Saturday, June 29, 2024

Maxwell Air Force Base FamCamp (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Montgomery, Alabama (May 2004)

HOA rules prohibit us keeping Rosie, our Airstream trailer, at our home. That means we pull up to our home after a camping trip and unload the refrigerator, cupboards and laundry in the hot sun. Then we clean Rosie’s interior and wash the exterior before we pull Rosie to the storage facility we use. We end up completely exhausted by the end of the day.

Many of our recent conversations focused on the how to spread the unloading of Rosie over two days. We knew that wasn't practical because of the HOA rules. Then we came up with an idea of how to arrive home very early in the morning while the temperatures were still cool. That would require us to camp very near our home. 

There were three possibilities we thought of. One was a COE campground, but is was about 45 minutes away from our house. The second was a private campground that was expensive and looked similar to a parking lot. The third option was camping in Maxwell Air Force Base's FamCamp. We called the FamCamp as we left Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi and they told us that we could make reservations for the night. 

We were relieved as we approached Maxwell's gate for military ID checks. The barriers we normally have to drive around when going on military bases were not deployed. 

Rosie in Maxwell AFB's FamCamp

We must have misunderstood the campground directions we were told on the phone because we had to hunt for our site. It was a pull-thru and we didn't unhook so that we could leave early the next morning. 

We were able to unload Rosie at our home during the cooler morning hours, so we classify this experiment as a success. By the way, we were glad we were not exhausted because parking Rosie on Gunter Air Force Base's RV Parking area was very stressful. 

Gunter has a small storage area and all RVs parked there are supposed to be smaller than 30 feet in length. We knew something was wrong when arrived at the storage area's gate. There was a huge fifth-wheel (40+ feet) near Rosie's spot.


Rosie in Gunter AFB's RV Storage Area

Parked directly across from us was a 30 foot trailer and that made it extremely difficult to park Rosie in our space. We were confused because the fifth-wheel was in the space assigned to our friends to park their Airstream trailer in. 

We called the office that manages the RV Storage Area on Gunter to find out what was going on with the huge fifth-wheel. They told us that the fifth-wheel was not assigned any space in that facility and it appeared to them that the owner found out the gate code and self-assigned a storage spot. They also said that they were taking steps to evict the apparent squatter. 

We could not help be think of our friends who probably arrived on a Sunday afternoon and found that fifth-wheel in their spot. The spots on either side of Rosie were empty so our friends must have picked one then called the office when it opened on Monday. 

After talking to the office that manages RV storage spaces on both Gunter and Maxwell AFBs, they suggested that we look at some of the open spaces on Maxwell. We dropped off Rosie and picked out a site on Maxwell. The office allowed us to stay in Gunter's RV storage area until our next trip. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:
  • There were multiple loops in the campground
  • Our site was a pull-through 
  • Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
  • Most sites had very little space on both sides
  • Our site was paved with asphalt and had a concrete pad for Rosie 
  • Our site was level
  • Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
  • Our site had a water connection
  • Our site had a sewer connection 
  • The trash dumpsters were near the bathhouses 
  • There were two bathhouses in the campground 
  • The park did not provide WiFi service 
  • AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
  • We were able to watch ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Buzzr, Charge, Comet, Grit, H&I, LAFF, ME-TV, Movies and Outlaw
  • There were restaurants and shopping nearby
  • This was a pet friendly park 

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi- Gulfport, Mississippi (May 2024)

RV owners know that their campers need occasional maintenance. It makes sense that when you drag a trailer down the road at highway speeds, things are going to need repairs.

For Rosie, our Airstream trailer, the main door was showing signs of a problem. The door moved up about a quarter of an inch when you closed it from the outside. You had to slam it hard to close it from inside and I am sure that our camping neighbors did not appreciate that noise. 

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi

Airstream owners know that there are some repairs that any RV service center can help with. Then there are Airstream specific repairs that you need to trust to someone who works on Airstream trailers. The door is a potential aluminum issue and that suggested that we needed to take Rosie to an Airstream dealer.

Since we purchased Rosie from Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi, we know that dealership. They have a Five-Rivet rating with Airstream, meaning their service department is top rated by the company. They also have John, the service manager.

