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Georgia – Wednesday, December 26

Once again we had a wonderful breakfast at the Amethyst Inn – a broccoli/egg dish, grits (made with sour cream and cottage cheese – so creamy!), “sock-it-to-me-bread” with lots of cinnamon and nuts, sausage and fresh fruit. Rocky says even if people stayed for 10 days there would always be a different breakfast! The weather reports were not good at all – possible tornado activity, and it was raining hard. Toni and I were going to stay in Savannah for the morning, but it made more sense to get back out on the road before the bad stuff came through. But it took a while to get all packed up, and by the time our cars were loaded, we could actually see blue sky! We checked out and got a couple pictures, and it was suddenly nice enough out that we decided to walk downtown to get the little fuel canister for my new Jet Boil.

Then Toni headed back to Florida, and I decided to get Tula out for a last long walk around Savannah. I think this city is near or at the top of my list for ‘best city for walking’!

Then it was time to take care of my donation-of-the-day. I had talked with the people at The Old Savannah City Mission a couple days ago, and they said someone is there 24 hours a day 7 days a week to take donations. We were going to make a donation on Christmas Day since they were open, but no grocery stores were open to shop in! When I talked with them that time, they said they could used anything that could be used in meal preparation for 75-80 people, or other non-perishable things that can be packed in bags to send back out with people who need them. I thought I would call again since a number of days had passed to see if there were any current specific needs – and the answer came back fast – MEAT! So I went shopping and got a ham, a whole bunch of fresh chicken, and 10# of hamburger. I found the mission, and the young men I met were all very pleasant. They helped me carry the food in, and I told them I hoped they had someone there who was a good cook, and they assured me they did! I can see where the mission would be a comforting place to the people who need to stop by.

While I had been driving around the block to get to my parking place by the mission, I saw a sign pointing the way to the Fort Pulaski National Monument; the fort I had noticed on our riverboat tour. So I followed the sign, not realizing I would end up nearly on Tybee Island! Fort Pulaski was a fort that reminded me of the one on Dry Tortugas off of Key West (one of my very favorite national parks!) and Fort Sumter. When I commented on the similarities to a ranger, she told me these were the Third System series of coastal forts – designed after the War of 1812-era forts were deemed ineffectual. These are huge brick forts with lots of cannon inside and out, but even with 7-foot-thick brick walls, they could not always withstand the ever-increasing military firepower. They’re really interesting to see. I walked a couple of the trails with Tula first and went out to see an old lighthouse, then I put her back in the car and went into the visitor center and walked all around the fort. I stayed til they were closed, but a couple rangers said as long as cars were parked across the river outside the gate by 5, people could walk back onto park grounds after hours for more walking. I took advantage of that because I wanted to walk the 2.5 mile grassy trail along the dike system around the island. So I parked the car outside the gate and walked the bridge back in. The sun was going down fast, but at the same time, the full brilliant moon was already up, and the lighting was almost surreal. On one side of the island I could see the fort’s flag and cannon silhouetted in the red sunset clouds, and the other side of the island had the soft glow of moonlight. And I was the only person in the park – I felt like if I stood really still long enough I could almost hear echoes from the past. The wind was howling though, and it was nice to get back to the van because it was pretty cold out.

Since I hadn’t gotten too far from Savannah yet, I decided to head back to the B&B to pick up the towel we had left behind (used to keep dogs’ feet clean, and I needed it!). The towel had already been washed and folded! I made one last walk by the riverfront shops so I could get some postcards, and by now it was really cold out. I found the postcards in a candy shop, and appropriately ended the Savannah visit with a fresh praline.

I only drove a little south before it was time to call it a day – after walking nearly 11 miles. Toni had arrived safely back to Gainesville without going through any storms, and I never saw any rain either, so i don’t know what happened to all the threatening weather, but I’m glad it stayed away!

