Day 2 - Carefree Sams Invade the 2017 Spring Alabama Good Sam Rally

Our better halves were all ready to go … well in advance of our 9 am planned departure! We are some very lucky ladies to have these guys with us!

We left A Stone’s Throw RV Park, in Lamont Florida and continued to head north on Route 19. Route 19 is also called the Florida – Georgia Parkway. Monticello is just 7 miles up the road from where we spent the night. 

Monticello Vineyards & Winery is a small Florida farm winery located on the 50-acre farm of Ladybird Organics. Situated in the Red Hills of Jefferson County, Florida, the winery features wines made from organic Muscadine grapes. The farm and all vineyards are USDA certified organic. There are over 18 different varieties of Muscadine grapes grown here. Small batches of hand-crafted wines are manufactured, reflecting the unique soils and sunshine of each vintage year and the holistic organic farming system used on the farm. We need to try this, we had some delicious Muscadine wine that was made in Dillard Georgia, last year.

Monticello is "A Main Street Community" and proud of it. At the very center of the city, in the center of a traffic circle, is the beautiful and historic Jefferson County Courthouse, which is depicted on the welcome sign. Nestled among the tree lined streets of Monticello are many antebellum homes which provide a unique look and feel to the city. During the depression of the 1930s, many of the residents of Monticello could not afford to build new homes and the houses were renovated or restored. Today, these homes offer tourists a rare glimpse of the original architectural styles which prevailed in the south prior to the civil war.

The Jefferson County Confederate Memorial is located in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse in historic downtown Monticello. This Confederate Civil War memorial was erected in 1899. It consists of an obelisk with a draped flag, a common type of Civil War memorial motif in the South. The inscription set into stone is an eloquent statement of the need to evoke the justness of the lost cause to guarantee that southern deaths were not in vain. It reads “Let this testimonial of woman's deathless fidelity to man's imperishable valor speak to the sons and daughters of this southland for all time to come. Let this mute but eloquent marble, testify to the enduring hardness of that living human wall of Florida soldiery that stood during four long years of pitiless war – a barrier between our homes and an invading foe. Let the young southern, as he gazes upon this shaft, remember how gloriously Florida's sons illustrated their sunny land on the red fields of carnage, and how woman -- fair and faithful -- freshens the glory of their fame."

Crossing from Florida into Georgia on Route 19, is nothing special. There is a small sign welcoming you to Georgia. Nothing like the grandiose welcome signs you find on the interstates.

In Thomasville, the Chinquapin Plantation can be found. It was originally established by philanthropist John F. Archbold, heir to the Standard Oil fortune, this estate was built as a testament to the wealth created during the industrial era. Chinquapin’s name is derived from the American chinkapin, a species of chestnut native to the United States, and more specifically Georgia. Chinquapin is located in the world famous Red Hills Plantation Belt in the most prestigious of neighborhoods. It is located on a bluff overlooking the Ochlocknee River, the main house alone is nearly 18,000 square feet. In 1910, Mr. Archbold built the house as a winter retreat where he could focus on writing and painting. Just as importantly, this plantation has some of the last remaining examples of pre-Columbian untouched hardwood and pine bottoms as any property still in private hands today. For the last thirty years, Alexandra Kauka and the late Rolf Kauka improved and restored this well-adorned estate and were stewards of the vast untouched timber stands. Today, their wildlife program has received accolades and they have received numerous awards. Chinquapin was purchased by Rolf and Alexandra Kauka in 1982. Described as the "Walt Disney of Europe," Mr. Kauka was a German artist, writer, publisher and most famously known for his characters, Fix & Foxi.  They came to Thomasville for the warmer climate and a retreat. They fell in love with Chinquapin Plantation because it reminded them of their country estate in Germany. 

Outside of Thomasville, we turned west onto US 84, it is also known as Wiregrass Georgia Parkway. Along US 84, we passed Pecan Orchards, where the leaves were budding. I love the sight of pecan orchards in any state.

Whigham Georgia is home to the Trout Lily, it is even depicted on thier banners in downtown. You can see them at the Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve. It is a 140 acre conservation area owned by Grady County. The previous owners were the Flint River Timber Company.  Established in 2009 through the efforts of volunteers from the Magnolia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, it is destined to remain forever undisturbed from human development, protecting the many acres and literally tens of millions of beautiful yellow and maroon dimpled trout lilies and thousands of maroon spotted trillium. This is the largest extent of these trout lilies known anywhere in the world, and certainly a jewel of Grady County! What are trout lilies? How did these plants come to be there?  They are usually found in the Appalachian Mountains.  The theory is that they migrated from the mountains probably tens of thousands of years ago.  When the last ice age receded they were left in some spots in southwest Georgia and north Florida, east of the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Apalachicola Rivers.  Apparently the Wolf Creek spot is just right for them - a north facing slope of just the right angle, a hardwood forest with dappled sunlight in the winter, soils of just the right type and depth before underlying clay.  Whatever the reasons, they prospered at the site. It is definitely a photographer's paradise!

