5/3/26
Location: Top of Georgia Airstream Park, Helen, GA, site B9, full hookup
ChILL

Praise the Lord! Thank You God! For the first time in several days, Skip woke up with zero vertigo symptoms. Hallelujah! Vertigo is never a good thing but it is especially concerning when so much of our travels with ChILL depend on Skip’s expertise.

Because Skip had done the major clean out of the black tank early evening yesterday, he was able to complete the other takedown chores more quickly. Tortilla chips, bread, bagels, M&Ms and a few other fragile items were moved to the truck where they can travel with less turmoil and in the controlled temperatures.

Every departure our final step before getting into the truck is to walk around the Airstream together with both of us verifying that everything is in ready to travel mode. Then in the truck we check the mirrors and rear camera views, verify the destination address in the nav system, confirm the route is the one that best suits towing the Airstream and then take time to be with the Lord. One of us reads out loud Psalm 91 and then the other reads out loud a prayer we put together before we left St Augustine. The page is laminated making it more travel friendly.

With me in the driver’s seat, we left the Whispering River Resort in Walland, TN. Leaving the campground there is a 2 mile narrow road with several twisty blind curves that add to the driving excitement. Very relieved we encountered only a few oncoming cars and no large vehicles at all. 

Skip gave me turn by turn directions through the towns of Walland and Maryville until our nav system finally agreed with the truck route Skip preferred to use. The rest of my driving shift was the easiest stretch so far on mostly flat roads with good visibility and light traffic as it was Sunday morning. 

Near the exit to 64 East I pulled into an open parking lot behind a Hardees. It was only 50 degrees so we kept the door to ChILL closed while we ate our lunchbox sandwiches and sliced apples. Then Skip took over for what was the most challenging segment we have had so far, not just today but since we left St Augustine. Even though we were on the truck route it was a two lane road with various twists, turns and elevation changes. No time to be bored on this drive! Occasionally there was a short distance that had an additional lane allowing faster moving traffic to get around us before it went back to 2 lanes.

Eventually we were on SR17 where the real fun began! Reminded me of an old attraction at Disney World, Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. Some of the turns were so extreme that the posted speed limit was 15 miles per hour! Skip claimed that he was enjoying the drive. I assured him that I was not having a good time even as the passenger. But wait, the goal is in sight – the Top of Georgia Airstream Park! It’s great to be surrounded by other Airstreams in the mountains. No cell service at all from any carrier. Skip setup the Starlink and we were back in business.

Even with all of the concentration required, ears popping from the ups and downs and the numerous twists and turns, Skip’s vertigo symptoms have not returned. The Lord has blessed us indeed!

Dinner was sausage, peppers and onions prepared on ChILL’s cooktop and a salad. Showers, a little TV and off to bed looking forward to exploring the Helen area tomorrow.