Jekyll Island, GA-June 30, 2011

Since I have read and studied about our Federal Reserve banking system being started on Jekyll Island in complete secrecy, I had high expectations of this island. We were both very shocked and disappointed. There were no beautiful mansions. All of the houses were at least 50 years old, but many were much older. Some were in disrepair, many needed paint, some lawns were not tended. There was one huge beach side hotel crumbling and currently for sale. The beaches were nasty. The first beach we walked near, not on, was covered in oil. The petroleum smell was intense. The second beach we stopped to see was very dark brownish black. It was so hard that people had dug sporadic holes and they were playing golf on the beach. We just stood there with our mouths open in disbelief. People were sitting there like it was the best thing since sliced bread. Oh, my, those poor people. We will never go back there. What a waste of time and money. We then went to downtown Brunswick, GA. It was quaint and cute. We had a great lunch in a place that was packed to the rafters with locals. That's always a good sign. Then we found a new shopping center. I browsed Target while Jerry browsed Lowe's. That was fun. We are not really encouraged to go anywhere else tomorrow because today's excursion was such a disappointment, but we will do something! Stay tuned.

Brunswick, GA-June 29, 2011

We arrived here this afternoon. It was a short hop from Hardeeville, SC. We could have gone farther down the road, but wanted to see this park. It is brand new. There are no permanent residents here. Everything is clean and new. It is not crowded, yet. The disadvantage is that the trees are immature. That means short! We have 2 a/c units on top. We hope and pray they will hang in there with us. There are many, many things to do here. We won't get it all done this trip, but we will do what we can. The dryness in this part of the country is really shocking. Places normally covered by water are so dry, the ground is cracked. No wonder Okefenokee Swamp is on fire. Part of our country is drowning in water. Other places are like this area, are dry and brittle. Sad. I wish rain on those who need it and lack of rain on those who don't. Our tourist trips begin tomorrow-you have been forewarned.

Tybee Island, GA-June 28, 2011

Before I tell you about Tybee Island, I have to tell you that Ron, the RV repairman from yesterday, called this morning to see if things were going well with us. When was the last time a repair person made a follow up call to you? What an exceptionally nice person he is. We made our way to Tybee Island, GA today. I think for the most part we were very disappointed. We do not have to go there again. At least the builders on Orange Beach have not made their way to Tybee yet. So, no gigantic condos exist there. Just old Southern houses and motels. No great places to eat. The sand is white there which means it is trucked in. But they do a great job of grooming the beach. Good for them. As we were returning, we stopped at Fort Pulaski, on the same island. Our son gave us a lifetime pass to all National Parks, so we got in free! Neither of us left home this morning thinking we would spend a long time climbing all over a gigantic fort. But we did just that. The cannons were twice the size of the ones at Fort Morgan in Alabama. The fort is also twice as big. It has been well cared for and it really was fascinating. We had a good time going through it and taking pictures. In the midst of this fort which played a hugh part in the "War of Northern Aggression" was a beautiful fig tree in full bloom. It was actually more of a gigantic bush rather than a tall, standing tree. The young figs were clearly visible. Neither of us had ever seen a fig tree in bloom. I thought about the significance of a fig tree in the Bible and wondered if this tree also bloomed during the war? It seemed a little out of place but it was really pretty anyway. That sort of made the day extra special. We leave in the morning for a park on the coast in Brunswick, GA. We'll be there for July 4th.

A kink in the works-June 27, 2011

We have had electrical problems since we got to this park. There have been storms almost every night but the power surges come in the wee hours of the morning. We are tired from lack of sleep. So, we called a mobile RV repairman this morning. He got here about 1:00. He said this park has a problem with power surges. That's nice to know and also very disappointing. He suggested moving to another spot, but we are leaving day after tomorrow and do not want to go through the work to move next door. He checked everything over on the coach and it is all working according to the way it should. Tom was such a very nice man. We were so blessed that we were lead to select his phone number. And we were impressed that he was so kind and so honest. We have really been fortunate to be lead to great local people when we needed questions answered. He is from Bluffton, the city we visited on Saturday and fell in love with. It is a wonderful place to visit and no doubt, to live in. Sometimes it is a bit overwhelming what great people we have had contact with. I hope it continues to work that way. We did not have much time to visit any place special today, so we will do that tomorrow. We went to Wally World to get a new vacuum cleaner and got so disgusted, we left and went to Target. We really like Target stores. That means the highlight of this day was a trip to Target? I think you need to worry about us! 