Climax Georgia is home of the Swine Time Festival. It is held on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. There are thousands who attend this event, annually. All activities are geared to family entertainment. Three stage locations with entertainment throughout the day. The contests and events include best dressed pig, corn shucking, hog calling, eating chitterlings (a prepared food made from the small intestines of a pig), pig racing, syrup making, baby crawling and the greased pig chase. You can walk through the historic Log Cabin, depot, old courthouse, school and original voting precincts. There are hundreds of booths featuring arts, exhibits, crafts and food.

Photo Credit: Alan Cressler

Crossed the Flint River in Bainbridge Georgia. Crossing the river gave us a glimpse of beautiful water lilies.

Yesterday, we came upon an accident along Route 19 and today, we came upon an overturned tractor trailer. It just shows that we all need to be alert and cautious drivers.

The Georgia Alabama state line is created by the Chattahoochee River. The railroad ran parallel to US 84, for much of this portion of our trip. Crossing this bridge gave us an awesome view of the railroad tressle.

US 84 is part of the El Camino East / West Corridor. What is now known as the El Camino East/West Corridor Commission was created in 1989 and is composed of interested parties from TX, LA, MS, AL and GA who are dedicated to the four-laning of U. S. Highway 84 from Brunswick, GA, to El Paso, TX. The El Camino East/West Corridor is a 1,729-mile roadway named for El Camino Real, or “The King’s Highway” in Spanish, and was named for the historic trail it duplicates. El Camino started as an Indian trail, this is the route that our forefathers traveled to settle this country. This roadway extends through the heartland of the Old South, crossing forty-eight counties and six parishes.

When we arrived in Dothan, AL, we stopped at the Flying J to gas up, before heading to the Peanut Festival Grounds. We all safely arrived at the Rally site and got set up on our sites. Now, let the Rally fun begin!

Carefree Sams Invading the Alabama Rally – Day 1

A small contingency of our Good Sam Chapter, the Carefree Sams, are heading to the Alabama Spring Good Sam Rally in Dothan. We met up on the road out of Majestic Oaks RV Resort and headed toward Dade City on Chancey Road and Old Lake land Highway. We merged on 301N and began our mini-caravan.

As we got ready to turn onto 98N and there was lots of smoke from the wildfires in the area. These few pictures, just show how much these wildfires affect everyone. You could really smell it too! These pictures do not show just how thick the smoke was!

The smoke in the live oaks on this farm, is a bit eerie!

We passed by Blanches on Cortez Blvd, on our way to Brooksville. This place is rally old school Americana, if you love back road travel and small town charm this is the stop. What catches your eye, from the highway, is the holding tanks painted as over-sized soda cans … Coca-Cola products to be specific! Inside they sell classic Florida BBQ and live bait! Two great things that are greater together ... Okay, maybe not! LOL

Just before you get to the heart of Brooksville, you pass by the original Coney Island restaurant. If you are expecting a gourmet experience, you will be disappointed. I you are looking for a steamed foot long hot dog with awesome topping ... you are in the right place! We were overjoyed when their second location came to Zephyrhills! But watch out, there have been many Elvis sightings at both locations! 

There is a historical and possibly haunted house in Brooksville. The May Stringer house, a four story home, perched on top of a hill overlooking the city of Brooksville. John May brought the property in 1855 and built a four room house. He died in 1858. John May’s wife Marena, continued to live there and she ran the plantation. In 1866 Marena married Frank Saxon, a confederate soldier.  Marena died in 1869 during childbirth. When Frank Saxon remarried he sold the house to Dr. Sheldon Stringer. He expanded the house to fourteen rooms and practiced medicine from one of the rooms on the ground floor. Three generation of the Stringer family lived there before Dr. Earl Hensley and his wife Helen bought the house. They sold it to the Hernando County Historical Museum Association in 1981, it become the May-Stringer House Museum. The house is also popular site for paranormal investigators, and many believe its one of Florida’s most haunted homes. The most famous ghost, however, is that of Jessie Mae, a lonely little girl longing for her mother’s touch. Other ghosts rumored to haunt the historic structure include Marena May, Dr. Stringer’s patients, a shooting victim, and an angry spirit known as Mr. Nasty. Though there’s no proof of Mr. Nasty’s existence, he’s said to be a soldier who hanged himself in the attic after learning of his fiance’s infidelity. This betrayal reportedly caused Mr. Nasty to hate women, and one team of ghost hunters had to cut their investigation short after women in the group became violently ill. I think I will skip the ghost tour!

We turned onto 19N and picked up two more RVs from our chapter, now we have a convoy! 

In Homosassa, you can visit the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins State Historic Site, or take a side trip down Ozello Trail. You can also enjoy the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, where you can see West Indian manatees in the park's underwater observatory in the spring. The park also showcases native Florida wildlife, including manatees, black bears, bobcats, white-tailed deer, American alligators, American crocodiles, and river otters. Plus, there is a 57 year old hippo, named Lu!

