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Hackett Family Newsletter 2021

We had to delay our international travel plans again this year by the pandemic. We have rescheduled our visit to Spain and Portugal for the spring of 2022. I hope the world has a handle on the pandemic by then.

We did make three RV trips this year. Our first 9-day trip took us to Cheaha State Park near Anniston, Alabama, and DeSoto State Park near Fort Payne, Alabama. On the way down, we stopped in Decatur to pick up the newest member of our family. Lulu is a Chihuahua and Papillon mix who is about 3-years old. She travels well and fit right into the family. We visited the Kymulga Grist Mill near Talladega, and the Donald Davis Arboretum in Tuscaloosa during our trip. This was a shake-down trip after several RV repairs, including a new roof.

After 5-days at home, we set out on another 4-week RV adventure that covered over 1500 miles. We spent the first few days at a lakeside campsite in Dames Ferry State Park in Georgia. Next we stopped in Marianna, Florida where we visited Florida Caverns State Park. While we were there, we took a short trip to the Panama City Beach and had a nice lunch at Sharky’s on a rainy day. Then we moved on to North Beach near St. Augustine, Florida. We loved the secluded campsites, and spent the week exploring St. Augustine, including a great Sunday brunch at Nero's. From there we travelled up the coast to Ft McCallister State Park, Georgia. This is where Sherman ended his march to the sea during the civil war. We spent a day at Tybee Island and Savannah during our visit. Our last stop was Chewacla State Park in Alabama before returning home.

Our third RV trip of 2021 had some interesting challenges. The first challenge was discovering that the Big Spring National Campground in Missouri didn't have water. We did not expect that, but got by on bottled water for a few days. They had good bathhouse facilities.

Then we had transmission problems near the top of Jack Mountain when leaving Hot Springs. Our truck shifted in the 5th gear and stopped near the top, near the TV transmit towers. It took two large tow trucks to get us off the mountain. Fortunately, the issue was only a leak that caused us to lose 2.5 quarts of transmission fluid during the first part of our trip. The repair wasn't expensive, but it did delay our trip by two weeks. We had to cancel our plans to visit and old friend in DeRidder, Louisiana, and Lake Fausse Pointe, Louisiana, and Roosevelt State Park, Missouri.

We finished our trip with another lakeside campsite at Trace State Park in Mississippi and Tom Sawyer Campground in West Memphis, Arkansas. Our day trips included the Tupelo Zoo, Queen’s Reward Meadery, the Peabody Hotel with their famous ducks, and the Bass Pro Shops pyramid in Memphis.

Candace and Ben are doing well, and the twins started kindergarten this year. Aaron is still working to repair his house. Hunter is a senior this year, and Evan is playing middle school football. Dad and Donna are also doing well. We spent Thanksgiving with them this year, and the celebrated Dad’s 90th birthday that Saturday. We’ll be home for two weeks, and then it’s off to the Pacific Northwest for Christmas.

We hope that you and your family have fared well this year, and we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.