Jul 16, 2018 - Tennessee, Part 3

I met some of my cousins for the first time today, second cousins that until I started researching the family history I knew nothing about. Turns out my mother had a first cousin who moved to Alabama as a boy, got married after World War II and got a job with the Tennessee Valley Authority. He eventually moved his family to Jackson, Tenn., where he and his wife reared 11 children. Vivian and I had lunch with Susan Miller, Clara Richardson and Sheila Riley, three of the 11 siblings. We exchanged stories and enjoyed getting to know each...

Jul 15, 2018 - Tennessee, Part 2

The eastern sky was beginning to glow with the dawn that April morning in 1862 when the sound of sporadic gunfire woke many of the Union soldiers. The men of the 70th Ohio regiment shook the sleep from their eyes and grabbed their muskets. Breakfast would have to wait. Among those men from Ohio was George Secrist, Vivian’s great-great-grandfather. He had enlisted shortly after the start of the Civil War and now he was in Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., on the banks of the Tennessee River. For the past few weeks the regiment had camped near a...

Jul 14, 2018 - Tennessee, Part 1

Through the years, Vivian and I were always looking for new places to visit. In the early 1990s, while attending the RV show in Edison, we met a couple who introduced is to the National Hikers and Campers Association (NCHA). They explained how the association held national campventions every summer in different regions of the country. That couple was Sue and John Parke and it began a string of six road trips for us with a new group of camping friends. The first campvention we attended was in Brainerd, Minn. The second one was in Lebanon,...

Jul 2, 2018 - Memphis

Made it to Memphis without any incident. The deer in Oklahoma and Arkansas must have been warned that the Mary was on the road. Crossed over the muddy Mississippi and had a great dinner in downtown Memphis at the Kooky Canuck. Drove past the famous Sun Recording Studio that saw the likes of Elvis, Jerry Lee and cash back in the 50s. And got a call from the dealership telling us that our bus is there waiting for us. We will see it tomorrow.

Jul 1, 2018 - Old stone fort

We took an easy day and went to the Old Stone Fort that is not really a fort but was mistakenly named that by early European settlers. It was actually a ceremonial site used by the Woodland Indians 2000 years ago. Much has been damaged by later railroad construction companies but it is a hilltop encircled by stone and earthen mounds. here were parallel stone walls situated to capture the sunrise on the summer Solstice, so this was most likely a holy site that was used for rituals by the many clans that occupied villages in the area. The...

Jul 1, 2018 - Day 33 - Nashville TN

Since it's going to be another long day on the road, I take the dog on longer than normal early morning walk. I let him lead and we exit the park and head further down the road we came in on. It's a very narrow winding country road that parallels the stream. LJ insists on walking on the road, not on the shoulder and I'm a little concerned that a car will come flying around a curve and flatten us, but it's early Sunday morning - what could possibly go wrong? About a half mile down this road, we come upon a clearing in the woods. It's a 4 or...

Jun 30, 2018 - The caverns

This was a more productive day. First we drove to Monteagle to see the campus of the University of the South. This is one of the most beautiful campuses in the country - most buildings are of Gothic architecture . The college was founded in 1857 by the diocese of the Episcopal church and the building started in 1868 after the Civil War. The All Saints Chapel was built in 1904 and adjacent to it is the 134 foot Shepard tower with a 56 bell carillon. Concerts are given weekly. The campus was inspired by Oxford University. A 40 foot cross was...

Jun 29, 2018 - Manchester

Yesterday we drove through some heavy rain but it let up just as we got to the KOA to set up. We had lunch at the rest area 20 miles south and had to turn on the lights to eat as the sky was really dark. We saw a couple of lightning strikes ahead of us as we drove and when we checked in they said that lightning struck near the campground and they were under a severe weather watch till 7 PM. We are at the KOA which means trees and no Dish reception. We do have cable and WIFI so it’s not too bad. The space is wide and level and this KOA does...

Jun 27, 2018 - We've been released from Camping World jail!

Today started our forth week here. But we did get our 'get out of jail' card today and WOW it wasn't free! We took the motorhome to service at 8AM today and by 1PM the roof air conditioner had been replaced. Finally all three ACs are blowing cold air. Hopefully they have the capacity to keep us cool in the Arizona summer. All the paperwork is done for the house purchase and the mobile Notary will be here at 11AM Thursday. Once we are done with the Notary we're start heading west! We will be just one day short of three months since we closed...

Jun 26, 2018 - Still in Camping World Jail

It was Eric's birthday today. He came up from Marietta last night so we could have a good last visit before we finally start our trip heading out west. We decided to do another tourist thing today and visit Rock City. I've never been there and was quite surprised with what we saw. Rock City is a large area on top of Lookout Mountain with trails that wonder between the large granite rocks. We had a great time on the trails. It was very beautiful, but damn hot and humid. When in the rock passages it was nice and cool. The trails wonder above...

Jun 18, 2018 - Music City

What a memorable and amazing 5 days in Nashville! We have been here before on business trips so we weren’t able to see and do as much as we did during this visit. We stayed at the Yogi Bear RV park less than 10 miles from downtown Nashville so it was an easy drive to visit all the sights the city has to offer. Our first destination was to Honky Tonk Highway located on the lower end of Broadway Street, better known to the locals as Broad. It is a row of old buildings and establishments that contain at least one live stage, cold adult...

Jun 17, 2018 - Day 14 - Nashville, General Jackson

Today, Sunday, we enjoyed a cruise on the Cumberland River in Nashville, TN, aboard the General Jackson, a riverboat – more specifically a showboat. Built and launched in 1985, it resembles a vintage steam-powered riverboat. The boat has a capacity of 1,200 passengers and 157 crew members. She is 274 feet long, is 77 feet tall and has a bright red 24’ paddlewheel on the back. There is only one trip on Sundays. We were seated in the Victorian Theater for a delicious southern lunch buffet of tossed salad, BBQ pulled pork, fried chicken, baked...