Monday and Tuesday, December 24 and 25

My sister Christy had a special treat for us – her Christmas gift was a reservation at a Bed & Breakfast in the heart of the historic district. I’ve never stayed at a B&B before, so this was going to be extra special. We walked around the river front area a bit, and then got checked in to the Amethyst Inn, which was one of the grand old homes built in the 1880s. It was 3 stories tall, but looked bigger since all the ceilings were so high. Christy had reserved a suite for the 3 of us, and the suites were on the bottom floor with access to a large courtyard. I think lots of these old homes have pretty little courtyards hidden from public view! Rocky, our host, spent a lot of time going over maps and things to do – I expect he can answer anything about Savannah! The main areas of the house were decorated to the hilt with so many Christmas displays that it’s a wonder they can keep it all straight! We found out later that they take photos of everything so they can remember where things go from year-to-year! Toni had brought a small Christmas tree up, and she got that all decorated and we put the gifts under the tree.

Then it was time to get ready for our Christmas Eve riverboat tour. It started early so we could see everything we were passing before it got dark. We had a nice window table, and the boat was full. Savannah is a major port, and we saw lots of tugboats and other boats on the river – I think I read somewhere that over 2000 ships make their way into Savannah’s port every year. We passed an old fort, which I made a mental note of for a possible visit, and turned around just short of reaching the Atlantic Ocean. Dinner was a buffet, and really good with a mix of southern specialties like shrimp and grits, and salads, veggies, several kinds of meats, and a very fancy dessert table. There was a musician on board, and since it was a Christmas Eve tour, one would have thought he would play some Christmas music, but he played an odd mix of songs like the twist, and YMCA, and lots of happy birthdays. Hmmmm…

After our tour was over, we went to Kroger, where I had ordered a ham dinner with all the fixings, and we delivered that to the Park Place Outreach Home – a safe place for runaway, homeless, and in-crisis youth. The kitchen was big and clean and airy, and it was nice to hear they weren’t overloaded with kids at the moment. The numbers of kids change constantly, and was down from when I had first made contact with them, but there were still kids there. So that was my donation-of-the-day.

We went back to our B&B, and had a nice Christmasy evening with gifts (which we traditionally open on Christmas Eve) and talking to other family members.

Christmas Day

We started our day off with an amazing Christmas breakfast – a crab/egg souffle (made with crab they caught), praline French toast, sausage, lemon bread, cornbread and fresh fruit. The inn can accommodate about 20 people, and they weren’t quite full, although some people skipped breakfast to get to their particular church service. I had a little mishap this morning, and dropped one of my contacts right down the drain. I have to wear hard lenses, so it wasn’t just a matter of getting a new disposable lens out. I mentioned it to Rocky to see what the chances were of getting a plumber out the next morning, only to discover that he was a plumber and has done most of the renovations on the house himself. He found it in about 10 minutes – on Christmas morning no less!

My mom was flying back to Wisconsin today to avoid the crowds on the 26th, so she got packed up, and I ran her out to the airport after we took a last walk around one of the big parks. Toni and I then set off on another long 5-6 mile walk – down to the river to see what was going on down there, and while most of the shops and restaurants were closed, there were still a lot of people out and about, and lots of local people making flowers and ornaments out of palm fronds, and some street musicians were playing Christmas carols. We thought we found a place that would be open for an early dinner, and planned to come back a bit later. We walked through more parks and an old cemetery on the way back, and got a little turned around – lots of those parks start to look alike! In return for my rescued contact, I thought I would knit a Christmas dish cloth for the Inn to go with all their other Christmas stuff – I happened to have Christmas colored yarn and knitting needles, so I got started on that. A bit later, we wandered back down to the river, but the restaurant we thought would be open wasn’t. Someone just forgot to out away the Open sign. Our choices were pretty limited for a meal – there seemed to be only one restaurant open, and it was busy and we didn’t have reservations. Somehow we got in – probably because it was kind of early. Toni had the cheesy shrimp and grits, and I had crab cakes – a nice Christmas dinner! We headed back to enjoy some more time at the B&B, then we headed out for a movie – saw Parental Guidnace with Bette Midler and Billy Crystal. There were some very noisy kids in the audience, and they were eventually removed by the ushers. When we left, we were a little surprised to see big groups of noisy kids hanging around the theatre – no adults in sight!

We went back to the B&B and I stayed up late to finish knitting the Christmas dish cloth before breakfast.

