Attached are pictures that go with the blog on Gastonia.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Gastonia, NC
4/29 Sunday The blog has suffered this week with the warranty work being done. Seems Mandalay failed us when they sent the wrong part. They were notified of the problem on Tuesday as well as being told the customer was waiting at the dealership, yet they now say they plan to ship the right part on Monday, a full week later.
We did take advantage of the time here in Kings Mountain, NC to go over to the Shiele Museum and Buffalo Nation exhibit in Gastonia. This was an interesting activity as they had some good exhibits of Indian life and culture from back in the 1600 and 1700’s. They had information on the way the Indians lived and of the various contacts with explorers and Army troupes sent to control the Indians and later to move them out of the area.
They explained the importance of the bison (Buffalo) to their way of life. The only thing they did not find a way to use was the grunting noise the bison made. By contrast, fur traders only killed the bison for the hides and left the rest of the animal for wolves. The government in Washington, DC decided that the bison had no real value and there were so many of them, (estimated at over two million) were killed off to drive the Indians from the area as the bison were an important source of food. The government finally put an end to the killing when there were less than an estimated 1,000 left. They had a picture of the skulls of bison that had been killed that were greater than a 2-story building with a man standing on the top of the pile. It certainly drove the point home just how many bison had been killed.
In addition they have many animals on display. Those who prepared these animals for display did a real good job of making both the animal look lifelike and the setting look something from a National Geographic program.
They also have a planetarium, but the show times did not work for us, plus the dogs were waiting in the car and the temperature was getting to the point we would not allow them to remain there. If you are in the area, this is a worthwhile stop.
The rest of the week was spent dong things around the coach and trying to get the warranty work completed. As one thing was done, it sometimes led to another issue. One case in point is the new wiper issue that turned up after the windshield washer hose was replaced and we were in the process of testing and adjusting.
Monday we will head to Freightliner hoping they can work us in to handle the issues. At the same time we hope to take a tour of the plant. Fortunately, being retired, it allows us the option to make our schedule up as we go along. This is one time that it is really working to our advantage.
We did take advantage of the time here in Kings Mountain, NC to go over to the Shiele Museum and Buffalo Nation exhibit in Gastonia. This was an interesting activity as they had some good exhibits of Indian life and culture from back in the 1600 and 1700’s. They had information on the way the Indians lived and of the various contacts with explorers and Army troupes sent to control the Indians and later to move them out of the area.
They explained the importance of the bison (Buffalo) to their way of life. The only thing they did not find a way to use was the grunting noise the bison made. By contrast, fur traders only killed the bison for the hides and left the rest of the animal for wolves. The government in Washington, DC decided that the bison had no real value and there were so many of them, (estimated at over two million) were killed off to drive the Indians from the area as the bison were an important source of food. The government finally put an end to the killing when there were less than an estimated 1,000 left. They had a picture of the skulls of bison that had been killed that were greater than a 2-story building with a man standing on the top of the pile. It certainly drove the point home just how many bison had been killed.
In addition they have many animals on display. Those who prepared these animals for display did a real good job of making both the animal look lifelike and the setting look something from a National Geographic program.
They also have a planetarium, but the show times did not work for us, plus the dogs were waiting in the car and the temperature was getting to the point we would not allow them to remain there. If you are in the area, this is a worthwhile stop.
The rest of the week was spent dong things around the coach and trying to get the warranty work completed. As one thing was done, it sometimes led to another issue. One case in point is the new wiper issue that turned up after the windshield washer hose was replaced and we were in the process of testing and adjusting.
Monday we will head to Freightliner hoping they can work us in to handle the issues. At the same time we hope to take a tour of the plant. Fortunately, being retired, it allows us the option to make our schedule up as we go along. This is one time that it is really working to our advantage.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Kings Mountain Military Park, NC 4-21
Commanders of the Patriot forces
The hill the Patriots had to run up to capture the British and loyalist forces.
The forest service burns off the area every 3-years.
