05-26-2025, Florida Key West Trip 3/27 – 6/30 2025, 96 Days, 7986 Miles, 44 Stops

Saturday, June 21, 2025

05-26-2025, Florida Key West Trip 3/27 – 6/30 2025, 96 Days, 7986 Miles, 44 Stops

26 May 2025, Memorial Day, Albany, Georgia to Andersonville RV Park, Andersonville, Georgia

Jeeps – 1 (ours)

Before we left Albany, we decided to walk to the park office and tell whoever was there how beautiful their park was. It is one of the nicest we have stayed at. The owners, a husband-and-wife team, were so kind and thankful that we loved our stay. We talked for about twenty minutes. They have good friends who live south of Portland. They would love to visit Oregon someday. I don’t know why we didn’t get their names. Let’s call them John and Jan.

We talked about the ducks and geese in the pond. John told us about a husband and wife who had a fight and lived in the area. The husband took the wife’s pet duck and dropped it off in the pond about four months ago. The wife came down a few days later and tried to rescue her duck, but had no luck. John and Jane told her she could come back the next day and try again.

The woman tried to catch her duck by using a net that Jane had given her. After about four hours, Jane told her enough. She was antagonizing the other birds, and asked her to leave. So, they acquired a new duck. The stories we have heard from people on this trip.

Additionally, we have had numerous connections to Oregon with random people. As we left the office, the owner said, “I’m proud to have talked to you today.” This saying is used here after having a conversation with a person.

It was only a one-hour drive from Albany to Andersonville RV Park. We arrived around 12:30 PM and parked in site 10 per the phone call Barry had with Kay, the park manager, earlier this morning. She is a hoot! She is 83 years old and came to spend time at this RV park in 2017, and she has never left. She fell in love with the place. She lives in her travel trailer and gets around with a golf cart. She told us to relax this afternoon and take it easy. Then she said, “I’m proud to have talked to you today.” We can go to the Drummer Boy Civil War Museum in town tomorrow and pay for our site. They are expecting us tomorrow. Is that unbelievable, or what?

There is a cemetery next to the RV park, so of course, I had to wander around it. At the other end of the cemetery, I noticed a man taking photos. I approached him because I was wondering if he might be doing Find a Grave work. He lives in the area and works at the base. As a hobby, he travels the region and documents the different towns in the area. He was interesting to talk to. I went and found Kay so she could answer some of his questions. They struck up a conversation, and he seemed genuinely thankful for her information. His YouTube site is Dannovator. I viewed a few of his videos and liked what he has done. Click here for his video on Andersonville. You can see our RV when he goes to the Andersonville RV Park.

We took a drive over to the Anderson National Cemetery to experience it with all the flags out for Memorial Day. It was only five minutes from our RV park. When we drove in, it was so breathtaking. The flags fluttering in the breeze made it dreamlike. I am disappointed in myself for not thinking to check if they had a Memorial Day ceremony this morning. I’m sure they did...darn it! I took many photos, and I’m sure I’ll need to delete half of them. This cemetery is a solemn place, especially when you consider what happened here. Click the link above to the National Park site for the history.

Taking all the photos made me hungry, so we headed to a BBQ place that Kay had recommended. It was six miles up the road in Oglethorpe, Oglethorpe Barbeque Company. I had a chicken quarter, sweet potato fries, and OKRA!!!! I was so happy. Barry had chipped beef, pulled pork, beans, and fries. My chicken was delicious and melted in your mouth. The fried okra was tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, making it a delightful treat. Barry said his meat was excellent, but his beans were a little bland. He ate everything, but I took the leg and fries home.

The owner of the place was leaving and came over to us to say hi. We talked to her for about 10 minutes. It’s amazing what you can learn about someone in ten minutes. She and her husband opened the place in 2017. Her husband has passed away, but one of her sons does all the BBQing. As she was leaving, she said to us, “I’m proud to have talked to you today. Have a wonderful rest of your trip.”

Before we headed home, it started raining, thundering, and lightning. It stormed all night long, and at one point, I think the lightning cracked right above us. Barry has a cold, so he has been a little under the weather (no pun intended), but I did manage to sleep most of the night.