Week in Review from Maxwell-Gunter

Thursday, 28 February
Maxwell AFB FamCamp — Montgomery, Alabama
Temps: Lo 34F (Forecasted) / Hi 54F (1C / 12C)

It feels like we just arrived at the Maxwell AFB  FamCamp this afternoon.  But that’s an illusion … we arrived a week ago today.  The week has gone by fast.  As a matter of fact, the month has flown by.  Of course, it doesn’t help that it’s a short month ;-)

An easy 204-mile (326 km) drive brought us to Montgomery on 21 February.  (We took the same route as the one we drove when we left here on January 31, so I’m recycling that map for this blog post — just switch the red and the green points.)

We called while we were still in Red Bay to make reservations at the FamCamp, and snagged a great site for our return stay — once again for two-weeks.

Last time, we were in site 61 … second row, third from the end;
nice, but we sure like site 69 better,

Site 69 is at the end of a five-site row; no neighbors on the passenger side, and we overlook an open field with a thicket of trees on the far side.  The adjacent site is closed for repairs, so for this week at least, no neighbors on that side either.  The rate for our pull-through FHU site is $20/night, but we’re getting the weekly rate — seven nights for the price of six.  Pretty darn good.

View of our site from the empty field across from us.
The brown building is the bathhouse, with the laundry at the far end.
The nice thing about the bathhouse is that it is not communal; each door leads
to a private bathroom/shower.  Great for long, hot showers ;-)

Top Left: view from our windshield shows the tent camping area in the distance,
with one of the two lakes just beyond.

Top Right: view from our door.

Bottom: the old section of the campground; mostly long-term campers;
difficult for big rigs to maneuver into those sites.

Every morning, flocks of birds fly out of the treeline to nibble at whatever they can find hidden in the grass and warm themselves in the early morning sunshine. There are American robins, mockingbirds, mourning doves, and red-shouldered blackbirds.  They’re all very skittish and scatter as soon as they sense motion.  I got a few photos, but I’ll have to work on my patience to get better ones.

Mourning Dove

American Robins

We’ve been busy since we arrived, but at a slower pace than usual.  We’re resting up from our whirlwind days in Red Bay, and taking care of chores when the mood strikes us.

Taking advantage of the mostly sunny days, Mui’s been up on the roof to spray it with 303 (UV protectant), and has also done some work on reorganizing the basement bays.  I’ve done a mountain of laundry, and some much needed cleaning.  And, of course, I finished processing a ton of photos to wrap up the posts for our Red Bay saga.

The weather has been quite nice.  Our temps have ranged from a low of 37F (3C) last night to a high of 69F (21C) on a couple of days.  There’s a front coming our way, so it will get a bit colder no doubt.

We’ve had plenty of rain — over 5 inches (127+ mm) in the time we’ve been here.  The hard rains (some with thunder and lightning) came overnight, leaving us with sunny — if cool — days.  Perfect weather for taking long walks.

As the ground has gotten a good soaking, strolling around the lakes has been out of the question.  Instead, I walked the flightline perimeter road, detouring to the air park on one occasion, and to the post office on another occasion.  About 3 miles (4.6 km) each time, with return ride to the campground courtesy of Mui.

This marker, located at the historic air park, honors a program, agreed to by Roosevelt and Churchill in 1941, which resulted in over 4,000 British and Commonwealth pilots being trained in the US by the US Army Air Corps; some at Maxwell Field.

Those of you who are regular readers will recall that I wrote about the historic air park here at Maxwell, which we explored when we were here in January (click for the post).  One of the tributes in the park is to the Wright Brothers.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good shot of it then.  With the cooperation of the sun, I did a little better this time.

The plaque at the monument mentions the cooperation between the Wright Brothers
and the citizens of Alabama in establishing the nation’s first school of civil aviation in
1910.  It turns out that the site of that flying school later became Maxwell AFB.

