RED BAY, ALABAMA and Camp Red Bay (Tiffin Service)

 

    Dec. 3rd - We left Canton, TX in FOG. We thought it would lift when we reached I-30, but that wasn’t to be. In fact, it got worse and we had fog all the way through Little Rock, Arkansas. Originally we planned to stop for the night in Benton, AR. Then decided to put the miles on and make West Memphis, AR our stop. In 2011, we had thought about staying at Tom Sawyer's RV Park, which is located on the west side of the Mississippi River. But the Mighty Mississippi had flooded and the RV park was out of commission.

    We arrived around 4:30pm and getting there is in itself is interesting. You drive over the levy and are quickly just above the level of the river. This is a nice RV park, but is a bit rugged by its close proximity to the river, which most likely floods every spring. Therefore, interior roads are gravel and dirt and most sites have a concrete pad as ours did. Oh, and they warn about snakes and poison oak if you explore their trails and such. The snake thing kept me inside! Our view was very nice as we had a river site. Even Cleo clearly enjoyed a different and interesting vista out the front window. Since it had been a long drive, we just settled in for the night leaving the front open to the lights of Memphis and the river traffic.

    Dec 4th - The next morning we were up and ready to go and although cloudy, it was a beautiful morning on the river. Another Tiffin motor home that had pulled in for the night after we did and had already left. We were pretty sure they were heading to Red Bay too.

 

 

 

 

Morning view of the Mighty Mississippi!

     As we needed fuel, we headed to the Flying J just off the I-55, which is the route we were going to take over the Mississippi and through Memphis. I followed the GPS and also our visual sighting of the Flying J signs. So after crossing over the I-55, we knew we had to turn left, but the GPS wasn't giving us clear directions (as usual) and the several roads showing on the left were also adding to the confusion. So we took the second turn of 4 possibilities as the first would have put us onto the I-55 going north. We couldn’t see how this was going to get us to Flying J, and the GPS kept saying we were there! But there was no way to get there, or at least we thought there wasn’t.

     Our GPS said to turn right and even though we couldn’t see how it would get us there, I saw a driveway that looked like it went through, so I told Elwyn to turn right. Oops!!! It was the driveway into a Truck Wash and there was no exit and no way to go around. The only way was to drive through a wash bay and both were occupied. It was a tight turn, we can’t back up or turn around even if we had disconnected the car, so I said we needed a wash anyway. By then Elwyn wasn't in any mood to discuss it.

     So we sat very quietly, while they finished washing the semi-truck in front of us. BTW, they do a GREAT JOB! Elwyn got out and spoke with one of the attendants to let them know we were just 'passing through'. And as we pulled up, one of the attendants just smiled at me, shrugged his shoulders, lifted his arms and with arm language said, “oh well, s--- happens”. I did the same with a big grin. We finally did make it to Flying J by going back and around the other way. Then found out we had only turned one driveway too soon!!!! LOL  Yes, I'm still laughing, Elwyn…not so much!

    After leaving there thinking, “okay, we are only about an hour behind our planned departure,” as we were driving over the I-55 and getting ready to make the left turn onto the Interstate, I heard a loud noise. Looked down at the bottom of the door and noticed that our entry step had gone out! This in not a good thing! Had I engaged the step cover, I might not have seen it, and although I knew that the noise came from the entry step, I wouldn’t have seen the problem. So instead of getting onto the interstate, we headed down the road to see if we could find someplace to check out the step. This had not happened before! And we thought, “WOW”, another problem! Elwyn found a place to turn into that was large enough for us to make a turn around. He tried the step and it finally came in, Put it out again, and it didn’t want to come in, but finally it did and we left heading back to the I-55. I kept the step cover open, so I could see out the door, just in case it happened again. It didn’t.

    Beautiful drive to Red Bay and we arrived about 1pm. We were put into a full hook-up site, thank goodness, and are close to the office, restrooms, laundry etc. The folks that were also at Tom Sawyer’s had already arrived and were in the site next to ours. We were told it would be two weeks before we will begin our repairs. So, there is nothing to do but relax. Oh and the nearest Walmart is 25+ miles away. Oh well!

    Dec. 13th – The folks next to us left today. Their work is done. We have a list, a long list, so we may have just been placed into the service ‘rotation’. At least that is what we think he said when he came to talk about our ‘extended warranty’ coverage. So, maybe by early next week we will finally get into a service bay. They let you know the night before and you drive the rig there in the morning. You can stay with your rig, or not. With that in mind, we are not sure how to handle Cleo. If she becomes freaked out…we may see about boarding her at a Vet about 3 miles down the road. That can be stressful for her too, but a lot less stressful than in the carrier in the motor home with repair work going on. Otherwise, we think she might do well by putting her in her carrier and then the car with her bed, litter box & water. She just want’s to be in a quiet place.

 

 

View looking toward just a few of the Bays.

 

 

 

We’re all the way down on right side, you can’t see us from here.

 

 

Some folks have the Christmas Spirit.

 

     Lots of folks are still here and a lot have left. Seems more have come in every day, but as Christmas approaches, I doubt we will have many more arriving. We were surprised to see as many new arrivals as we have this last week.

     Okay, Catfish was on the menu…so we headed to Swamp John’s. At first we weren’t sure if we should go in…but hey, it was good! Folks are very friendly here. Catfish, slaw, beans, sweet-tater fries, and hush puppies and there was still plenty left-over for dinner!

                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Oh, another epicurean delight is “Gun Powder Seasoning”! Yep! That is what it is called. The first time I saw it on my chips at the 4th Street Grill, I thought, pepper on chips, really? But tasted them and they were good. So I asked and they told me it was Gun Powder Seasoning. Actually it does look just like Gun Powder!

     Not sure when I’ll update again, but just in case it isn’t before Christmas…

MERRY CHRISTMAS and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

See you on the road….

E & J