Photo credit: Duke Energy

Crystal River is home to the Crystal River Energy Complex. The nuclear plant is located in this complex. The complex is home to four coal-fired units, a Mariculture Center (fish hatchery) and the new Citrus County combined-cycle natural gas plant construction project. The complex is more than 4,700 acres and represents the largest energy complex on the Duke Energy Florida system. The complex employs more than 500 people, not including contractors and security officers.The nuclear plant went into service March 13, 1977, generating on average 860 megawatts of energy and helping to supply reliable, affordable and clean energy to approximately 1.7 million customers in Florida. On Feb. 5, 2013, Duke Energy announced its decision to retire the plant instead of pursuing a first-of-its-kind repair to the plant’s containment building.In July 2015, the decommissioning Crystal River Nuclear Plant, reached its SAFSTOR condition. SAFSTOR is one of three decommissioning options approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and a common option selected by other retired nuclear plants. With SAFSTOR, the plant is placed in a safe, stable condition and maintained in that state until it is decontaminated and dismantled at the end of the storage period. The schedule for decommissioning activities uses the 60 years allowed by NRC regulation. The unit will remain in SAFSTOR until site restoration activities are completed in 2074. The 60-year timeline allows radioactivity to decay naturally over time. This provides a safer work environment for employees involved in the decontamination and dismantlement and reduces cleaning and shipping costs. 

In Chiefland, our convoy pulled into Walmart. It gives us ample space to park 6 rigs, plus some could run into the store for forgotten items. Others crossed the parking lot to grab a coffee and donuts from Dunkin Donuts. Did you know that if you show your AARP card, you can get a free donut? Yes, I have my own AARP card!

We continued on 19N, it is a great road to travel on, you pass through towns occasionally, but the road is good and the speed limit is mostly 65. Fanning Springs, is labeled as "the Gateway to the Suwanee River." It is also home to Fort Fanning Historical park. Fort Fanning was named after Major Alexander Campbell Wilder Fanning. It was constructed in November 1838, during the The Second Seminole War (which began in 1835 and ended 7 years later). The Fort was developed to protect the highly strategic and heavily utilized crossing of the Suwannee River. After Fort Fanning was built, Soldiers populated it for nearly 5 years, throughout which time around 31 soldiers died in or near the fort. 1 died from drowning; 2 died from a fatal wound previously incurred; 1 was shot dead and the other 27 died from contracting disease. It is assumed all were buried near the fort, just off Highway 19, although there is no marked graves. The original settlement of the town around Fort Fanning (now known as Fanning Springs) was named both “Palmetto” and “Sikesville”. A ferry service was setup, which connected one side of Suwannee to the other and remained until a wooden turnbridge and subsequently a modern steel bridge was built in 1935. Finally a four lane bridge made of concrete was added and remains there to this day.

Sabal Palm Tree - Florida State Tree

As we entered Cross City, there was a sign for the Annual Swamp Cabbage Cook-off. What the heck is Swamp Cabbage? If you eat it in a gourmet restaurant, they call it hearts of palm, but in a Florida Cracker kitchen, they call it swamp cabbage. It is called a unique vegetable, I am not sure if I would call it a vegetable. Whether you call it swamp cabbage or hearts of palm ... it has a taste all its own. Hearts of palm is served in good restaurants all over the country, but finding Florida swamp cabbage is a little more difficult. Swamp cabbage is taken from the cabbage palm tree, otherwise known as the Sabal palm, Florida's state tree. But once the heart is taken, the tree dies. There`s a lot of misunderstanding about whether it is permissible to cut down the state tree in order to obtain the terminal bud that cooks up into no more than a quart of vegetables. Recipes for Swamp Cabbage say ... the tree selected for eating shouldn't be too big, nor should it grow too near the water or the heart will be bitter. When you cut out the heart, which is in the segment just below the base of the leaves, peel back the outer layers with a knife until you reach the part you can break with your fingers. That's the tender part that is sweet and edible. Clean it right away and keep it in cold water until you`re ready to cook it or the dish will turn green instead of being white as it should be. Just like most southern recipes, you fry some hickory smoked bacon or fatback in a pot, then brown onions in the fat. Put in the swamp cabbage, broken into bite-sized pieces. Add water until it`s level in the pot with the swamp cabbage. Bring the water to a boil and cook the swamp cabbage until it's tender. Raw swamp cabbage also is appreciated as a Florida Cracker delicacy.

Entering the town of Salem, I am struck by the Salem Motel, a place that has sat, abandoned and remarkably untouched, for decades. Little information is readily available about the Salem Motel. This place has managed to stay mostly safe from the hands of vandals, with only a few signs of any serious or obviously intentional damage; everything else was the product of natural decay. The rusted, barely readable neon signs always attract my attention. 

We found another old motel sign, further up 19N.

 At the intersection of 19N and Interstate 10, we arrived at our overnight stop. A Stone’s Throw RV Park, seeing the location we now understand the name. 

We all got pull-thru sites and the staff was friendly and accommodating! A great place to spend a night!

None of us wanted to cook, so we ventured to the Arby's across the street! There was a table for 10 ... perfect for the number that ventured to dinner!