Monument to the battle 10-7-1870
Plaque on the monument
4/21 Saturday We visited Kings Mountain, SC National Park where the Revolutionary battle of Kings Mountain took place October 7. 1780. This battle took about one hour to fight with the British forces and those loyal to the Crown fighting from the top of Kings Mountain, a bald mountaintop against the Patriot forces of the Americans who were hunters and farmers hailing from North and South Carolina and Virginia. The smooth barrel guns used by the British forces were very inaccurate and those forces consistently fired over the heads of the Patriots because they were not trained to fire from the top of a mountain against forces coming up a hillside. The Patriots, on the other hand, being accomplished, hearty, self-reliant hunters of Scots-Irish ancestry, knew how to stock game in the woods and applied the same techniques against the British troupes.
This mountaintop was only about 150’ higher than the surrounding ground. The treeless top had a plateau about 600 yards long by 60 yards at one end and 120 yards at the other. Major Ferguson commanded about 1000 Loyalists and 100 Redcoats. He was convinced that this position and troupe numbers would easily make him victorious. He had underestimated the anger the Patriots held for him, the British troupes and the Loyalists who had chosen to side with the British. Ferguson believed there were many Loyalists living in the Carolinas who would come to fight the “back-water men” also known as the over-mountain patriots, but these Loyalists never came.
Ferguson commanded about 1,100, but Col. Campbell from Virginia with Col. Shelby led 900 of the best marksmen from the region. The British loses were significant, dead, injured and dying as compared to the Patriot forces. The Patriots (a.k.a. whigs) took about 700 prisoners from the estimated 1,100 British and Loyalists (a.k.a. tories) troupes. Some of these escaped but most were taken to prisons where they were traded for prisoners captured by the British. In addition to Cols Campbell and Shelby, Cols. McDowell and Sevier were leaders in this battle. Areas now bear the names of these leaders.
A driving force for the Patriots was the killing of Patriots who were over run by British troupes in other battles and were waiving white flags, yet the British Major had his men follow his example as he went about killing those who had surrendered and were unarmed. In addition, Ferguson has threatened to kill every back-water man who did not support the British King. As the Patriots attacked the British at Kings Mountain, they kept chanting the Major’s name. It took three charges up the hill for the Patriots to finally defeat the British. It is interesting that the British rifles were so ineffective that British and Loyalists had to fight the Patriots with their bayonets.
Major Ferguson, age 28 had two mistresses – being the commander had its perks. It is reported that during the battle, one of the mistresses rode down the hill through the battle to escape. Before riding off she stopped and told the Patriots that Major Ferguson was riding a horse and wearing a red and white checkered shirt over his red British coat to avoid recognition. Given this information, nine excellent Patriot marksmen all took aim on the person described and the impact of the musket balls hitting the Major was so great it knocked him off his horse.
The end of the war came about a year later and General George Washington signed the truce for the Americans. It is reported that before the battle of Kings Mountain, Major Ferguson, an excellent marksman who was trying to win approval of a new rifle that was more accurate, three times faster to load than the muskets of the Patriots, as well as being a rifle that could be fired and loaded in a prone or kneeling position, had General George Washington in his rifle sights. Washington looked at Ferguson and then turned his back on Ferguson. Major Ferguson did not want to shoot a person in the back so he held his fire. It is unknown if Ferguson ever knew who Washington was.
Monuments have been erected acknowledging the leaders on both sides who were killed in this battle in memory of the times America was fighting for its freedom from the British Crown and for the special bonds we still have for each other’s nation today.
Talking with one of the rangers, the park is subjected to a controlled burn about every 3-years. When we were there they had just completed a burn about 2-weeks before. He could not explain why this was done with such frequency. To us, it appeared there was nothing for animals to live on, so they had all left the area making it a little less ‘woodsy’. One advantage is the possible safety elimination of the ground clutter someone might ignite while touring the area in very dry or windy conditions that could cause a major forest fire that was very difficult to extinguish. There was a fire about 3 years ago in a park close by that was started by an unattended campfire when the winds kicked up. It took firefighters from multiple areas in North and South Carolina 20 days to finally extinguish.
The pictures do not really reflect the steep inclines where the fighting took place, nor the massive hardwood trees that existed in those days that were large enough to afford protection for the Patriot fighters. The top of the mountain is now covered with trees where it was a bald top at the time of the battle leaving the British silhouetted against the clear sky with nothing to hide behind.
