FL, MS, LA, TX – Apr 2022

“On the road again …”!  Wow, finally after almost two years, I’m back to my nomadic lifestyle. And wow, has it been a blast so far. Pictured above is a sampling of the sites I’ve been in since returning to the road. So far, it’s been uneventful travel and great accommodations. However, a bit of a warning. It would seem that I have two years worth of penned up visits with family and friends,  and even more loss of playing tourist.  It would seem that I’ve crammed all of that stored energy into a single month. When I went through this month’s pictures to layout the framework of this blog edition, I was aghast at just how much I had accomplished in a single month – not even a full month of travel at that!  So, this blog is going to be a bit longer than the norm. Hopefully I can keep your interest until the end. So, lets dive right in.

Family & Friends

First and foremost, I want to introduce you to the latest addition to my grandfatherly clan.  Henry Grayson McCormick arrived Apr 1st (April Fool Baby) at 9:12 AM weighing 7lbs 7oz.  He was intentionally delivered about a month early, but is doing extremely well and growing quickly.  Mom Ashley, Dad Jason, and big brother AJ are all doing well, and are very excited about the addition to the family.  I can’t wait to take a trip out to MD to visit with him.  Hopefully this summer.  Welcome Henry!

Next, I had the pleasure of welcoming my other daughter Sam and her family to Florida.  They are relocating from MD here to the sunshine state, and I could not be happier.  The girls got to spend  a couple days and a night with their Pop-Pop while mom and dad continued on to their FL housing to setup and get things ready.  We had a terrific time hanging around the camper, spent some time at the local town’s playground, and even got to swim and play in the water at Pop-Pops lake beachfront.  It was wonderful seeing them again, and I look forward to spending more time with them when I return to Florida in the coming winter.  Till then, enjoy the great weather and the beaches.

One of my greatest joys of travel is to reconnect with friends and family that I would otherwise not get to see.  Just in the couple of weeks of this month, I reconnected with a dear old friend as well as several former workmates.  First up, before I departed the home base, was a visit with Theresa (at left, bottom right) – a former elementary school classmate (and honestly one of my first grade school crushes) who happened to be in Florida with her daughter.  We had a nice dinner together one day, then on another day I gave her the grand tour of the Lake Wales area.  It was really nice seeing her again, and I look forward to seeing her again when I return.  Next up was a visit with Carl, his wife Melinda, and their amazing granddaughter Cheyenne (who proclaims that she is going to be a cardio thoracic surgeon – but has to finish high school first).  They live in the Panhandle area of FL, and I got to meet up with them for dinner as I was passing through.  Great to see them again!  Last up was a visit with some former coworkers from the Hattiesburg, MS area.  It had been many years since I’d seen Thom and Frank, and for Corny and his wife, it was actually my first time meeting them.  I hosted a lasagna dinner party and evening campfire with them at my campground.  It was a terrific evening and I really appreciated them taking time to come out for a visit.

Roadside America

One of my other greatest pleasures of RV travel is the sight seeing.  I love visiting everything from our National Parks, to the quirky and off the beaten path Roadside America sites.  After seeing just how much I had visited during these first few weeks back on the road, it’s keenly evident that I’ve missed this activity.  So, buckle up and lets take a look at the places I’ve been in April.

My first stop after leaving the home base was in White Springs, FL.  Nearby in the town of Ellaville, I found the Abandoned Bridge to Nowhere.  The town thrived in the mid 1800s thru early 1900 as a yellow pine sawmill town.  Soon after, it declined until it totally ceased to exist when the post office closed.  The bridge is located at a dead end dirt road, and truly goes nowhere.  There does appear to be at least one resident as there was a house near the bridge that looked to be occupied.  It was very sketchy though, so I refrained from taking any pictures of it.  Also nearby in the town of Falmouth was Falmouth Springs.  This  spring is actually known as a “karst window” and is reported to be the shortest river in the world.  A karst window is an underground river where a portion of the top surface has fallen in and created an opening.  Frankly, this was not much to look at, but I learned what a karst window was, so there is that.

In the town of White Springs was the remnants of White Sulfur Springs.  Billed as “Florida’s Original Tourist Destination”, the springs were discovered in 1835 when the Sheffield family discovered the spring after purchasing some land along the Suwannee River.  Despite the stench of rotten eggs, Mr. Sheffield claimed drinking and soaking in the water had medicinal properties.  So they built a hotel and bathhouse and marketed it as a cure-all health spa.  It was significantly updated in 1908 to four stories, complete with dressing rooms, examination and treatment rooms, and of course concessions.  Popularity dwindled by the 1930s and the spring, which once had a flow rate upwards of 47 million gallons a day, had completely dried up by 1990.  Despite lots of local flooding it appears the springs are gone for good.  As for flooding, in fact the Suwannee River was at flood stages when I was visiting, and the remnants of the spa were closed off to visitors.  So sad!  Last up in the area was another bridge to nowhere, but this one was delightfully decorated.  Lots of colorful graffiti and artwork adorned this abounded bridge.  I frankly can’t recall what got me there, or where exactly this was.  But, it was a very cool bridge none the less.

