Swampsgiving

I know Thanksgiving was a long time ago.  It seems like we've only been holding on for the roller coaster that is October, November, and December.  So, now that it's January, I have a little time to sit down and catch up on a few things.  Here's the story of our Thanksgiving adventure:

We've talked about visiting the Okefenokee swamp with our friends for years.  This summer, we chose a date to make our dream destination a reality.
(Something about the "swamp" being a "dream destination" doesn't sound right, does it? )

 

My sister joined us the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  We were ready for the 6 hour drive to our south Georgia destination.
An hour into the trip the "adventure" began.
 

In this picture, you'll notice that the trailer is not attached to the tow vehicle.  You'll also notice that the trailer is sitting in the parking lot of an empty shopping center.
Clearly, we are NOT on the road to the Okefenokee Swamp.

Here, you'll notice that the tow vehicle is on a tow truck.

Brian went with the truck to the repair shop.  The kids, my sister, and I made the best of it.  We pulled out our healthy stash of board games. We hunted a geocache on the other side of the parking lot.  We walked to the grocery store.
Six hours passed quickly.

At 3:30 it became clear that the part for our truck wasn't going to come in until the next business day.

Let me recap the situation:   

It's 3:30 on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  The kids, my sister, two twelve pound turkeys, and I are with the trailer in the parking lot of a vacant shopping center an hour from home.  Brian is with our (broken) truck at a repair shop 4 miles away.  Our friends are waiting for us in the Okefenokee swamp with all the sides for our Thanksgiving Day feast.

We were determined to make it to our "dream destination" for Thanksgiving.

 After making no less than 8-9 calls we finally found a rental car company that had one vehicle left: a full sized truck.  Lucky for us, it was the rental place that will come pick you up.
Brian begged a ride back to the trailer from one of the mechanics. 

We locked up the trailer, explained our situation to the shopping center security guard, and headed for the swamp in our (hitchless) rental truck.
 Leaving the trailer at a shopping center was only slightly less gut-wrenching than the last time.

For our first night in the swamp my sister slept with our kids in our 4-man (Hawaii) tent.  I'm so glad we had it along with us.  Brian and I slept in the truck bed, in a screen tent. 

Nothing says adventure like sleeping in a truck bed in the swamp!

From the time we made our reservations in the summer up until the week of Thanksgiving there were no boat tours in the swamp originating from Georgia's Stephen C. Foster State Park.  The narrow canal connecting the park with the swamp was impassable due to drought and fires.  The week of Thanksgiving it rained just enough for us to get in a tour on Thanksgiving Day.  We survived the tour, corny jokes and all.

Annabelle almost lost a finger to this vicious creature that joined us on the boat.

Who says you can have a fabulous Thanksgiving spread in the swamp?

Our regular group expanded to 26 for "Swampsgiving" and even included a set of grandparents all the way from Nebraska!

After a great day of over-eating and swamp-touring Brian drove back to the trailer to spend the night.  

(My sis, kids, and I squeezed into the 4-man tent.)

 

 By Friday evening Brian was back in the swamp with our trailer and our (supposedly repaired) truck.  We got everything, including that Christmas tree, set up just long enough to take a picture.

 

We had a great time hiking and geocaching around the swamp.  We looked for 'gaters after dark.  We laid in the middle of the road to look at the stars.  We even got to see a black bear two days in a row.

Yes, that's a coonskin hat!

On Saturday, we drove 17 miles  into "town" to do a little geocaching and to look around at the visitor's center. About halfway on the trek back to the state park our truck started acting up again.

Afraid of having to pay for a tow out of the swamp, Brian left us with our friends and headed toward town.  He made it to the Toyota dealership in Valdosta, a little over an hour away.

Yes, there are two coonskin hats!

Our camping buddies were packed up and ready to head home on Sunday.  The kids and I were prepared to spend some time at the swamp in our trailer, with lots of Thanksgiving leftovers, until our truck was repaired and Brian could come rescue us. 

We have some really great friends!  I think they were afraid the racoons would eat us if they left us in the swamp alone.  One of my friends graciously offered to tow us to Valdosta.

(Then sheepishly asked if I would drive.)  

My sister was glad to be able to hitch a ride home with my friends, too.

Our caravan out of the swamp.  

Our trailer hitched to our dear friend's truck.

The Toyota Dealership in Valdosta is conveniently located within walking distance of an RV park and a shopping (s)mall.  We spent Sunday exploring Valdosta by foot. 

Monday morning the Toyota dealership repaired our truck.  We were on the road before lunch!

I think we're going to have to visit our "dream destination" again sometime.  

Poor Brian spent most of his Thanksgiving vacation on the road. 

It's always an adventure.