Alabama

 We checked into the Tiffin Service Campground on Easter Sunday, April 4th and gave them a list of things we wanted fixed under our warranty. On Monday, April 5th, someone came over and went over our list and said it'll be probably 2 weeks before we get into a bay. This campground has about 60 campsites and its pretty full. There's also campsites all over Red Bay with Tiffins waiting to be serviced so there's no telling how long our wait will be. 

We anticipated this, we just have to make the most it. We'll do some day trips in the Kia, and get some other things done while we wait. We're in Alabama but Mississippi is 2 minutes west of us and Tennessee is about an hours drive north. 

06 Apr   Tishomingo State Park, MS

We got our first email this morning, we're #32 on the list.

Our campground is about 1 mile from the Mississippi state line. We drove to Tishomingo State Park today, about 20 minutes from our campground. Like many parks, this one was built by CCC workers during the depression and features many structures from the 1930's. Tishomingo SP is probably best known for its swinging bridge This also serves as the trailhead for Outcropping Trail. This hike is a little over two miles in length starting and ending at the swinging bridge 

Lots of little waterfalls

07 April    Covid Vaccine

We're #27 on the list this morning.

Alabama just opened the Covid vaccinations to 16 years old and older. Joe went online and made an appointment right away for us. We had to drive to Walmart in Russellville, about 20 minutes away. We made an appointment for our second shot on May 5th. Who knows, we still might be here 1 month from now, if not, I'm sure we can reschedule with another Walmart. 

The weather report is severe thunderstorm overnight. In the late afternoon, we were outside cleaning the car and some people passing by asked us if we're ready for the storm. Then they told us, if the sirens go off get to the shelter because that's a tornado siren. What!!!!!

Joe set up our weather radio and made sure it was working. We were pretty nervous because it rained pretty hard around midnight with thunder and lightning. Then at around 4:30 am, the stupid radio went off. We both jumped up and checked the radio...luckily it was just an update on the severe storm that was passing through. 

08 Apr    Rubber Mats

#23 today

While staying at this campground, you end up talking to a lot of different people and share lots of info. One guy showed us his rubber mats and said that's the best thing he did for his coach. Its just a mat that covers the front area. We took a look and really liked it. So we went across the street to Nichols Customs and ordered mats. Trevor came over to take some measurements around 12pm and he was back installing it by 4pm. Talk about great service. Cost $250 and we're very happy with the mats.

12 Apr   A quick drive to Georgia

Moving up, we're #9 today. 

Like I mentioned before, we talk to a lot of people on what they're doing to upgrade their rigs. One of the guys here mentioned that he upgraded his suspension. He went to Safe-T Plus in Georgia to do the work.....so off we went....

It was an all day event. Four hours  to drive there, 3 hours to install and test drive, then another four hours back. Joe's pretty happy with the new suspension.

13 April    Shiloh National Military Park

#6 today, getting close!

Today we drove 60 miles north to Shiloh, Tennessee to visit Shiloh National Military Park. Shiloh is one of the best preserved Civil War battlefields anywhere. 

The Battle of Shiloh was a horrific struggle fought in the tangled woods and small farm fields of southwestern Tennessee on April 6-7, 1862. It pitted Confederate Generals Albert S. Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard against Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Two days of battle resulted in over 23,000 casualties. 

We started with a video of the battle in the visitors center that was very well done. A map of the grounds was provided. Then you go on an auto tour that was easy to follow. The drive through the grounds was very eerie and hauntingly beautiful. 

15 April     Finally in the bay!

We got a call yesterday to be in bay 47 at 645 a.m. today. We finally got to start the process. We drop the RV off, talk to the tech, and at 3 p.m. we go back and pick it up. At the end of each day the tech will give us an update. Then we drive back to our camping site to spend the night. We do this until everything is fixed. 

Our tech made good progress today. We were told to come back tomorrow morning. 

16 April    Visiting Tuscumbia, Alabama

We dropped off the RV at 7 a.m. and took a drive to Tuscumbia, about 40 miles away. 

Ivy Green was built in 1820, it was the birthplace and childhood home of Helen Keller (1880-1968), the famous deaf-blind author and speaker. 

Ivy Green is open for daily tours, cost $7.00. The guide was very good and gave us the whole history of the house and Helen Keller. Now I want to see her movie, The Miracle Worker. We also toured the grounds which was very beautiful. 

We made a stop at Spring Park to walk around the grounds and see the waterfall. Very nice park to take a stroll. 

Lunch was at Rattlesnake Saloon. It is off the beaten path but well worth it for a different kind of eating experience. You park your car then hop into the back of a pickup truck to ride down to the saloon. It's a short drive down a very steep hill. 

We can now say that we ate at a restaurant in a cave. The food wasn't that great but it was an interesting experience. 

Last stop was Coon Dog Cemetery. This cemetery was started when local hunter Key Underwood decided to bury his favorite coon dog, Troop, here on September 4, 1937. His friends followed suit when their dogs passed on. 

There are now over 300 dogs buried on the site. Each dog has to meet a list of criteria to be able to be buried here. What a place. It is very well maintained and the love between people and their beloved pets are on display here. 

We made sure we got back to Red Bay by 3 p.m. to pick up the RV. Again, our tech got a lot done today. He's finished with his repairs, now he sends us over to another bay to fix the hydraulics.

20 April   Almost Done

Today we got called to bring the RV in to fix the jacks and slides. They worked on it all day and fixed everything. We're so happy. 

21 April     Last thing on the list

One last thing to fix. Our front TV doesn't hook up to our satellite so a tech came over today to fix it. It was a real fast fix. So now we're completely finished with the warranty work here at Tiffin. We will stay one last night and head out tomorrow...finally....it took 17 days.