The hill the Patriots had to run up to capture the British and loyalist forces.
The forest service burns off the area every 3-years.
Monument to the battle 10-7-1870
Plaque on the monument4/21 Saturday We visited Kings Mountain, SC National Park where the Revolutionary battle of Kings Mountain took place October 7. 1780. This battle took about one hour to fight with the British forces and those loyal to the Crown fighting from the top of Kings Mountain, a bald mountaintop against the Patriot forces of the Americans who were hunters and farmers hailing from North and South Carolina and Virginia. The smooth barrel guns used by the British forces were very inaccurate and those forces consistently fired over the heads of the Patriots because they were not trained to fire from the top of a mountain against forces coming up a hillside. The Patriots, on the other hand, being accomplished, hearty, self-reliant hunters of Scots-Irish ancestry, knew how to stock game in the woods and applied the same techniques against the British troupes.
This mountaintop was only about 150’ higher than the surrounding ground. The treeless top had a plateau about 600 yards long by 60 yards at one end and 120 yards at the other. Major Ferguson commanded about 1000 Loyalists and 100 Redcoats. He was convinced that this position and troupe numbers would easily make him victorious. He had underestimated the anger the Patriots held for him, the British troupes and the Loyalists who had chosen to side with the British. Ferguson believed there were many Loyalists living in the Carolinas who would come to fight the “back-water men” also known as the over-mountain patriots, but these Loyalists never came.
Ferguson commanded about 1,100, but Col. Campbell from Virginia with Col. Shelby led 900 of the best marksmen from the region. The British loses were significant, dead, injured and dying as compared to the Patriot forces. The Patriots (a.k.a. whigs) took about 700 prisoners from the estimated 1,100 British and Loyalists (a.k.a. tories) troupes. Some of these escaped but most were taken to prisons where they were traded for prisoners captured by the British. In addition to Cols Campbell and Shelby, Cols. McDowell and Sevier were leaders in this battle. Areas now bear the names of these leaders.
A driving force for the Patriots was the killing of Patriots who were over run by British troupes in other battles and were waiving white flags, yet the British Major had his men follow his example as he went about killing those who had surrendered and were unarmed. In addition, Ferguson has threatened to kill every back-water man who did not support the British King. As the Patriots attacked the British at Kings Mountain, they kept chanting the Major’s name. It took three charges up the hill for the Patriots to finally defeat the British. It is interesting that the British rifles were so ineffective that British and Loyalists had to fight the Patriots with their bayonets.
Major Ferguson, age 28 had two mistresses – being the commander had its perks. It is reported that during the battle, one of the mistresses rode down the hill through the battle to escape. Before riding off she stopped and told the Patriots that Major Ferguson was riding a horse and wearing a red and white checkered shirt over his red British coat to avoid recognition. Given this information, nine excellent Patriot marksmen all took aim on the person described and the impact of the musket balls hitting the Major was so great it knocked him off his horse.
The end of the war came about a year later and General George Washington signed the truce for the Americans. It is reported that before the battle of Kings Mountain, Major Ferguson, an excellent marksman who was trying to win approval of a new rifle that was more accurate, three times faster to load than the muskets of the Patriots, as well as being a rifle that could be fired and loaded in a prone or kneeling position, had General George Washington in his rifle sights. Washington looked at Ferguson and then turned his back on Ferguson. Major Ferguson did not want to shoot a person in the back so he held his fire. It is unknown if Ferguson ever knew who Washington was.
Monuments have been erected acknowledging the leaders on both sides who were killed in this battle in memory of the times America was fighting for its freedom from the British Crown and for the special bonds we still have for each other’s nation today.
Talking with one of the rangers, the park is subjected to a controlled burn about every 3-years. When we were there they had just completed a burn about 2-weeks before. He could not explain why this was done with such frequency. To us, it appeared there was nothing for animals to live on, so they had all left the area making it a little less ‘woodsy’. One advantage is the possible safety elimination of the ground clutter someone might ignite while touring the area in very dry or windy conditions that could cause a major forest fire that was very difficult to extinguish. There was a fire about 3 years ago in a park close by that was started by an unattended campfire when the winds kicked up. It took firefighters from multiple areas in North and South Carolina 20 days to finally extinguish.