We have developed a strong level of trust with John during our previous visits there. We are not alone because you frequently see John mentioned in a positive light in many social media posts from other Airstreamers. 

John met us as soon as we arrived at Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi. We went over the three things we had on our list. John told us that we didn't have to unhitch and he could have us on the road in 90 minutes. 

We went to the fast food restaurant next door and ordered their two for $5 special for breakfast and took our time eating. By the time we walked back to the service area, they were finishing up on our Airstream trailer. Becky looked at a few new Airstreams while I talked to the service technician. 

True to his word, John told us that our Airstream trailer was ready for the road midmorning. We settled up our account and felt good about our service visit there.


Saturday, June 22, 2024

Keesler Air Force Base FamCamp (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Biloxi, Mississippi (May 2024)

This was the third time we camped in Keesler Air Force Base’s FamCamp.  As with the two previous times, Keesler was a convenient location instead of a destination type park. We needed Airstream service on several items and Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi was less than 20 minutes away from this campground. Camping here allowed us to be at Foley RV in time for an 8 a.m. appointment for Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 

We made a detour while heading to Keesler. Our route passed a few miles from our son's home. We could not be that close and not stop to say hello and to hug everyone. Rosie was blocking one lane of the road in front of his house, so we could not stay too long.


We stopped to see our son and his family while heading to Keesler

We arrived at this campground on a Sunday afternoon. The camp host, who was very helpful and friendly, quickly greeted us and gave us our assigned site. That site was full sun and the next site over had some shade. We asked the camp host if we could move over to the shaded site. He checked and said that it was open until the next day. That was perfect because we planned to leave no later than 7:30 the next morning. 

The office at Keesler AFB FamCamp

A camping neighbor from Battleship Row in Pensacola said that he was heading west and would stop for a few days at Keesler. We rode our bikes around this campground and found his RV. We enjoyed talking to him about things to do around Keesler's FamCamp.

This campground is near Keesler's on-base married housing. They must have been having an outdoor event with a live band that afternoon. Thankfully, the band stopped playing around dinner time.

Rosie at Keesler AFB FamCamp


Enjoying the limited shade at our site


We did not unhitch to speed up the exit process the next morning. All we had to do was take down the water feed and the electrical connection. While doing that the next morning, I started noticing dozens and dozens of "bugs" on Rosie's aluminum exterior skin. I had an idea as to what those bugs were, but I walked over to the camp host's trailer. He was sitting outside and he quickly confirmed what I thought. The bugs were termites and they were swarming. 

I was able to use the hose to rinse the termites off Rosie. 

Our visit to this FamCamp was again very short, but it allowed us to show up on-time for our service appointment at FoleyRV/Airstream of Mississippi in Gulfport.

Here are some specifics about this campground:
  • There were multiple loops in the campground
  • Our site was a pull-thru
  • Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart. Our site had shade
  • Most sites had some space on both sides
  • Our site was paved with concrete and was level 
  • Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
  • Our site had a water connection
  • Our site had a sewer connection 
  • The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
  • There was a bathhouse in the campground 
  • The park did not provide WiFi service 
  • AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
  • We were able to watch ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Circle, Court-TV, ION, LAFF and ME-TV
  • There were restaurants and shopping nearby
  • This was a pet friendly park 



Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Blue Angels Naval Recreation Area (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Battleship Row, Pensacola, Florida (May 2024)

We wanted to arrive on Sunday, but were told while making reservations that the Blue Angels FamCamp office closes on Sundays and no one can arrive that day. That wasn’t a problem because we were able to extend our reservation in the previous campground for a day, but it sounded odd that we couldn’t show up on a Sunday. 

We managed to arrive on Monday just as the office opened. After we checked in, we made a beeline for the popular sites along the Bay in the Battleship Row campground. Sites are not assigned at registration and it is up to the individual campers to find an open campsite to park in. We hoped that someone left from one of the waterfront sites on Sunday and there would be on open site for us. I guess that any waterfront sites that may have opened on Sunday were quickly taken by campers in the park willing to move. 

We quickly scouted the campground and found a site on the second row behind the waterfront sites. I was about to connect the power when Becky noticed how close the sites were to each other in that area. We had selected one of the few sites in Battleship Row that was too close to the neighbors. 

