April 28 - May 2, 2023 -- Titusville, FL

 April 28 - May 2, 2023 -- Titusville, FL

We're still in Titusville at Manatee Hammock Campground.  It's a county park and really quite nice.  There's a dock and a great viewing area for the launches at Cape Canavaral.  The large building in the center is the Vehicle Assembly Building where they assemble the NASA shuttles and rockets and then transport them to the launch pads.

On Friday we watched the launch of the SpaceX SES 03b mPOWER mission to medium-Earth orbit. It had a couple of satellites on board that it launched. We were about 10 miles away from the launch pad so it was hard to get pictures.  John took a video and posted it on Facebook that turned out well.  My pictures just look like a white spot on the horizon.  It was really cool to see and hear though.

It was a beautiful evening to wait for the launch.

On Saturday we ran a couple of errands and then stayed in.  We had a lot of rain and bad thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.

Sunday we went to Kennedy Space Center.  I bought the two day tickets, but after going I decided that it really could have been done in one day if we were there the whole day.  We got there about 9:30 and left about 3:00 the first day.

This is what they call the Rocket Garden.

We took the bus tour first, which takes you buy the Vehicle Assembly Building and on to the Appollo/Saturn V Center.  There we watched a couple of movies, one of which had a mock-up of mission control, and then saw the rockets.

This looks like pretty tight quarters.

We took the bus back to the main area and went to the Atlantis building. They had the space shuttle hanging from the ceiling.

They had a ride that I didn't go on and after John described it to me I was glad I didn't.

After some lunch we went to the Imax theatre and watched "The Last Man on the Moon", about Gene Cernan's experience.  It's hard to believe that was in 1972.

My step-sister, Lisa, and her husband, Sid came up for dinner.  We had a really nice time visiting.

Afterwards we went back out to the pier and watched the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch the ViaSat-3 Americas.  It had two satellites to be launched to a geostationary orbit.  Many times they re-use the boosters, but these had been used several times before so they didn't bring them back and we weren't able to see them land on their targets.  Again, from this distance it just looked like a ball of fire.

Monday we returned to Kennedy Space Center about 10:00.  We went to the Heros and Legends building first.  They also had a movie and then things for you to see.

Again, a tight fit.

From there we went to the Gateway building.  Lots more space things to see.  There was a ride in this building that John convinced me to go on.  I wish he hadn't; I didn't care much for it.  Afterwards we went to the Mars Rover building.  They had some replicas of the Mars Rover Vehicles.  It's truly amazing to think that these vehicles are up there on Mars.  By noon we had seen everything we wanted to see so came back home.

The thunderstorms left early Sunday morning and the weather has been sunny and in the mid 80s.  Our campsite has trees and it's really nice.  My brother is coming over for dinner and I'm sure we'll enjoy his visit.

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Glennville, GA to Titusville, FL -- April 20 - 27, 2023

Glennville, GA to Titusville, FL -- April 20 - 27, 2023

On Thursday, April 20 we drove to Country Oaks Campground in Kingsland, GA.  We would return to this campground. The dreaded sulfur water wasn't bad at all!  We did some cleaning,  drove by our old house and did a Walmart run.  Here's a picture of our site.

Friday we had lunch with our former pastor and his wife, Vernon and Linda.  It was a great time of visiting and fellowship.  I forgot, as usual, to take any pictures.  After lunch we drove around the area to see what had changed, and there was a lot.  There are twice as many people in the county and a lot more traffic.  However, it's still not as bad as Charlotte. While we were there the weather was beautiful, temps in the high 70s, a nice breeze, no bugs and no humidity.  That's unusual.

Saturday we stayed home, and Sunday we went to the church we used to go to when we lived there.  We went out with a few people that were there when we lived there.  We had a really nice time.  Again, I didn't think to get any pictures until after we left.

On Monday, April 24 we left Kingsland and went to Stagecoach RV Park in St. Augustine. We were welcomed to Florida by the iconic sign, and a trip over the 'bow-tie' bridge.  I don't know the official name of the bridge but that's what we used to call it.

