As Rosie noted previously, Dudley has his 6am wakeup routine down pat and she now has her "entitlement"--when we come back in, she now gets up on the bed with us and stays there until breakfast is served! What a life!
Though sunny this morning, temperature was 32 degrees when we started off and the water pump continues to make horrible "surging" sounds. We decided to stop at Camping World in Pooler, GA along I95 (near Savannah), and the service folks told us they couldn't look at it until 3-4:00pm. They said it was probably failing, but it wouldn't hurt anything when it did. We made the decision to carry on to Fort Clinch, as we would be on city water the whole weekend and it wasn't a problem when configured that way. We did have to buy a new external water filter, as ours had frozen up in Fredericksburg and restricted the water flow. Only $15. Then Becky made an appointment for the RV at Sun Coast in Jacksonville, so we'll take care of it then.
We didn't feel like trying to find a rest stop for lunch, as the ride on I95 through Georgia is horrible at this time. They must be reconstructing 50 miles of highway, down to two very narrow lanes in both directions hemmed in by Jersey barriers. Jim's neck was super tense from concentrating on staying in the lanes, which seemed designed for Model T's in width! Soooooo, we broke down and ate at a Cracker Barrel.
Got into Fort Clinch State Park on Amelia Island about 3pm, and it is gorgeous! It's a 3-mile drive from the entrance Ranger station to the Atlantic Beach campground, almost the entire drive under beautiful canopies of trees festooned with Spanish moss. Attached is a photo from just one spot, but the whole drive is like this.
Went over to Becky's cousin Wendy's house, and had a great afternoon and evening with her and husband Carl. The ladies had a great time comparing genealogy notes, and Wendy gave Becky a number of items that she didn't have. They're both researching (among other "lines") the Weeks family lineage.
Carl and I had a good time talking about his father's World War II service in the Army Air Corps, where he flew nearly 40 combat missions in the South Pacific; was shot down once and nearly captured on a small island by the Japanese (saved by the Aussies!!), and crash landed 3 times. Carl had recently been on a ride on the B-24 Liberator like his father flew, and Jim enjoyed seeing the photos and hearing about the absolutely miserable conditions these guys flew in.
We got a complete tour of Amelia Island (and it's major city where they live, Fernandina Beach). Actually quite a history there; Fernandina Beach was once the major port in Florida, and still has a shrimping and wood pulp industry. Was a great place for smuggling when it was part of Spanish Florida, and Georgia was in the colonies. Island is just beautiful, and is rarely crowded with tourists even during Spring break and the summer. The town is very family friendly, and not touristy -- not enough motels and bars to attract college students. The attached images are of the downtown Fernandina Beach area and the paper mill as seen from the water. The paper mill supports 700 people directly, with an additional couple thousand supplying the mill.
Carl and I had a good time talking about his father's World War II service in the Army Air Corps, where he flew nearly 40 combat missions in the South Pacific; was shot down once and nearly captured on a small island by the Japanese (saved by the Aussies!!), and crash landed 3 times. Carl had recently been on a ride on the B-24 Liberator like his father flew, and Jim enjoyed seeing the photos and hearing about the absolutely miserable conditions these guys flew in.
We got a complete tour of Amelia Island (and it's major city where they live, Fernandina Beach). Actually quite a history there; Fernandina Beach was once the major port in Florida, and still has a shrimping and wood pulp industry. Was a great place for smuggling when it was part of Spanish Florida, and Georgia was in the colonies. Island is just beautiful, and is rarely crowded with tourists even during Spring break and the summer. The town is very family friendly, and not touristy -- not enough motels and bars to attract college students. The attached images are of the downtown Fernandina Beach area and the paper mill as seen from the water. The paper mill supports 700 people directly, with an additional couple thousand supplying the mill.
The dogs patiently sat in the RV while we toured, but did enjoy running around a bit in their backyard while Carl took their German Shepard for a walk (he doesn't particularly like other dogs).
We had a great dinner that Wendy cooked, and spent an enjoyable evening with them before heading back to the campground for the night.
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