Day 8              December 7, 2009                   On to Gaffney, SC

We spent another delightful morning with Harry and Karin Then headed east to the Freightliner repair facility in Gaffney, SC where we hope to get the intermittent “Check Engine” light fixed. It was an easy two hour drive and we arrived before dark to settle into one of the 20 sites alongside their plant.

Day 9              December 8, 2009                   Coach Repair

Freightliner took the coach at 8 AM and were finished before 1 PM. We spent the time in their customer lounge using their WiFi then went shopping at the outlet mall nearby which was a lot like the one in Wrentham,MA. After a quiet evening we are ready to resume our journey.

Day 10                        December 9, 2009                   On to Atlanta

An easy three hour drive brought us to the outskirts of Atlanta. After lunch we found the Atlanta IKEA, returned some stuff we bought in the Stoughton, MA store two weeks ago and got some more neat stuff as well as more meatballs.

Day 11                        December 10, 2009                 Atlanta Aquarium

Opened in 2005, the Georgia aquarium in Atlanta is billed as the world’s biggest. There are sections devoted to local Georgia waterlife, Cold Water species, Amazon River and other fresh water species and the centerpiece, Ocean Voyager Tank. The “stars” in this aquarium are the four whale sharks. Ranging from 16 to 23 feet in length, this is the only place in the US to see whale sharks. There are also eleven foot manta rays and ten foot sand tiger and hammerhead sharks. . The whale sharks are, indeed, sharks although they have no teeth and eat plankton and krill. It was amazing to watch them swimming slowly around the tank. The main ocean voyager tank is really impressive at 260 feet long by 160 feet wide. Depths range from 20 to 30 feet. The main viewing gallery is huge  with a single “window” that is 23 feet high and an amazing 63 feet wide. The acrylic panel is two feet thick!!. We had WiFi at this campground so Sandy found a Weight Watchers meeting to attend only a few minutes away. We are both continuing to lose weight even though we are getting less exercise while we travel. That will change when we get to Texas.

Day 12                        December 11, 2009                 Callaway Gardens

This morning we drove about 100 miles to Pine Mountain GA to visit Callaway Gardens. We were told it was worth a visit even in winter plus they have a big holiday light display. We settled into FDR State Park campground around lunchtime and later visited the gardens. Our first stop was the Raptor Demonstration. We saw Red Tailed Hawk, Great Horned Owl and Black Vulture. For each bird we learned about their habitat and feeding plus we got to see the birds fly back and forth above and sometimes through the crown. It was informative and fun to watch. Next stop was the butterfly habitat. It was a beautiful facility with thousands of butterflies. Unfortunately they are mostly active in the sunshine so the heavy cloud cover meant that most of the butterflies were resting out of sight. We did see a few different species hatching from their chrysalis in a special display and there were also exhibits of unusual insects. Carl’s favorite was the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (2 ½ inches long!). After dark we drove through the grounds decorated with a bewildering array of lights. There were trees illuminated with colored light. There were animals and toy soldiers and birds and flowers and snowflakes. One section was dedicated to the theme of 12 Days of Christmas complete with music. There were maids milking and lords leaping etc. It was fascinating. It was so extensive that it took nearly 45 minutes to drive through.

Day 13                        December 12, 2009                 Continuing Towards Texas

We drove a rainy 320 miles to Gautier, MS near Pascagoula. We gained an hour in Central Standard Time, went shopping and relaxed all evening as a thunderstorm raged outside.

Day 14                        December 13, 2009                 Continuing Towards Texas 2

Last night’s thunderstorm continued well into this morning. When the deluge finally stopped it was 70 degrees, 97% humidity with a little bit of sun peeking out. We planned to start the day with a visit to the Mississippi Sand Hill Crane refuge. Sadly, when we got there, it was closed; only open Tues-Sat; bummer. Back to the coach to pack up and we were on the road for 220 miles to Lafayette, LA. Hopefully the refuges we want to visit tomorrow will be open.