Ooops!

With apologies to my nephew I forgot to mention the last activity we did while in the Smokies and that was to attend the first day of the Nationwide Tour, Knoxville Open, golf tournament.  The nationwide tour is the stepping stone into the PGA tour and for this event there were four golfers from the PGA tour in the event as they had not made the FedEx championship round of the PGA tour.  One of those golfers was John Daly.  My nephew, as usually can be expected, was able to get passes to the event which included access to the 16th hole beer tent and the 18th hole skybox.  That meant free food, drink and air conditioning (at the skybox).  It also meant we got to meet, sort of, John Daly, as he came into the skybox for lunch.

Out on the course

We followed John Daly’s group for most of the back nine holes and then watched the rest of the event while in the skybox (air conditioning!!!)

It was the first golf tournament for both Fran and I and we really have to thank my nephew for planning this and inviting us.  And yes, Michael, we were impressed!

Nashville

As of Friday we have moved from the Smoky Mountains to Nashville, TN.  We are here until just after Labor Day to visit with our friends who just relocated here from Maryland (just in time to miss the earthquake and the hurricane).

Before leaving the Smokies we did one last activity which was to visit Clingman’s Dome located in the park.  This is an observation tower located on top of the highest point of the park.  You drive a very curvy road to get within a half mile of it, then the fun begins.  They have built a very nice blacktop path to the observation tower but the half mile walk is very steep and requires multiple stops to catch your breath.  However when you reach the top you are rewarded with spectacular views.

At the observation tower

The observation tower

On the Appalachian Trail.  It crosses the path to the dome

Panoramic picture of the view

Six Month Update

It has been six months since we started this adventure and this update marks a special mention as it falls on our 32nd wedding anniversary.  After six months on the road we are still married!

Our start

Our present

The road between

And of course our map update

Weekend with my nephew

A little background for you non-family members.  My nephew is known as the event planner in our family.  Whenever our families get together you can expect he has a long list of activities for us to do.  You can double or triple that when multiple families are involved.  For this trip we are in the Smoky Mountains with our RV and my niece (nephew’s sister) and her family are in an RV next to ours.  My nephew, with his family, lives in Knoxville which is only 30 miles from where we are staying.

Okay, the stage is set, hold onto your hats, here is our past week.  In my last post I showed you our adventure to the ball park in Atlanta and our day out on the lake. The ballpark adventure was the first full day we arrived (day 1- Friday) and it spilled over into day 2, Saturday, which was also the lake adventure. Day 3, Sunday, was a little relaxed as we did a little shopping then we headed back to our RV.  Day 4, Monday, Fran and I went golfing then grocery shopping.  On Day 5, Tuesday, we stayed around the RV doing laundry and misc. other tasks.  Day 6, Wednesday, Fran and I did our own planned activity of riding our bikes around Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountain National Park.  On Wednesday and Saturday mornings they close down the 11 mile loop to cars so people can bicycle and walk it.  It was a RIDE!  It took 90 minutes and there were many places where we had to get off and walk the bike due to the height and length of the hill. Here are some pictures from the ride:

Wild Turkey anyone!

Beautiful views

Resting

After that burning calorie exercise we went back to the RV to await the arrival of my niece and her family who were driving in from Houston with their RV. 

Day 7, Thursday, we hung out at the RV park with the two families just relaxing since they had just come off a long drive and they have 3 small children  Day 8, Friday, my nephew and his son arrive late afternoon and the events kick into high gear.  First up is our dinner.  He arrives with his own buffet table including chafing dishes, table, outdoor fan and enough barbeque to feed an army.  We set everything up and enjoy a great outdoor meal.  He was chomping at the bit to go do some activity but we all decided to stay at the park and talk around the campfire.

Day 9, Saturday.  First up, zip lining at 10:00am.  Just down the road from our RV park was a zip line place that offered good prices.  So, Fran, me, my nephew, his 12 year old son, my niece’s husband and their 4 year old daughter head out.  I have lost my thrill seeking gene as I have gotten older and was hesitant at first but agreed to do the first, easy line, then just take pictures.  Enough of that, it was a blast!  I did all three as did my 4 year old grandniece!

4 year old on the zip line by herself!

Fran ready to go

Fran in action!

‘My nieces husband

We had a blast doing three zip lines that got progressively longer and faster.  Back to the RV for lunch and then to the pool.

Kiera (my grandniece)

Fran with Garrett (my grandnephew)

Gabrielle (twin of Garrett)

Back to the RV to await the arrival of the rest of my nephew’s family as his daughter had a volleyball game to play in and his wife went to the game.  They arrive mid afternoon and it is decided to go do go-karts before dinner.  Pile 11 people into a GMC Yukon and Ford Excursion and head out to Pigeon Forge.  We do 2 go kart runs on the Wild Woody, bumper boats, bumper cars and then some rides for the three young ones.  (Note: Niece and husband were banned from go-karts due to aggressive driving!  Fortunately it was our last ride.)  Back to the RV at 8:30pm for dinner and relaxing.

Day 10, Sunday.  Up at 7am for an 8am departure to drive to Damascus, Virginia where we will take shuttle to the top of White Top mountain so we can ride bikes down the mountain, 17 miles, on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  This is a beautiful trail made from an old rail line.  The part of the trail we did is mostly downhill so it is not a strenuous ride on your legs.  Now your butt is another story.  It did rain for a few minutes while we were riding which meant we were very wet with a mud streak up our back.

At the top getting our bikes

Off we go!

Rest stop

Where is everyone?

Back to the RV around 7pm for pizza and call it a night.  Weekend officially ended.  Thanks to my nephew for another fun filled weekend.