The pictures do not really reflect the steep inclines where the fighting took place, nor the massive hardwood trees that existed in those days that were large enough to afford protection for the Patriot fighters. The top of the mountain is now covered with trees where it was a bald top at the time of the battle leaving the British silhouetted against the clear sky with nothing to hide behind.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Charlotte's old PTL location
4/18/07 Tuesday We have been unable to post for a while as the parks we have used lack Internet and trolling for a signal has not been successful. Currently we are in a mall parking lot in South Carolina with a decent signal. For a few days now, we have been located in the Charlotte, NC area where we are taking care of some much needed business. We had the opportunity to have dinner with Joe and Francis Clayton two nights while here. They are originally friends we met while at Paramount Carowinds Theme Park last year here in Charlotte. They spent the winter near us in Bradenton, FL allowing us some fun times together. Things in their lives are so parallel to our lives that we can almost complete each others sentences.
We picked out an RV park here that was a bit off the beaten trail, but the rate per night was $18 less than the next lowest park. We kept questioning some of the buildings and features, but we could not come up with any ideas what we were surrounded by. Joe guessed it was the former location of the Jim and Tammie Fay Baker religious compound, but he was not sure. I checked with the office and found he was dead on the money. The whole area including the RV park was part of the PTL complex.
Of course everything went south for the Bakers and he is in jail and she is somewhere, but not in jail. The hotel facility has been sold to a non-denominational church group along with the multi-story high rise. This latter is likely what cause Jim Baker’s downfall as he sold more time shares to this facility than he had rooms. When people came looking to stay in ‘their’ time-share, there were already people occupying the apartment.
A chain link fence now surrounds it, but we drove through so we could see what was going on. There are sections of brick that have fallen off the high rise, but it is reported they have checked and the building is structurally sound. Problem is the new home owners who bought homes in the area outside the complex property want the high rise torn down as they say it is an eye sore and can be seen for miles. Yes, it is hard to miss a 12-story building on a hill in the middle of nowhere! I need to make the analogy of people who purchase a home at the end of an active airport runway, then later complain the noise is bothering them and they think the airport should be closed as it is impacting their property values. Well, just who is the dummy here?
There are some other buildings and amenities that are also closed and some of which have fallen into disrepair, but after getting some background on the area, it is very interesting to look around and see just how large this PTL compound was back in its hay day.
When we arrived here the weather was a bit cold in the mornings and the winds this past Monday were so strong they were blowing the new leaves off the trees along with some small branches. With the rains that came to this area of North Carolina, they reported several trees had fallen on vehicles during the morning commute. One tree was reported to have a 6’ diameter, so this confirms just how strong the winds were. In Boone, NC, northwest of Charlotte and in a mountainous area, they had 50MPH sustained winds with gusts to 65 and several inches of snow predicted. These are not conditions you want to be driving an RV in.
We picked out an RV park here that was a bit off the beaten trail, but the rate per night was $18 less than the next lowest park. We kept questioning some of the buildings and features, but we could not come up with any ideas what we were surrounded by. Joe guessed it was the former location of the Jim and Tammie Fay Baker religious compound, but he was not sure. I checked with the office and found he was dead on the money. The whole area including the RV park was part of the PTL complex.
Of course everything went south for the Bakers and he is in jail and she is somewhere, but not in jail. The hotel facility has been sold to a non-denominational church group along with the multi-story high rise. This latter is likely what cause Jim Baker’s downfall as he sold more time shares to this facility than he had rooms. When people came looking to stay in ‘their’ time-share, there were already people occupying the apartment.
A chain link fence now surrounds it, but we drove through so we could see what was going on. There are sections of brick that have fallen off the high rise, but it is reported they have checked and the building is structurally sound. Problem is the new home owners who bought homes in the area outside the complex property want the high rise torn down as they say it is an eye sore and can be seen for miles. Yes, it is hard to miss a 12-story building on a hill in the middle of nowhere! I need to make the analogy of people who purchase a home at the end of an active airport runway, then later complain the noise is bothering them and they think the airport should be closed as it is impacting their property values. Well, just who is the dummy here?