Stagecoach RV is a nice park with full hookups. The only downside to it was that it was near a busy road and I-95 so there was quite a bit of traffic noise. I thought I had taken a picture of our site but I don't see it. 

On Wednesday we took the St. Augustine Old Town Trolley Tour, which is a hop on, hop off trolley.  We stayed on the trolley for the full 1-1/2 hour tour and then took it to the St. George Street stop and got some lunch. 

Here are the old city gates and St. George Street.

The trolley also took us by Flagler College, which used to be The Hotel Ponce de Leon that was built by Henry Flagler in 1888.

He also built the Hotel Alcazar in 1889. These hotels catered to the rich people that came to spend the winter there.  Our tour guide said that the cost for the season would be $9,000 in today's dollars.

Then we walked to Castillo de San Marcos and looked at the old fort. It was finished in 1695. They did some improvements on it in the mid 1700s and it has served the Spanish, British and Americans well.

There are 22 stops on the trolley tour and although it was a little pricey I think it was worth it.

That evening we met friends Mike and Patti and step-brother John for dinner and visiting afterwards at Mike and Patti's beautiful home.

Wednesday while she was out running errands Patti stopped by to see the 5th wheel and we had a really nice visit.

Thursday we drove to Manatee Hammock Campground in Titusville, FL.  Our check-out time in St. Augustine was 11am and check-in time here was 2pm, so we stopped at Buc-ee's to kill some time. We were going to stop at a rest stop for lunch but it was too hot and humid so we ended up at Arby's.

We haven't had a chance to walk around the campground yet, and there's a thunderstorm coming so will decide later if it's somewhere we would return.  However, there is a view of the water through the trees as I sit here and type.  We're hoping to be able to see a SpaceX launch or two while we're here.  Here's a picture of our site.

That's all for now!  Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Anderson, SC to Glennville, GA -- April 16 - 19, 2023

 Anderson, SC to Glennville, GA -- April 16 - 19, 2023

On Sunday we moved to Heritage RV Park in Augusta, GA for three nights. We got together with one of John's former friends at work, Ed, and had a nice time visiting with him.

On Tuesday we went to the Augusta Canal Discovery Center and rode on the canal in a Petersburg Boat.

The Augusta Canal, built in 1845 as a source of power, water and transportation, is the only intact industrial canal in the American South in continuous use. Spearheaded by Augusta native Henry H. Cumming, who perceived that Augusta could one day become “the Lowell (MA) of the South,” the Augusta Canal began to fulfill Cumming’s vision in short order. By 1847 the first factories – a saw and grist mill and the Augusta Factory-were built, the first of many that would eventually line the Canal.

By the time of the American Civil War, Augusta had become one of the South’s few manufacturing centers. The Canal was a factor in Confederate Col. George W. Rains selecting Augusta as the location for the Confederate States Powder Works. The only buildings ever constructed by the government of the Confederate States of America, the 28 Powder Works structures reached along the Canal for two miles. Other war industries established themselves on or near the Canal, making Augusta a critical supplier of ammunition and war materiel.

Unlike some other Southern cities devastated by the Civil War and General Sherman’s march through Georgia and South Carolina, Augusta ended the war in “better condition than any other cities in this section of the South,” reported the Augusta Chronicle in December 1865. The population had doubled and hard currency was available to finance recovery. The Canal’s Chief Engineer William Phillips suggested enlarging the Canal to mitigate recurring flooding, a feat accomplished by 1875.

Boom years followed as massive factories including the Enterprise, King and Sibley textile mills, the Lombard Ironworks and many others opened or expanded. In the 1890s the city replaced its old water pumping station with the impressive structure at mid-canal that is still in use today. As the electric age began to dawn, the city turned to the Canal’s falling water power to drive the first electrical generation equipment. By 1892 the city boasted both electric streetcars and street lighting – the first Southern city to have these amenities.

Gradually Augusta’s factories converted from canal-driven hydro-mechanical power to electrical power. The city devised a number of schemes to build a hydro-electric plant on the Canal. None were carried through to completion.

