The morning after the decommissioning, we departed the lovely campground and headed northwest toward Charlotte, North Carolina. We overnighted at the Walmart in Walterboro, South Carolina, along with a few other RVs. We were really going to Huntersville, NC, just north of Charlotte, to visit our grandson, who graduated from Auburn last year this time (see Florida Trip, Report #1). He is employed by Joe Gibbs NASCAR Racing team, so we got a tour of their facility. We were not allowed to take pictures inside except in the lobby. The cars are built from the ground up. Chassis and frames are mostly welded aluminum tubing. Everything is done to exact NASCAR standards. Including sheet metal to form the car. The paint and sponsor logos, etc., are put on in one preprinted piece of vinyl or something. I think it's called a 'wrap'. Anyway, looking down from the lobby we see the 'staging area' There must have been around 40 cars in various stages of readiness. (everything in all the shops etc., was spotlessly clean). Joe Gibbs cars' are #11, 18, 19, &20. They send out at least two cars of each for each race. There are aroung 500 people working here, and the latest high tech equipment including 3D printers. Scheduling of all aspects of several cars under construction is precisely coordinated. Obviously, there are big buck$ in NASCAR racing. Part of the lobby. (The headlights and grill detail are fake. Part of the 'wrap') And one of the trophy cases. I hope all you NASCAR fans enjoyed this brief description of what goes on behind the glitz of the races.
There were no Walmarts or campgrounds convenient so that evening we went north to the Mooresville, NC, Walmart. The next day we planned to be in a campground east of Norfolk, Va, to be ready to cross the 26 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Adventures coming. Stay tuned.
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Leaving Ft. Pickens after the great Blue Angels show, we worked our way back up to I-10 and continued east. We overnighted at a Rest Area along the way and Mary Lou actually drove the RV from there all the way through downtown Jacksonville!! She's getting more comfortable with that now. About the rest area: This is the first time to do that, but they advertized overnight security, and there were lots of other trucks and RVs staying there. All was good until a semi pulled in next to us about 3 am and left that big diesel engine running right outside our door. I was ready to get up anyway and worked on the blog. We got to Jacksonville around noon Thursday and settled into the campground which is heavily treed with palms and oak trees. There are around 400 sites here, but all are rather secluded in this 'jungle'. It is on the beach, which is hard sand much like our Texas beaches. ML took a walk around the camp and almost couldn't find her way back. Friday afternoon we took the short ferry ride across the St. Johns River and drove up to Amelia Island. Quoting from the guidebook, 'Amelia Island is long known as an unspoiled barrier island getaway'. Thirteen miles long and 2 miles wide, it has beaches, the state's oldest lighthouse and a 'charming waterfront town'- old houses and streets for walking and shopping. As usual, click pictures for larger view. Now for the reason we came to this place. I saved this for last for emotional impact. We were invited to the decommissioning of the Guided Missle Frigate, the USS Taylor (FFG-50). This is because I served on the USS Taylor (DD-468). Photos below, old and new. My ship served in WWII and was decommissioned in 1969. This new Taylor was commissioned in 1985 with a projected 30 year usefulness. Well here we are, 30 years later. This ship has been sold to Taiwan, and I hear it will be towed there!! A word about the Commissioning Pennant. This is a small banner hoisted when a ship is commissioned and hauled down upon decommissioning. I missed getting a picture, but here is a sample. Thursday afternoon, we could board the ship for a very abbreviated tour. Friday morning at precisely 10 am the decommissioning began with the pomp and ceremony expected of a military event. Here are the five 'old Taylor sailors' in attendance. We did not serve on board at the same time, except for two who served together. In the photo below, the remaining crew are in white uniforms on the upper decks. The group of men in civilian clothes in the middle are the 'plankowners'. They are the first crew to man the ship when it was commissioned. (In the days of wooden ships, the first crewmembers were given a piece of the ships planking.) Posting of the colors After all the speeches, the plankowners were ordered to leave the ship. Then the crew left the ship to a standing ovation. Then the Commissioning Pennant was hauled down The colors were lowered. And it was over.
Stay tuned. Well, we're off again. We're heading to the east coast for the realization of our quest to have traveled in all of the lower 48 states in our RV. We left home headed first for Mayport, Florida, reaching Biloxi, Mississippi for the first Walmart overnight. We usually stop at each states' Welcome Center which are located on Interstate highways, just inside the state line. Typically, they have free coffee, rest rooms, wifi, maps,etc, and friendly information (Texas doesn't have coffee!!). Florida's Wecome Center on I-10 didn't have coffee either... they offered, what else, Orange juice! And an actual orange! And orange colored sunglasses! This welcome center is very close to Pensacola and the Pensacola Naval Air Station, the 'Cradle of Naval Aviation' and home of the Blue Angels flying team. So this tribute to the Blue Angels is at the Welcome Center. Having time to kill before our event in Mayport, we detoured to the Ft. Pickens campground on the tip of a sandy barrier island across from Pensacola and part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The beaches in this part of Florida are of loose sand, like granulated sugar. It's actually quartz particles from granite washed down from the Appalachian Mountains. It's very clean with no vegetation or even sea shells. Just an occasional 'beach bum'. Have you ever seen a one-legged Plover? He hops along just fine. Amazing balance! The tops of many trees here have Osprey nests and it is apparently nesting season. This end of the island is home to Ft. Pickens, completed in 1832 for the defense of Pensacola Bay. It took over 21.5 million hand made bricks and 5 years to build. The labor was done by slaves. Those with masonry and carpentry skills were brought from Louisiana plantations and other laborers were local. The government paid wages for this work, but it was paid to the owners of the slaves!! (click photos to enlarge) The fort is very complex with various passages, tunnels, and chambers, and ports for around 200 various cannons. Changes were made over the years in reponse to changes in weapons technology. While built to protect against foreign invaders, the only action was during the Civil War. The fort was held by Union forces, and did battle with Confederate forces holding Pensacola. We needed to check out of our campground by noon, but we heard that the Blue Angels practiced every week at 11:30, so we moved the RV to the seawall at the fort and watched the show! It's always awesome and inspiring to see precision flying. An unexpected treat!! So it's on to Jacksonville and nearby Mayport with an overnight stop along the way. Stay tuned.
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Who are we?Chuck and Mary Lou have been traveling in their RV since 2002 and have lately been taking longer, extended trips. This is our way to share our experiences. Trip Reports
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