Georgia – Sunday, December 23

What a wonderfully full day! The first thing on the agenda was to shop for toys to put in the Marine Corps Reserve box that we saw last night. We knew Ruby Tuesday would be open at 11, so we went to the WalMart that was right across the parking lot. Needless to say, it was very crowded! Toni was in charge of picking out the toys, and it was a bit discouraging to see how expensive many of them were – and we didn’t really want electronic or battery-operated ones. But, in the end, we ended up with some puzzles, matchbox cars, Monopoly, play-doh, a Dr. Seuss game, and the Memory game. We took it over to Ruby Tuesday and emptied our toys into the box. I had wanted to do a toy donation, but just hadn’t run across any yet, so was glad to finally be able to do it!

Then we drove back into historic Savannah and found a good parking spot by the old theatre, and set out walking. What a beautiful, beautiful city, and it’s so pedestrian friendly. There are blocks of graceful old homes, and dozens of parks (many with statues and plaques) scattered nearly every other block throughout town. Toni and Mom sat and visited a bit while I covered an extra mile or 2. We found a little pub and got some baked Brie and French onion soup to warm up, and then walked around some more. This city is made for walkers! There were lots of horses and carriages out and the clip-clopping of their feet on the cobblestones just added to the charm. There were people riding around in pedi-cabs too. Most places were decked out for the holidays, and everything seemed so festive. We had tickets for the Christmas Tradition show at the historic Savannah Theatre. It was their final show of the season, and we had front row balcony seats, and thoroughly enjoyed a couple hours of Christmas entertainment. During intermission, the MC put a box on the stage and explained that people in the military can get tickets for only $5, and asked for donations to help support the troops (other performances are coming up). That donation opportunity just fell in my lap, and I was happy to go up there and make a donation. Quite a few other people were making donations too. The MC told me that sometimes whole groups of military people come in their uniforms, and they appreciate the chance for their families to enjoy a show here and there for something special.

When the show was over it was beginning to get dark, but we took time for a little more walking. Then we drove out of town a ways to see a walk-through light show at a bamboo conservation garden. It was cold enough out that they put a couple heat lamps out to warm up near. Then we headed to the River Street area of Savannah – a row of shops and restaurants in old cotton warehouses. The steps are steep to get down there, and footing is uneven on the old cobblestones, but there’s a lot of interesting things to see down there. We ended up at a restaurant that served a “low-country boil” – deliciously messy platefuls of boiled crawfish, shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn with Cajun seasoning – pretty much all finger food and we dove right in! I’m not really a big shrimp person, but this shrimp was the best I’ve had! This place was also known for oysters, and lots of people were laboriously making their way through buckets of oysters. They look like a lot of work to me with towels to protect fingers and special knives to crack them open!

By the time we were done, the place was clearing out, and we were ready to call it a day.

Georgia – Saturday, December 22

I drove the rest of the way to Macon, and hoped to get some downtown walking in. But Macon didn’t have quite as many walking possibilities as other cities. There were some empty storefronts, and downtown seemed a little empty and quiet for the Saturday before Christmas. We only walked about a mile and a half, and then I thought I would try one or two of the historic home districts. As I drove toward one of them, I passed a Ronald McDonald House – a big brick building decorated for the holidays. I put that in the back of my mind while I got out and did a little more walking past some old antebellum homes. But I only got another mile and a half in – some sidewalks were closed and we kept coming to busy roads. But I did walk past a post office, and since I had a batch of post cards ready to mail, I drove back there once we returned to the van. I didn’t really expect them to be open on a Saturday afternoon, but to my surprise, they were. While I was in the parking lot, I thought of the Ronald McDonald House again, and got on the computer to see if they had any wish lists or anything. And they had long wish lists in several categories. There was also a Top 10 wish list of items that were most needed at the moment. And stamps were at the top of the list! There I was, sitting in the post office parking lot on a Saturday afternoon, and the post office was unexpectedly open, and the Ronald McDonald House really needed stamps. I knew what I had to do! I called them first to make sure they were indeed open, and of course they were. So I went in and got as many stamps as I could for $56, and then Tula and I just walked over there since it wasn’t far away. They let us come in to the front office, and the place was wonderfully inviting and smelled like homemade soup. It must be incredibly difficult to have children who are so seriously ill, and the families must appreciate having such a welcoming place to stay. I talked with the volunteers who were staying at the house for a couple days to take care of things, and they told me the house has a capacity for 13 families, and they were full with a wait list. Ronald McDonald Houses have become such a large network that McDonald’s cannot support all of the expenses for all of them. They take care of a lot of the expenses, but the homes also rely heavily on donations. Stamps sort of seemed like a weird thing to donate, but it’s one of those things that they always need, and people don’t often think about that. I’m glad I didn’t go with my initial impulse, which was to buy holiday cookies and goodies for the families – the volunteers told me they had been inundated with all sorts of Christmas goodies, and even while I was there, another lady came in to drop off a couple loaves of holiday bread. So they sent me on my way with a cookie and a cupcake. I think I will be seeking out other Ronald McDonald Houses.