We unloaded our bikes and started looking for another site. This time we noticed a trailer pulling out of a site at the rear of the park. It backed up to the woods and had more space on either side. Best of all, it had shade. We quickly moved Rosie, our Airstream trailer, to this site. In addition, we felt a breeze at this site. 

Rosie in Battleship Row

There are two campgrounds in the Blue Angels Park. Battleship Row has paved roads and camping pads. It also has full hookups. Anchor Cove has more shade and the sites are similar to what you find at some state parks. The roads and sites are packed dirt with gravel. Anchor Cove has water and electric connections without sewer. Given a choice, we prefer to camp in Battleship Row and enjoy the paved sites and roads along with full hookups. 

Our new site backed up to the “Disc Golf” course at this Navy recreation park. It was interesting to watch the golfers and their carts full of different disc sizes to play the area behind Rosie. 

We could describe our visit to this FamCamp as an episode of camping in a succession of storms. More accurately, camping in severe storms. The first was a severe thunderstorm with winds gusting to 70 mph in the middle of the night. Another severe thunderstorm passed through a few nights later. One lightening bolt must have struck very near Rosie during that middle of the night storm. 

We were concerned about all the rain and the flood warnings and asked the camp host if our site was prone to flooding. He said that the campground was built on swamp land and several sites were known to flood, but our site wasn’t one of them. We noticed after a night of more than four inches of rain, the camp host was correct. Our site wasn’t flooded, but we could see the six sites he indicated that were known to flood had three or four inches covering those sites. 

Some sites flooded after four inches of rain one night

There were eight Airstream campers in the Battleship Row and two Airstreams in Anchor Cove while we camped in the Blue Angels Park. Four were in our loop. 

We went to Johnson Beach, a Federal Seashore Park several times while in Pensacola. It was great to walk along the beach and that gave Becky an opportunity to swim in the Gulf. 

Enjoying Johnson Beach

We also drove over to Fort Pickens National Seashore one day. We were surprised by the amount of water that covered the entrance road. We were also surprised at how high and rough the surf was at Fort Pickens.

Sign at entrance of Fort Pickens


The roads heading to the campgrounds at Fort Pickens were flooded


Water covered the road at multiple places 

We enjoyed seeing Fort Pickens and its campgrounds. 

It was very windy and rough surf at Fort Pickens

Here are some specifics about this campground:
  • There were two campgrounds (Battleship Row and Anchor Cove) and multiple loops in each campground
  • Our site was a back in
  • Our site had shade
  • Most sites had some space on both sides
  • Our site was paved with asphalt with a concrete pad. We needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean
  • Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
  • Our site had a water connection
  • Our site had a sewer connection 
  • The trash dumpsters were near the two laundry buildings in both campgrounds 
  • There was a bathhouse in the campground 
  • The park did not provide WiFi service 
  • AT&T provided 1 bar of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
  • We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Charge, Comet, Court-TV, Cozi, Dabl, Grit, ION, LAFF, ME-TV, Outlaw and Rewind
  • There were restaurants and shopping nearby
  • This was a pet friendly park 

Riding our bikes at Blue Angels Park

Sunset


Sunset along Battleship Row

The sign said this was the Bridge of Doom


Selfie while riding our bikes


Friday, June 14, 2024

Anchors Aweigh RV Resort - Foley, Alabama (May 2024)

When we heard that the Alabama Airstream Club's Spring Rally was being held at the Anchors Aweigh RV Resort in Foley, Alabama, we checked our calendar and noticed that we did not have anything planned for that weekend so we penciled it in. We had attended Alabama Airstream Rally twice before but we had schedule conflicts in recent years. It would be nice to see our friends in this event. 

Another factor in attending this rally was that the campground was less than an hour from Mobile and our grandson was scheduled to play a baseball game there on Saturday. We could slip away from the rally and watch him play ball then spend the afternoon with our son and his family. 

When we checked the Rally's schedule, Saturday was a free day, allowing us to spend the day in Mobile. That was all the "convincing" we needed, so we made our reservations to attend this rally. 

