Monday, December 16, 2013

We were off this morning at a leisurely pace to hit the Arley Coffee Shop for Breakfast.  We really didn’t have anything to do today and the Sun was shining brightly just after I got up for the day.  I wrote my Journal, and watched a little Fox and Friends, and by that time Sharon was up.

We quickly took our showers and got ready to go.  On the way into town I had decided that on the way home I was going to take another side road and do some exploring again like we did the other day.  Lewis Smith Lake is a backwater with hundreds of finger lakes and coves.

We had another lovely Breakfast and it came to $12.86.  Another different price but Sharon had an omelette today.

We had nothing to pick up in town today so we headed back home after Breakfast.  We took the last turn-off before the campground and went exploring again.  We drove about 5 miles before came onto anything.  It just happened to be a dead-end that terminated at about 4 houses and a mobile home.  There were 3 guys standing in one of the yards and they waved to us on the way back through. There was also 3 dogs that greeted us on the way through.  We came back home not having gotten down to lake level again.  The only way we made it so far was when we went to Jasper at the Duncan Bridge.

I started a new book today after we got home.  It’s Glenn Beck’s “Overton Window.”  I read, and watched TV in the background, for most of the afternoon.

We had leftovers tonight since neither of us was very hungry anyway.  I had Chili and Sharon had Shrimp Etoufee’.

After Dinner we settled in front of the idiot box for a night of pictures and sound.  We managed to find enough to carry us through the night quite nicely.

We called it quits and headed for the sleep chamber about 10:30.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

We had a plan today to do some site seeing but it certainly didn’t work out the way we expected.  The sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be a nice day.

We got out to the car and decided to take some pictures of our campsite here at Hidden Cove and found the battery in the camcorder was low even though  I had just charged it a couple of days ago.  We came back in the motorhome and put it on the charger until it was topped off and went back outside.  I tried to take pictures again and the low level indicator came on again.

We decided to get on the road and find a Wal-Mart to buy a new battery.  We were going to Tuscumbia today which was about 70 miles up the road, so we didn’t think it would be a problem to find a Wal-Mart.  We found one on the way, unfortunately they don’t carry camcorder batteries anymore.  FANTASTIC!!  The clerk suggested we find a “Batteries Plus” and try there.  Fortunately there was also a Batteries Plus store in the same town we were going to.  No luck at Batteries, and they suggested Best Buy, also in the same city.  We brought the battery out and put it in the camera but it wasn’t even registering.  Before we brought the battery back we tried the original battery again and it worked.  Go Figure.  We kept the battery for a spare.

By this time we were getting hungry and we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch.  We had intended to stop at the Rattlesnake Saloon but Sharon read on the way up here that it wasn’t open today.  I don’t know why we didn’t know that before we came today.

It was just a short hop over to the Helen Keller birthplace and Museum and we arrived shortly after lunch.  We were there for about an hour and had a very nice visit.

On the way home we intended to stop at the Clarkson-Legg Covered Bridge since we couldn’t remember having been there over the past couple of times that we’ve been here.  The cross-road that it was on did not come out to the highway so we missed it on the way back.  We had to go all the way to the Interstate and back toward home on another road.  We did manage to get to the bridge after a fashion.  We took our pictures and then hit the road for home.

We arrived back home about an hour before the sun began to set.  I didn’t feel much like eating Supper tonight since I had been nursing a sore throat since I got up this morning, but I did have the last of the Shrimp Etouffee’ that Sharon made on Friday.

We settled in front of the TV tonight but I felt more like sleeping and I took a little nap during the most boring shows.  We were both ready for the sack at 10 so we meandered away from the TV and headed south.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

We decided not to go to Breakfast this morning but by the time lunch came around Sharon told me that she needed a Birthday card for Max and Stella and she needed to mail them out today.

We headed to town to pick up the cards but by the time we got there the Post Office was closed for lunch.  So we decided we’d go to lunch too.  Besides we had never been to the Coffee Shop for lunch before today.

Chicken Fingers were on the menu for a special today.  I was hoping it would be “chicken fried steak.”  They served the chicken fingers with corn, green beans a roll and it also included the beverage and orange cake for dessert for $5.50.  It was a nice little meal for the price.

After lunch we picked up the cards and then headed to the Post Office to mail them out.  We also needed to pick up a General Delivery from home which included my installation CD’s for the computer.  Our daughter Jen mailed them out to me last week, after I forgot to take them along with us.  We finished up our business in town and then headed back to the campground for the day.

I settled in and read for most of the afternoon with the TV creating background noise in the distance.

Supper tonight was one of those “I don’t care” nights since we ate lunch kind of late.  I had a meatloaf sandwich later on with a potato pancake.  For leftovers it was still good.

Tonight was a pretty lousy night for TV but we did find enough to watch.  I didn’t feel well tonight and had gone into town to get some cold medicine earlier.  I went to bed at 10 with Sharon but had to get up because I was coughing.  I sat up watching TV for about an hour or so and then went back to bed.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The fog was as thick as Pea Soup when I got up this morning.  It quickly burned off however and it turned into a beautiful sunshiny day.

I got up today feeling like crap.  I can’t tell if it’s a cold or if my allergies are kicking up.  Its most likely a cold since there’s nothing in bloom here but who knows.

We hadn’t planned on going anywhere today but Sharon took off with our laundry and to the office to pay for our outweek.  The outweek cost us $155 so our stay here cost us a Grand Total of $6.20 a day.  We could actually stay another 10 days for absolutely free which would bring our cost per day down considerably.($4.43) Not bad for a 5 week stay.

The weather was actually a little cooler here than at our final destination at Gulf Shores, AL but no so much that it was noticeable.  The days are in the 50's for the most part, but the nights get down to around freezing.

