RVing With a Purpose

November 20, 2022

When we closed our last post, we had traveled in B(eyond) B(lessed) from Randy and Debra’s house where we left Fred, to Ellijay, GA, for the Switch It Up Huddle, to Oneonta to our church, and landed at Camp Sumatanga for two nights while preparing for our next BIG adventure which began on November 10, 2022.  We had little connectivity over the next week and had no room to pack our computers so we will now be catching up on our blog postings over the next several days.  Because of the remoteness of our destination, we had some pretty tight luggage restrictions.  Of course after having everything we own traveling with us in Fred for so long, packing light was somewhat of a challenge and we repacked more than once.  Since we were going to a very COLD environment, our clothes took a lot more space than our typical Florida winter clothes.  Yep, had to purchase a few winter items.  Wednesday we moved BB to Barry and Donna’s house where we did an overnight and prepared BB to be alone.  Thursday morning we were up at 2:30AM.  The four of us departed Pine Mountain for the Birmingham airport at 3:29AM and we were off on a trip that we had been discussing and planning for over a year.  Our destination was Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to participate in a Polar Bear Photography Adventure.  Of course, we first flew from Birmingham to Atlanta, then to Toronto Canada, cleared customs, and  then landed in Winnipeg, Manitoba at 5:30 Thursday afternoon.  It was cold and windy but there was no snow on the ground.  However, while we were eating dinner, one hour later, it began snowing and snowed all night, continuing into Friday.  Of course, as soon as we finished dinner, we had to go out and play in the snow.  We are from Alabama where it was 81°F the day before our departure.

We chose to arrive in Winnipeg, (called “Winterpeg” by some of the locals), a day before our Adventure began because we didn’t trust the airlines to get us there on Friday by 6:00 PM.   This gave us a day to play in Winnipeg.  After waking up with a great view of the airport snow removal equipment constantly de-icing planes and keeping the runways open, we took a taxi (Uber not available due to road conditions), to an area of Winnipeg called The Forks – forks of two rivers merge there.  There is an indoor market with many restaurants, shops, views of the rivers, a riverwalk park, and restored/ repurposed train station.  It was very cold to us southerners, 18°F with a feels-like temperature of 12°F and the snow to us was deep, about 5-6 inches.  However, we only had about 10 hours to explore so we weren’t going to let a little snow stop us.  Friday, November 11, was Remembrance Day in Canada.  It’s sort of a combination of the USA Veterans Day and Memorial Day.  The armistice agreement that ended WWI was signed at 11:00 o’clock on the 11^th day of the 11^th month.  Almost everything in Winnipeg was closed until 1:00PM –  after the Moment To Remember events at 11:00 AM were completed.  We visited most things in The Forks region, returning to our hotel in time to see a beautiful sunset across the runways and be entertained by the constant train of snow removal equipment.

We officially began our Adventure at 6:00PM with our opening dinner, meeting our fellow travelers and our guide.  Three of our group had not yet arrived due to travel problems.  So glad we went a day early.  We had a great dinner, were given information on what to expect on Saturday – the first full day of our Adventure – and our cold weather gear.  Gear good to -40°!!  We were so excited to get started!

Monday, November 7, 2022

Last Wednesday, November 3, after readying Beyond Blessed for travel we headed northwest.  We were able to avoid the interstate (GPS was not happy), and had a beautiful drive from Johnston, SC through the north Georgia mountains to Ellijay, GA.  Some of you may recall we attended the first Huddle for Switch It Up this same week last year.  Just as last year’s event, the Huddle was at Talona Ridge RV Resort.  Two of the first people we saw after arriving were the owners we got to know last year.  We were so glad to see them again.  They are such sweet Christian people and have done an amazing job completing the Resort.  It was not complete when we were there last year when there was red mud all around and just a hole in the ground for the pool and hot tub.  Some of us shared sites because not all the sites were complete.  We all had a great time but it was great to see everything completed this year.  Such a beautiful setting.  The sites are very large and the amenities extremely nice.    If any of you need a little get away, we can highly recommend Talona Ridge.  For those with out an RV they will be building some cabins in the future.  There are many attractions in the area too.

The Huddle actually began on Thursday evening but we went in Wednesday so we could spend some time with friends we had met last year.  Wednesday evening as a pre-huddle event we had a chili cookoff.  Some people brought their favorite chili which was judged by a panel of YouTube creators and Talona Ridge staff.  The rest of us brought sides and all had a great meal and wonderful time catching up with friends.

Thursday we had some free time and visited one of the local apple barns.  There was a good crop of apples this year with many to choose from, as well as all the cider, jellies and pies you could want.  This year we tried the blueberry and the peach fried pies as well as some scuppernong cider and coated pecans.   All Excellent!

At the Huddles we always do something as a “Give Back” to the community.  This year we made 300 gift bags for the teachers in Ellijay as a way of saying thank you for taking care of all their students.  Our members donated such items as pencils, pens, highlighters, markers, drinks, $5.00 gift cards, candy and several other items.  Each bag included a note from the Switch Crew thanking the teachers for their dedication.

