Week One

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Getting closer to heading out on our trip. Now have most everything transferred from the old Motorhome to the New (to us) Motorhome. Moved the tow bar yesterday which turned out to be a real tight fit when having to open the rear access door to the engine. After the trip, I think I will probably get the factory to enlarge the recessed area at the bottom of the door.

Friday, July 30, 2004

We spent Friday at the office making sure all things were under control and everyone was lined out. Late in the afternoon we continued to load more stuff in the coach, and make sure everything around the house was in order. Donna re-set the Sprinkler System, then had to re-do it because she had too many times programmed.

About 7pm, we went the Charlie’s to meet all our ‘Coffee Buddies’ (Jack & Lou, Alton & J.D., James and Charles). After a couple of hours of visiting, back home to load a few more things, then off to bed.


Saturday, July 31, 2004

We were up and going by 7am this morning. Actually I was up and going, but Donna was neither. Scott came over to take the mower for service. Belt pulleys were making load noise. We unhooked the coach from the new plug at the shop, turned it around and backed it up next to the porch.

Donna called Lena to let them know we were not going through Jacksonville, but we could go through Henderson, if they wanted to meet us. She and Mac did not know we have a new motorhome. Mac was still asleep, not feeling well, and had to get some work done on his truck, so we went ahead and told them about it.

I took a couple of more hours to finish loading and about 9:45 we left home. First problem was the in-motion satellite. Was not tracking or picking up a signal. After number attempts to re-start it, I got the manual out, and discovered the error code indicated that it needed to be re-calibrated. I did that, and its worked ever since.

As we approached Carthage, while Donna was driving, a guy and lady in a pickup passed us by. As Donna looked over at them she read the lady’s lips as the lady told her husband: “That’s a woman driving that big thing!!!”

We arrived at the Arkansas Welcome Center about 1:30 and had a quick bite to eat, then headed on up I-30 toward Little Rock. We called an old friend, Ray Flowers, in Little Rock to let him know of our progress. He was expecting us today or tomorrow, so we arranged to get together at a Wal-Mart in North Little Rock.

We arrived at the Wal-Mart about 4:30, called Ray, and asked if he could meet with us at 6:30, which was good for him. We wanted to do some grocery shopping before going out to dinner with Ray.

While in Wal-Mart, I talked to Chris, the assistant manager about spending the night on their parking lot. He said we were welcome and they preferred that we park near the gas station or far out from the store. I told him we were way out on the east side.

Ray arrived about 6:30 and we gave him the grand tour of the motorhome, then we went to dinner at Roadhouse Café. Nice place close by, similar to an Outback, with steaks and seafood. It was really great to visit with Ray. It’s been at least 16 or more years since we had seen him. He worked for our real estate partnership in the late 80’s.

Photos with Ray Flowers
 

Back in the coach now at 9pm, and about to play a game of Phase 10. I sure hope my luck is still holding out.

Well, luck ran out, and Donna really waxed me.

Sunday, August 01, 2004

We actually got up about 6:00 this morning. If you want to avoid the crowds at Wal-Mart, that’s the time to be there. There were very few cars in the parking lot.

We left Wal-Mart at 6:45 and about 7:30 stopped at a Rest Area and cooked a little breakfast. Donna fixed cereal, toast and sausage for me, and toast, peanut butter & jelly for her.

We arrived at Tom Sawyer Mississippi RV Park at 10:00, got parked and all set up. This is the same park we stayed at 2 years ago, when Mac and Lena went with us to Pennsylvania. It’s located right on the banks of the Mississippi River, and we are only about 50 feet from the edge of the water. They have benches to sit on and watch the barge traffic going up and down the river.

As I write this, we are again having problems with the satellite. I have tried everything I know to do to get it to re-calibrate, but its not working yet.

We left the park about 2pm, after a short nap, and a bit of lunch. Went downtown and drove around a while, then parked and walked up and down Beale Street, About a 4 block area was blocked off. Beale Street reminded us of 6th street in Austin, with lots of restaurants, bars, and curio shops. Most of the bars have stages for live entertainment, and most advertised Blues type music.
 

We then went to the Peabody Hotel to watch the ‘famous ducks’. In the middle of the lobby is a grand fountain with a huge fresh flower arrangement on top. At the bottom is a small little pool around the fountain, with 5 little mallards swimming around. At 5pm, after much hoopla and fan-fair the ducks leave the pool, walk down the red carpet to the elevator and return to their overnight quarters, upstairs somewhere. The “Duckmaster” will bring them back down the elevator, across the red carpet tomorrow at 11am. This was quite a show, and the kids really loved it.

We then drove by Graceland. I guess you just can’t come to Memphis without at least a drive-by. We did park and walk along the rock fence and to the famous gates everyone has seen. The house was visible up the hill amongst lots of huge oak trees. Across the street was a commercial area, with two airplanes on display, including the Boeing 707 named Lisa Marie.