Next up was a visit to DeFuniak Spring, FL.  There was not much there in the town itself, but just a bit north near the AL border was a monument celebrating the highest point in FL.  It’s funny that my brother Dick and I actually had a conversation about this.  I had mentioned to him at some point that the Bok Tower in my home base town of Lake Wales, sat on Iron Mountain – what I thought I had read to be the highest point in FL.  My brother indicated that he didn’t think that was right, and he recalled the high point to be somewhere in the Panhandle.  I had little doubt to not believe him as one of his bucket list adventures was to climb the highest point in all 50 states.  So, he would certainly know where the Florida high point was.  I double checked my source, and in fact it turns out Bok Tower sits on the highest point on the peninsula portion of Florida, not the entire state.  My visit to the actual high point confirmed it. But at 345 feet above sea level, it’s not exactly mountainous.  I then took a drive to Florala, AL – just over the border as there were several Roadside America items to see there.  First up were these four columns that were freestanding along the side of a road.  The columns had adorned Covington High School from 1914 thru 1963.  Now they are a backdrop for I guess weddings, selfies, and the like.  Not sure what happened to the school though.

Also in Florala was a perfectly restored circa 1925 gas station once belonging to Ed Smith.  He opened the station in 1925, but sadly was murdered just inside its front doors in 1976.  His son decided to restored the station back to its origins in memory of his dad.  As a side note, his killer actually confessed in 2016.  Also in town is a giant fiberglass bass fish.  Not much else to say about it – just a fish.  However, the operating gas station that hosts this big fish had a really funny sign on its door.  It reads “Pull your pants up or don’t come in!  Try to have some decency and respect for others, no one wants to see your underwear.”  It goes on to further say “Does not apply to children under 3 years of age”.  Too funny!

While in Alabama, I also visited the town of Kingston.  As you know, I rely on an app called Roadside America for a lot of inspiration when exploring new towns.  The app has lots of info about each place, and often pictures as well.  But sometimes, there are no pictures of the place they are featuring.  I usually pay particular attention to these no-picture listings, and make an extra effort to visit that place so that I can take and then submit some pictures to contribute back.  I’ve actually filled in several dozen listings through my travels so far.  So a visit to the grave of William “Crancer” Harrison was in order.  The app reported that he was buried in a tomb laying upon his favorite feather bed.  While there were no widows in the tomb to verify this story, the tomb was certainly shaped such that the lore could certainly be plausible.  I guess its a comfy way to go!  He’s actually more well know for his dancing, and there’s even rumors that ghosts have been seen dancing on his gravesite.

Next up was a visit to Hattiesburg, MS.  There were lots of cool roadside items to visit in this very nice mid-sized town.  First up was sort of a memorial to the NY Twin Towers.  There are many such memorials of the towers across the country.  What makes this one unique is the way they depicted the towers showing the location and initial damage where each of the planes struck.  Very nicely done!

Also in Hattiesburg was an art piece located just outside the city train station.  Unveiled in 2010 during the station’s centennial celebration, this sculpture was created by artist Jason Kimes and is titled “The Spike that Binds”.  It’s a life size seated man made entirely of railroad spikes.  Pretty cool!  Within walking distance downtown, were the brass footprints of John Wesley Fairley.  Born enslaved in 1840, he later joined the Union army at the tail end of the civil war, later became a successful businessman and landowner, but sadly lost most of his money and died in 1918.  The story goes that around 1903 at the height of his money troubles, he had his bare 14 inch foot cast in brass.  Nine copies were made, and placed in the sidewalk leading into a clothing store and a shoe store.  It was believed he was paid with merchandise from the stores.  The stores then used the prints in advertising claiming a mysterious giant had come to town and purchased a suite and footwear.  In 1983, the town had ripped up the sidewalks for replacement, and carefully removed and restored the footprints to their exact location.   Last up is a small, and somewhat underwhelming sign in the middle of no where that marks the location of the the last bare-knuckle prize fight.  It occurred in 1889 between Sullivan and Kilrain, and was actually quite the historical event.  Too much history to share here, but I encourage you to check out this interesting VIDEO that tells the story.  A bit of a spoiler, this fight lasted 75 rounds – amazing!

My next stop was Delhi, LA.  Again, not too much to see in this little podunk town.  But not far away in Monroe, LA were several interesting spots.  First up was a coke museum located in the 1913 home built by Joseph Biedenharn.  His claim to fame was that he was the first bottler of Coca-Cola in the Unites States there in Monroe.  It was an interesting museum filled with generations of different bottles, an early bottling machine, and even an authentic Model-T coke delivery truck.  Very cool!

