East Bank COE Campground - Chattahoochee, FL (October 27 - 31)

Monday, October 27 – We left Cotton Hill at 9:53 AM at 60 degrees and arrived at East Bank at 12:50 at 66 degrees after driving 120.8 miles. We were going to stay until next Monday, but are disappointed in the campground and lake. It is very open, with no vegetation between sites. We are surrounded by big rigs and the fishing is difficult due to heavy weed cover. The lake lacks character with no coves, and is very large. Instead we are planning on leaving on Friday and our next stop will be home. It is going to be cold the next few days.

Tuesday, October 28 – We finally got up enough nerve to get out of bed about 9AM and had pancakes for breakfast. We then drove down to check out the tailwater of the dam and see if fishing there would be a possibility. There were several people fishing there and some fish were caught. You have to get down on the bottom, which requires considerable weight. Not easy with fly rods. We moved further down river and found a park and boat launch. This will be doable in the kayaks when they are not generating and the wind finally dies down. It was quite cool today due to the wind. We fished there from shore for a short time and John caught a sardine sized bass. For supper, we enjoyed pork chops on the grill. (11 pictures added)

Wednesday, October 29 - We had breakfast, took a walk, then headed to Bainbridge to meet friends at Golden Corral for lunch. Pete and Sybil live nearby and Joan worked with Sybil at Walmart for several years. Friends of theirs also joined us and we had a nice time with them over lunch. Afterwards, we stopped at a few places on the way back and fished with zero results. When we got back to camp, we fished again and caught a few bluegills, one being nice sized. John tied a few flies, then took one behind our camper about dusk and caught three more nice bluegills.

Thursday, October 30 – We had breakfast and afterwards John noticed puddles under the truck. He checked it out and discovered that it was oil. Checking further determined that it was leaking around the oil filter and that it was loose. We got a loan of a quart of oil from the host and John was able to tighten the filter with a large pair of channel lock pliers. We drove into Chattahoochee and got a couple quarts of oil and put them in. We checked for further dripping and there was none. We felt it was safe to go check out Three Rivers State Park about 10 miles away. It is much more wooded and the shore line more interesting. We will most likely stop there next year in the spring on the way up. We enjoyed talking to the host (Ron) there and getting first-hand information. This is the final night of our seven month trip. We have totally enjoyed it and Lord willing will repeat beginning in March next year.

Friday, October 31 – We got up early this morning and packed up. We were on the road at 8:52, drove 280 miles, and arrive home at 3:45. The time includes about an hour and a half lunch in Homosassa Springs, where we met our friends Paul and Janet. During the trip, John looked down at the speedometer which was registering 75 mph and cars were passing us like we were going the other way. Well we found out that when we stopped at a stoplight, it was still reading 30 mph, so it looks like we need a new speedometer. It feels strange to be home and even thought the place made it through our absence in good shape, we still have a lot of work to do before we leave on a 3 week trip in December. This will be the last entry on the blog until then. So long and God Bless. It has been good reconnecting with friends here.



View Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/johnjoanW/EastBankCOECampgroundChattahoocheeFLOctober2731