Then back to the park to watch a few barges on the Mississippi, and a long and interesting visit with a guy named Ed. Ed is retired from Los Angeles Department of Transportation and his wife is a ‘contract trauma nurse’, working in Memphis for about 14 weeks. Then they will go on another assignment.

No Phase 10 tonight, Donna is getting a sore throat and went to bed at 9:00. I will be up for a while, then off to bed for me too.

Photos From Memphis Area

Monday, August 2, 2004

We left the park about 9:30 and made our first stop at the Tennessee Welcome Center. We got a lot of information about Nashville, our next stop. Then we drove over to Main Street, parked, and had breakfast at a little ‘hole in the wall place’, called Mike’s.

We boarded the trolley, and made a complete circuit of the route, which included Main Street and the Riverfront. We then went to Mud Island, a park with a lot of information about the Mississippi River, including a model about 5 blocks long showing the entire course of the river.

We then returned to the coach for a long nap and then grilled hamburgers on the grill. About 6pm we drove down to Tunica to go to the Grand Casino. We only stayed about an hour because of our limited budget. Then back to the coach and watched the news and a few barges on the river.

Tomorrow we head for Nashville.

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

We left the campground this morning about 6:45. Donna was actually up early and ready to roll. We made just a couple of Rest Area stops to change drivers and eat a bite of breakfast. We are camped at the Two Rivers Campground, just a few blocks from the OpryLand Hotel and the big mall.

After getting set up and taking a nap, we drove over to the OpryLand Hotel, a massive place. It is huge!! There are several atrium type areas with glass covering what would otherwise be outside. Each area was a little different, but all had exotic plants and water features.

After visiting the hotel, we drove around the area, found the Grand Old Opry House, and the Opry Mills Mall, both in the same area. We then drove downtown to see what it looked like. Some of downtown was very dilapidated, and some was very modern, just like any ‘old city’ downtown, I suppose.

The two main areas are Broadway (like Main Street) and 2nd street. Both were about 50% vacant. Along Broadway were about 8 or 10 Country Music bars. We looked in several, but none of the bands were very talented. Along 2nd street were more bars and restaurants. We did spot a nice restaurant called Demo’s and had dinner there, very reasonable prices, excellent food, and great service.

Then back to the motorhome, watched a little Fox New, and off to bed.

Wednesday, August 4, 2004

Today we spent touring some of the sights around Nashville. First stop was The Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States. The mansion was built between 1819 and 1821, a simple brick home in the federal style. In a major remodeling in 1831, a library and dining room wings were added, and a one-story colonnade of ten columns with a two-story pediment section in the center completed the façade in the Palladian style.

Inside the mansion, the glories of Greece emerge in the scenic French wallpaper of the entry hall. The fireplaces in the two parlors are ornamented with columns of the Greek Ionic order, and in the two bedrooms directly above the parlors, the mantels carry classical detail.

We then visited Belle Meade Plantation. In 1807, John Harding bought a log cabin known as Dunham Station, a trading post along the Natchez Trace. In 1853 General William G. Harding completed the Greek Revival Mansion known as Belle Meade. After the Civil War, Confederate cavalry officer General W. H. Jackson brought the mansion to world prominence as a thoroughbred horse operation. It was the home of Iroquois, the first American bred horse to win the English Derby.

At one time the plantation consisted of over 5400 acres, but the Depression and Stock Crash in the 1890’s forced the sale of much of the land. The City of Belle Meade now encompasses much of the original land, with Belle Meade Drive being the home to many more mansions from later times. There were also several massive homes being built along the drive.

We then had lunch at the Tin Angel, a neat little restaurant on West End Road near Vanderbilt University. Then back to the coach for a nap, after which we grilled pork chops and then visited the Opry Mills Mall.

As we left the mall it began to sprinkle, and by the time we got back to the coach it was really pouring down. As I write this on Thursday morning it has been raining all night.


Thursday, August 5, 2004

Today we decided to explore to the south of Nashville, particularly the small town of Franklin. We first went to the Main Street Area, which has received many award for its restoration efforts. We walked around the downtown area looking in various shops, then drove around the town to see some of the older homes, many dating back to Civil War times.

We then went to visit a historic plantation called Carnton. This home was typical of the Pre-Civil War homes, originally built in 1826 by Randal McGavock, a former mayor of Nashville. This late neo-classical plantation house became a social and political center in its early years. Late in the afternoon of November 30, 1864, Carnton was witness to one of the largest and most costly battles of the War Between the States. The Confederate Army of Tennessee - some 20,000 strong- repeatedly charged Union forced entrenched in an arc around the southern edge of Franklin.

Carnton, by then the home of Randal's son, Col. John McGavock, and his wife, Carrie, served as a hospital. In the upstairs rooms where the original wood floors were evident and not covered, the blood stains were very evident where surgery and amputations had occurred.