Friday afternoon we could choose from two different hikes.  We had made some new friends at lunch Friday so we rode with them in their Jeep to Amicalola Falls for our hike.  We did this one last year but it’s a beautiful water fall and is always a challenge due to the 604 steps you climb if you start at the bottom of the falls.  There are at least two other ways to the falls involving some driving rather than the steps but we did ALL the steps.  We actually think maybe we are in better shape from all our hiking and walking because we didn’t have to stop and rest as much this year.  After dinner we gathered around the fire place and fire pits for a time of music, singing and building of community.

Saturday morning we all drove to Blue Ridge to take a four hour trip on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway thru the north Georgia country side to the sister towns of McCaysville, Ga and Copperhill, TN.  We had lunch there and while we were exploring the little towns we heard a lady behind us mention they were from Canada.  Anne turned around and said, “We are going to Manitoba next week.”  That led to a conversation where a younger gentleman said he was from Manitoba.  We had an interesting little conversation and then all went on their way, so more of Manitoba later.

Sunday, as is customary, we had a worship service.  Todd and Shelia know that this service will be the only worship service some of the Switch Crew may ever attend.  It’s not preachy, or judgemental, but Sheila does make sure she always shares the salvation message and talks about what Jesus means to her.  This service was a wonderful service with Luke (who wrote the Switch It Up (SIU) intro used in their videos) leading our music with some familiar music and one fantastic song that he wrote.  Sheila brought the message and  along with the message of Jesus, shared how the Huddle last year was a turning point for she and Todd from SIU being all about their travels to being about the Switch Crew (us) and developing our community.  Just as last year we witnessed the foundations of Talona Ridge being poured and this year it is nearly complete, last year’s Huddle laid the foundation for a change in direction and focus to the developing SIU community. Todd and Shelia nor the rest of us know where this will all lead but God does and it is our privilege to be a small part of this growing community.

That was it for us this year as we needed to return to our church for an important meeting.  We headed back to Alabama about 10:00 and had an uneventful drive – the best kind – through the beautiful fall leaves.  Now we are spending a few days at Sumatanga getting some work done, and packing for our next big Adventure.  Stay tuned.

Wednesday, November 3, 2022

After completing our 3 week NOMADS project at Camp Sumatanga in Gallant, AL, we were off to an early start on Friday, driving Fred and BB to South Carolina to Max’s brothers house.  Fortunately, Randy and Debra have lots of room for both RV’s.  There are even full hookups for Fred and BB.  Now that’s a great brother and sister-in-law.  We had a horrible drive across Atlanta but arrived without incident and began to catch up on our rest for a day or two.

When the four of us get together, there is usually a project or two.  The first project for this trip was to get the storage boxes reinstalled on the rear of BB since the replacements for those damaged in the accident finally arrived.  So nice to have that project finally completed and BB ready for travel again.  We will really enjoy having our storage back to full capacity.

Next project was trimming trees.  We had been discussing this for several months but Tuesday was the day Max and Randy rented a boom lift and the four of us spent much of the day cutting and clearing limbs away from Fred’s parking spot as well as all the rest of the trees that needed trimming away from the house.  The yard looks great and Fred doesn’t have pecan leaves and pecans falling on his roof (loud in an RV) and we don’t have to be as concerned that limbs will fall on the roof of the house.

With that project completed, Wednesday the four-some headed to the Edgefield Baptist Association office and loaded 288 backpacks full of Christmas goodies into Randy’s cargo trailer.  Randy and Debra delivered the backpacks to be sent on their way to children in the impoverished Appalachian area while the two of us returned to Cullman in BB for annual physicals.  After receiving good reports, we headed back to South Carolina and this time really did spend a little time resting.  Resting, visiting and readying ourselves and BB for our next adventure.  Stay tuned, it’s about to get really interesting.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Week three at Sumatanga was another busy one. After church on Sunday, we had a picnic lunch on top of the mountain at the Chapel.  This beautiful spot overlooking the Sumatanga Valley is so special any time of the year but in the fall it is extra special.  We had perfect fall temperatures and sunshine.  It was a really nice day.  We all enjoyed the afternoon.

Monday after devotion, the entire team went back to the administration building to continue to work on the siding and battens.  The weather that had been wonderful for two weeks was scheduled to turn against us with record breaking lows later in the week so we wanted to complete all the outside work as soon as possible.  We are pleased with the outcome.  The rear and side of the building look much better after we replaced the rotten siding, stained it and reinstalled the battens.  We also returned to Retreat Center One to continue work on the remodel there.  We completed the dry wall repairs, removed trim, finished removing the cabinets, scraped up the old tile flooring, painted the walls and did some cleaning up.

Wednesday night we had a team pot luck that was enjoyed by all.  Thanks so much to Scott and Teresa for organizing this event.  Thursday was of course finishing up and cleaning up and trying to get all the camps tools and materials back to the correct place.  We all agreed it was another great three weeks at Sumatanga and we hope to work together again soon.

Of course, there were also the sad “see you down the roads” as we all had to get back on the road.  Thursday is always bitter sweet.  Then we headed to South Carolina Friday morning to spend some time with Randy and Debra. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the beautiful fall colors.