The Rattle Snake Saloon

While we were in Red Bay, AL we heard talk about the Rattle Snake Saloon.  With a name like that we knew we had to take a look!  We acquired a rough map of it's locale and headed out.  We passed the previously mentioned Coon Dog Cemetary and continued further into the countryside.  Coming around a curve in the road, there it was.  Parked in a field there were campers, horse trailers, pickup trucks, motorcylces and quite a few cars in an adjacent parking lot.  A number of horses were saddled and tied up around the area. We parked and looked around. We saw a couple of squatty metal silos, but nothing that looked anything like a saloon. We wandered around a bit and then the "Rattle Sanke Taxi" drove up.  It was a 4 wheel drive pickup with wooden benches in the bed and a metal stairway in the rear. The benches had non-skid on the seats. That should have been a warning!  It turned out that a good amount of the establishment is down in a cave! 

We got a table and ordered a pitcher of beer and looked over the menu.  The first thing we noticed was everything was fried...even the desert. Fried cheese cake!  The rattlesnake eyes and tails appetizer were tasty.  Deep fried Jalapenos and green beans!  The Burgers and fries were excellent as well.

No, we didn't have that one!

We, after 11 days at "Camp Red Bay", packed up and headed for Vicksburg, MS.  We treated ourselves to about a 100 mile drive on the "Natchez Trace Parkway".  It's a historic roadway that dates back centuries when it was a trail used by native indians and then trappers and traders.  Now it's a lovely 2 lane paved highway with numerous pulloffs for ancient indian mounds and scenic outlooks.  Arriving in Vicksburg we wanted to see some of the areas historic sites before the day ended.  We checked into the campground and settled the bus into our assigned spot and quickly unhooked the "towed" and began by driving one of the marked "scenic drives".   We saw some awesome old mansions and churches before visiting the "City Cemetary" which dates back into the 1700's. 

The first photo appears to be a family grave monument.  Upon closer inspection, the lower photo shows that it's a tombstone for a child who lived less than a year.

This is the entrance to the Clergy area.  Graves of Priests and Sisters.

A marker commemorating nurses who died giving aid during the Civil War.

A family plot where six children, brothers and sisters, died before the age of 3.

Finally a picture from a bluff overlooking the headstones of some of the 5000 graves of Confederate soldiers who died while defending Vicksburg from the Union Army.

Barns, old barns

 I've always been intrigued by barns...old barns.  I look at them, sometimes explore them, and wonder what stories they could tell us.  While traveling in Alabama we've seen several, one of which was the one that belonged to my Great Aunt and Uncle Sanders. It's the one at the top. I have fond memories of visiting their farm when I was a young lad. 

Red Bay, AL and the Coon Dog Cemetary

We had an easy drive to the Tiffin factory in Red Bay, AL.  Red Bay is a nice little town with very friendly people. This is the home of Tiffin motorhomes.  Most of the town probably are either directly employed by Tiffin of derive their income from it.  We came here to get some service work done and also some warranty work.  We scored big time on a new couch from another owner who was replacing his with swivel rockers. Tiffin has a rather large camp ground here known as Camp Red Bay.  It's nothing fancy but it sure is a busy place!  Coaches coming and going and moving into one of the 50+ service bays.  The employees at the factory couldn't be nicer!  Yesterday we took a ride into the countryside looking for the "Coon Dog Cemetary".  It took us a while to locate it and we were surprised by the number of people who were there.  There must be over 100 gravesites, some with granite grave markers.  I think Tink found her roots!

The learning curve

Once the purchase was complete we (nervously) drove her to Vero Beach and parked her in a local storage lot.  We then began to educate ourselves about the many systems and equipment we needed to learn.
Such as:

There are these magic things called "slide outs". You just press a couple buttons and the bedroom and living room walls extend!  WOW!

The side by side refrigerator/freezer that will run on both electricity and propane. It will automatically switch itself to propane if it senses electic is no longer connected.  The two roof mounted air conditioner w/ heat pumps.  The two propane furnaces in the "basement". Yes a basement! Actually there are storage doors beneath the living area where you can carry additional stuff...like your gas grill, tools, spare parts, lawn chairs and a table, etc.  There is a 75 gallon fresh water tank, 45 gallon grey water tank (from shower and sinks) and a 35 gallon black water tank (guess from where). There is a correct (and sanitary way) to empty them.  Also the automatic satellite dish.  Just park the RV and press a button and it finds the DirecTV satellite!   That's just a glimpse of a few.

Diana was amazed at the amount of storage space. Way more than the boat had. She also loves the combo washer/dryer. 

I concentrated on learning about maintenence on all the mechanical stuff.  Establishing schedules for what is needed when and figuring what, if any, I'm capable of performing (not much).

We quickly made the transition from spending "boat bucks" to spending "bus bucks".  ;-) 

The next chapter...

Ode to Far Niente.  It was difficult to say goodbye.  We loved you dearly. You taught us how to ocean sail.  We always said you were more capable than her crew.  You never feared a storm and gave us so much enjoyment while taking us to many wonderful and unforgettable places. During the years we lived aboard, we met and made many lifetime friends.  We will miss and never forget you.

We had very much enjoyed our "sailing years" but decided there were many places we had yet to experience by land.  We had never owned an RV, so after alot of reading, looking and getting sage advice from friends (thanks Jon) we found a 2004 Tiffin Phaeton.  She's a 40' diesel pusher.  We named her "Phaeton Place".