Friday’s Red Bay Notes

Yesterday marked the end of our first week here at “Camp Red Bay”.  So far we’ve had our toilet replaced, bedroom TV sound fixed, front TV mounting screws checked,  jacks calibrated, a cabinet installed in the bedroom under the TV and a shelf installed in the cupboards above the passenger side slide out.  We’ve also emptied all the cupboards on the driver-side slide out and packed all the contents in preparation for having that slide out floor replaced.

On Wednesday, we took a drive over to Bay Springs Lake on the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi:

We checked out the Piney Grove Corps of Engineers campground and found a couple of sites that we would both fit into and most likely get a satellite signal.  There were quite a few sites we’d fit into, but most of them are very shaded – nice, but probably wouldn’t get a satellite signal with our roof-top dome.  Just another reason we periodically consider getting a portable dish.  I don’t know if we’ll ever stay there, but we enjoyed the outing and like to know there are options in the neighborhood!  On the way back home, we stopped in Dennis, Mississippi at Rita’s Family Restaurant for lunch.  The selection was limited, but the food was good, and both of us had lunch for $12. 

Then in the evening, Chris Berry arrived to install our cupboard and shelf.  I haven’t taken a picture of the shelf, but here’s the cupboard in the bedroom:

Yesterday we made a quick trip over to Russellville and Florence.  Red Bay is located in Franklin County, Alabama, which is a dry county.  Jim wanted to replenish his beer supply, and I wanted to see if I could find some local Alabama wine, so we stopped at the B&B Package store located just over the Colbert County line.  Jim found the beer he wanted, but they didn’t have the Muscadine Wine I was looking for.

We continued on to Florence to visit Radio Shack.   The problem with the sound on our bedroom TV was a little electronic card where the headphone jacks plug in.  When the jacks are plugged in, they are supposed to turn the sound off on the TV and vice versa.  I guess because of too many times being plugged in and unplugged, the connection to turn the sound back on was broken.  I like to watch TV in bed after Jim has gone sleep, so I’ve been using the headphone jack most nights.  The techs  who replaced the card suggested we find an alternative like wireless headphones, so we’ve been doing some research into that option.  We found a possible solution in “TV Ears” at Radio Shack.  These are much lighter weight than the bulky headphones I found for the typical wireless set up, and they plug right into the satellite receiver instead of the TV.  They are also considerably less expensive than wireless headphones.  The sound on the TV can be up or turned down, and the TV Ears still work the same.  I tried them out last night, and I think they are going to work just fine for us.  Hopefully that will solve the sound issue!  The TV Ears are on the credenza next to the cupboard in the picture above.

Jim is preparing to make a batch of salsa this weekend.  He dug out all his canning jars and big pot, and got everything washed and ready today.  He’s shopped for fresh peppers, onions and tomatoes.  I think tomorrow is salsa day!