Periodic floods, which plagued the Canal and Augusta for decades, continued to cause damage during the early 20th Century. Following major floods in late 1920s and early 30s, the Federal Works Progress Administration deployed hundreds of workers to make repairs and improvements, including raising the banks, building a new spillway and straightening the Canal.

By the mid-20th Century, the Canal entered a period of neglect. Textile mills began to close and the center of Augusta’s industrial activity shifted south of the city. Although still the city’s drinking water source, the Canal was no longer the driving force for development it had been 100 years before. At one point in the 1960s, city officials considered draining the Canal and using the dry bed as the course for a superhighway.

Flickers of interest in reviving the Canal for recreational use began to appear by the mid-1970s. A state park was proposed and efforts made to have the canal and its 19th Century mills declared a National Historic Landmark. While the state park never materialized, growing public interest in the Canal’s historic and scenic potential led to several important developments. The Canal and mills were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and later declared National Historic Landmarks. In 1989 the Georgia State Legislature created the Augusta Canal Authority, the body that has jurisdiction over the Canal today. In 1993, the Authority issued a comprehensive Master Plan, outlining the Canal’s development potential. In 1996, the U.S. Congress designated the Augusta Canal a National Heritage Area.

In the 21st century the Augusta Canal is once again a source of pride and potential for its community. The mighty Enterprise Mill, revived after years of neglect as an office and residential complex, now houses the Augusta Canal National Heritage Discovery Center. Its exhibits and artifacts depict Canal construction and mill life and remind Augustans and visitors alike of the progress, problems and promise of the Augusta Canal.

(Source: Edward J. Cashin, “The Brightest Arm of the Savannah: the Augusta Canal 1845-2000,” Augusta, Augusta Canal Authority 2002) Compiled by Rebecca Rogers, March 5, 2003, revised March 24, 2014).

Here are some pictures of the King and Sibley mills, some turtles sunning themselves, and the waterway I took on the canal tour. The large smoke stack in the second picture is all that's left of the ammunition factory.  They kept it as a memorial to the soldiers that died in the Civil War.

We arrived about 30 minutes before the tour and had time to buy a couple of things in the gift shop and see the 10 minute movie explaining the history of the canal.  We took the boat tour, and what a beautiful day God gave us for it!  After the boat tour we went through the museum.  The museum is in the old Enterprise textile mill and was very well done.  If you're in the Augusta area it's worth a stop ($12 each senior rate for boat tour and museum).

Today (Wednesday) we drove a couple of hours south to Catfish Creek RV Campground in Glennville, GA.   A gentleman does farming and has a small campground at the front of his property.  It's $20 cash per night for full hookups and makes a great overnight stop.  The only downside is that it's right on Hwy. 25/301.

Tomorrow we move on to Kinsgland, GA.  We lived there in the mid 80s to late 90s and are going to get together with some of the people at church that were there then.

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Home to Anderson, SC -- April 10 - 15, 2023

Springfield Campground, Anderson, SC

April 10-15, 2023

To catch up, we did take a trip to New Bern in April 2022 for a Mid-Atlantic Montana rally.  We stayed at the KOA, which was very nice and had a beautiful view of the river.  Vickie took us on a downtown tour and a tour of the firehouse.  The ladies went to lunch, and Vickie and I went on the Spring Home Show of some of the old houses in New Bern.  It was a lot of fun and good to see friends again!

Now we're back on the road again for a 'nearby' trip, meaning we will be within a day's drive of home.  We left home on Monday, April 10 with our granddaughter Noelle (her mom and siblings were going on a church mission trip to New York City and her dad was working, so we got to have her for a few days).  John had decided not to take the motorcycle because we probably wouldn't use it.  We have been using it mostly to take weight off the hitch.  We got less than a mile from home and even I could tell something wasn't right.  So we turned around and put the motorcycle on the back.  By this time it was after 1:00 and we were getting hungry, so we stopped in the Cabela's parking lot and fixed lunch.  Then we were really on our way!  We arrived at Springfield Campground on Lake Hartwell near Anderson, SC in the late afternoon.  It's a CoE campground and has 50 amp and water hookups but no sewer. I was able to get site #33 for Monday-Thursday (I put a video of the view from #33 on our Roving Walkers Facebook page), but we had to move to site #23 for Friday and Saturday.  Here is site #33:

