Carolinagal visit UPDATE

[bluepinecones]

Just a quick update for you on Carolinagal. (She is traveling without a computer.)
As you may recall, she left NC on Nov.19 still without her new door. She visited with friends in north GA and worked her way over to far western TN for the Thanksgiving holiday. She left there on Dec 4 thinking she might escape the predicted snow by moving a bit to the south. She arrived here that night and set up at Monte Sano State Park. She had been boondocking since leaving NC and decided with the cold weather we were experiencing, she would need hookups while here. Good move.
I picked her up and we had a nice long visit Friday afternoon. An unexciting, no photo type afternoon at a laundry mat - her first opportunity to do washing since leaving home. It was so cold, neither of us wanted to be outside. After laundry, we did drive thru part of the historic area downtown.
Yesterday we awoke to snow; about an inch here in town and 1.5 inches on the mountain where she is camping. Wind chill remained in the 20s all day but most of the snow was gone by early afternoon. When I got up to the park, there was still snow there (about 1600 ft elevation above the city). There was ice all over her RV when I picked her up around 1:00. We watched part of a 2 hour Christmas parade and completed our driving tour of the historic districts. Was only able to get her to hop out of van for a couple of photos (don't blame her - it was still bitterly cold in the wind).
Carol in front of one of the early 1800s homes in downtown area


And by marker Church of Nativity, Ca 1842


Finally in front of the church (couldn't get it in the shot, spire is 151 feet on this Gothic revival structure. unfortunately we could not go in due to renovation work in progress)


Forecast is for the temps to reach the low to mid 40s this afternoon. Hopefully we can do a bit better on photos.

[avalen]

Thanks for the update and the pictures. She definately looks cold, but the sunshine
can be deceiving cause it looks warm but I do remember the chill even on a sunny day.
Hope she gets some warmer weather soon.

[Liz]

Glad you had a chance to meet up again and spend time together. Hope it warms up some for you. Tell Carol not to hurry to Florida; it's cold here too.

[BirdbyBird]

Liz, you are working on those Florida temps for January, right? Have fun Carol and Sarah!

[Liz]

Yup, got the heat on right now in fact, Tina. If I keep it up, it should be toasty by January!

[JanetA]

Love those pretty churches! ! ! ! !

[bluepinecones]

Carol called me late Sunday morning saying it was just too cold to venture out again. However, I convinced her there were a couple more things she should see while here.
The snow was still frozen on the picnic table when I picked her up for the last time.


Our main goal for her last evening was a tour of the Galaxy of Lights but we had a little time to kill before dark. We did a quick stop at 2 of the antique malls where I have booths. Didn't think to take the camera in with us. Then we drove out to the west side of town and another quick stop at our newest park and a shopping complex at the edge of Research Park (2nd largest in US). Showed her where I had spent the last 22 years of my working life. Dogs wanted out for their thing.


I had suggested a visit to the Space and Rocket Center when Carol arrived but she said that kind of thing was not of much interest to her so we had skipped it. However, with just a few minutes of daylight left we circled the parking lot. When she discovered this was the home of the International Space Camp, she got very excited about it and even wanted her pix with one of the rockets bad enough to brave the cold. Unfortunately, I could not get a good shot, but will share anyway. That is Saturn V rocket behind her.

For those interested in more on the world's largest space museum, try:
http://www.spacecamp.com/museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_&_Rocket_Center

Then we went to the Galaxy of Lights. It was wonderful but our cameras not good enough for pixs. There are more than 500 displays requiring about 60000 feet of extension cords to light it up. Displays are set up along a mile and a half drive which twists thru the botanical garden. More info and some photos on the following sites:
http://www.hsvbg.org

Some photos from this year (click thru to view)
http://photos.al.com/huntsville-times/2009/11/galaxy_of_lights.html
Some good photos on this one from a couple years ago
http://travel.webshots.com/album/53811131HVfZgh

Then we had dinner before going back up the mountain and saying good-by.
Carol left Monday to escape more bad weather here - warmer but high winds and driving heavy rain for Tuesday.

[AlmostThere]

I'm glad you got to share the space center together. How cool! Great visit you had together. Thanks for sharing.

[BirdbyBird]

So glad that you two were able to make it through the less than ideal weather conditions.... The Space Research and the Space Camp ...would have been interesting....but it will probably still be there in warmer weather next time With the winter storm coming through, Carol may not be able to get out of it fast enough.......but at least she will know that she's moving in the right direction. Now it is up to you to find enough heat to stay warm up on your mountain Be careful on the snow and ice....I hear that falling and breaking body parts is not recommended......

[mtngal]

How fun Carol got to visit, hope she has landed in a warm and cozy camp site by now.

[Carolinagal]

Hi everyone, Sarah. did a nice job of the few pictures she did take. I am at friends in Wesley Chapel, Fl. Would you believe the temp dropped here too Really warm the day before, I like this better. I managed to avoild the rain most of the time, had a few high winds, but not like weather channel predicted. So I have had a great trip, first time I have just taken off and did as I wanted when i wanted and it really is great.

Just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am still traveling along, and most of all what a great time Maggie and I have had. The snow was lovely in Al. and Maggie loved it on our walk, but that time snow did not fastinate me and much as it usually does, really cold for me. Good thing I am south, I think.

Don't have time to read and catch up on everyones doings. Just hope all are well, and Happy Birthday, saw Vicky had one. Poor ole lady Hope it was a happy one. I will try to catch up more of whats happening when I get to my sisters. I am being kind of rude now, so Until then, I miss you all.

Safe and Happy Travels
Carol

[Liz]

Glad you made it safely to FL, Carol.

[BirdbyBird]

Thanks for checking in....it is good to know that you are warm!

[VickieP]

Thank you Carol! I'm glad you're having a good trip, hmmm, seems you and Tina learned to wander and mosey along pretty good together so that now yall feel comfortable on your own, good for you. Glad you're in a little warmer weather!

[mitch5252]

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Glad your trip is going so well and you're now a tad warmer!
Keep traveling safe!

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