On my way out of Macon, I passed Mercer University, and stopped to walk – we got in almost 3 miles walking all around and through the campus – it was quiet since most of the students had left for the holidays, but very pretty to wander around another Civil War era university.

And then I got on the highway toward Savannah, and crossed a bridge over a river where I happened to look down and saw a river trail. I took the next exit, and managed to find an access point, and walked a couple miles along a beautiful curving path with benches and lampposts – one of the prettier river trails I’ve been on. I was happy to stumble across it!

Then I was ready to sit in the car and head to Savannah. My middle daughter Toni was driving up from Florida, and my mom was flying in from Wisconsin ( having been delayed a day due to weather) so we’re having a 3-generation Christmas in Savannah! I arrived first, and took care of my laundry; then Toni and her dog Ella arrived (Tula and Ella are buddies); then a little later, we went and picked my mom up from the airport. We had a late meal at Ruby Tuesday near her hotel, and it was fun to see a big box where the Marine Corps Reserve was collecting new, unwrapped toys. Our server told us the marines were coming tomorrow to pick up the toys, so I knew toy shopping was first on the agenda in the morning!

Georgia – Friday, December 21

I ended up staying on the west side of Atlanta last night, and had looked into walking opportunities in the city. I found that there was a huge park on the north end of town – Piedmont Park is Atlanta’s version of Central Park in New York City. There were miles of trails in rolling hills, a lake to walk around and a couple of dog parks. You know a park is big when it has its own parking structure! Tula and I walked several miles on the paths in the park, then I decided we would head over a couple blocks to Peachtree Street. Peachtree Street is one of the main roads that goes all the way through the heart of Atlanta. The park is in the midtown area of Atlanta, and Tula and I walked all through midtown, then through downtown to the Five Points area. It was a cold, windy day and everyone was all bundled up. I think it was a bit chilly for these southerners! I actually wanted to go into Underground Atlanta to warm up a bit, but only service dogs are allowed there, so we simply turned around and walked all the way back up Peachtree Street. By this time, we had covered about 7 miles of walking.

Unfortunately, I had left my favorite windbreaker back at the motel, so I backtracked to get it – luckily it wasn’t terribly far away. While I was there, I figured I better look into a potential donation opportunity since it was getting to be mid-afternoon. I discovered that The First Presbyterian Church had a food pantry session from 12-3 on Fridays, and they were located on Peachtree Street where I had just done so much walking. There was also a women’s shelter, and since I knew where the church was, I decided to stop by in person to find out what they might need. Even at mid-afternoon, traffic in Atlanta was heavy, and I finally got to the church a few minutes after the food pantry hours were over. The church was enormous, and I didn’t even know what door to go in. I found one that led me to a security guard, and he called the person I needed to talk to, and I took the elevator up to the floor with the food pantry. I explained what I was doing, and that I’d be happy to shop for food for either the food pantry or the women’s shelter. The people I met told me about some if their outreach ministries – they have their food bank, and will help anyone regardless of where they live; they provide a hot breakfast on Sunday mornings to anyone who needs it; they open up shower facilities for homeless men a couple times a week so they can come in and get cleaned up; and they have a women’s shelter right on the premises. They also help with jobs and transportation – there’s lots of good things going on here! They told me a check would be most helpful for a donation so they could get some MARTA passes for bus and train transportation for people who are starting back to work. It was fun to talk with them, and they wondered if I would be around Sunday morning – its their busiest day of the year for their free breakfasts, because on the Sunday before Christmas they hand out free $25 Target gift cards to everyone who comes, and word does spread! I would be in Savannah by then, but I can imagine all the happy people on Sunday morning with a hot meal and a Target gift card! The church was 5-6 blocks north of the long part of Peachtree Street that I’d been walking on, so I walked those blocks, and then turned around and continued through the rest of mid-town and into uptown. By the time we finished, Tula and I had walked 9 1/2 miles for the day.