forgot to tell you this-June 25, 2011

One of the local fire departments here is having a huge fundraiser. Would you care to guess what it is? They are selling FIREWORKS!
We almost pulled off the side of the road to take a picture of the stand and sign. I could say several things about this, but I am sure you see the humor and insanity of this. Add your own punch line and laugh!

Hilton Head, SC-June 25, 2011

There are many things to say about Hilton Head. First, the traffic is horrible beyond belief and they all drive like they are practicing for a demolition derby. I think we both had high blood pressure by the time we got off that island! Secondly, Pleasure Island cities could learn a huge lesson from Hilton Head's entrance. It is just beautiful. Nice trees, excellent road, no litter, no cops (!). It is so neat and clean and so inviting. No piles of junk. No run down businesses. It has an air of quality and money. It points out why lower Alabama is called the Redneck Riviera and Hilton Head is known for its class. It was delightful to see. Do we want to stay there? No, probably not. But it was really pretty to see. When we came back we stopped to eat at Captain Woody's in Bluffton, SC. It looked sort of run down, but we found out it was new. They hired a reclamation builder to build it. Almost everything in the restaurant was found in another location. Even the table tops came from a long ago restaurant on Hilton Head. It was just delightful. And the food was excellent. We try to find these little out of the way places to eat so we get a unique experience as well as locally grown food. In this case, the seafood was local. We really enjoyed it. Tomorrow will be a day of rest. Have a blessed Sunday. More exploring on Monday.

Savannah, GA-June 24, 2011

What an incredible and wonderful day this has been. After a busy day getting a prescription filled for Jerry from Publix in Orange Beach, we headed to Savannah, to play tourist. What a interesting city. It is big and very busy and filled with semi trucks and hot and steamy and very different from any place we have been. First the streets are old bricks, cobblestone and rocks. It is so hard to walk on and even harder to drive. The main downtown street, Oglethorpe, is also a truck route. So, in the midst of all of these tourists, you have huge semi trucks running red lights and trying to force their way through intersections. Pedestrians have the right of way, but sometimes you can be dead wrong. We walked in the intense heat until we nearly collapsed. Then we saw people streaming into this restaurant called Moon River (no, not the Andy Williams' Moon River) and we were so happy we were there. It was a 200 year old building that has been a host of businesses, including a coal storage facility, a flour mill, a hotel and now a restaurant. It was there that we learned, in Savannah, the Civil War is not called that. It is known as the War of Northern Aggression. I laughed for a long time over that one. I've never heard that in my life. The day started with such stress, after a night of rain, but ended on such a happy note. It was so much fun. We will probably go back before we leave. We missed many stores. When we got back to our parking place, the Downtown Development Group had a band playing music at a huge square. The band was called Train Wreck. Maybe one day we will say we saw them when they were not famous! They were quite good. It was a terrific ending to a terrific day. We look forward to what tomorrow holds.

Hardeeville, SC-June 23, 2011

We arrived here not too long ago. We love this park. We are already talking about being snowbirds here. Savannah is 15 minutes away. Hilton Head is only 20 minutes away. We may stay here longer than we originally planned. The road here was so dusty that we had to wash the car upon arrival. It was gray, not red. We have come down from 300 ft to 30 feet in altitude. We have seen our first palm trees. We almost feel at home, like we were in Orange Beach. But then Orange Beach was never really home. It was a place to live. When we asked about nice places to eat, our park owner, Rita, said they are countless in Savannah and Bluffton. She was a nurse in Savannah and said she ate at a particular place at least 4 days a week while she was working there. So, we shall check it out and tell you all about it. The Ocefenoke Swamp in Georgia/Florida has a really bad fire going on right now. The smoke is here, many miles away, but is less than farther south of here. That is so far away we are struggling to understand how bad the smoke must be in Georgia. We shall see. I hope your week is going well for you. Ours is wonderful. Blessings to all.