Airstream trailers heading to this rally taking a break in a Rest Stop on the Interstate


There were more than 55 people and 27 Airstream trailers at the rally. That was a larger group than I remembered at previous rallies. The main event at the rally was attending the Foley Hot Air Balloon Festival. We joined the crowd and saw what they called a “glow” one evening. It was impressive to see the inflated and colorful balloons across the field. 

Selfie at the Balloon Festival 


The "Evening Glow" at the Balloon Festival

The balloon festival spanned across several days. In fact, we were concerned about the traffic around the balloons when we left on Saturday morning to travel an hour to watch our grandson play baseball. The balloons were scheduled to lift off and float away about the same time we needed to leave for Mobile. Our worries were relieved when we left Rosie that morning. Traffic around the Balloon Festival would be minimal because there was a thick fog. The balloons could not fly in fog. 

We discovered that the new technologies available in our truck were very helpful while driving in inclement weather. The adaptive cruise control system was able to spot cars ahead of us before we saw them and adjusted our speed to stay behind them. 

After about half an hour on the road, the fog lifted and we were able to arrive in time to watch our grandson’s 9 a.m. game. We were amazed at how much he had improved since last year. 

Grandson playing the "pitcher" position


Grandson at bat


Celebrating winning the game


We made it back to Rosie in time for the Rally’s Low Country Boil. It was very good. 

The rally ended Sunday morning and we watched as most Alabama Airstream Club members hitched up and left. We planned to stay an extra day because our next campground did not allow checkins on Sundays. 

Rosie in the campground


We spent our “bonus” Sunday looking for a public beach to walk on. We ended up at Gulf State Park and enjoyed our time at the beach. We were amazed at how good we felt being at Alabama’s Gulf State Park. 

We were surprised to see that about 10 Airstream trailers were still in the campground when we returned after spending some time on the beach. I guess we were not the only people who decided to spend an extra day in this park. 

The weather deserved a special mention. While it wasn’t too hot, the humidity was oppressively high. Rosie and our truck were covered with condensation. It was hard to breathe. We saw the results of the humidity when we opened the awnings in the mornings. They were very wet and it took a long time to dry out. 

One of the lessons quickly learned in the campground was that traffic in Foley and the campground were impossible to deal with. Logically, you would turn right exiting the park and travel about half a mile to Foley's main road. We did that once and ended up waiting a painfully long time to safely cross the highway. Turning left adds a few miles to your trip, but you ended up at a traffic light. That was a much better option, especially when exiting with Rosie. 

Another lesson learned at this campground was to frequently inspect the anchor points on Rosie's bike rack. An Alabama Airstream Club  member asked if he could look at our bike rack because he was thinking about adding one to his Airstream trailer. He quickly noticed that one of the anchor points had vibrated loose. I was able to add "Locktite" to the screws, reconnect and tighten that anchor point. I also added checking the bike rack to our safety check list that we use before departing any campground. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:
  • There were multiple loops in the campground
  • Our site was a back in
  • Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
  • Most sites had some space on both sides
  • Our site was paved with concrete and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 
  • Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
  • Our site had a water connection
  • Our site had a sewer connection 
  • The trash dumpsters were at the exit to the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
  • There was a bathhouse in the campground 
  • The park provided WiFi service 
  • AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
  • We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Comet, Court-TV, Cozi, CW, Dabl, Grit, ION, LAFF, ME-TV, Outlaw, Rewind, Start and TBD
  • There were restaurants and shopping nearby
  • This was a pet friendly park 


I doubt that was the "real" tow vehicle!

Visiting our son's family from this campground









Friday, May 3, 2024

Destin Army Infantry Recreation Campground (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Destin, Florida (April 2024)

This is a campground that assigns campsites when you arrive. We were assigned small sites in the outer loop of the campground on our three previous visits. By the luck of the draw, we were assigned a larger site inside the loop this time. 



Office at the Destin Army Recreation Area, which includes the campground and hotel

It looked like an Airstream rally when we pulled up to our site. There were two other Airstream trailers next to Rosie, our Airstream trailer. Plus, there was another Airstream trailer a few sites over. Two more Airstream trailers arrived a few days later. This was a small campground and Airstream trailers stood out in it. 

Three Airstream trailers in a row!


Most people would describe this as a very tight campground. We were pleased that we didn’t have to ask anyone to move their trucks to give us room to back in. We ended up having to move our truck several times to help our new camping neighbors back into their sites. 