I was happy to get in the car to drive for a while, and we made our way east to Macon, in the middle of the state.

Alabama – Thursday, December 20

It was still rainy in the morning, but I got packed up and headed for the city of Birmingham. I had no idea what to expect in a city with such a turbulent civil rights history. What I found was a big, vibrant, clean, wonderfully walkable city. It was laid out in a grid pattern with avenues running one direction and streets running the other direction. I kept a rain jacket with me, and Tula and I ended up walking up and down nearly all the avenues and streets. There were civil rights markers throughout the city, and I could stand on the exact spots where some of the incidents and protests occurred. Sooo much history. I also passed a corner which had been proclaimed “the heaviest corner on earth” back in the early 1900s – Birmingham had been going through an industrial boom at the time, and built some early skyscrapers on all 4 corners of an intersection, and the combined mass and weight of those 4 buildings made it a heavy corner. We walked nearly 6 miles and only got rained on a little – a good couple of hours!

Then I headed for Pell City and the Robert L. Howard State Veteran’s Home. I had talked with Kristin, their activities director, yesterday and told her I’d be happy to make a donation. This veteran’s home only opened about a month ago, and they are moving veterans in on a daily basis, and will be full in less than 10 months. I asked her if they had any sort of wish list, and she told me the activities fund could always use a donation, especially since they were so new. She specifically mentioned a DVD player for the residents – the facility was so new they hadn’t been able to get one yet. Electronics are not my thing, so we thought a $56 check would be the best thing so they could get exactly what they need. The Veterans Home was really nice – not institutional looking at all. It sort of looked like a nice hotel. I imagine they’ll end up with wait lists to get in! I didn’t meet Kristin – she was running a Christmas activity, although she came out to find me while I was outside writing a note to her!

Then I headed a little farther east to Fort McClellan, which is near Anniston. I wanted to see what, if anything, was left of the army base where my dad did his basic training 66 years ago. He had told me about this a while ago, but I had forgotten exactly where it was, and to find out it was close to the place I made a veteran’s donation was kind of a fun coincidence! Dad didn’t think anything would be left since it was so long ago, but there is still evidence it was a big training base. The officer’s homes still stand in a neat circle around a huge oval green, and are rented or owned by “regular” people. The old PX turned into medical offices and an old gym is now an aquatic center. There’s some really old warehouses from back then that are kind of crumbling down, and signs of an old railroad. Some of the land is residential, but the whole area is still called Fort McClellan. It was pretty and quiet walking around the big circle of old officer’s homes – most were identical, but decorated differently for Christmas. It was apparent it was a huge base in its day, and fun to see a place like that from so long ago in my dad’s past.

By now it was dark, and time for a little more driving to the Alabama/Georgia border. I’ll be spending Christmas in Savannah with my daughter Toni and my mom, so I needed to start heading that way, and will finish up with Alabama after Christmas.

Alabama – Wednesday, December 19

The first thing I did today was call the food pantry I had found in Decatur. It was called Out of the Rain, and was part of the Progressive Christian Outreach Ministries. The lady I spoke with said their supplies were very, very low, and they would be happy to get anything I was able to bring, since their donations seemed to have dried up about 4 months ago. I asked if it was still a working food pantry, and she said at the moment it was on an emergency basis only, for people who had no other resources, and they hoped to be able to get back on a regular schedule. At least they have a little variety now for a short while.

