5/7/26

Location: Cotton Hill Campground > Stagecoach RV Park, St Augustine, FL, site 27, full hookup

Thunderstorms began around 4 AM and continued until 8:30 or so. At that point it was still raining but not as hard and no more thunder. Checking the weather radar, Skip deemed it was safe for us to be outside. In the heavily wooded campground a rainy day makes it stay dark at the campsite well into the morning. The downpour caused large puddling in the area we had to walk in to get to the truck and the outside Airstream chores. Eventual runoff let us see most of the ground again but of course everything was soaked. 

Our site was at the bottom of a its own driveway with approximately a 7% grade. At the bottom was a level area that suited the Airstream well however the truck remained on the sloping driveway. Skip had a little difficulty getting the two of them separated upon setup but he was successful.

Upon departure the challenge was getting ChILL and the truck hitched together again. The Airstream can only go down so far to meet the hitch ball and the truck can only come up so far to engage the trailer tongue coupler. Just backing up the truck in the usual manner left a 5 inch gap between them. My brilliant husband decided to make a ramp using boards that we keep in the trunk of ChILL to help us level the trailer at campsites. Think about that for a minute. He is backing down a hill toward the trailer in the rain in a giant puddle and needs to exactly hit these boards in order to lift the truck high enough that he could get ChILL attached. It worked! I am so proud of him. Unless you were there to see it for yourself, you probably cannot appreciate how tricky the situation was. The pictures may help. Thank You Lord for providing a weather window and inspiring Skip with the solution to the problem.

As usual I took the first driving shift with the destination being our “home port” in St Augustine. With no deadlines to meet and no mountain road roller coaster segments, we were looking forward to smelling the roses along the way. It was raining but the wipers kept up with it and I was able to see just fine. After an hour I pulled in behind a Dollar General store with a large open area for us to park for a bathroom break and driver change. But it did not have a way out other than backing into the road. We thought it had another exit when we pulled in but that was just a cutout in the parking lot. So once again I helped Skip back us into the road to turn around and we continued our trip. Thank You Lord for keeping the traffic away while we were maneuvering.

The rain continued for the next hour while Skip was driving. The last 30 minutes was heavy rain that made it harder to see. As we were still on US27 with moderate traffic Skip was able to keep us going.

When we came upon a large empty church parking lot we pulled in for another break and had our lunchbox sandwiches. By now the rain had subsided with thunder rumbling in the distance.

With me in the driver’s seat we continued for the next stretch. Behind us were ominous dark clouds and occasional lightning. Thank You Lord that the storms remained behind us with no more rain as we traveled.

In anticipation of a long day we made more frequent driver changes than we had been doing. Skip took over for a while until we took advantage of a convenient rest area.

From there I drove us the rest of the way to Stagecoach. Another driver change wasn’t convenient and we didn’t need a bathroom break so I just kept going.

With about 35 minutes left to go to Stagecoach, traffic came to a complete stop in all lanes on I-295 about 1.5 miles away from the 95 south exit we needed. Because of our later than planned start this morning due to the thunderstorms and Skip’s superhero efforts to get us hitched up, we were in the middle of rush hour traffic, never fun. It caused us a delay of an hour which was inconvenient. However the ones in what appeared to be a serious multi-vehicle crash were dealing with more than just an inconvenient change in their plans. Praying for the best outcome for all those involved.

When we arrived at Stagecoach we were in site 27, the same site we had when we left from Stagecoach almost a month ago. As we made the itinerary for this trip Skip suggested that we plan to return to Stagecoach on the last day of the trip rather than taking care of all of the unpacking and storage chores at the end of a long travel day. What a great idea he had! Knowing we had a comfortable evening ahead of us in a familiar place made our whole day better. 

Setup at Stagecoach was easier because Skip left ChILL and the truck hitched together. He connected us to water, sewer, power and the hotspot so we had all the comforts of home.

As usual a little TV, showers and off to our comfortable beds. 

