Nov 27 - We are now in Georgia, in a very nice r.v. park south of Athens GA. Funny, when you look at the map, or do a mileage calculation, it seems like driving across S. Carolina and into Georgia should be a nice day's drive. Turned out to be 8 hours on the road, meaning we pulled in to our site in the pitch black. Not the best way to set up, but with a little blasphemy shared with the surrounding woods, we were soon in business, settled in for the evening.

Probably if we'd taken interstate highways all the way, it might have been a couple of hours shorter, although more miles. We ended up on route 378 most of the way, which was great, in good condition, and we were able to do our usual speed most of the time. But once we hit Columbia, we lost a lot of time. Didn't realize that city is so damned big, and choked with post-Thanksgiving Day folks getting home or preparing to get back to the grind.

Anyway, we are in a very nice spot, Pinelake Campground, complete with two smallish lakes and a nice trail. After an exploratory walk, we drove into Athens, stopping off at the State Botanical Gardens on the way in. Closed! Monday! But there were a lot of trails, so we did about 4 miles through the woods, which was great, as the sun was shining, and the temp was around 60. Perfect hiking weather.

After that we went into the city, and did a walk around the center of town. It is quite nice, with the University of Georgia central to the core of the city. They have a beautiful campus, probably close to 50,000 students, and are in the hunt for the SEC Football Championship. They have to beat Auburn to earn a bowl spot. Football is so huge here in the south, like horse racing in Hong Kong. The campus is the kind of ideal design you visualize for a university. Almost made me wish I were starting over, with a little different attitude than in my time at U. of Alberta. Oh well. Can't go back!!

 I was surprised when we were in the Visitors Center, when I mentioned we had a great Grey Cup game in Canada yesterday. The young lady I was chatting with said, "Yes, I saw it. Really rough!" Who'd have guessed they'd show the game down here. We didn't , but thanks to Dave MacKay, we had minute to minute updates for the last part of the game. Quite a show!
Bill Boultbee will still be crowing!!

We dedicate this blog to our good friend, Sandy Taylor, who is dealing with a serious medical condition. Knowing her fighting spirit, we are confident she will come out on top. Our hearts are there with you, Sandy.

All for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Gail facing off with the Georgia Bulldog. She wins!!

Saturday, Nov. 25 - Hate to tell you, but it's only one more month until Christmas Day. Yesterday was the big shopping day for our American friends, which actually started at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Commercialism has crept into the major holiday, as it used to be the stores didn't open until mid-night for Black Friday. Donnie and I played golf yesterday, so dropped Gail and Pat off at the Tanger Outlet Mall. We had a fine time whacking the ball (no score kept) while they enjoyed their shopping excursion. When we came back to the Mall to pick them up, we became ensnarled in a major traffic jam, and sat for some time before we found the girls and made our escape. The number of people was amazing, crammed into that market area. Bargains galore, I guess. Gail did get a pair of good hiking boots at half price, so it was worth it.

Donnie and I played with two Americans, Randy and Eric. Both were ex-military, and had pretty strong views from the right side, Randy in particular. He's a Data Manager for a Health facility in Virginia, so had some very pointed negative views about Obama Care. He's also a strong member of the NRA (since he was 8 years old), so we heard the usual arguments about the lack of need for gun control. Protect yourself is the key. He admitted, somewhat sheepishly, that he voted for Trump, and the only thing he could point out as an accomplishment by the esteemed leader is his promotion of a right wing justice to the Supreme Court. The Republican Party bears the blame for all other failures to make change, he feels.

Eric was less vociferous, and perhaps more of a centrist. His main beef is with South Carolina politics, which he claims is totally corrupt. He owns a business (Segway rentals, tours, sales), and finds the various charges his business and he personally face through taxes to be way out of line. He also thought it a sign of corruption that the head of the local Chamber of Commerce makes nearly a half million a year while the mayor only make 70K. There's a new female mayor just elected here, and he hopes she'll be able to bring some changes to the city, despite her gender.

Aside from the politics, two very nice guys to play with. That sort of says it all...nice people, but screwed up politics here in the U.S. Last night I needed to by a hat, as I'd forgotten mine. When I paid, I made a comment about the fact we no longer use pennies in Canada. The cashier, a very pleasant minority guy, told me when I asked that he didn't like Trump...at all. He'd like to have someone like our young guy leading the country. He thinks Trudeau is just fine.

We've have had great visits with Don and Pat, out for dinner twice, and again this evening, before we head off to Georgia tomorrow. Don's brother arrives tomorrow, so there will be much more golf played before they all go back home next week-end. Gail and I have enjoyed being on the beach, so did another long walk today, up to the State Park pier. There's a big campground in the Park, so if we come this way again, it might be a place to consider, although we have no complaints at all about Pirateland.

That's it for now. Stay tuned. More later.

Wednesday, Nov. 22 - Aaarg, Matey!! Ahoy from Pirateland, Myrtle Beach. Can you believe it? Sounds hokey, but it's a pretty impressive layout we find ourselves in. But more about that later.

The main news is that we got here last night at 8 p.m., after close to 10 hours on Monday, and another 12 yesterday. Chugging along in an r.v. at 100 clicks isn't the same as whizzing along in an Audi at 120. We get there, but it just takes longer. We had only one little ripple of difficulty, between Watertown and Syracuse, as you might expect. Snow squall, hail, sleet, and slippery track for about 30 kilometers, with a couple of cars in the ditch. But once we got within shouting distance of Syracuse, the snow eased, and by Binghamton, no problem.

We stayed our first night south of Harrisburg, in Carlisle, in a motel. Next morning at breakfast, we listened in as three large gentlemen, one black, two white, had a most interesting discussion about race and justice and politics. It was orderly and respectful, so I couldn't help commenting to them as we left that they would be better to listen to than the biased stuff we get on morning talk shows. "We're just truck drivers..." they said. Maybe so, but I heard more insight from particularly the black gentleman than I've heard for some time. All were veterans, so had their own points of view, but seemed to agree on one thing. There are actually three parties in the States: The Dems, the Republicans, and the large number of people who didn't vote. It's the latter group, they agreed, that led to Trump being elected.

Yesterday was a long haul, but the traffic was generally busy yet not overly so, with only one back-up, where we lost a half-hour crawling into two lanes from three because of bridge repairs. We got off the 95 in the dark, and did the cross country thing along a narrow two laner until finally reaching the freeway into MB. Set up in the dark, had Joyce Brant's wonderful seafood stew for dinner, and soon hit the sack. Today we organized, walked the beach, which is very close to our site, and did a bike ride around this huge park, getting lost a couple of times. There are close to 1000 sites here, with a large range of trailer homes, rental cottages, and rv sites. There are good facilities, including a large swimming pool, a lazy river, mini golf, the whole nine yards. Today the folks are pouring in for Thanksgiving, so it'll be busy for the next few days.

This evening, friends Don and Pat will soon be here for drinks, followed by an excursion out for dinner. And so this long adventure into who knows where has begun. Don't forget to keep in touch if you're reading this.