Then it was time to get out walking. I was happy to find Point Mallard Park, which was a really big park along the Tennessee River, especially since it didn’t look like I’d be able to do many miles of walking in the town of Decatur itself. I didn’t know how long the trail was, but it was marked off in quarter-mile increments, and we ended up walking 3 miles to the other end of the trail, and then turning around and walking back. We were also very close to a national wildlife preserve, and I saw a lot of herons and egrets. It was a nice trail meant for walkers, joggers and bikers and we saw lots of people. Tula met a lot of new puppy friends, including a 140 pound Great Dane, who was huge and seemed to be walking its owner instead of vice versa! There were some people fishing and when I asked if they were catching anything, they said the only thing they were catching was a nice breeze, and they didn’t seem to mind – it was indeed a pretty day to be out walking for a couple hours.

Then I headed to a post office again – still trying to get a few Christmas cards and things out. From there I was able to find one of the big historic neighborhoods that I had read about, and many of the homes were lavishly decorated for Christmas – I think there had been a decorating contest. They use a lot of magnolia branches in their decorating down here – shiny green leaves all intertwined with ribbon and stuff makes for some really pretty decorations. Tula and I got in another 2+ miles of walking while enjoying the pretty neighborhoods.

After a bite to eat, I headed south to the Birmingham area, and got there before the storms hit – the midwest was being pummeled by snow, and there were heavy rains down here. I think we were even under a tornado watch. Not a night to be out camping!

Alabama – Tuesday, December 18

Tula and I headed out for a long walk through the park as soon as we were packed up – through some pine woods, along the Tennessee River and around a big marina. We covered nearly 4 miles before hitting the road. Florence is one of 4 towns that make up the “Muscle Shoals” area of Alabama, and I thought I would drive through the other 3 towns before heading east through the state. I had read that there was a food pantry in Tuscumbia, so I was thinking about that…but, I was distracted. Between Sheffield and Tuscumbia, I saw a little green road sign that pointed in the direction of Helen Keller’s Birthplace. Since I was right there, I thought I would drive by. And it looked interesting enough to pay the $5 to go through the house and grounds. I was fascinated! I remember learning about Helen Keller back in 5th or 6th grade, and I know I read her biography ages ago. But I hadn’t thought about Helen Keller for a really long time (and it never occurred to me to think about why she is pictured on the Alabama state quarters!). I was the only visitor, so the lady volunteering there showed me all around the original house – furnished with the actual things they used, and she had a lot to say. The dining room table was set with their china – or what was left of it – before Helen could communicate, she broke many dishes while misbehaving! There were 3 items in the house that I found especially interesting – one was an ornate fireplace shield, and I always thought fireplace shields were to prevent sparks from flying out. But their purpose was to shield some of the heat from people sitting near the fire, because men used wax to help shape their long mustaches, and ladies’ makeup often had wax as a base ingredient, and if people were to close to a warm fire, the wax could begin to melt, causing some problems for men and women alike! Then there was a table in the hall with a mirror over it – nothing unusual in that, but there was also a mirror underneath the table – so ladies could check to see if their petticoats were showing. And the dining room had a pretty wooden chest on legs – it held the household sugar which was only bought twice a year, and was kept under lock and key. There were drawers underneath which held the implements to chip pieces of sugar off the block in the chest. It was a cozy, attractive house, and one of the rooms had a small museum. I was able to run my fingertips over braille (I truly don’t know how people can learn all the letters – my fingers felt too big to distinguish all the bumps!) And I saw the braille slate and

