Journey's End

Gene on bridge at Cherokee Landing



Sand dunes along Hwy 98 near Destin, FL





View of Apalachicola Bay from Caroline's River Dining

 We left Cloud 9 on Oct. 19 and meandered towards home.  We saw fall color in Missouri and northern Arkansas, and some in Tennessee.  Our first destination was Cherokee Landing Thousand Trails near Saulsbury, TN.  It was nice and quiet as the season was drawing to an end.  We walked around Cherokee Lake and across the bridge by Tomahawk Lodge, by the cabins and back to our campsite - about a mile - good exercise.  We met several couples from Mississippi and one from Florida.  They invited us to the central campfire and for the next three nights we shared camping stories.

Monday morning we got an early start so we could stay at Okatoma Resort again in Hattiesburg, MS.  One of Gene's "must" stops was at Donna's #6 Produce in Florence, MS for more boiled peanuts.  As I had developed vertigo the week before, I was not comfortable trying to drive, so Gene had the entire responsibility.  With stops along the way for lunch, fuel and stretching our legs, we made the trip in seven hours.  Usually much more than we like to drive in a day, but fortunately Gene was in the "go" mode.

Tuesday we made a much shorter trip to an Escapees Park, Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL giving Gene a chance to rest up some.

I had a bee in my bonnet to travel Hwy 98 along the coast and Gene agreed it would be a beautiful drive.  As you can tell by the above pictures, I enjoy being close to the water.  The day was sunny and clear, the water myriad shades of blue and green and the drive was as beautiful as we had anticipated.  When we reached Apalachicola, we stopped at Caroline's River Dining.  As we ate our delicious meal in the outside dining area, we watched boats pass by.  A perfect "almost the end of the trip" experience.  We traveled on to Carabelle and stayed in a Passport America park - Sunset Isle RV Park.  Many of the lots are owned by people who also have boats/yachts at Timber Island.  There is a gorgeous swimming pool there, but it wasn't quite warm enough for me to take a swim.

Thursday morning we were both in the "go" mode - only a few hours from home.  We traveled Hwy 98 along the coast, then finally had to turn inland to go through Perry and on to home.

Gene drove the entire trip - a total of 3125 miles.  However, I did all the cooking, so I feel I held up my end of the responsibilities. 

Are we going to stay put for awhile?  No.  Thursday we will get together with our Escapees friends at the Golden Corral in Clermont.  As Orlando Thousand Trails is just a few miles down the road, we will stop in there for a few days, then over to Peace River Thousand Trails in Wauchula .  From there we will go to the Escapees Chapter 57 rally in Bushnell at Paradise Oaks RV Resort.  Then we'll come back home for the holidays and start planning next year's adventures.

So, to all our friends and family Happy Thanksgiving, a Blessed Christmas, Happy Hanukah and a Prosperous New Year.