There are some other buildings and amenities that are also closed and some of which have fallen into disrepair, but after getting some background on the area, it is very interesting to look around and see just how large this PTL compound was back in its hay day.
When we arrived here the weather was a bit cold in the mornings and the winds this past Monday were so strong they were blowing the new leaves off the trees along with some small branches. With the rains that came to this area of North Carolina, they reported several trees had fallen on vehicles during the morning commute. One tree was reported to have a 6’ diameter, so this confirms just how strong the winds were. In Boone, NC, northwest of Charlotte and in a mountainous area, they had 50MPH sustained winds with gusts to 65 and several inches of snow predicted. These are not conditions you want to be driving an RV in.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Nashville 4-5
4-5-07 Thursday We are now in Nashville toured the Gaylord Hotel and Conference center today. This is quite the place with four separate complexes joined in the middle. Along with boasting over 14,000 rooms, many overlook an atrium incorporating acres of indoor gardens, cafés and restaurants, and various waterfalls and water works. The whole complex is covered with a glass roof topped with the American flag flying, of course at the very top. Behind the scenes, they have a full nursery with multiple greenhouses to grow all their plants that will be moved inside. For example, because it is Easter is this weekend, they had a large area incorporating Easter lilies in the ever changing landscape. They grow orchids everywhere due to the greenhouse conditions that exist in major areas of this huge outstanding atrium.
If you are visiting, go around to the back and park in the mall parking lot. This will save you a $12 parking charge and the walk is the same as having parked in front. This will bring you by the ‘Gaylord University’, likely where they do training of employees. This is also beside the water ride that has been abandoned but not removed, a throw back to the amusement park that preceded the Gaylord Hotel.
We have learned Gaylord, this is the person who owns the complex, wanted boats to go from inside the hotel to down, town. To accomplish this, he proposed diverting the Cumberland River through a passageway and into. The river is a little less than a half-mile away but the engineers could not find a way to keep the snakes out. The hotel was already running water taxies from a dock on the river to downtown for guests. As for the snake issue, they got them in anyway because about 2 months later they hosted a lawyer’s convention. As for the water ride inside, they did incorporate a powered gondola like ride that follows a submerged track and filled this water ride with water from rivers throughout the world. There are signs that tell where all the water came from. Of course there are large, very happy fish swimming around for your viewing enjoyment.
When Gaylord bought the property, the old Opry Land amusement park was taken down and replaced with a mall. As result, the locals know Gaylord Resort Center as the Opry Land Hotel. Gaylord has just bought 2+ miles of property across the freeway, from one exit to the next, to erect what he says will be the largest convention center in the world.
The pictures really tell much of the story of this place.
If you are visiting, go around to the back and park in the mall parking lot. This will save you a $12 parking charge and the walk is the same as having parked in front. This will bring you by the ‘Gaylord University’, likely where they do training of employees. This is also beside the water ride that has been abandoned but not removed, a throw back to the amusement park that preceded the Gaylord Hotel.
We have learned Gaylord, this is the person who owns the complex, wanted boats to go from inside the hotel to down, town. To accomplish this, he proposed diverting the Cumberland River through a passageway and into. The river is a little less than a half-mile away but the engineers could not find a way to keep the snakes out. The hotel was already running water taxies from a dock on the river to downtown for guests. As for the snake issue, they got them in anyway because about 2 months later they hosted a lawyer’s convention. As for the water ride inside, they did incorporate a powered gondola like ride that follows a submerged track and filled this water ride with water from rivers throughout the world. There are signs that tell where all the water came from. Of course there are large, very happy fish swimming around for your viewing enjoyment.
When Gaylord bought the property, the old Opry Land amusement park was taken down and replaced with a mall. As result, the locals know Gaylord Resort Center as the Opry Land Hotel. Gaylord has just bought 2+ miles of property across the freeway, from one exit to the next, to erect what he says will be the largest convention center in the world.
The pictures really tell much of the story of this place.
Kennesaw Nat. Battlefield 4-3-07
One of the Confederate cannons displayed from 
their vantage point during the battle.
