Big Mona On The Move

 Couldn’t be more happy to have my Yankee RV winter jacket! Visitors center displays Union, Confederate and women equally in accounts of the first major battle of the Civil War. Well done.  Dennis kept trying to compare his silhouette to Grant as he is a distant relative on his grandmother’s side. Maybe the nose. Our auto tour of the battlefield was like a scavenger hunt through history. 160 years ago a war took place.  This battlefield covers three days of the worse and bloodiest battle of the Civil War that lasted 4 years. Interesting fact, General Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate commander, led 4,400 men against U.S. Grant.  He was the highest ranking officer killed in combat during the Civil War and remains the highest American officer ever killed in action. The terrain and amount of equipment they had to move through woods and swamps really seems an impossible task.  Touring the sights, hearing the cannon go off and seeing the plaques of times and dates ...

 All settled in Tiffin territory. A little chilly here today. Staying at 1st Class Glass waiting till Monday to have Tiffin people come and evaluate our to-do list. Went to lunch at Cole’s BBQ across the border in Mississippi. Small hole in the wall place on a tight corner. Great pulled por, fried green tomatoes and pickles.  Picked up some supplies from the Ace hardware store inside a Piggily Wiggly. We are in northern Alabama for sure   Visited the Allegro Club back in Red Bay and learned about some interesting spots to visit this weekend. 

 Today we drove under beautiful skies. Stopped to fill up with gas from Flying J. 57 gallons, &298.00. Yikes! Using Harvest Host at Siluria Brewing Co.  we parked and waited for the brew house to open. I ordered Lady Grace (an amber wheat) and Dennis a stout. We even picked up two long sleeve shirts and dinner from a local food truck, Dock of the Bay, and watched the Masters on TV.  We met and chatted with two other traveling couples. One from St. Pete and the other from Washington state. Neat stories shared.  Gregg was our server. When we first came in the place was empty but now3 hours later it is packed!  Good brew and friendly crowd. Dogs are even welcome on leash. All in all an enjoyable evening. 

 Well we started out this morning with a doctor’s appointment for Dennis then off we were to go.  Oops, car has flat tire as I drive out of the driveway to hook up to Big Mona. Luckily we had recently purchased a big air compressor. We think it was the tire monitoring system letting air out at the car wash. Tire filled and we made it to Chattanooga, FL six hours later.  Flat Creek Campground is very nice. Pull through site and don’t even need to uncouple the car. Early dinner, a good night’s sleep and on our way to Red Bay Alabama to get our roof repaired at the Tiffin factory. 👍 We did travel under God’s blessings as the bad weather passed by us before we entered north Florida warnings of severe weather, tornados and more. 

 Wow. It has been awesome here. With the cold front that came through we had fewer mosquitos and we kept the windows open. The stars at night with clear skies could not be counted. Temperatures from low 60s to highs of 75.  Our first day we drove to the Marina and the maintanence worker took us to see an American crockodile just sun batheing not 10 feet away. We then drove up to the Earnest Coe Visitor’s Center  a lot of good information about the plant and wildlife around.  Next we stopped at the Anhinga Trail which was a short raised boardwalk through the marsh.  We saw fish, birds and an alligator that was hiding in the brush.   The next day we too a pontoon boat ride through the glades and bayou. We traveled the man made canal, the Florida Bay, and Coot Bay.  Our Guide, Captain Nick, added historical information as well as wildlife facts. The sights have been amazing with gators, crocodiles, hawks and even buzzards (trying to eat the caulking off o...