If you look closely through the base of the monument, you can glimpse “Poopsie”,
which I wrote about in the post I linked to above.

A closer look at Orville in the cockpit.

Something new I found on one my walks — a Northrup T-38A “Talon.”  Actually, new is not the right word, since it was here the last time we stayed at the FamCamp, but it was being painted.  Located not far from the Maxwell Gate, it’s now on display again — all bright and shiny — an appropriate way to welcome visitors to the base.

Northrup T-38A "Talon": the aircraft chosen by the USAF in the mid-1950s to better
prepare student pilots for the latest tactical aircraft that were then coming into
service; first prototype flew on 10 April 1959.  This aircraft served at Edwards AFB in
California; it was dropped from the USAF inventory in April 1971.

My most recent walk took me in the opposite direction along the flightline perimeter road, past the two lakes nearby, and out to the end of the runway.  It turned out to be a walk with entertainment courtesy of the 908th Airlift Wing (USAF Reserve unit based here at Maxwell).  Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera with me or I’d have some great shots to show you of a C-130 Hercules aircraft practicing touch-and-go landings and low fly-overs.

I may not have photos of the C-130 in action, but here are a couple of shots from my first walk
earlier in the week.  The C-130 Hercules on the left is taxiing into position to roll down the runway.

After the frequent dining-out we did in Red Bay, we’ve been eating at home again now that we’re on a more normal schedule.  Not as much fun perhaps, but definitely healthier meals.  That said, we didn’t say no when Maria and Nigel, whom we met at the Tiffin Allegro Service Center, suggested we get together for lunch in Montgomery.  Thinking that they were already on their way to Pensacola, we were pleasantly surprised to hear from them the night we arrived at Maxwell.  They were still camped at Gunter Hill COE, and we arranged to meet up for lunch on Saturday, the 23rd.

Always good to see friends again and chat about what we’ve all been up to.

Our first choice, an Italian restaurant in downtown Montgomery’s “The Alley” was closed for lunch.  So, we ended up at the Railyard Brewing Co. instead.  The music could have been toned down a bit; otherwise, we enjoyed the pub-like atmosphere.

The Railyard IPA & Cheddar, a beer-based soup garnished with fried onion rings, was good, but a bit salty for my taste.  However, I was very pleased with the Signature Burger I ordered; and Mui was very happy with his Smoked BBQ Bison Burger … both were served on a pretzel bun.  I believe Maria and Nigel were pleased with their choices as well … and we were all charmed by the presentation of the fries in tin pails.

Next time, we’ll try one of the brews; this time, we just enjoyed the food.

Our only real outing this week was today; and it was a short one.  We drove the 7 miles (11 km) to the Gunter Hill COE (Corps of Engineers) campground to check out the sites for a future stay … it’s just too close to Maxwell to be a feasible stop for us this time around as we need a place further south once we leave here.  We really liked what we saw and will make a point of staying at Gunter Hill at some point in our travels.

We were planning to go to Selma on Sunday, but just heard that Vice President and Mrs Biden will be there for the “crossing of the bridge” jubilee.  We’ve spent enough time in DC to know what that will do to the crowds … and the traffic, so we will probably shift our plans around.  Hmmm … I wonder if that means the Bidens will be flying into Maxwell?

Murals of Red Bay

Thursday, 21 February (part II)
On the road to Maxwell AFB Famcamp — Montgomery, Alabama

The Phaeton gulped down 46.5 gallons of diesel for lunch; and we gulped down two PB&J sandwiches at the Pilot/Flying J on the outskirts of Birmingham.  You can bet that at $4.03/gallon (that’s 12¢ off the regular price with our RV Plus Card) Phae’s meal was far more expensive than ours.  Still, this being our only fill-up for February, it’s not bad.

Even better, we won’t be filling up again until mid-March since our move after Montgomery won’t be taking us far.  If we’re lucky, the prices will start dropping again by then … yeah, I know — a pipe dream.  (By the way, for those who track such things, the price we paid today was up from $3.81 when we filled up on January 31.)