It was easy to see that we were there during Destin's Spring Break season. Traffic around Destin was painfully slow and there was an abundance of children in the campground and in the cottages.

Maybe another Spring Breaker

 
Another reminder of Spring Break was the number of trailers leaving the campground during the weekend so that the kids could be back in school on Monday. It seemed that new campers arrived as quickly as others left bringing with them more school aged children on Spring Break. Well, almost all of the campsites were soon filled. 

Along the shore and pier


The pier at night


This has always been a difficult campground to get reservations in, until this year. There were four to six open sites during this visit. Maybe the recent price increases at this military FamCamp had something to do with the empty sites in this campground. 

It was cold several nights while camping in this park.  Rosie’s heat pumps were welcome and kept us cozy inside. 

One of the things we enjoyed at this park was riding our bikes. There were several scenic areas along the Bay that were perfect for bike rides. 

Selfie along the Bay

Another thing we enjoyed while at this FamCamp was going to the beach. The Florida and Alabama Gulf Coasts have some of the prettiest beaches in the country. 

It appeared that we have a new family tradition of being in Rosie during solar eclipses. We were at the Top of Georgia Airstream Campground during the 2017 eclipse. That park was in the 100 percent coverage area and that was a memorable time for us.

During the 75 percent solar eclipse


This 2024 eclipse was a 75 percent partial coverage in Destin and it paled when compared to the 100 percent eclipse in 2017. To make things worse, it was mostly cloudy during the peak of the eclipse. Still it was worth the experience.  Our favorite moment during the eclipse was the night sounds of the frogs in what we call the frog pond. 

We must have camped in this park close to the same week last year. We remembered that the FamCamp had a fire drill then. It was mostly for the hotel part of the complex, but the campers were told about it. We were told about a fire drill again this year as we registered. Fire drills must be unique to this FamCamp.

As before, we enjoyed our time in this FamCamp. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:
  • We found one loop in this campground
  • Our site was a back in
  • Our site had some shade
  • Most sites had very little space on both sides
  • Our site was paved with asphalt and concrete
  • Our site was level and we didn’t need use any leveling tools
  • Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
  • Our site had a water connection
  • Our site had a sewer connection 
  • The trash dumpster was at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
  • There was a bathhouse in the campground. It was very clean 
  • There was a laundry room in this campground 
  • The park provide WiFi service. It was very slow and frequently required you to sign back in 
  • AT&T provided 3 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
  • We were able to watch CBS, CW, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were H&I, ION, ME-TV, Movies
  • The FamCamp provided a cable TV connection. We normally use the antenna and skip the cable connection, but hooked up to it to watch Iowa's Women’s March Madness Basketball games. 
  • There were restaurants and shopping nearby
  • This was a pet friendly park 

Sunset from the park


Selfie at a seafood restaurant

Chick-fil-a delivering orders to boaters in the Crab Island area


It appears that pirates still roam the Bay


Sunset


 
Rosie in Destin Army FamCamp's campground 





Eastbank COE Campground - Bainbridge, Georgia (March 2024)

The start of a new camping season is always exciting as we look forward to having new adventures in Rosie, our Airstream trailer. It also means that we were successful in making camping reservations for the coming year.

Speaking of reservations, the process of getting into campgrounds has changed since the COVID pandemic. Prior to the COVID days, we felt confident that we could find a site in one of our favorite state and federal campgrounds. Not so today. It takes time and effort to find a place to camp near one of our favorite locations. 

The next big shock comes after booking a campsite. It is amazing how much camping fees have risen the past several years. Even military FamCamps have increased their rates into the ridiculous zone. 

Still, we are grateful to be at the start of a new camping season and that we have some reservations. It is wonderful spending time in Rosie. 

Getting Rosie ready for this trip was different from last year when we stored Rosie in a warehouse with a 30 amp power connection. We parked Rosie in that warehouse for more than ten years and had a solid working relationship with the property's owner. Then he sold the property and retired. 

The new owners drastically increased the storage fee and started parking RVs and cars in the warehouse on a first come, first serve system. We noticed that trailers and motor homes that had shared a space alongside Rosie for years were going elsewhere. It didn’t take long for us to sever ties with that storage facility and move Rosie to the RV storage lot on a nearby military base. We were thankful that we had access to military bases.