Early wake up tomorrow so we can wash the outside of the Airstream before we leave Stagecoach to remove the Florida pollen we started with along with the pollen and grime we picked up in 8 different states – Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina again, Tennessee, Georgia again, Alabama, Georgia again and back to Florida before the heat of the day sets in.

5/6/26
Location: Cotton Hill Campground, Fort Gaines, GA – only full day
ChILL
Marathon
Army Corps of Engineers Visitor’s Center
ChILL

A relaxed start to our lowkey day was just what we needed after the travel day we had yesterday. Vertigo still plagues Skip at the start of the day but he quickly begins to feel better. Praise the Lord!

Our breakfast on ChILL was pan fried hashbrowns, smothered in cheese with strips of bacon and topped with eggs over easy. I made chicken salad in advance for our quick dinner tomorrow after our planned long day to our favorite local campground at Stagecoach.

A short drive south to a gas station to feed the truck was our outing for the day. That drive seemed to indicate that we may be through most of the hilly parts as we continue south to Florida and its familiar flat terrain.

Noticing a beautiful lake in the shade of the trees, we stopped just to take a look around. It was an Army Corps of Engineers Visitor’s Center. They had displays mostly of animals native to the area, possibly taxidermy but I didn’t ask. We looked through their mounted binoculars at the locks off in the distance and took a few pictures. The day was beginning to get warm but still enjoyable in the shade of the huge trees.

Back at ChILL Skip setup a chair and enjoyed the outdoors. The mosquitoes are plentiful in the area so I opted to enjoy the outdoors from the comfort of ChILL’s indoors where it is mosquito free. 

Made another gourmet feast for dinner using Chili Hamburger Helper this time along with fresh green beans. Yes, this is how we live it up!

To give us a head start for our planned 8:00 AM departure Skip has already done the major clean out of the black tank and I have made our sandwiches and grapes for our lunchbox break.

As usual a little TV, showers and off to the comfort of our beds in our traveling suite.

5/5/26
Location: Top of Georgia Airstream Park > Cotton Hill Campground, Fort Gaines, GA, site 48, full hookup

Our day started out early in anticipation of our longer than usual travel day. Skip was kind enough to offer to take the first driving shift because we were unsure how many twists and turns we might encounter as we headed south, an offer I gratefully accepted. Fortunately traveling south is much much easier than arriving at Top of Georgia Airstream Park from the north. Skip did encounter some curves on the 2 lane road but that stretch did not last as long as the northbound journey did.

About an hour into the drive, we took a bathroom break and I took over as driver. My shift included driving 285 around Atlanta. While I am sure it was better than driving directly through Atlanta, we still encountered a lot of traffic on the six lane highway with an additional two lanes merging in from the right. 

About the 90 minute mark I needed to take an exit for another bathroom break. We chose a Pilot truck stop because they usually can accommodate our truck and trailer. Not this time! The truck area was extremely busy and they had caused themselves to be gridlocked in the tight space. And the trucks kept on rolling in, one after another. It was a nightmare!

Skip decided the best escape route for us was for him to back out into the side road we had taken to get to the truck area. Thank You Lord that as Skip was backing out, You caused a break in the truck traffic and provided a nice trucker who patiently waited the few minutes it took Skip to get us backed out and going in the right direction. I’m sure the truckers were as happy that we left as we were to be outta there!

About an hour later we took another exit that claimed it had a visitor’s information center. All we were looking for was a parking lot large enough to park in while we ate our sandwiches in the Airstream. Finding no signs at all that directed us to the elusive visitor’s information center we found a section of a medical center parking lot that was open for us to slip in and take a short break.

Back on the road again with Skip still in the driver’s seat the next challenge was the location of the Cotton Hill Campground in Fort Gaines, GA. Our travels included some miles in Alabama where the time zone changed to Central without our noticing as all of our attention was focused on navigating and not missing our turn. Our first clue was when the time remaining didn’t seem to indicate we were getting any closer to our arrival time. Soon the time zone switched back to Eastern and we were relieved to see we only had about 10 minutes more to go…or did we??

