Travels with CC and Dixie: Out and About in Red Bay Alabama

With our kitchen-slide weather stripping ripped and our bedroom slide sticking now and then; we decided to head to Tiffin in Red Bay while we were fairly close. We stayed there for a week, four days of waiting and three days in the repair bays. That may seem like a long wait but the factory does close on the weekends and we also spoke to a few folks who'd been there for six or seven weeks depending on the nature of their repairs.

We spent Sunday in Florence Alabama about an hour from Red Bay. Dixie led us through the soft pine needled pathways in the woods and demanded some stick retrieving in the chilly Tennessee River at McFarland Park. Pleasure and fishing boats raced under the new and old bridges pushing their wake up against the rocky cliffs. The sun warmed the tree trunks and whiffs of pine sap reminded us of hiking in Ontario. We considered renting one of the park's picnic-fireplaces to hang our Christmas stockings on but we were a titch early for that.

A Frank Lloyd Wright home, restored in 1999 by the town of Florence, offered a great tour inside and out. Spacious interiors, walls of glass and wood with turquoise, butter yellow and lime green upholstered furniture were iconic Wright. A series of flat roofs sit atop the brick and cypress wood exterior. One wall in each room is filled with floor to ceiling windows and a border of glass runs along the interior roof line. They are framed in Wright's simple wooden tessellation designs. Uniquely, the home was built and owned by one family, the Rosenbaums. The original home was built in 1939-1940. An addition including a larger kitchen, huge bedroom for the boys and a Japanese garden was added by Wright.
Chris and I were the only guests in the house so our guide was able to give us a thorough, leisurely tour.

When the coach was in the shop, Chris stayed close by to check things out with the mechanics and technicians. Dixie and I would drive over to Tishomingo State Park to hike miles of wooded trails running beside Bear Creek. We climbed up to the tops of many of the rocky outcroppings. The park, in the Appalachian foothills, also had an old log cabin, mossy stone bridge, small waterfalls and a gorgeous swinging bridge over 150 years old.

We had the park to ourselves but did see some signs of nature's creatures preparing for Christmas. Their little hollows in trees and mini caves under the rocks were decorated with a variety of crimson leaves, brilliant green moss, crisp holly and fresh red berries. I swear I could smell baking chestnut pies and acorn pudding too! Hmmmmm!?!

On Friday December 14, we left Tiffin and Red Bay. The weather stripping on the kitchen slide was replaced. No problems were found with the bedroom slide. The jacks were checked and an oil leak repaired. We were lucky to have an engineer check the RV while it was up on the lift. He recommended the installation of some brackets that he had newly modified to add strength to the chassis. We were not charged for any of the repairs even after our warranty had expired one year ago. We only had to pay our camping fee! What an amazing company to provide such great customer service.