Next up in Monroe was an interesting grave site.  The story goes that gossip had suggested that Annie Livingston had never actually married her husband Sidney Saunders. So when he passed, Annie had a statue made and installed atop his burial vault, holding a supposed copy of their marriage certificate.  Further, the statue was intentionally faced into downtown, towards the naysayers, where he could stare at them for all eternity.  Now that’s dedication!  Also shown her in this picture is the gravesite of Sylvester Magee.  This grave is located in Foxworth, MS, and is claimed to be the world’s oldest man.  He would have been 130 years old at the time of his death.  There are few records to back up this extended life, but many claim that the clarity and detail with which he recounted his life’s experiences would have been impossible without having experienced it first-hand.  Interestingly, back in Oct 2020 I had blogged about a gravesite I visited in Bartow FL also claiming to be the worlds oldest man at 137 years. Who knows!

Just down the street from the Coke museum was the Biedenharn Gardens.  It was your typical gardens with flowers, fountains, and statues.  The person collecting the money at the entrance said that a show was just ending, and the next would be in an hour.  I rushed back to see if I could catch the tail end of whatever show it was, but alas people were getting up from their seats and walking around.  So, I guess I had missed it.  I wandered around a bit to see a nice fountain surrounded by these statues of young girls.  It was peaceful and reflective – that is until one of the statues moved!  Turns out, these statues were alive!  Apparently, that was the show that I had missed.  But they hung around a bit, posed solidly, then interacted with people.  I gotta admit, it was both cool and freaky.  They only hung around for a few minutes before trotting off behind the garden, but I did manage to get a few video shots of them making their graceful moves.  I stitched together a little video below that is only a minute long, so no great commitment.  Check it out!

On the west side of Monroe, LA was a small, yet famous manufacturing facility where a group of brothers and sons in the Robertson family made and sold wooden duck calls known as the Duck Commander.  The A&E television network picked up their story and gave them a show that ran from 2012 thru 2017 and was called Duck Dynasty.  Honestly, that’s about all I know about this.  I’ve heard of the Robertson’s, and the Duck Dynasty show, but have never watched it or been a fan.  So, it was a quick trip through the place to check off that I’d been there, but that was about all it did for me.  Sorry Phil!

Last up in the LA area was a visit to a National Park Service Monument known as Poverty Point.  Located in Epps, Louisiana, this World Heritage Site was very fascinating.  This archaeological site is an earthwork complex of mounds and ridges built by American Indians around 1650 BC.  This was home to anywhere between a few hundred to a few thousand members of the hunter gatherer society.  Archaeologists have proposed a variety of possible functions for this site including as a settlement, a trading center, and/or a ceremonial religious complex.  The 402 acre property contains the largest and most complex earthwork site yet found in North America.  It was a nice 2-mile driving tour through the site with frequent stops and written information at each provided via a driving guide.  The property is vastly overgrown now, so you kinda had to use your imagination to picture what had been built many thousands of years prior.  The ranger station had a nice collection of artifacts that had been unearthed over the years via several archeological digs and studies.

O/K – almost done!  My last stop during this leg of my trip was to Longview, TX.  Again, there was not much to see in Longview, but nearby Kilgore offered a couple cool stops.  First up was a visit to the “World’s Richest Acre”.  In 1930, a large oil deposit was found in this little sleepy town.  Soon thereafter, thousands of drillers and producers showed up and turned the community into a raucous boom town.  One half of a city block had a dozen oil rigs on it, and produced millions of barrels of oil.  Thus the designation as the richest acre.  Today the acre is a nice downtown park with large structures topped with the Texas Star – reportedly lit up during the holidays.  It was a cute, quaint little downtown area.  In fact, the day I was there they had live music in the park, with lots of folks listening and having lunch.  Lots of fun!

What would this area be without an East Texas Oil Museum.  Located on the campus of Kilgore College, this museum tells the story of how East Texas became a big part of oil production.  Within the museum was a fully built small town, complete with vehicles stuck in muddy roads, all the shops of the day including a pharmacy/soda shop, barber shop, a feed and seed store, a machine shop, and many others.  It even had a small movie theater which ran a movie about the history of East Texas oil, and an elevator to the center of the earth where a couple of marionettes took you down deep into the earth and told you the story of each earth layer as you went along.  It was a fun ride and story, but certainly not for those suffering from claustrophobia.

Final Thoughts

Well, if you are still with me, congratulations and thank you for being a loyal follower and reader.  As tough as this might have been to get through, it was equally as tough to write.  After having been relatively sedentary with my travels for so long, and not having too much to write about, a monthly edition seemed about right.  Now that I’m back as a nomad, I’m definitely going to have to post more frequently to keep the readings and writings to a more manageable level. I’ve just completed my rapid move to the west, where I only spent between 2 and 4 days at each of my last 5 stops.  I’ve now arrived roughly where I left off two years ago, and will resume my 1 to 2 week stays at all my future stops for the next several months.  I’ll enjoy the slightly slower pace, and the extra time to thoroughly see the areas I’m in.  Also next month will mark my 4th year of RV living.  More about that, and updated stats will be forthcoming.  It’s great being back on the road, and I look forward to sharing my travels with you as I go.  Till next time, safe travels.

I only show a sampling of my adventure pictures here in the blog, and do so mostly in collage format for brevity and ease of reading. If you want to view an album containing individual full fidelity and hi-res images of all my travel pictures related to this specific blog, click the image below. Enjoy!