Red Bay

Hello from Red Bay Alabama! Ahhhhh, the sweet smell of lilac blooms, and eh... chicken farms. I've learned to inhale cautiously as you never know what to expect from one hill to the next. We successfully made it to the Tiffin manufacturing plant and they graciously agreed to fix some of the problems we've encountered with our new home. The other motor home owners assure us that a new bus is bound to have a few kinks to get worked out. I'm not sure if a punch list of 26 items qualifies as "a few", but anyway it was mildly reassuring. This place is so busy and because all of the motor homes are made by this same company it's hard to pick out ours among the 200 others. Not unusual to see people staring blankly at the front of a few motor homes before risking entry into someone else's home. Luckily this is a very understanding crowd. Looks like we may be here for a few weeks before the work is done. We went exploring yesterday, found a beautiful lake and dam. Got to let the kids run awhile off leash, they loved it. Bela must have ran and down this huge hill about a dozen times. Even old Rodeo bounded up the hill. Pretty cool to see them having fun. Torben & I decided to drive until we got lost, then stop and ask for directions. We stumbled across the best Hawaiian shaved ice store on an old country road. I've learned that my dogs like pina colada icees as much, if not more than I do. We visited a beautiful park in Tuscombia, which also happens to be the birth place of Helen Keller. Got us talking about how challenging it is to live with disabilities, not to mention in this small town, with very little support. Some people show exceptional strength and perseverance in the face of obstacles that would flatten most of us. My grandmother Curran is one of those people. An automobile collision left her partly paralyzed when my mom was a small child. The doctors predicted that she would never recover. Boy did she prove them wrong. Despite the pain and challenges she maintained the positive belief that she could. Not only did she walk again, she played golf for many years! She still continues to kick life in the face when someone tells her she "can't" do something. She's my hero. I come from a family tree with many branches of amazing women, all who have inspired me. Here's a few pics of our adventures so far. Oh, I almost forgot: Coon Dog Cemetery...it actually exists. Believe it or not they are quite exclusive about what kind of dogs can be buried there. It's in the middle of nowhere and surprisingly well kept. Miss you all, sending love and hugs :)