MMAP Shocco Springs, Talladega, AL; Surrounding areas!

Our last week, we really worked hard.  The camp decided to have us paint the trim on Twin Lodge where they had been replacing the floor.  Out of  34 windows, we painted the trim on 26, trim on three doors, all 215 feet of facia, and railings on four porches, totaling about 90 feet.  

 As the painting of the facia was being completed our last day, new gutters were being installed!  

The building had a fresh new look..... ready for quilters to come for the weekend!

We had another great crew to work with!

The first Sunday, all of us usually try to go to the same church.  It is  a good time to get the “official” picture of the group!

For relaxation, we were able to use the onsite miniature golf course....

Had the traditional hot dog and smores supper around the campfire, 

with a slightly formal flair!

And even played cards one night!

During our weekends, we explored Talladega’s surrounding areas:

BIRMINGHAM

We needed to find an Apple store, and the closest one was in Birmingham.  So that was the city we visited first.  

I did not know the steel manufacturing history of Birmingham, but learned about it at the museum at Vulcan Park. 

The statue of Vulcan is 56- foot high and is the largest cast iron statue in the world

The statue was made for the 1903 World’s Fair in St. Louis then moved back to Birmingham.  The floor and walls of the ground level of the towers are of Sylacauga marble.

TALLADEGA NATIONAL FOREST/CHEAHA STATE PARK

One weekend, Nate and Chris were returning from a vacation in Florida and stopped to spend the night,

It is always fun to have the grandkids in the RV!!

We played a round of miniature golf with them, 

 and DJ enjoyed the slide!

They also joined the group for lunch at the Cheaha State Park Restaurant.

After lunch, they took off for home; and we went searching for waterfalls in the Talladega National Forest which surrounds the state park, with one of the MMAP couples, the Grants.

Devil’s Den from afar,

Very little water flowing, but there was a great pond for swimming!

Cheaha Falls had very little water flow as well.

At High Falls, there was a warning about bear encounters, and how to deal with  an encounter.  It was a little eerie, cause I felt like someone/thing was watching us...maybe a bear!  (And another couple that visited the area later that day said they felt the same way).

after walking a while, we came to steps and a trickle water fall into a small pond

Then more steps.... but no water or falls at the top!

But, in spite of the fact that there was very little water due to the ongoing drought, we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed our hikes!

SYLACAUGA

As a group we also went to Sylacauga, known for the white marble found in the area.  There is a 32 mile long vein which has the strongest and purest white found in the world.  Many statues are found in the town,

including the falling star, 

and one that was just unveiled the day before we were there to honor the miners.

We visited the Blue Bell creamery, 

and had ice cream for our 10:00 break,

We went through the Comer Museum, 

which had a room to honor their favorite son, Jim Nabors!

as well as some other interesting displays!

and stopped by the library to see more of the marble statues displayed.

After some effort (with directions like, turn where the dealer used to be and follow the road to somewhere.....) we found the observation deck to view one of the quarries.....

CHILDERSBURG

Just outside Childersburg, a town close to Sylacauga, (claims to be the oldest city in America...since 1540) is the  Kymulga Grist Mill 

and covered bridge, 

are still standing; however, we could not go into the mill due to concerns about the stability.  This is one of the support beams!

They are in the midst of fundraising to stabilize it.

Now on to Maryland, to Child Evangelism Fellowship headquarters.   But we have a week to get there, so we are going to check out the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, on the way..... yes, I know.....we probably won’t get to see all of it in 4 days!

MMAP Sept, 2012, Shocco Springs Conference Center, Talladega, AL

Wow, we are already into our third week here at Shocco Springs Conference Center, in Talladega, AL!!  

This is a great facility, and is used by several organizations!  From dogs to choirs and ladies group to motorcylists!  I have to digress at this point:

A Flyball dog competition group was here with their dogs on the first weekend..... ever hear of it?  We had not, but watched them for a while.....they were in teams, even one from Nashville,

The dogs would run and grab a ball and head back, having to jump over several fences.  They were timed, with the smallest dog determining  the height of the fence (so every team had a short one to get the block down to the lowest level!).  It was quite fascinating!

And last weekend the Christian Motorcyclist Association was here!  There were at least a hundred cycles.......nuff said.

I am glad to see it is being used in what I would consider to be off season.

They have a long list of projects here, and during our second week, seven couples from Alabama Campers on Mission, a Baptist group similar to MMAP, were here for the week.  They  remodeled some bathrooms in another building, while our guys were assigned  to the Twin Lodge.  

Twin Lodge is a U-shaped, one-story building that had a minor leak under the floor, which was not found until damage had been done.  By the time it was discovered, they found the underside of the floor full of black mold which penetrated and became white mold in between the floor and subfloor of the large meeting room.  

The result was removing the carpet, floor and subfloor, 

having the existing mold on the joists professionally sprayed, 

and replacing it with new subfloor and sheeting,

then replacing the carpeting.

Part way through, they found the problem extended to an adjacent room as well, so half of the flooring in that room was also replaced.

They also replaced the railing on the steps of one of the sides.

All that in the first two weeks!

The ladies also were kept busy!

The first week we were here, we helped with the laundry, folding the towels and sheets.  

One of the other ladies and I were able to paint a newly installed railing on a new building (a one bedroom apt.-size duplex) built for volunteers who come to help who do not have a camper..... no excuses!!

Rain stopped us from painting for a couple of days, so I and another MMAPer helped the ladies from Campers on Mission make “salvation dolls”.  They will have a necklace with the colored beads to explain the gospel message....green, black, red, white and gold.  They are headed for Guatemala with a group from here.

They are definitely keeping us busy, and making us feel very welcome and appreciated.

The wife of the director took us ladies on a day out to tour the city of Talladega.  It was great to see everything and hear about the history of not only the town, but some of the buildings.

The 1836 courthouse is the oldest one in continuous use in AL.

The town square was quaint, with the Ritz theatre being the centerpiece.

but just off the square shops were closed. 

The Institutes for the Blind and Deaf here were started in the early 1800’s.  They have huge campuses!  
We did not go to the race track... it is 12 miles out of town and no races til next month.

She also teaches a water exercise class twice a week at the community center, which we all decided we could benefit from.  So we joined her a couple of times.

Paul thought if we worked with the guys, we would not need the exercise... he understood the concept of using different muscles after he was bending and twisting and using some of his unused muscles!  But we had more fun in the water.

And of course, MMAPers do socialize and rubberneck.......

that will have to wait for the next blog!