Happy New Year 2022! We were up at 7:30am and on the road by 10:30am.

Happy New Year 2022!  We were up at 7:30 am and on the road by 10:30am.

Saturday 1/1/22, Cloudy 72 degrees (78-68).  Today we leave after a great time at Erick and Judith's place.  He is suppose to be transferred to a base in Hawaii so maybe the next time we see them the weather will be more our style, hot!!!

Eldon got up later since he and the rest of the gang “partied” up a bit.  Needless to say that there was alcohol involved.  Fortunately, Erick noticed that our Alto trailer movers were locked against the wheels before we left black rubber skid marks on his driveway.  The Army understands and trains people to look for such disaster-causing things.  Thanks Erick.  Eldon, not so much.  

Our “Grey” and “Black” waste water tanks were due to be emptied before going too far.  We did not feel it was right to just empty the tanks onto the street in front of Erick’s house even though his driveway has a nice slope to it, and a storm drain right there at the end.  I have an app that gives me locations where I can do that and that was our first stop of the day.  It was at a Columbus Welcome Stop and it was very clean and well kept.  It took us about 15 minutes from start to end.  That included my little sitting stool collapsing on one side which landed me on my one butt cheek and lower back.  Not the most sanitary place to land.  Eldon helped me up since it’s getting harder for me to get up from very low place, and since he likely did not properly clamp the leg into place.  

So with that done and getting gas we hit the road, officially.  Not much traffic and we wanted to visit the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site which was on the way to tonight’s camp site, another HH Vineyard.

Today we go from Columbus, GA to an HH Site (Whippoorwill Vineyards) in Notasulga, AL.  We arrived at Tuskegee at about 1 pm and it was very serene and green.  Beautiful.  Quiet.  Only us and the owners.  Their freeway sign made me think of the Country Music group, Alabama.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. The Historic Site was totally closed due to an unpublished Holiday schedule.  The website said it was open.  Oh well, they only open on Friday and Saturday with limited hours.  We did stop and walk around a bit.  I felt like I was walking on hallowed grounds.  The quietness of the place was eerie.  One of the airmen was quoted later as saying “we were ready to fight and die for our country and now we are ready to fight and die for our rights”.  These were African-Americans who were trained to be pilots during WWII and were instrumental in the success of the missions. 

Inside here is a yellow-nosed P-51 fighter plane, the signature color of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Here is an example of some of the street signage we would come across along the way.  This covers all probabilities:  North, South, East and West.  Just pick one and go.  And this is one of the least confusing, sometimes there were 8 or more signs.

We also drove by the Tuskegee University and it too was all closed down due to Holidays.  Booker T. Washington’s home is there.  The Wikipedia can tell it better, but he invented peanut butter, Eldon's favorite food.  So kind of a religious moment.

This sign for the national monument shows the "new" hours on the separate sheet of paper in the upper right corner.  Of course the pin has failed, of course the paper is so faded you cannot see the writing on it, and of course no one has updated the National Parks App to reflect that it is essentially closed.  Why would anyone care, this a national monument to black people after all.  So very, very sad.

That town, tho, is also DEAD and not just because of the Holidays.  Such poverty  amidst such beautiful, natural environment.  So many houses are barely standing and I’m sure people still live in them.  Many properties are completely covered by this vine (kudzu - the vine that ate the south, and still is) that grows all around them and you can barely make the features of what once was a home to some family.  There are other homes which are mansions.  Quite a contrast.  

The overall feel of the “South” seems to have the same feeling.  Poverty and Richness living side by side.  The haves and the have nots.  Still masters and slaves?  Of course the Southern accent is very real and sometimes it’s a whole different language.  

Enough of that. Our journey continues along some very beautiful roads as well.  Not just sad things to see.

We finally arrive at our camp site for the evening.  It’s called Whippoorwill Vineyards.  It’s in the town of Notasulga, AL.  Very peaceful and comfortable.  Unfortunately they have 2 dogs that do roam around so we cannot let Moreno be without us on his long leash.  They had some "discussions" earlier about this and that.

Later that afternoon, nearby, someone was shooting weapons and that made Moreno scared and heart racing and hyperventilating.  I gave him his anxiety pill and put his thunder vest on to help calm him down.  The combination tends to help but not 100%.  I feel so bad for him and so many other dogs and cats that get scared.  Now note that we are not talking about simple target shooting with 22's. The initial shots sounded like anti-aircraft guns, then there was full-auto followed by an entire platoon shooting.  "Some expensive rounds were expended there" per the owner's son, later.

The owners are opening the wine tasting area for us and soon we were tasting some very interesting wines.  We tasted like 4-6 a piece.  We bought 4 bottles and had great conversations as well. Their wines are from a local, native grape called Mascadine.  Very different aroma and flavoring though of course Eldon could drink it while simultaneously criticizing it.  

Dan's son also came to join us and he brought some home grown "moonshine" for Eldon to taste.  That was really "pure alcohol".  I tasted a little bit and it burnt my lips!  Eldon and the son thought it was "very smooth".   

Moreno's "friends."

The owner, Dan, made sure he was giving me a true Southern Hospitality experience.  He did.

I thought this shot made it look like Moreno was working for his "room and board".  

The man and his dog!  Beautiful day.  Until the rains came.

We retired to our Alto after the tasting to start packing for the next day's adventure.  It might be raining when we get up so it's best to pack tonight.  Eldon fed us some leftover pasta and made some fresh chicken for Moreno.  We are not going to starve not this trip.  We might freeze but not starve.

All in all, a pretty good day despite the Tuskegee airfield being closed.  Next trip.