an appropriate setting for the occasion).  Good friends, food, fun, some wine...and no, we did not see the ball drop!  While the rest of Georgia was having their traditional Black-eyed Peas for New Year's Day dinner, we stuck with our usual pork and sauerkraut for good luck.

Hawkins Car

To get ready for the new year, everything in the commissary car was taken to the depot to be inventoried...thousands of thimbles, key chains, magnets, train whistles, etc.  We made an assembly line with the other hosts to fold, bag, label and price a few hundred new t-shirts.  While the other hosts assembled new shelving and rearranged the gift shop, I painted the new Director's office.  We worked, but with a lot of chatter and laughing...so it didn't really feel like WORK. 

The excursion in February was on Valentine's Day and we served a spaghetti dinner to 50 passengers in the Americus Dining Car.  White tablecloths, crystal,  no paper plates or plastic (and no kiddos!)  The train stopped over the lake so they could watch the sunset, and thanks to a beautiful clear evening we were treated to a full moon on the way back.  The only casualty of the night was a handful of dessert forks that slipped off a stack of plates just as the host was carrying them across the vestibule between cars.  We're guessing that they're lying on the tracks somewhere near Cobb!

On Sundays, if the weather is clear, you can find a half dozen or so men at the park's model airplane field.  It's fun to watch them perform.  This one had a six foot wing span.  Some of the men have trailers to carry their planes and all their tools.  I think that may be the only thing keeping it from becoming Keith's new hobby!?!  (The plane on the ground is part of the plane and artillery display at GA Veterans Park.)

Boys and their Toys

We took advantage of our down time in February to do some sightseeing.  One of the local sights that we pass every time we go to town is the Norbord plant, an international producer of wood-based panels.  Trucks loaded with pine trees arrive every day and sometimes they get backed-up.


Trucks backed up onto the highway

To the right, behind the first truck is the huge pile of trees

  
































We visited Andersonville Prisoner of War Museum and Cemetery.  This was the site of the Union Army prisoner camp built in February, 1864 to hold 10,000 men.  Within six months, it held over 30,000 prisoners in what the men called "hell on earth."  Confined soldiers suffered terribly from over-crowding, poor sanitation, and inadequate food.  Most prisoners died from disease, starvation, or exposure.

Americus, a small town on our train route, is the home of the Habitat for Humanity International's Headquarters and Global Village.  Here they've constructed life-sized replicas of Habitat houses from around the world.  Each house is as unique as the country it comes from, most consisting of only one or two rooms.  We found it interesting to find one with a light bulb installed in the ceiling in anticipation of the day when they might get electricity.

On a beautiful warm day, we drove to Providence Canyon located west of us near the Alabama border.  Known as Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon," the soil's pink, orange, red and purple hues make it a colorful natural painting.  It's believed that the canyon may have been created by poor agricultural practices years ago.

Located in Leslie, a tiny town of only 300 residents, about ten miles from the park, is the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum.  Housed in a renovated 1920's cotton warehouse, it has the largest, oldest and rarest examples of tele-communication in the world dating from 1876 to the present.  The museum was founded in 1995 by Tommy C Smith who has owned and operated the Citizens Telephone Co. since 1946.  The museum houses about 2000 telephones and other communication equipment dating back to when Alexander Graham Bell and others began developing such devices.  There's also a one-of-a-kind 50-line switchboard from 1880.  Having worn a telephone headset at work for over fifteen years, I was especially amused to see one of the first operator headsets.


I'm thinking "Chiropractor"

Our latest news is that we've decided to return to the SAM Shortline again in October to help with the Thomas the Train event.  It was a difficult decision because I'm still dealing with the insects and humidity, but we really enjoy the people and the train.  And, there are still places in the area that I'd like to see, like Atlanta and Roosevelt's Little White House in Warm Springs.  We'll only stay here for three months and then move to Skidaway Island State Park just south of Savannah for three months.