Alabama and Georgia
Alabama and Georgia | 3/8/22 - 3/19/22
En route to Atlanta, we had a stay in Alabama. We were surprised to find Alabama to be cleaner and more scenic than Mississippi. It seems that after leaving Texas, each state of the Deep South was a little nicer than the previous. Spring was beginning to show in flowering shrubs along the highways, and the landscape was becoming less swampy and scraggly. As we drove through Birmingham AL the city appeared to be fairly clean and modern.
We chose the Lakeside Landing RV park & Marina in Pell City, AL, about 45 minutes outside Birmingham. We were able to get a spot right on the lake, and had a really beautiful view for our stay. The park was pretty quiet - many long-term residents. On the dry days folks came down and fished from the docks and in boats across the lake. Our campsite was a lovely setting for a bit of yoga and stretching! The morning sunrise revealed a peaceful mist across the lake. Could this be the area for the lake house Mary had thought about? Alas, no. The community was lackluster, and the shopping and dining opportunities were bland. One interesting find when we went out to eat was the BottomsUp tap system used at Dock’s Bar & Grill in Pell City. The plastic cups have a hole in the bottom and a metal washer. the cup is filled from the bottom and a magnetic disc is dropped in to seal to the washer. This is reportedly the most efficient tap system. The magnets have the added bonus of being a game piece, as well as a magnet to take home. Kind of fun, and definitely unique. Be careful you don’t press your finger onto the bottom of your cup and break the seal though!! These magnets from our beers turned out to be the only souvenirs we have from Alabama.
From Lakeside Landing we travelled into Georgia and to our campsite at Stone Mountain Campground, just outside Atlanta. Here we wad a wonderful week visiting with Mary’s cousins Becca (Kramer) Fiscal and Michael Kramer and their families. We spent some time together (mostly dinners - THANK YOU!!!) every day of our week-long stay. Stone Mountain Park is only about 20 minutes from Becca’s house, so she popped by our campsite after work as we were still getting leveled and set up. She witnessed our most complicated setup to date, and the very rare tension it caused! The campground (not RV park) has very narrow roads with tree roots pushing up the asphalt, so on our way to our site we actually had to ask a guy to move his truck, and then retract his camper awning so that we could maneuver the coach around an 18” high bump in the one-lane road. Our campsite was not level and was barely long enough to squeeze the car in crosswise in front of the coach, in which the rear of the coach (with the tow hitch) was right up against the hill behind our site, so it took 3 tries to get positioned with blocks under the front tires. The last try was when Becca arrived - sorry Becca! lol. She watched us set up the hoses, unpack the household, and assemble the catio before she had to leave. The 2nd day we had dinner at Michael and Jennifer’s home in a cool neighbor hood of Atlanta about 40 minutes from our camp. We saw the great renovations they had done to their home, and enjoyed a delicious dinner and lively conversation with them and their younger son Jonas (about 21). Hard to believe it had been 20+ years since I had seen Jennifer! The next day, Becca had us to dinner at her house and we enjoyed a great meal and getting to know her boyfriend Chris. On Thursday we met up with Becca again for dinner, this time in downtown Decatur, which is near her home. She showed us around and we had a fun dinner out. Friday was the great party - all the family together, including Mary’s Aunt Toppy who came in from Black Mountain NC, Becca’s previous husband Armando Fiscal and his friend Hortencia, and Becca’s older daughter Olivia and her partner Kian. Everyone gathered at Becca’s for an early dinner before attending the live high school performance of Mama Mia, in which Becca’s younger daughter Kory sang and danced. What a great performance, and a fun night!! Saturday morning was our travel day, but most of the gang came by our campsite in the morning for coffee, bagels and donuts, and to check out the RV, before they set out for a hike in the Park. We had neglected to get a group photo Friday night when we were all together, but we mustered up a pretty good group shot at the lake :-)
We were so happy to have such kindred spirits to share the week with. They made a hard sell for us settling in Atlanta, or at least Georgia!!
spring is beginning to emerge!
Lakeside Landing in AL
The lake was low but still a lovely view
great spot for a little yoga and stretching!
frosty morning
Bottoms-up tap
can you figure out the phrase on the magnet? Mary remembers playing these kinds of "rebus" puzzles in the '80s!
"where have you guys BEEN? It's dinnertime!"
misty sunrise
serenity
drive-thru shopping cart sanitizer!
Really wonderful visiting with Jen & Michael (and Jonas) - thanks for your hospitality!
rainy day at Stone Mountain Campground
Carmine beginning to yawn with his paws dangling
Mary and Becca in Decatur GA
Becca Fiscal and Mike in downtown Decatur GA
Aunt Toppy enjoying the Taco Bar
really enjoyed getting to know Becca's boyfriend Chris (center)
pre-show dinner at Becca's house included Atossa (Toppy), Armando Fiscal and his friend Hortencia (who brought great guacamole and salsa!)
siblings Michael and Becca and their mom Atossa visiting us in the RV
gathering for a group photo, which we had forgotten to do earlier in the week!
Kory, Kian, Olivia, Jonas, Michael, Toppy, Mary & Becca, with Stone Mountain in the background
cousins!
Olivia, Jonas, Kory, Michael, Toppy, Mary, Becca and Mike
we enjoyed the view of Stone Mountain just across the road from our campsite