After the Civil War ended a few months later, the Federal government came and claimed all the known Union casualties and returned them to Federal Cemeteries. The government left the Confederate casualties buried where they had been buried during the battle.
 

A few years later the various states that were represented in the battle came to re-claim the Confederate dead, and they were buried in a two acre plot on the plantation, and designated the McGavock Confederate Cemetery, which is the largest private Confederate in the country, containing 1487 graves.

After a tour of the house and immediate grounds, we returned to downtown and had lunch at The Merchantile, neat little lunch only restaurant. Then we went to The Factory, a group of old building that had previously been used to manufacture mattresses, and later stoves. It is being converted to shops and businesses and seemed to be a pretty popular place to shop for unusual items.

We then drove south somewhat to a historic little village called Lietcher's Fork, a cute little place about 1 block wide and 2 blocks long, but with some quaint little businesses. Donna bought some peaches and sour dough bread from some kids at a roadside stand. Although they were not exactly dressed as Amish, they certainly were of some similar sect.

From there we entered the Natchez Parkway which we drove to its end as it approached Nashville. When we got back to the campground we went over to Camping World right next door for a little window shopping. We talked to a couple in there for a bit, then went outside to look at some of the motorhomes for sale. As we were about to leave, the couple we met were leaving the parking lot, he cut the corner to short, dropped off in a bit of a hole, and was about to drag his Jeep Cherokee over a concrete culvert wall.

He then started backing up and got the wheels of the Jeep turning wrong and damaged one of the tires. I then got him stopped, and we un-hooked the Jeep and he got things back under control. He was lucky the only damage was to the one tire.

Friday, August 6, 2004

We actually slept a little later than normal for a moving day.  Donna actually got up before I did. Since we had done most of the pre-move stuff last night, there was little to do this morning. We left Nashville about 7:45 and arrived at the Kentucky Welcome Center about 8:15 am. At the next exit we stopped at a Flyin J for fuel, and were back on the road about 9:15 am. At 9:40 we stopped in Bowling Green, Ky at the National Corvette Museum. This museum is a very complete presentation of the evolution of the Corvette, including its design and construction. I think every model year was represented, including 5 (I think) Indy 500 Pace Cars. There were also at least 2 years that were represented by serial # 0000001, the first car built for that model year.

We drove on to Louisville, crossed the river into Indiana to a little town called Clarksville, where we are staying at the Add-More Campground, located right behind a new Wal-Mart and Sam's. The campground is not the fanciest place, but is fairly close to downtown and the Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds are host this weekend to the National Street Rod Association National Show. Over 11,000 Hot Rods are expected this weekend.

After getting parked and set up we drove back in to the downtown area of Louisville, and visited a very nice park overlooking the Ohio River from the Louisville side. We then walked around downtown, looking in a few shops, and then took in a display of Art Cars.

Downtown Louisville has scores of full size horse mannequins, that have been painted and decorated in all sorts of artistic themes. That also was very interesting.

We then had dinner at a really neat place called 'John E's ', which was a tad on the expensive side, but was the best rib eye steak I have had since we went to 'Fig Wiggins' in Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC back in 1996.

Saturday, August 7, 2004

We left the campground about 9am to go to the Hot Rod Show, located at the Kentucky Fair and Expositions Center, a huge complex that included two large Exhibit Halls and a parking lot with over 11,000 Hot Rods. There was even a football stadium on the grounds and a Six Flags Park next door. We don't have any idea how many participants and spectators were there, but it had to be over 25,000 people.

I doubt we actually saw 20% of the Hot Rods! After spending several hours walking the lot, and looking at all kinds of cars, we found a shady spot and got a bite of lunch. A Fish Plate with 2 pieces of catfish, french fries, hushpuppies, and slaw was $8. Donna had earlier paid $3 for a large coke. Donna had a sliced chicken sandwich with LOTS of chicken for only $5.

As the afternoon got warmer, we went inside the Exhibit Hall, which was air conditioned. The first thing we saw was a cooking show about to start, so we grabbed the last two seats, and sat down for about 45 minutes. The rest was very welcome.

After we left the Show, we drove around in 'Old Louisville', a rather run-down part of Louisville, located just south of the downtown area. Although, there were many old brick and stone 'almost mansions', most were in extremely bad repair, and had been converted to low rent apartments. There were, however, a few pockets of areas there that were very nice and a little remindful of Savannah.

We went back to the campground, then decided to go to the Sam's that had just opened the previous Thursday. Near Sam's is some City property, with a little lake, and there must have been 200 wild Canadian Geese there.

After returning from Sam's, we went to the laundry room, hooked up to AOL, got an email from Scott, and read the Lufkin Daily News. I uploaded the journal that I had completed to that point. Then we spent an hour or more visiting with folks in the park that were out and about. Mostly some car show folks.