I meant to write this in the previous post, but forgot to do so.  The Phaeton is driving like a dream.  Mui says there is a noticeable difference in the way she handles.  So good to see results from the maintenance work that put a dent in our wallet ;-)

We have an easy drive for the rest of the way to Maxwell AFB, so I am going to write a quick post about the murals of Red Bay.

I put off writing this because I had little information about the murals.  I had hoped that a visit to the Red Bay Museum would shed some light on them, but the timing didn’t work.  (The museum is open only Tuesdays and Thursday, and only from 1:30p to 4:00p.)

Some of them are true murals.  That is, they are painted directly on walls.  From the dates on them, I deduced that they were done to celebrate the centennial of the town in 2007.  Both murals were painted by Shawn and Dora Wallace.

The Tiffin Mural highlights the company’s history in this small Northern Alabama town.
Note how the mural goes from Sepia to color with the passage of time.
There are further small details … such as

… the rail tracks that change to …

… paved roads with the advent of motor vehicles.

Even the young man carrying supplies is partially in color to denote modernization.

I had hoped that the museum staff could shed some light on the various scenes that portray the history of Red Bay in the next mural.  If anyone has info, do share.

100 Years in Red Bay

One of the smaller details in the mural needs no explanation.

Other paintings I found in Red Bay are not murals in the strictest sense of the word.  They are not painted directly on a permanent structure, but rather they are hung on the sides of buildings.

Some were not in the greatest shape.  Nonetheless, they were interesting to me because they depicted some of Red Bay’s old stores and shops. Each one had information affixed to the front of the painting; too much to share in this post, but if you want to read the information, click here to go to my online gallery.

I shared the one to the left in an earlier post, but wanted to include it in this one as well.  It was on the side of a bank building and I would have missed it had I not stopped to photograph the Tiffin mural.  It’s one of my favorites.  I like the added detail of the young boy sitting on the barrel, making me wonder what mischief he might get into given the opportunity to do so.

I’m not going to share all of the murals/paintings we found during our meandering walk in town, but here are some of them.

The two narrow ones that are not featured in the collage below:
TD Jackson’s Meat Market and Red Bay Café, Bus Station, and Taxi Stand (next to the bench).

Clockwise from top left: The Style Shop, Red Bay School, White's Five & Ten, Wilson's Ready to Wear.
only the school remains; it burned down in 1967 and was reopened in 1969.

This wall has paintings of the Bay Theater, A.M. Nix Barbeque/Dairy Queen, Red Bay Ice &
Gin Company, and Yarber Grist Mill.  None of these establishments are around today.

Built in 1927, before Red Bay had electricity; some of the first “talking” movies
were shown here.  The building burned down in 2004.

The Yarber Grist Mill opened for business in 1933; located in a tin building in
downtown Red Bay, the mill closed in 1952.

And that’s a wrap for Red Bay.  Just in time, too.  We’ll be in Montgomery in about ½-hour.  We’re debating what, if anything, we will do while we’re at the Maxwell AFB FamCamp this time.  On the one hand, we want to go out and explore all the interesting things the area has to offer.  On the other hand, the whirlwind schedule of Red Bay is catching up to us and doing nothing seems very attractive right now.  I guess time will tell.

UV Water Sterilization

Thursday, 21 February (part I)
On the road to Maxwell AFB Famcamp — Montgomery, Alabama

It’s great to be rolling down the road again!  True, the Phaeton did get to drive around a bit while in Red Bay, but not enough to stretch her legs.  It’s a sunny day; no sign of any thunderstorms, but I imagine we’ll be getting some wet stuff tonight if the radar images are any indication of what is awaiting us.  It’s an easy drive from Red Bay back to Montgomery … a good time to write a post or two.