stylus that Helen used to get through college – braille is written from right to left since the indentations that make the bumps have to be turned over to read. Then I went outside and saw the actual pump where Helen Keller was standing while her teacher Annie Sullivan signed the word ‘water’ into Helen’s hand, and that was the breakthrough moment in Helen’s communication. To see and touch the pump was a connection to history. The grounds had the kitchen building (often separate from the main house because of the threat of fire), an ice house, and gardens landscaped by the Lion’s Club. And I had absolutely no idea that Helen Keller was so instrumental in making the prevention and treatment of blindness a top priority for the Lions Club. She had challenged them to help – choosing that particular organization because she felt lions were strong, brave and kind, and The Lions Club accepted her challenge. There was a big display wall with Lions Club patches from all over the world – and there have been Lions Club members who have visited the Helen Keller Birthplace from all over the world. It was a special visit. There is a Helen Keller Foundation, which works on research, prevention and treatment of blindness, and I was torn between donating to that, or donating to the Helen Keller Birthplace, and when the lady told me the Foundation helps fund the Birthplace, I simply made my donation-of-the-day right there, which was more personal for me instead of mailing a check to some office. I walked away from there grateful again for good (correctable) vision and hearing. It’s astonishing what she did without the gifts of seeing and hearing.

I needed to do some more walking, and Sheffield didn’t really catch my eye for a long walk, but Tuscumbia sure did. We walked all through the small town, and out into neighborhoods that went on for blocks and blocks – tidy homes on neat streets, and it was a beautiful afternoon for walking – sunny and nearly 70. It’s hard to believe it’s mid-December. With the walking and donation done, I headed to the post office to take care of some mail, and then it was nice to sit in the car and head east a bit to Decatur, where I called it a day.

Alabama – Monday, December 17

It didn’t take me long to cross into Alabama from my campground (and it was the nicest state border sign I’ve seen yet – probably because it was on national park property!), and I got busy right away. Shortly after getting into Alabama I noticed a big park that looked very promising for walking along the Tennessee River. But first I researched some donation possibilities in the town of Florence, and saw there was a food pantry called The Help Center, and it was open til noon. I called them to see what they might need, and they said a variety of frozen chicken would be wonderful. Then I had to find a grocery store. I was unable to find the Kroger even with my GPS, so next I headed for either Meijer or Walmart which looked close together. But on the way there, I saw yet another store, Belle Foods, and I simply stopped there to get the chicken. And when I walked in, I saw they were doing a Family-to-Family Food Drive with the help of a local church. They had shelves full of brown paper bags that shoppers could buy for $5 and donate for the church to distribute. I felt like there was a reason I couldn’t find the first grocery store, and saw this one before I got to the others. But, that second donation would have to wait because I was under a time deadline to shop and get to the food pantry on the other side of town before it closed for the day. I went to the freezer aisle and got a variety of frozen chicken – some chicken strips and nuggets, chicken tenders, seasoned unbreaded chicken breasts etc. $56 of frozen chicken doesn’t fill up the cart like many of my other shopping trips! I checked out and made it back to The Help Center about 10 minutes before they closed. They had a waiting room which still had people who were hoping to get food, and then I was able to go in the room where food is sorted and pre-packed in shopping bags to be distributed according to family size. They seemed to be pretty busy – there were several volunteers working in both the front area and the food packing area. They were happy for the chicken and they showed me how empty the freezer had been.

The Help Center was near the nice downtown district, so Tula and I got out and walked a little over 2 miles. I passed a cafe called FloBama and went back for some barbecue after I’d put Tula back in the car. Then I was ready for more walking and we set off in another direction out of town. We went through another little historic area (there was a museum called The Pope’s Tavern – must be a story behind that name!) then out into a residential district (and passed the house where the engineer of the Panama Canal lived), and that led us to the campus of University of North Alabama, which was very inviting. We walked all around campus, and I saw that their mascot was a lion, but I did not expect to come across a lion habitat with 2 lions in it! They take their mascots seriously here! They were named Leo III and Una. There were double fences around their habitat, but I did not go into the viewing areas because of Tula – Una seemed interested in her even from a distance. We did not linger! While walking back toward town, I saw a lot of parking signs for Una visitors, and wondered what was so special about that particular lion – until it occurred to me that Una was University of North Alabama – ha!

After that I went back to Belle Foods to fill up my cart with 11 of the $5 food bag donations. The check-out person told me each of the bags contained the same things – tomato soup and crackers, tuna, rice, and mac and cheese. Being able to fill up a cart with donations like this is one of the desires that motivated this aspect of my journey – sometimes while grocery shopping at home, there would be Boy Scouts passing out lists of items that our local food pantry needed, and I would always get a couple things to donate, but I would always wish I could just go in and fill up the cart with some of everything on those lists – and now I’m able to do that!