The trail up to the 14 various cannon positions. Imagine pulling these up a steep hill through woods like you see without any paths.
4/3/07 Tuesday - Headed for TN
We are still in the Canton, GA area for a few more days before leaving to join family south of Nashville. The weather turned out to be very nice today so it was off to the Kennesaw National Battlefield Monument between Kennesaw and Marietta, GA. The flowers and trees that have come out, especially with a gentle rain yesterday, continue to provide immense pleasure seeing the hand of God at work.
The battlefield is not so much to see, as it is woods and two very large hills. Instead, you must stand there and realize what took place there in 1860 when Sherman from the North with about 100,000 men took on the South with about 65,000 men who were trying to hold a 10-mile line. The South hoped to keep the North from breaking through that would open attacks on Atlanta and the railroads and manufacturing that was supplied the Confederate forces. This battle took place for about 2-1/2 months before the Union Army was able to break the line and march into Atlanta.
The value of this area was the high ground it afforded the Confederate Army. The leaders did not think the top of the mountain (most would consider this a very high hill) to be that valuable, but one leader did take his forces up at night with 14 cannons and did so in one hour. Considering that this was forest and they had to cut trees to open a trail, that was quite an accomplishment by any standards. Although the cannon fire did not do a whole lot of damage, it did keep the Union Army jumping. The Union Army responded by shooting those firing the cannons with rifled barrel guns, a technology the South did not have. The rifling in the barrels made these guns more accurate at longer distances, leaving the Confederate Army unable to return fire with any accuracy.
their vantage point during the battle.
The trail up to the 14 various cannon positions. Imagine pulling these up a steep hill through woods like you see without any paths.4/3/07 Tuesday - Headed for TN
We are still in the Canton, GA area for a few more days before leaving to join family south of Nashville. The weather turned out to be very nice today so it was off to the Kennesaw National Battlefield Monument between Kennesaw and Marietta, GA. The flowers and trees that have come out, especially with a gentle rain yesterday, continue to provide immense pleasure seeing the hand of God at work.
The battlefield is not so much to see, as it is woods and two very large hills. Instead, you must stand there and realize what took place there in 1860 when Sherman from the North with about 100,000 men took on the South with about 65,000 men who were trying to hold a 10-mile line. The South hoped to keep the North from breaking through that would open attacks on Atlanta and the railroads and manufacturing that was supplied the Confederate forces. This battle took place for about 2-1/2 months before the Union Army was able to break the line and march into Atlanta.
The value of this area was the high ground it afforded the Confederate Army. The leaders did not think the top of the mountain (most would consider this a very high hill) to be that valuable, but one leader did take his forces up at night with 14 cannons and did so in one hour. Considering that this was forest and they had to cut trees to open a trail, that was quite an accomplishment by any standards. Although the cannon fire did not do a whole lot of damage, it did keep the Union Army jumping. The Union Army responded by shooting those firing the cannons with rifled barrel guns, a technology the South did not have. The rifling in the barrels made these guns more accurate at longer distances, leaving the Confederate Army unable to return fire with any accuracy.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Northwest Georgia 4-2-07
Northwest Georgia 3-30-07
We moved from Perry, GA to Canton, GA off I-75 about half way between Atlanta and the TN border. It was surprising the difference in temperature that a combination of 163 miles further north and a little change in the weather pattern would make. Arriving in the shaded campground, it took only a few minutes and we were closing windows to save the heat in the 630 temperature with a stiff breeze.
Allatoona Lake is a very nice CORE facility. The campground is rather new and offers 30 and 50-amp power and water, depending on the site. Some sites, however, have steep access that can make it impossible to get a Class A in without dragging. For some with travel trailers or 5th wheel units, they also can be clearly challenged by the access. We had a spot that required us to turn as we backed in. The driveway was wide enough and we had a very spacious gravel patio under the trees. In fact there were so many large trees we had a little trouble getting the satellite to pick up the signal.
Saturday was a cloudy day, but the forecast the next several days includes high probability of rain, so we headed over to the Roswell area to see the scenery and enjoy the colors in the trees and flowers. It is amazing how many trees and bushes are growing wild along the roads, yet they are big and beautiful. In these cases, the very best nurseryman is tending them, but he is not of this world! As we toured around, we were able to enjoy some beautiful homes in the area.