After touring Ivy Green, Helen Keller’s birthplace, and having one last dinner in Red Bay with friends yesterday, we returned to the Phaeton where we had parked it at Brannon’s shop for our overnight stay.

The last time we were here (Feb 1), we parked in front of the bay farthest from the road to take advantage of the warming rays of the sun.  On that occasion, we had no internet whatsoever in the coach, but I was able to get an intermittent signal in Brannon’s lounge.  It was a different story this time.  We parked near the road and we had blazing fast internet.  Either Verizon made some improvements to the cell tower in Red Bay in the last couple of weeks, or just moving a few hundred yards made all the difference in the world to getting a signal that our Wilson trucker’s antenna was able to boost.

A golden sunset sends us on our way to dinner with friends in Red Bay …

… and a colorful sunrise starts off our last day in northern Alabama.

We didn’t have to pull into a bay for today’s installation of an ultraviolet sterilization system on the water line that comes into the kitchen.  This was a job that Mui was going to do, but we’re both paranoid about leaks, so we decided to have Brannon do it instead since he has invaluable information about the way the systems in Tiffin rigs work.  Had we done it ourselves, we probably would have installed the unit on the main water line.  Brannon suggested setting it up just for drinking water so as not to further reduce the water pressure coming into the Phaeton.  Definitely a better course of action.

The bits and pieces needed for the install are laid out for the surgeon … ahem … Brannon.

Installing a UV water sterilization system in the rig was not something we had in mind.  Until, that is, we went out for a pre-fulltiming dinner with some friends.  Keith had installed a similar system in their cabin in West Virginia and shared enough information from his research to convince us to look at doing the same in the Phaeton.

What does UV sterilization do and how does it do it?  I’ll let you read about that here.  Suffice it to say that what organisms the UV light doesn’t kill, it renders sterile so that they can’t reproduce and make us sick.  Considering that we will be getting our water from a variety of sources as we travel across the US and Canada, we felt this was a good precautionary measure to have.  After checking out the RV Water Filter Store website, Mui ordered the UVC Lighting Model UV-2G.  There is a unit that operates on 12V, but he opted for the AC version since we already have a 110 outlet in the under-sink cabinet.

Brannon made short work of the job at hand. He came into the rig shortly after 7:00a, and he was done by 8:45a.  Knowing how frustrating it can be to work in tight spaces — as in the cabinet under the sink — I stayed out of the way and didn’t bring out my camera.  While I sat on the couch, browsing the blogs I follow, Mui took a few pictures for today’s post.

The job entailed …

• drilling into the countertop to install the drinking water faucet we bought from Lowe’s in a finish that matches the existing faucet and sink wand
• tapping into the cold water line to add a t-connector for the drinking faucet plumbing
• installing an on/off valve between the t-connector and the sterilization unit to cut off the water if necessary (for example, to replace the bulb, which the manufacturer suggests doing after 9,000 hours, or once a year)
• attaching the water in/out hoses to the sterilization unit
• connecting the water-out hose to the plumbing for the drinking water faucet
• inserting the UV bulb into the sterilizing unit and mounting it on the brackets that came with the kit

(I may have left out a step or two since neither of us was under the cabinet doing the actual work, so don’t take this as gospel!)

After drilling into the countertop by the corner of the larger of the two kitchen sinks …

… the drinking faucet (left) is installed; the swivel head can be moved out of the way if necessary.

A look under the sink reveals all the t-connectors and whatnot that Brannon installed.

Using a piece of paper towel to hold the UV bulb, Brannon inserts it into the sterilization unit.
(The UV bulb comes in its own box with the warning not to handle it with bare hands.)

The unit is in place; the green light visible through the clear hose we picked up from Lowe’s
indicates that the UV light is working … and yes, that is the color of the UV light when you
look at it through a piece of plastic tubing … I checked it on the web ;-)

We have water!