Then I started to head back to the pretty park I had first seen in the morning so that I could walk by the river, but we passed another pretty area of town (Florence has lots of parks) and got out for another mile and a half. Lots of the grass is still green down here, and there are still flowers blooming – kind of a treat to see in mid-December! It was already beginning to get dark (on the eastern edge of the central time zone, it seems to be nearly dark by 4:30!) and I finally got back to McFarland Park, and they also had a nice campground in the pines by the Tennessee River, so I decided to camp again. We quickly finished off the walking for the day, then I headed to Panera to do some computer work since I’d been camping, and to enjoy a salad. It was noticeably chillier out when I headed back to the campground, but I stayed cozy with the sleeping bag, and put blankets over Tula.

Kentucky – Sunday, September 16

It rained some during the night, but had let up by morning – the heavy thunderstorms didn’t seem to materialize. In the end, I wished I had camped last night – it was certainly warm enough and the potential campground was nearby. I got kind of a late start since I had arrived late last night, and because I only had about 6 miles to walk today to finish off the Kentucky walking, I thought I would check out the park where I could have camped – there’s often some good walking paths at those places. Imagine my surprise when I got to the park, and discovered the campground was part of a closed-for-the-season amusement park, with a roller coaster that looked like it was beginning to collapse! I don’t think I could have stayed there – I would have had clown nightmares or something! I could have walked a little there, but I decided to look elsewhere. And I’m glad I did! While heading back toward Bowling Green, I passed a really pretty farm lane that went through horse country, and by some nice big homes. It was pretty much just a single lane road that wound through the Kentucky countryside, and Tula and I got in about 3 1/2 miles of walking. Then we drove on for a couple miles and saw what looked like a river trail, and it crossed over an old train trestle, so between the river trail and an adjoining neighborhood, we walked the remaining 2 1/2 miles.

Since I knew I would be ending up in Bowling Green today, I had researched food pantries in that area earlier. One that kept popping up was Manna Mart, part of HOTEL INC (Helping Others Through Extended Love in the Name of Christ), which has a variety of aid programs. I had called them on Friday to see about making a Sunday donation, and I spoke with a very pleasant person. She said normally they would be happy to make arrangements for a Sunday donation, but both people had other obligations this weekend. We had a nice conversation though, and I didn’t want to back out of my offer since I had talked with them, so I said I would send in a donation check, and she was very appreciative – in fact, she said some of their shoppers are very good with the use of coupons, and they will no doubt be able to stretch my donation farther than I could!

At this point, I had finished everything I wanted to do in Kentucky. All 7 donations were done (Jingle Bell Walk for Arthritis Foundation, God’s Pantry 12-12-12 Challenge, Open Hands Community Food Pantry, Kentucky Horse Park, the Pet Therapy program at Eastern Kentucky Veteran’s Center, Berea Food Pantry and Manna Mart), and I had walked all 56 Kentucky miles. Now that I’ve been through 14 states, I’m exactly 25% done with my journey, and I can hardly believe that. The time has gone so fast, and it’s been an amazing experience so far.

Now it was time to cut back through the skinny state of Tennessee and head for Alabama! I drove through some rain, and headed for the part of the Natchez Trace Parkway that’s south of Nashville. It continues on into Alabama and that’s how I wanted to drive into the state. The Natchez Trace (which I was also on in Mississippi) is one of the oldest “roads” in the world – first cut by buffalo and other animals, then by Native Americans and the Spanish and so on – “trace” refers to old tracks. It is a beautiful peaceful drive, and then I also discovered there are 3 National Park campgrounds along the Trace, which are free on a first-come, first-serve basis. One of them was just shy of the Alabama border, so I stopped there even though I knew it might rain a little during the night – the price was right! Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) was buried just up the road, but I knew visiting that area would need to wait until Tennessee is the state-of-the-week. I find it interesting that I have inadvertently ended up at the start of the Lewis and Clark discovery expedition in St Charles Missouri, and now find myself at the spot where Lewis is buried. I’m in good company!