Weekend Activities

This past weekend we spent time with my nephew and his family who live in Knoxville which is about 40 miles down the road from where we are staying in the Smokies. 

On Friday my nephew, his son and me went to Atlanta to go to the Braves – Cubs baseball game.  What we did not know was it was Bobby Cox night as the Braves had inducted their former manager into the Braves Hall of Fame and at the game retired his uniform number.  My nephew had obtained some really good seats right behind home plate so the views were just fantastic.  Here are some pictures from the ceremony.

A perk from the tickets we had were that we got to go into the 755 club, which is a large indoor/outdoor skybox in the outfield.  We had dinner and watched batting practice.  The cool part of this was that we were right above the outfield home run fence about 50 feet in the air. Fans in the stands below us were constantly yelling at the Braves players to throw balls into the stands, which they did.  Our waiter went one better as he knew the players and yelled at them pointing to us and a pen he had.  He threw the pen down on the field and one of the players took the pen and signed a ball then had another player sign the ball and then threw the ball to my nephew at our table.  How cool is that!

On Saturday the two families went out on the local lake in my nephews boat to swim and relax.

My nephews son showing his skiing skills

and jumping off a cliff

While at this cliff we saw a person climb the cliff as a rock climber.  He used nothing but his hands and feet with the aid of some chalk on his hands (the purist way to rock climb).  It was fascinating to watch him do this short climb

Fran relaxing in the water

My nephew relaxing

Great weekend, lots of fun!

Sunrise in the Smokies

We have arrived in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.  We are here for about two weeks to visit with my nephew and his family who live in Knoxville and then his sister and family, from Houston, will be joining us next week with their RV.

I found a nice RV resort that is off the tourist highway.  The place is just beautiful nestled in the mountains.  The spaces are spaced far apart and give you lots of room, plus it is quiet because you are away from all the tourist stuff on the main highway going into Gatlinburg.

Here is our rig at the park

 

Here are the views from our site.  Notice the cabins peeking out on the mountain.

Central Ohio Nightlife

What to do on a Saturday night in Springfield, Ohio?  Go to the Champaign County Fair to see the truck pull, of course!  Our daughter has lived in this area of Ohio for almost 3 years now and has found that the fair is the big event of the year for the people residing in this county.  Our visit with her worked out to be during the time the fair was going on so we went to see the truck pull (and eat all the food).

As county fairs go this is a small one but the prices for admission, food and the show were extremely low. It was $7 to park and get into the fair and admission to the grandstand was $5.  The food and drink (soft drinks only) were very reasonable allowing us to partake of more items.  New food item experiences was the “Walking Taco”.  It consists of a small bag of Doritos or Fritos with all the fixins for tacos put into the bag.  This allows you to walk around holding the bag and eat your taco.  Excellent idea!

The truck pull was to start at 7pm but was delayed as the sled they tow was not working properly and it took them 3 hours to get another one to the fair.  Because of this delay and the heat with high humidity we only stayed for the first set of trucks.  It was fun to watch and as the announcer said “don’t you just love the smell of burnt clutch!”

Here are some pictures from our day at the fair.

Our next tow vehicle!

Kelly with her new friend.

This truck was an oops, only made it 50 feet before dying.

South Charleston, Ohio

We have moved to Ohio to visit with our daughter, Kelly, who lives in Springfield, Ohio.  Closest RV park was in the next town over and is very nice.  It is a membership park so I passed over it in my first check of the area.  Our daughter checked out the other ones and saw this one and said it was the best of the ones in the area.  So I called them and they allow non-members to stay at the park.  Very well maintained park with large sites and lots of space between the sites and all for $23 per night. 

Here are a couple of pictures

This morning I was taking a walk around the park and came across a trailer which had an option I had never seen before.  I have been to many RV shows and walked through a lot of RV parks and this is a first.  It is a trailer with a deck that fold downs from the side of the trailer.  You then have a sliding glass door from the trailer to access the deck. 

Here is a picture of it

The trailer is made by Open Range.  I went to their website and they have this feature on 3 travel trailer models and 3 fifth wheel models.  It is amazing what RV makers continue to come up with.  I do see a downside with this option.  It is attached to the slide so you would need a fairly wide site to accommodate this deck.  I can only think of a few of the parks we have been in the last 6 months where you would have been able to use this deck. 

Surprise, Surprise!

There have been two little surprises we have found with the trailer since we have been out on the road.  I did not write about the first one but now since there is a second I thought it would be funny to tell the story.

While we were in Washington, prior to meeting up with our friends in Idaho, we decided it would be a good idea to remove the dining table from being anchored to the floor.  This would allow us to move the table around and make it more comfortable for 4 people to sit.  It was just a matter of removing 4 screws that were holding the table to the floor of the trailer.  No problem.  Now we had to figure out how we would store the table when we were traveling.  If we left it upright it most likely would want to tip over while the trailer was moving.  I figured it would be best to turn the table over and let it travel with the table top on the floor.  I turned over the table to figure out how we would place it and half of the top flies open!  What the heck!  I put the table upright and then lift one side of the top up and realize we have storage space in the table top.  Enough space for the computer or books, or anything.  This was never mentioned to us in the walk through and I cannot find it anywhere in the literature for the trailer as a feature.  We were surprised.

Here is what we found

Fast forward 3 months to this past weekend.  I was dusting the dresser in the bedroom and the woodwork around the window.  While doing this I noticed the wood frame on the right side seemed loose.  I gently pulled on the outside wood and it opened!  Another little storage space.  It is only a couple of inches wide and a couple of feet high, so not much space.  It appears it was designed for keys, maybe. 

Here is what we found

So after this second surprise I went all over the inside of the trailer looking for other “surprises”.  I did not come across any more so we will see!