We needed a vacation

Saturday, 26 October, Floating Mill Park, Tennessee

If you’re retired, can you still call a trip a vacation?

What if you’ve spent nearly three years full-timing in a small camper?

I guess even those conditions can create a need for a break in the routine.

For Vicki and me, travel traditionally meant either relocating to a new job or returning “home” to visit the family we left behind. Even so, it was all good, and the side trips to historic or scenic places were just icing on the cake.

We are now in the process of settling in upper Michigan. But family still beckons. This fall, we headed south for several weeks in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

After the family visits, we turned east for a two-night stay at Floating Mill Park, one of the Corps of Engineers sites in Center Hill Lake in eastern Tennessee. And it has been a delight.

Fall color was a big disappointment for us in Arkansas again this year, but once we crossed the Mississippi River we began to see more yellows and oranges in the woods. Here at Floating Mill, a number of the trees just pop with color, even though it has turned off mostly cloudy today. 

I was surprised at how low the water has gone. The swimming area is high and dry, and two floating fishing piers are a long throw away from any fish. When I asked the park attendant how long it has been since the lake was full, he laughed and told me it just May of this year. The water level now is about 20 feet below the standard summer pool level. In May it was about 20 feet ABOVE the standard. Our site, No. 1, was underwater this spring, as were about 80 of the sites. The Corps has done a good job of getting everything cleaned up and repaired since then.

The park feels crowded and spacious at the same time. It was easy to get in and out of our site, yet the neighbors seemed a comfortable distance away. On Friday night, there was no loud music playing, which can be a problem in some campgrounds.

The weather has been ideal, cool enough to minimize the flying pests but not too chilly to need much more than our standard shorts and t-shirts.

And the bathrooms? That can be a real challenge at parks like these. Happily, the showers and toilets here are quite adequate. I was still happy to have shower sandals.

The quiet is the best part. The interstate is on the far side of the hills, and so far the fishing boats have been idled down. And the neighbors are a lot like us, just chilling and enjoying nature.

It’s nice to be on vacation.