Sharon took a break in her laundry to come home for lunch.  She whipped up some hot dogs with BBQ sauce and then went back to the laundry room to finish up.

I nursed what I thought was a cold today only to have to go to the store to get more remedies at suppertime.  When I got back I thought I’d try the allergy medication and it seemed to work better than the cold medication.

Sharon had planned one of her favorites for supper tonight.  Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy along with corn off the cob.  I don’t mind eating these type of meals once in awhile because generally Sharon cooks the kind of meals I like.  And of course on some occasions she puts up with them for me.  She laughs every time she buys a roast or a chop trying to get it in the freezer before I see it.  I usually whine abut having to eat it, but the meals always turn out very well.

We settled in to watch TV tonight but not before I took some allergy medication.  And as luck would have it, it worked just fine.  At least I’ll be able to sleep tonight for a change.  I went to bed early tonight and was sleeping when Sharon decided to call it a night.

Friday, December 20, 2013

I got up late this morning at 8:30 which is very unusual for me.  I must have gotten a good night’s sleep or I would have been up much earlier.

Sharon was up and showered and ready to go also early.  She informed me that she was going down toward Jasper to do some grocery shopping this morning because she said she couldn’t find the variety that she needed to have.  I sensed that she hadn’t planned on waiting for me to get ready so I just acknowledged her leaving.  Besides I really didn’t want to go anyway.  I usually do stuff like that just to keep her company.

I wrote my journal while she was gone but she was probably only gone for about an hour and a half.  By the number of places that she stopped, I don’t know how she got back so early.  She didn’t pick up many groceries, she just stopped, and didn’t find, a few things on her list.  I watched TV while she was gone but I was really more interested in napping than anything else.  Apparently I didn’t get as much sleep as I thought I did last night.

Later in the afternoon Sharon actually took a nap while I watched TV.  That shopping trip must have tired her out.

We had Fish Filets with Fries and Hush Puppies for Supper tonight.  Sharon also choked a salad down me tonight.  She did have a new dressing that was quite good however.  Sometimes that makes a difference for one or two times.

After Dinner we settled in for our usual entertainment tonight and actually had original programming on tonight.  By this time of the year, the fare is usually repeats until after Christmas.  We lasted until just after 10 tonight before we called it a day.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

We had a Breakfast date this morning because we wanted to try the restaurant up the road at Houston.  We hadn’t been up that way before so we had intended to do some touring at the same time.  The restaurant had been recommended by the campground manager as someplace different to eat.

The “Talk of the Town” restaurant was okay but nothing special.  I had a Cajun Omelette and Sharon had French Toast.  The omelette was fine but the Hash Browns came ala Carte and with a very hard glaze across them.  The potatoes had to be “broken” before I could eat them.  They were almost inedible as they crunched while I chewed them.  I doubt we’ll be back here anytime soon, and it cost us $6 more than the Arley Coffee Shop.

Across from the restaurant was the Houston Jail which was a log cabin jail and the oldest one in Alabama and the second oldest in the country.

We hit the road and headed north to Double Springs where we would look for a footstool for Sharon.  The Northern Furniture Store is located there and it took us about 15 minutes to get there.  The folks inside couldn’t help us but we did find a couple of Packer fans in there, when they asked us where we were from.  They all were so friendly we stuck around and talked for awhile.

On the way home we stopped at the Houston Jail and took some pictures of the historic spot.  We had intended to do that anyway today when we found out about the jail being here.  After we got done eating we just decided to stop on the way back.  We actually thought that a building next door was the jail and it was going under repairs to the roof.  But Sharon spotted the jail as we drove off headed for Double Springs.

We cane back home and it was already starting to rain for the day.  We’re supposed to get some serious thunderstorms today but they won’t be coming until later on.

We watched TV and read for most of the afternoon and the rain held off for most of the day.

By Dinnertime I suggested that we have Scrambled Egg Sandwiches for supper tonight, and Sharon thought that was a good idea.  She whipped them up in no time and we had supper.  Yummm!

The rain started tonight as we watched TV and it was really coming down.  It’s causing flooding all over the Southern States.  It was accompanied by the loud thunder right around the time I was getting ready for bed.  Sharon decided she would stay up and watch the radar after I headed into the bedroom.  She came to bed around midnight.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sharon was up and showering this morning before I even got out of bed.  She had a trip ahead of her to make it to church this morning.  She goes down to Curry which is about a half an hour from here.  But their only Mass happens at 9 AM and she needs to leave here by 8:15.

I was thinking about cooking Biscuits and Gravy for Breakfast this morning but then with the uncertainty of when she’d be back, I changed my mind.  She actually walked back in the “house” right at 10:30 which would have been just perfect to eat.  Oh well, a missed opportunity.

I checked out my Sunday shows this week but none of them really had anything controversial about them except the Duck Dynasty story.  I was bored so I read for a while waiting for Sharon to return.

By the time she got back it was time to watch football.  While we wouldn’t be getting the Packer game on the tube today, there were two other games that we were interested in. The Lions played the early game and lost, at the last minute, and then Green Bay played the second game and also lost at the last minute. The night game was played by the Bears and they lost big.  Green Bay is still in the hunt but Detroit was eliminated today, and Green Bay and Chicago play next week.  This has been one helluva season.

Sharon made Pasties for supper tonight and they were very good even though she made them without butter.  The crust was a little flakier, but very good indeed.

We settled for our usual entertainment tonight.  We flipped the channel back and forth to the Bear game all night but as we checked dit was getting worse and worse for the Bears and better for the Packers.

I lasted til 10 even though Sharon was long gone to bed.  She surprised me by still being awake when I got in there.