John has spent a lot of the time fixing things.  Before we left I cleaned the inside of the 5th wheel.  After I got done with the toilet I walked back in the bathroom and there was water at the base.  He spent the rest of the morning, the afternoon, and an hour the day before we left fixing it.  First he checked the seal and that wasn't it.  He saw water dripping near the valve so replaced the supply hose and and put in a shutoff valve but that didn't work.  So he replaced the water control valve and that worked!  Also before we left he replaced the tape on the underbelly because it was coming loose.  Since we've been at the campground it seems like he's spent all his time repairing things.  We turned on the front air conditioner and it didn't work.  We had run it for several hours while we were getting ready to go and it worked fine.  So we have a start/run capacitor waiting for us at our next stop.  Hopefully that will work.  He's also replaced the shower drain seal with a heavy duty one because it was broken and leaking.  He's made several trips to the dump station with grey water in the tote.  He's replaced the tail lights with LED ones.  He's been one busy guy!

We had a lot of fun with 11 year old Noelle.  We made cookies and played games, we made a bag for her hairbrush, toothbrush and accessories and played games, and we played games!  She catches on really fast to the games and beats us a lot of the time.  She's a sweetie!

On Friday we met Noelle's dad in Greenville to get her back again.  Before we took her we had to change sites to #23.  It's a nice one too.

The weather has been nice most of the time.  In the 70s during the day and 50s at night.  It rained Friday but not as much as they said it was going to.

Sunday we move on to Augusta, GA.  It's nice to get on the road again.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Monroe, MI to Home -- September 24 - October 2, 2021

 Monroe, MI to Home

September 23 - October 2, 2021

Thursday, September 23 we left Michigan and drove back to Goshen, IN to the fairgrounds campground.  We needed some work done on the 5th wheel and took it to Affinity.  They do very good work, but were so busy with the recent rallies in town that they didn't have time to do all the work we needed.  We'll probably be going back next spring.  While we were there we went to Shipshewana, had the buffet lunch at the Blue Gate Inn, and went to Yoder's Meat and Cheese to stock up.  Their meat is so good!

We left Goshen on Saturday, September 25 and spent two nights at Huggy Bear Campground in Van Wert, OH.  It was a little crowded in the older section and a little more open in the new area.  If you're camping with kids they have a lot for them to do.  We both forgot to get picture.

Monday, September 27 we went to Delaware State Park in Ohio for two nights.  I did remember to take a picture of our site.  It was near a lake so we walked on the trail to get to it but didn't go all the way down to the water.

We weren't in the campground for 10 minutes and the stink bugs found us.  We'd had an infestation a couple of years ago and just finally got rid of all of them.  I'm hoping these will decide their new home isn't very nice and will leave.

While we were at Delaware State Park we drove into Columbus and took a tour of the Anthony Thomas Candy plant.  We were the only people on the tour so could ask questions and take our time.  Of course no photos were allowed.  The candy was really good and I wish I had bought more.

Wednesday, September 29 we stayed the night at a city park campground, Krodel  Park Campground in Point Pleasant, WV.  I wouldn't call it a destination but it was very nice for an overnight ($25 night full hookups).  We got there late in the afternoon and left early the next morning.

Thursday, September 30 we drove to Fancy Gap, VA to the Fancy Gap/Blue Ridge Parkway KOA for two nights.  We had driven through before and thought it was a little tight, but decided to give it a try.  It's at a higher elevation and usually at least 10 degrees cooler than Charlotte.  The weather was beautiful while we were there.  Thursday it was fairly quiet, and Friday the rigs started showing up.  It was pretty full.  While there I went to the Fancy Gap Pottery and Fabric store and bought a few things.  The pottery store is really more home decoration items, and well as ribbon, floral and at this time of the year, Christmas.  The fabric store has great prices and is organized so well.  However, if you're traveling with your RV there is no RV parking there.

Saturday, October 2 we headed for home.  It was a fun trip and I'm thankful we were able to go.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1