(38) 5 Points Alabama to the Florida boarder

5 Points Alabama

La Grange GA

When I last wrote to you, I was getting ready for a visit with Ruthie and Ray (James) Hemrick. They live in a very small community of 5 Points Alabama. I figured it’d take all of 5 minutes to get caught up on the gossip in town, but wouldn’t you know it. Ruth and I talked about everyone back at the Center, what’s going on in 5 Points and everywhere else and do I have a ton of news. Of course, none that I can publish! Darn, it’s good stuff too.

In any case, I discovered that the little restaurant down the street, now called Dockside, is run by a chef who does Cajun. So of course Ray, Ruth and I had to go check it out. Really great food. The presentation was perfect. Hope the chef’s able to hang in there until the marina builds a new hotel and restaurant. The lake is so low, most of the boaters aren’t coming to the marina.

I’m just outside of the town of La Grange GA which is on the boarder between GA and Alabama. A new Kia plant is being built and they expect the area to have a mini-boom from it. Remember this is rural Alabama and Georgia.

On Sunday afternoon I got a chance to pick pecans right from Ruth’s yard and we even picked some great red bell peppers right from the vine. Too cool. They found this really nifty device for picking up the pecans, It’s an oval basket on a pole made of wires and the pecans side in between the wires and stay inside the oval basket. Kind of like a wisk. All ready to be dumped easily into a bag and ready for me to take back to Fla.

By the way, I thought I’d better slip this in now. My travels are quickly coming to an end for this year. It has been a real pleasure sharing my experiences with you. I hope they’ve been entertaining and that you’ve learned some interesting things along the way as I have. I’ll periodically update the Blog through out the winter.

So right now I’ve driven across Georgia along 82 (Georgia‘s Southern Parkway) , which is a 4 lane divided county road. Nice green space between the lanes. This is pecan country, peanut farms and cotton. I’ve been able to see them harvesting the cotton, creating huge bails of cotton about the size a semi-truck. Some of the fields are so white, they look like fields covered in a light snow, with the dead twigs of the cotton plants peaking out.

I’m in Tifton, a small southern town 15,600, that has lost over 800 manufacturing jobs this past year. Not good for the economy. Staying in Paradise Rv campground. Beautiful grassy camp sites with pine trees interspersed between sites.

A couple days later, I continued on 82 until I hit Interstate 95 and head south to the Ga/Fla border. I had planned on staying on the Submarine Base, knowing a couple of the camp hosts there. Unfortunately after e-mailing them a couple of times regarding my arrival, when I got there, I was told there was only one campsite available for one night. Needless to say, I decided to stay at another campground, Crooked River State Park, just down the road. It helps to have alternative plans as these things can happen.

I’ve met a Loners on Wheels club staying at the park and was invited to a couple of their happy hours and even joined them for a dinner out at a local Seafood place. Nice group of campers. Many women and a half dozen men who have lost their partners and have decided to continue camping. It’s a very active group and they camp out every month all over the south east.

Not much else to report at this time. Have a super great day and enjoy the sunshine.