Jun 13, 2013 - Love of Country in Nashville

I have a funny tidbit about our reservations in Nashville. There are about two 'nice' RV Parks near the city and when I called for reservations (nearly two months ago) and told them the dates they laughed at me. "That's SEMA week - we've been booked for a year!" I asked what 'SEMA' was but she didn't say. I hurriedly called the other nearby campground and was told the same thing, BUT someone had just cancelled so we got in. Again I asked what 'SEMA' was and she replied "CMA - Country Music Awards". Aha! I felt like the dumb Northwestern guy...

Jun 13, 2013 - Campsite Number One

Cumberland Mountain State Park, Tennessee. We had a very exciting drive today, through the NC mountains, then the Tennessee mountains, then that humongous storm that was flying eastward. That was not much fun but we made it through and the weather now is just beautiful. Our first overnight was a cinch to set up, we ate the 2nd halves of our Subways for supper and are sitting by our tent saying hey to all the people passing by and listening to the birds saying goodnight to each other. Sigh.

Jun 13, 2013 - Ohio Bound

Finally we are on the road again to visit Larry's family in Ohio and then on to Shenandoah Valley. We had a livestock truck pass us too fast for pictures, but it was carrying about three tiers of piglets. The truck had small holes all over the sides of the trailer and the little piggies were continually sticking their pink snouts in and out of the little holes. It was the cutest thing to see. Of course we could not hear them but I bet they were creating a lot of noise. We also saw a truck hauling two tires. That may not seem unusual but...

Jun 9, 2013 - Clingman's Dome

Hello from hot, humid, and rainy Pigeon Forge! Our mini-garden (see pictures) consisting of 5 tomato plants, 3 cucumber plants, 3 basil plants, 2 pepper plants, 1 strawberry plant, and 2 clumps of parsley absolutely love it even if we are less enamored with the weather. I made my first batch of Pesto Sauce today and it really doesn’t look like I pinched off anywhere near 60 leaves. The tomatoes and cukes are in blossom with some small results forming. Does anyone need parsley? Betsy’s strawberry plant has stopped producing for the time...

Jun 5, 2013 - Graceland

Wednesday June 5th - 229 miles from Nashville to Memphis, TN. Rain poured hard initially, but as we neared Memphis the sun came out and it was extremely hot and humid. We found Graceland area with no trouble and were set up in Graceland RV Park by noon. The Graceland attractions were adjacent to the Campground and Heartbreak Hotel, within walking distance. After lunch we headed to the Graceland Complex and purchased our Graceland Platinum Tour tickets, which included the Audio-guided tour of Elvis Presley's Graceland Mansion & Grounds,...

Jun 4, 2013 - Grand Ole Opry

Tuesday, June 4th - Up and at 'em bright and early to have RV at the Camper Doctor's at Nashville Camping World (which was right next to our Campground) for 8:00 AM appointment. RV seemed to be shaking more than usual and one tire got hot. Still not sure we spent our money there wisely! While we were unhitched from our campsite utilities, rode around our side of Town, visiting Willie Nelson's General Store and Cooter's (remember him from the Duke's of Hazard?). Found a unique little sports bar called Scoreboard for lunch. There was a little...

Jun 4, 2013 - Sevierville, TN

We woke up to sunny, blue skies again this morning. Ever since Dave spotted a "Flap Jacks" yesterday he had it in his mind he had to have pancakes this morning. I have never seen so many pancake houses in such a small area! Anyway, he got his flapjacks and I had oatmeal, which I managed to choke on with my very first spoon full. I sat at the table as long as I could, but eventually, had to go into the ladies room to "take care of things"! Poor Dave, I was in there long enough that he sent our waitress to check on me. Eventually, I was OK...

Jun 3, 2013 - Nashville Tour

Monday, June 3rd - We took "Discover Nashville" Tour. Gray Line Tours mini-bus picked us up right at the Campground at 8:30 AM. We had a great tour guide, which is always helpful, and we didn't need to drive in traffic. Nashville is very busy right now because of the 2013 CMA Music Festival going on, which will culminate with the CMA Music Awards Wednesday night. During the tour our attention was drawn to the Nashville Skyline, especially the Batman Tower (AT&T) and LP Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans. Rode down 2nd Ave (old Market...

Jun 3, 2013 - Nashville, TN to Sevierville, TN

Our 201 mile trip today took us from Nashville to Sevierville, pronounced SEVERE-vull, and home of Dolly Parton. We're staying at Ripplin' Waters RV park, about 20 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the only National Park in the country that is free. We woke up to blue skies and sunshine, but that eventually gave way to more and more beautiful cloud formations. Take a look at the photos. We crossed into eastern time just west of Knoxville, so it was 12:40 local time when we arrived. After having lunch we headed for...

Jun 2, 2013 - Celebrating 19 Years in Pigeon Forge, TN

We spent yesterday celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary in Pigeon Forge, TN. Along with lots of shopping we had a wonderful lunch at the Old Mill Restaurant and caught a matinee show at the Smoky Mountain Opry. It was a good variety show that had all kinds of music including country, blues, pop and broadway plus comedy, magic acts and an amazing silk aerial team. We were in the third row with a very close view of all the amazing action. The rare tigers were used in a circus segment as well as a broadway rendition of The Lion King....

Jun 2, 2013 - Byram and Southaven, Mississippi

We spent the last three weeks in Mississippi, one week in Bryam, MS just south of Jackson and two weeks in Southaven, MS just south of Memphis, TN. In Byram we stayed at Swinging Bridge Campground another less than “glamorous” rv park. The weather was almost perfect the whole week so we couldn’t complain about that and actually the campground wasn’t awful just in the need of a little TLC. We didn’t have any serious sight seeing planned as we were in this area two years ago, remember that was when we survived the tornado. Earlier this year...

Jun 2, 2013 - Nashville, TN

I got to sleep in today.....YAY!! This getting up at 7:00 every morning is not high on my list of fun things! Dave went over to Camper World and got the propane tanks filled. One was empty and the other was about 75% full. Best to fill them both; then we're probably set for the rest of the trip. We left here about 10:30 for downtown. After parking in a lot who's spaces were so narrow we had to fold in the side mirrors, we walked to the Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry. The history of this theater was even more interesting...