Day #137 – Andersonville NHS

Lake Park GA to Cordele GA

Today we were amazed at how quickly we got on the road with this new trailer!  Even though we’re still not organized and had to move lots of stuff to the floor, we were on the road well before deadline. 

We were both white-knuckled for most of the 44 miles from Lake Park to the Cordele KOA.  The trailer swayed whenever a truck or trailer passed us.  Luckily, I packed crunchy things for Kelly to eat - she likes to crunch when she’s nervous.

One bright spot of the trip – we stopped at a rest area for lunch.  We just drove right in to the truck area, pulled out our steps and climbed into our trailer.  We sat at our own table and ate our own sandwiches.  What a treat!

We encountered a lot of traffic heading north.  We thought there had been an accident, but the KOA host informed us that it was “just people travelling north” after Spring Break.  She was quite upset with them. Apparently, this KOA had the misfortune of having the only restroom for miles.  Our host was not interested in being kind to travelers.

After setting up camp, which was ridiculously easy, we headed off to Andersonville National Historic Site (http://www.nps.gov/ande/index.htm).  Camp Sumter (aka Andersonville Prison) was one of the largest Confederate prisons during the Civil War.  While it was in existence for a little over one year, it housed more than 45,000 Union soldiers.  Thousands – nearly 30% - died from disease, malnutrition, overcrowding, and exposure to the elements.  The prison was established at a time when the South’s troops were poorly supplied, so little could be done to relieve the suffering.  The Union prisons were nearly as bad. 

The park also houses the National Prisoner of War Museum.  Through pictures and displays, the exhibits explore the meaning of “POW” and the role of POW camps throughout history, as well as bearing witness to the experiences of American soldiers who became POWs.

Third, the site contains a National Cemetery.

Most national parks have a movie as part of their educational program.  The movie at this site was made up of quotes from prisoners’ diaries, and photographs.  Remember, photography existed during the Civil War period.  The prisoners talked about a small stream that ran through the prison grounds.  Muddy water from the steam was their only source for drinking and washing.  Upstream, it was used as the jailors’ sewer.  The photos clearly showed the overcrowding and lack of shelter – men sat or lay in rows on the open ground, touching on all sides, with no relief. 

We were both affected by what we saw.  While I had seen pictures from World War II and Viet Nam, most of the other exhibits were new to me.  Kelly could not look at the exhibits from the Viet Nam era.  As we walked through the museum, I kept thinking about her service in the Army.  She was so lucky to be stuck in Germany, guarding missiles.  While her service changed her in many ways, she has not added “POW”, with all that means, to her life experience. 

We left the building by the back entrance.  There was a small stream running through the back patio, with sculptures of prisoners.  I began to cry.  Kelly held it together until we got to the truck.  She had been thinking the same thing I had – she was so lucky.

On our way back into town, we stopped by the airport.  The runways were short and the terminal just a small building.  Since Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Carter still live in Plains, it is the beginning and end of their journeys.  In May 1923, Charles Lindbergh bought a plane here and took several flying lessons.

Day #136 – Leaking Continues

Lake Park GA

We woke up to find the water hose under the kitchen sink was still leaking.  We were both seriously bummed about this because it meant we’d have to take the trailer back to the dealer for repair. 

Getting this trailer ready to move is weird.  Many of the steps are the same as they were in the TrailManor, but executed just a bit differently.  Just different enough to throw us off.  We didn’t arrive at the dealer until early afternoon.

They fixed the leak for us and we headed back to the Eagle’s Roost.  Again, Kelly had to fuss over and over with getting both tires on our site’s pad.  It went a bit easier this time, but was still very frustrating.  Luckily, we had a healthy snack before beginning the task.

Tomorrow, we start our run to Gatlinburg.  We’ll get our first taste of towing this monstrosity on the open road, vying with truckers and other RV drivers for our share of the highway.

Day #135 – Water Leak

Lake Park GA

The last couple days have been a whirlwind of moving stuff around, organizing, and of course, shopping.  The boxes we used to store things in the TrailManor just don’t work in this new trailer.  We are essentially using the bunk beds as shelving units.  If we store things wisely, we won’t have to move objects to the floor before we tow from one location to the next.  Kelly is a genius at this – I try to stay out of her way.

We’ve moved all the camping and kayak gear from the bed of the truck to the pass-through in the front of the trailer.  It’s not neat yet, but it’s safe and dry.  We’ve unpacked lots of boxes into cupboards – books are now on a shelf!  We stored our small collection of cold-season clothes under the bed.  Extra water bottles and knapsacks went under the dinette seat.  We put our games and puzzles in the cupboard under the TV.  Our goal is to have the bottom bunks empty, for use by visitors.  In reality, we’ve put laundry bags on one and the guitar and dulcimer on the other.

This trailer is so much easier to live in.  In the TrailManor, you had to literally get down on hands-and-knees to access the lower cupboards.  In this trailer, there is only one shelf near the floor and there is no need for kneeling.

Today, we discovered a leak in the fresh water line under the kitchen sink.  The dealer’s technician came over to fix it, but we’re guessing it will still be leaking in the morning.

Day #132 – New Trailer

Monticello FL to Lake Park GA

Today, we packed up the TrailManor for what we thought would be our last day with it. It hurt to think we’d never see our home-made curtains again. I was sure Carolyn, who made our new cushions for us, would be really angry about all that work not being used. We would no longer be walking on Kelly’s magnificent new floor. We would no longer be using the Giant Sucking Fan that Runs in the Rain that Kelly and I installed together on last year’s hottest day of summer. I gazed at the water valves we’d replaced. I did not crawl under the trailer to bid adieu to the patched gray water tank.

The Monticello KOA was hard to leave. We’d had some nice conversations with many of the folks there. Even I had talked with strangers, only to find that, after a couple days, they weren’t really strangers any more. It was a pleasant campground and we’d miss it.

We were both quiet and thoughtful as we towed the 85 miles from Monticello to Lake Park. We had talked about alternatives if the deal fell through, but we really didn’t have a firm plan. There were two trailers we’d liked at another dealer, but both were made by a manufacturer with a reputation for building leaky trailers. Plus, we knew they’d give us little on a trade-in. If this deal fell through, we’d have to sell the TrailManor privately and then work a cash deal with a dealer. It would take time, and travel money, and hassle to go that route.

Our worry was for naught. The dealer thought our TrailManor, despite its age, was in very good shape. In fact, he was surprised by how nice it looked and by how well it was maintained. (Thank you, Carolyn! Your cushions made a great first impression!)

We parked the two trailers side-by-side and moved all our stuff from the old to the new. Everyone was surprised at the amount of stuff we pulled from that little trailer.

I signed way too many papers; the technician gave us explanations of all our new trailer’s feathers; we hitched up; we drove off into the sunset.

Well, almost into the sunset. By the time we were ready to set out, the dealer had closed for the day. Kelly’s first towing experience with this huge thing was to back up and turn around in a field in order to go out the only open gate. We drove a few yards down the road, to the Eagle’s Roost RV Resort (https://www.eaglesroostresort.com), where the dealer had arranged a free night for us.

We had a dickens of a time getting the trailer on the parking pad at our assigned site. It was a cement pad, the exact width of our rig. Kelly would get the left wheels on, only to discover that the right ones had fallen off the other edge. I finally directed her to back up, almost into the spot across from us, and then straighten out into our spot. It worked. We weren’t quite level, but it was close enough.

It was a long evening of sorting and organizing. But, we had lots of fun discovering all the new doo-dads on the trailer.