Seeing all these trees and flowers blooming is allowing us to enjoy a second spring. We watched the trees and flowers bloom in the Tampa, FL area, and then we moved north enough the only blooming plants to be seen were the azaleas. Now further north we are seeing their azaleas, dogwoods, cherry, tulips and many other bedding plants that produce so much color for enjoyment and pictures.
Palm Sunday gave me time to check out the local church that is within walking distance of the front gate of the park. This is the Fields Chapel United Methodist Church, “A come as you are community of Christ”, according to the bulletin. One little boy understood this and came in his new fire bunker coat, helmet and boots. This is the first time I had attended what might be best described as a country church. I am ‘old’ but the bare wood pews appeared to be many years older than me, yet they were quite comfortable to sit in. The church also must go back into the 1800s with only very limited renovation to add lights and air conditioning.
Attendance was low today because it is spring break for the local schools. Likely there were about 30 in attendance, but the small numbers only made it more personal. The congregation even celebrates birthdays and anniversaries during the service. Anyone who has an announcement takes care of delivering his or her own information.
Because it was Palm Sunday, the service incorporated the normal elements describing the denial of Jesus three times by his Disciple, but some of the special story for the kids in the Children’s Moment, involved a little skit by the seven members of the choir.
If you are in the neighborhood and want to have a good experience where delivering the message is more important than all the choreographing and timing, and you would like to meet some really friendly people, drop in for their service at 11:00 AM.
We moved from Perry, GA to Canton, GA off I-75 about half way between Atlanta and the TN border. It was surprising the difference in temperature that a combination of 163 miles further north and a little change in the weather pattern would make. Arriving in the shaded campground, it took only a few minutes and we were closing windows to save the heat in the 630 temperature with a stiff breeze.
Allatoona Lake is a very nice CORE facility. The campground is rather new and offers 30 and 50-amp power and water, depending on the site. Some sites, however, have steep access that can make it impossible to get a Class A in without dragging. For some with travel trailers or 5th wheel units, they also can be clearly challenged by the access. We had a spot that required us to turn as we backed in. The driveway was wide enough and we had a very spacious gravel patio under the trees. In fact there were so many large trees we had a little trouble getting the satellite to pick up the signal.
Saturday was a cloudy day, but the forecast the next several days includes high probability of rain, so we headed over to the Roswell area to see the scenery and enjoy the colors in the trees and flowers. It is amazing how many trees and bushes are growing wild along the roads, yet they are big and beautiful. In these cases, the very best nurseryman is tending them, but he is not of this world! As we toured around, we were able to enjoy some beautiful homes in the area.
Seeing all these trees and flowers blooming is allowing us to enjoy a second spring. We watched the trees and flowers bloom in the Tampa, FL area, and then we moved north enough the only blooming plants to be seen were the azaleas. Now further north we are seeing their azaleas, dogwoods, cherry, tulips and many other bedding plants that produce so much color for enjoyment and pictures.
Palm Sunday gave me time to check out the local church that is within walking distance of the front gate of the park. This is the Fields Chapel United Methodist Church, “A come as you are community of Christ”, according to the bulletin. One little boy understood this and came in his new fire bunker coat, helmet and boots. This is the first time I had attended what might be best described as a country church. I am ‘old’ but the bare wood pews appeared to be many years older than me, yet they were quite comfortable to sit in. The church also must go back into the 1800s with only very limited renovation to add lights and air conditioning.
Attendance was low today because it is spring break for the local schools. Likely there were about 30 in attendance, but the small numbers only made it more personal. The congregation even celebrates birthdays and anniversaries during the service. Anyone who has an announcement takes care of delivering his or her own information.
Because it was Palm Sunday, the service incorporated the normal elements describing the denial of Jesus three times by his Disciple, but some of the special story for the kids in the Children’s Moment, involved a little skit by the seven members of the choir.
If you are in the neighborhood and want to have a good experience where delivering the message is more important than all the choreographing and timing, and you would like to meet some really friendly people, drop in for their service at 11:00 AM.
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