After calling the campground host to confirm the correct address we thought we were headed to the right place, comforted by the fact that the truck was navigating us the same way that my phone was. We ended up at a campground but not the one we were trying to find.

Another call to the campground host and this time I received what I am calling the “country” directions. She indicated we were still 30 miles away but “if you turn at the big red house that looks like a barn, and turn again at the corner store…” well, you get the picture. Skip realized that if we followed the signs for 39 South we would get there, true except for making the turn onto the road that leads to the campground. “Country” directions for the win in this case since the GPS proved to be useless.

Cotton Hill Campground is our first Army Corps of Engineers campground visit. What a beautiful place, on the water with huge shaded sites, full hookup, at a price that cannot be beat.

Using already prepared taco meat from our freezer, we enjoyed nachos for dinner in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. 

A little TV, showers and sleep. Time to ChILL.

5/4/26

Location: Top of Georgia Airstream Park, Helen, GA – only full day
ChILL
Chevron
Touring the Alpine Village in the City of Helen
Hofbrauhaus Restaurant
ChILL

After a good night’s rest for both of us, we had a leisurely start to our day over coffee and bagels. The temperatures started out in the mid 40s but did warm up as the day went on to the mid 70s, perfect temperature for spending time outside.

The sites do not have picnic tables so I did my exercises in ChILL, not as good a setup as outside but I can make it work.

Then we took a walk around the campground where I guess you could say, “All roads lead to Airstreams.” We saw several other Airstreams with only a few occupied at the time. The campground hosts explained that some of their local club members choose to pay the monthly site rent and leave their Airstreams for extended periods of time as a getaway spot for them. It is very affordable to stay at the campground for us and local club members receive an even lower rate.

The campground has a vintage Airstream that was used in Huntsville, Alabama during the Apollo Space Program. Now it serves as the Hosts office at Top of Georgia Airstream Park, a fitting way for an Airstream to “retire.”

When we arrived yesterday we approached from the north and the roads were definitely challenging. We were happy to see that the drive south into Helen had a few curves on the 2 lane road but nothing like the ones encountered on yesterday’s journey. Skip reminded me that what goes up must come down so we probably have more curvy roads as we head south in the morning.

The Top of Georgia Airstream Park is located about 8 miles from the city of Helen with an area that is referred to as the Alpine Village. It is a quaint German themed village with little shops and restaurants nestled in the mountains. After a short drive through the little village we filled the truck with gas before parking and sightseeing.

At the Hansel and Gretel Candy Kitchen we bought some handmade candy for gifts. It was difficult to choose from the delicious looking variety they offered. Hoping that we can keep the temperatures consistent enough on our travels home to keep the candy at its best.

After walking around enjoying the beauty surrounding us and occasionally going into the shops, finding nothing else we wanted to buy, we headed for a late lunch/early dinner at a place that Skip chose, Hofbrauhaus Restaurant, featuring German cuisine. As so often happens when Skip and I are presented with menus, we both chose the same thing, Jaeger Schnitzel. Our waitress suggested that we get the gravy on the side so we could try two different kinds. One was rahm sauce, a white gravy, and the other was a bacon mushroom gravy, both were delicious with maybe my slight preference being the bacon mushroom gravy. Although their dessert options looked great we were too stuffed to take advantage of them.

Our table was in the outdoor Biergarten with a view of a small river, charming is the word that comes to mind and so relaxing. A guitarist setup near our table. He was a very talented young man who played and sang songs from the 70s to current at a volume that was easy to enjoy his music without limiting our ability to have a conversation.  

Back at ChILL Skip did his usual black tank clean out to make our morning departure quicker while I wrote some postcards I bought in Helen. The campground hosts advised I could put them in the mailbox out by the road.

For travel tomorrow I made turkey sandwiches for our lunchbox along with some grapes. After our big German lunch we opted for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner.

A little TV, showers and off to bed in anticipation of our next stop at our first Army Corps of Engineers campground at Cotton Hill in Fort Gaines, GA.