A caution I have for anyone else who might install a similar unit … test the installation with both the water pump and city water so that the fittings can be tightened accordingly.

Brannon once again did a very professional installation for us, and we would not hesitate to recommend him.  (He can be reached at 256-668-0973.)

We’re approaching Birmingham and there is a detour to negotiate, so I need to shift over to being the navigator — or the “nag”ivator, as some might say.  Time to fill up — with diesel fuel for the Phaeton and with PB&J sandwiches for us.  More later …

Ivy Green: Birthplace of Helen Keller ... America’s First Lady of Courage

Wednesday, 20 February (Part II)
Custom RV (AKA Brannon Hutcheson — Vina, Alabama

Soon after we arrived in Red Bay, Marsha (of Where’s Weaver) recommended that we check out the Helen Keller Museum in Tuscumbia, Alabama … some 40+ miles (64+ km) away.

We intended to go last Sunday, but luckily I checked the website first as they are only open Monday through Saturday.  Since we had some free time before our dinner date with friends, we headed over to Ivy Green … Birthplace of Helen Keller this afternoon.

Built in 1820 by Helen’s grandfather, the white clapboard home was the second house to be built in Tuscumbia after Alabama joined the Union as the 22nd state.  It is a Virginia style cottage, with four rooms downstairs.
To the right is the cottage where Helen Keller was born; and where Anne Sullivan later taught her.

(If you’d like to see the full-sized versions of the photos that make up the collages, and the photos I did not post here, feel free to visit my online gallery.)

First, I’m going to fess up to not knowing much about Helen Keller before our visit to Ivy Green.  I knew her name, of course, and that she was a blind-deaf woman who had overcome great obstacles with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan.  But that was about it.  So I read up on her a bit before we headed out on today’s outing.

A replica of the statue that immortalizes the moment of Helen’s “breakthrough” with touch-signing
is the centerpiece of the memorabilias displayed in what used to be Aunt Evaline's room.

In her book, Helen Keller: Rebellious Spirit, author Laurie Lawlor writes:
Some relatives began to call Helen “a wild, destructive animal.”  One uncle told her
mother that she was “mentally defective” and should be put out of sight in an institution.
Loyal Aunt evaline, Captain Keller’s sister, nicknamed Aunt Ev, disagreed.  “This child
has more sense than all the kellers,” she said, "’if there’s a way to reach her mind.”

Although my insight into Helen Keller is sketchy at best, it didn’t take me long to realize that we weren’t getting the full picture from the docent who was walking us around the house.  A lovely lady, mind you, but she seemed more concerned about pointing out Helen’s physical beauty, exclaiming at every opportunity, “Wasn’t she pretty!”

The original statue is part of the National Statuary Hall Collection at the US Capitol.
It was unveiled in 2009; unfortunately we didn’t see it when we visited the Capitol in 2010.

The docent briefly told us about the family history; about how, at just 19 months old, Helen Keller came down with a sickness that led to her becoming blind and deaf; about how her parents sought help from Alexander Graham Bell, who was working with hearing-impaired children at the time; about how she was considered a '”wild child” until Anne Sullivan, whom she met at the Perkins Institute for the Blind, took her in hand when she became Helen’s teacher; about how she had a breakthrough in learning Anne’s “touch-signing” at the well pump; about how she then quickly grasped the concept of touch-signing, and went on to speak well enough to be accepted and study at Radcliffe College with the help of her teacher Anne, who interpreted lectures for her.

Two of the many pictures of Helen Keller that decorate the walls of Ivy Green.
Because she had a protruding left eye, she was almost always photographed in profile.
(Both eyes were replaced with glass ones later in life.)

Yes, there was mention of her success as both an author and a speaker; and her travels to many countries in her quest to help the deaf-blind around the world.  But nowhere was there any mention of her activities as a suffragist, or the fact that she was a member of the Socialist Party … all experiences that helped to shape her into the woman that she was — America’s First Lady of Courage.