Rosie parked in RV storage on a military base

One of the good things about the new facility is that there are armed MPs at the gate and only authorized people are allowed on the base. They don’t mess around! We feel Rosie is very safe in this storage lot. 

The negative is that Rosie is now stored outdoors and we have to be careful about winterizing and we cannot turn the air conditioner on while loading for a trip. 

The low temperature inside Rosie was 16.3 degrees F while stored on an Air Force base.

Prepping for a new camping season meant checking on some of Rosie's general maintenance items. Tires were at the top of that list. We learned the tire maintenance lesson nearly a decade ago when our first Rosie suffered a blowout in Arkansas. RV tires carry significant weight and wear out faster than the tires on your tow vehicle. Rosie’s tires were five years old and we knew they needed to be replaced. It was alarming, but not surprising, how much tire costs have increased since the last time we replaced Rosie's tires. 

The weather forecast played a role in planning for this trip. It predicted that rain was going to fall all day along our route. It isn’t fun to hitch-up and travel in the rain. We called the campground and were able to arrive a day earlier than planned. That meant we lost a day to prepare for our trip and had to scramble to get everything ready on time. We were glad when that we had good weather while traveling. 

We saw three Airstream trailers within 30 minutes as we drove south pulling Rosie to Eastbank COE Campground. They were heading north and we quickly realized that the Airstream Club's Cajun Caravan ended the night before and we were probably seeing people from that caravan heading home. We were on that caravan last year and we knew those Airstreamers had a great time on the Cajun Caravan. 

Sign at the entrance to the campground


Check-in station at Eastbank COE Campground


The site we reserved for the week was occupied, so we went to another for the day. Luckily, it was one of the few pull-thru sites in the park. 

Our first site in this campground was a pull-thru


We immediately saw a problem with Rosie. There was an army of ants inside her. We put out the ant bait traps and that cured the problem. 

We did not have problems with the water, meaning our winterization of Rosie was successful and we didn’t have any damage from freezing temperatures during winter. 

Our site on the lake was available early the next morning. We both remarked that it was a very nice site. The camp hosts helped us move. 

Rosie's site was on the water



Rosie parked in our site

We did find a problem with Rosie's shower. The hot water wasn’t working. A quick consultation with YouTube diagnosed the culprit. We bought and installed a new shower water cartridge to fix that issue. 

This campground was less than a mile to a dam. There was a paved path to it. We were amazed at the number and variety of birds heard along that walk. 

The lake was created by this dam


The campground was also less than a mile from the Florida and Georgia state lines and the Eastern/Central time zones. That confused our GPS and phones. 

Standing on the Florida/Georgia State Line. Georgia was the Eastern time zone and Florida was in the Central. Our iPhone spent the week very confused about the current time.

Of course there was a reason why I selected this specific campground. It was about 30 miles from where my maternal great and great great grandparents were buried and I wanted to visit those graves. We were able to find and photograph them. 

Church cemetery where some great grandparents are buried


There was a big lightning storm one night while we were there. We opened the window shades and enjoyed the storm. It was very cozy inside Rosie.

Here are some specifics about this campground:

  • There were three loops in the campground
  • Our site for the first night was a pull-through. Our site for the rest of the week was a back in and located next to the lake
  • Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
  • Our site had a little shade
  • Most sites had some space on both sides
  • Our site was paved with concrete and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a slight side-to-side lean in Rosie
  • Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
  • Our site had a water connection
  • Our site did not have a sewer connection 
  • There was a dump station in this park. It was easy to pull our sewage tote to it.
  • The trash dumpster was between the three camping loops
  • There were two bathhouses in the campground. Strangely, both bathhouses were in the same camping loop
  • The park did not provide WiFi service 
  • AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
  • We were able to watch ABC, CBS, CW, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, H&I, LAFF, ME-TV and Outlaw
  • There were restaurants and shopping nearby
  • This was a pet friendly park 



Bridge near the campground


View of the dam from Rosie


Selfie


Walkway between two of the camping loops in Eastbank COE Campground


Yes, that is Gabby the alligator in the inlet near Rosie 



Sunset