Jacksonville, AL

Friday, April 8

We left home under cloudy skies about 8:30 and headed West on I78. We eventually ran into rain before Harrisburg and stopped at the Flying J in Carlisle for brunch. The weather was nasty with rain and fog. It finally let up a bit as we got on I81 and crossed into Maryland. However, it began to rain again on and off well into Virgina, at times quite heavy. As we got closer to Bristol, it finally quit raining and a bit of sunshine peeked through. When we pulled into the Walmart around 7:00 pm it was sunny and in the mid 70's.....very nice. We had dinner at the Golden Corral and went back to the motorhome for the evening. We have stopped at this Walmart/Sam's Club several times over the years and usually park in the Sam's Club parking lot. It's always been good there, until tonight.

We went to bed at 10:00 and around 10:30 we began hearing a LOUD pickup truck driving around the parking lot near us as well as loud yelling. Well, this continued till about midnight. I had not gotten any sleep and was seriously considering calling the cops. There were two vehicles parked about 30 feet in front of us with at least four kids in them drinking beer and racing around the parking lot. Finally around 12:30 they left, leaving an empty beer case in the middle of the lot. Finally got to sleep about 1:30 and got in about 4-5 hours sleep before leaving for Alabama at 8:00.

Saturday April 9

The drive to Jacksonville was pleasant with decent weather, but getting warmer as we headed South. By the time we got to Jacksonville, it was in the upper 80's and humid....talk about culture shock! We pulled into the Jacksonville Walmart at 3:00 pm and after getting situated, we headed into the store for a little shopping. This is where it gets really weird!

As Barb and I stood at the front of the store deciding which way to go, (she had her stuff to get and I had mine in a different section) I said 'let's go down the main isle and we can split off from there'. As we approached the back of the store, we saw two familiar faces coming toward us. It was Janie and her sister Glenda! Now, what are the odds of driving 850 miles over two days, pulling into a Walmart and meeting up with someone you know. Just incredible! But that's not how it ends.

Later in the afternoon, we went to visit Janie and Jim at their motel just a few blocks from the Walmart. When we got there, Janie was all excited. Carl and Mary's daughter had called Janie and informed her that she saw our Pennsylvania friends motorhome in the Walmart parking lot. Up until now noone except Janie and Jim knew we were coming down. Now we're up to four people. We expected soon all of Jacksonville would know and ruin the surprise. We also found out that Carl and Mary were in the area to find a place to eat and that they might drop in on Janie at any time at the motel. As it turned out, they didn't and as far as we knew they still didn't know we were there.

Sunday April 10

We spent the night at Walmart without any problems and got up Sunday morning. Again, we went into the store for some flowers and odds and ends. As we were leaving in the car (the motorhome was parked far away) we saw Janie, Glenda and Mary's brother, Terry, getting out of his car just about the same time he saw us. He was surprised, but somewhat expected us. Oh great! Now everyone would know for sure. ;) ;)

Well, it finally came time to head on over to the church for the celebration and, hopefully, the surprise. We parked behind the rec hall so Carl and Mary wouldn't see our car, and as we came around the corner of the hall, they had just pulled up and were getting out of their car. Well, they WERE surprised and it was a great and joyful reunion. The rec hall was decorated beautufully, thanks to their daughter Karla and others, I'm sure. Terry 'roasted' them a bit and gave a great 'sermon' on what is required for a marriage to last 50 years and hopefully far into the future. We had some great food prepared mostly by the pastor of the church and reunited with some old friends there as well as meeting new folks. We had a great time!

Later we took the motorhome over to Carl and Mary's house and parked it in our favorite site at their 'campground'. We continued to remenisce till late in the evening and then said our goodnights. We all slept well that night.