A Plumbing Fix, The “Sticks”, and a Motel 6

Let’s see. Where were we? Oh, that’s right, our water filter was erupting like Mount Saint Helen’s and we did not have the proper hardware to fix the problem. On the bright side, it’s easy to get 10,000 steps registered to your Fitbit when you have to use the bathhouse for all of your daily needs. But seriously, I walk enough. I needed water.

You would think it would be easy to find a plumbing fitting. Not so. It was like searching for Atlantis. Loew’s said, “Try Home Depot. Home Depot said, “Try Camper’s World”. Camper’s World said, “Try Marvin’s”. I didn’t know Marvin, but he’s my new best buddy. Turns out that Marvin’s is a building supply chain in the Southeast that carries 1/2″, elbowed, pex fittings. Eureka! We would be high, dry, and fully functional for our next stop.

Sherling Lake Campground was out in “the sticks” and had probably been there since the Eisenhower presidency. It’s old. Really old. It’s neat and tidy, fully operational and run by very friendly folks. It’s the aging infrastructure that is indicative of its maturity.

Call me crazy, but I really like these old recreational areas. When I wander the trails, I feel the ghosts of generations of picnickers, hikers, campers and anglers.

Speaking of anglers, we did happen upon a trawler who was fishing at the 5th hole on the neighboring golf course. Only in Alabama…

The town of Greenville, was close by and we finally had a sunny day for a little exploration. Known as the Camellia City, the quaint downtown boasts unique examples of 19th and 20th century architecture as well as an art deco style movie house.

Oh, yes, I nearly forgot to mention that we also found some unique retail in Greenville.

When you live in a truck, without a washer and dryer, your wardrobe is limited. Thus you tend to wear the same outfits multiple times. If you live in a truck with a Labrador, your minimal apparel tends to be covered in dog hair. In short, our duds are a disaster. We are about as far from Mr. & Mrs. Style as is humanly possible.

“Inviting people to laugh with you while you are laughing at yourself is a good thing to do. You may be a fool but you’re the fool in charge.”
Carl Reiner

I was ready to move on. In January, I am always in search of warmer weather.

Due to tornadic activity sweeping into the Gulf Shores area, we spent our first night on the Gulf of Mexico at a Motel 6. I tend to be anxious, and was not on board with spending the night in an RV, with tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, and shear line winds. Call me paranoid, but with all of Bertha’s recent antics, I had to be sure that she was not secretly plotting to finish me off with a funnel cloud.