Maybe I just didn’t look close enough to see this side of Helen Keller represented at Ivy Green.  Or perhaps, had we not been interrupted by a family arriving to visit the house, the docent would have answered the question I was about to pose about the oversight.  (This article, which a friend linked me to, makes for an interesting read; perhaps you will find that to be the case as well.)

to show his appreciation of her efforts with war-blinded soldiers, President Eisenhower
invited Helen Keller to the White House.  The photo captures the moment after Helen
expressed her desire to "see" Ike’s famous smile.

Polly Thomason, long-time companion and guide, is “signing” into Helen’s hand.

I don’t intend to turn this post into a thesis on Helen Keller.  Those who wish to learn more about her can refer to the voluminous amounts of information on the web.  In the meantime, let me give you a quick tour of the home in which this remarkable woman was born and raised.

Helen’s parents’ room is one of the four rooms on the ground floor of the two story house.
The docent opened the gate so we could get a closer look at the beautiful bedspread, and
explained that they allow the sight-impaired to touch it so that they can “see” the details.

The parlor, like the rest of the house, is decorated with mostly original furnishings of the
Keller Family and memorabilia from Helen’s life.  The picture on the table is of Helen at age seven.

In the movie, the Miracle Worker, the dining room is the scene of one of Helen’s “wild-child” tantrums.  The docent told us that Anne Sullivan asked Helen’s parents to leave the room,
locked the door, and spent the day teaching her how to behave at the table.

Helen shared this second floor bedroom with her teacher, Anne Sullivan.

The lengths I go to in order to take pictures!
Although the docent walked us behind the gates in the downstairs rooms,
there was no one to unlock the security gates upstairs.

This building, located in the back garden, houses the kitchen and the cook’s bedroom.

Glimpses into the kitchen …

… and the cook’s bedroom.

From the brochure we were given on arrival at Ivy Green:   This is the pump at which Helen learned her first word, “water.”  It is located behind the main house. Annie wrote these words later that historic night: “she learned that everything has a name, and that the manual alphabet is the key to everything she wants to know.”

Originally the office where the plantation books were kept, this cottage was
converted into a bridal suite when Helen’s father married her mother;
this is where Helen was born, and later lived with her teacher, Anne Sullivan.

The Docent told us that when Annie realized that Helen’s parents were catering to
all of her whims, she decided she needed to move Helen away in order to control her
tantrums.  The story goes that Helen was put into a carriage and taken for a long ride
before being brought back to this cabin, just yards away from the main house; she had
no idea how close she was to the house and her parents.

The two-room cottage consists of the playroom / schoolroom (left) and the bedroom
Helen and Annie shared; the shoes at the foot of the doll bed (top right) belonged to Helen.

Although it was rather chilly to be wandering around outside, we did take some time to check out the grounds.  We peeked in at the outdoor stage where William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker, is performed during June and July, and wandered amongst the homages installed in tribute to Helen Keller.  At this time of the year, the grounds are devoid of color, but come spring time, I bet the garden is a nice place to sit and contemplate what Helen Keller stood for.

These two totems are part of the “Gateway” from the Maori people of New Zealand.

Helen Keller challenged the Lions to help her “hasten the day when there shall be no preventable
blindness; no little deaf, blind child untaught; no blind man or woman unaided.”  That challenge,
and the Lions’ response, are on the left; the Knights of the Blind exhibit is on the right.
[click the collage for a more legible version]

The docent who welcomed us to Ivy Green — and the brochures we picked up — all refer to Helen Keller’s birthplace house as …

… a permanent shrine to the “miracle” that occurred in a blind and deaf seven-year-old girl’s life.

And that’s what visitors will find when they come here.  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, even if, in our humble opinion, it is perhaps an incomplete shrine since it does not pay tribute to the “complete” woman that Helen Keller was.  It was definitely worth the $6/person admission ($5/person with AAA or military ID).