Lexington, SC-June 22, 2011

We had a short day on the road today, stopping in Lexington for only one night. Tomorrow we head for Hardeeville, SC where we will stay for several days. We came down in elevation today from 3000 ft to 306 feet. And the heat intensified proportionately. This park is part of a HUGE flea market. It is closed today which is fine. Neither of us is into flea markets. I did ask about this one at the office. They have 578 vendors every week. Can you imagine trying to shop in all of that? No, thanks. I would even bet they have a waiting list to get into it as a vendor. It's free to the public. We will be out of here before they start moving in tomorrow. We will once again play tourist when we get to Hardeeville. Right now we think nothing will be better than the BMW tour. We will never forget that!

BMW tour-June 21, 2011

There are not enough adjectives to tell you about the BMW tour. It was fabulous, interesting, remarkable, unbelievable, unique, amazing, fun, tiring. They make cars for both the US and overseas shipment. In fact, 70% of the cars are shipped overseas through the port of Charleston, SC. They have named some of the robots and talk about them like people. Our guide would say "Watch R181 put his hands down and pick up a welder!". Then the sparks would fly. She talked about the automated step when the drive train is put into the car as the body/power train marriage. They do some great things for their "associates". They employ 7500 people in this facility. The next largest facility is in Germany where 20,000 are employed. I just cannot describe what it was like to watch robots move those cars around and weld them and put the parts in the right place, flipping the car in all directions while performing their tasks. They move around all over the place, in the air, both sides of the aisle, in the top of the building. Every car is tested up to 100 mph in a single little building. They build 5000 cars a week here. I want one! I wanted one before we bought our Cute Red Vehicle, but as previously stated, they are not towable. Now I really want one!! But common sense says it will not work to try to pull one around with us. So, I'll put that on my bucket list. This was an incredible tour and I highly recommend it if you are ever in this area of Spartanburg, SC. Tomorrow we leave for a couple of days in Lexington, SC before moving on toward the coast of Georgia.

One more day-June 20, 2011

We are staying here one extra day so that we can tour the BMW plant in Spartanburg tomorrow. We got tickets for the 2:15 tour. We had to sign an agreement that we know it is a foreign trade zone and therefore any theft of property is a federal offense. Good grief, did they think I was going to put a BMW in my purse? We still want to see it, so we will arrive at our appointed time with closed shoes, our agreement and the surrender of cell phones and cameras while we hope for a real treat in car production. Since there are no cameras allowed I will have to find the words to describe it in tomorrow's blog. More than anything I want to know why there is such tight security. We went through the Tiffin factory and were encouraged to take pictures. So, we'll see what tomorrow holds. Oh, the people who came in today and parked next to us have a St Bernard dog. Can you imagine a dog like that in this small of a space? We certainly cannot. Seems like a sweet dog but it is really BIG and takes up the whole back seat of their pickup. So where does a dog that big sleep in a 5th wheel trailer? You know the answer: anywhere he wants!

Roebuck, South Carolina-June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day to all the nice men who read this. You are appreciated.

We arrived in Roebuck, South Carolina a short while ago. The road in here was so full of twists and turns and NARROW! that I was practically screaming. It is very hot here, due to be about 100 degrees tomorrow. When we left Waynesville, North Carolina this morning it was quite cool. We had horrible storms that started at 5:00 this morning. We packed up and then had to sit and wait for it to clear enough for us to leave. We do know our windshield wipers work! It's the first time we've had to use them. While Jerry was unhooking everything outside, a Canada goose got separated from its mate or flock or both. It struted up to Jerry and nearly wailed it was honking so hard. He ignored it and it wandered toward the river still making a horrible noise. You could tell it was distressed. In about 10 minutes a goose flew in out of the rain clouds and showed it the way to go. That was more than likely its mate. They are much more loyal than most humans. If you doubt me, google Canada Geese and read about them. They are amazing. At the same time they are as messy as any bird alive. The owner of this park is from Florida. He is very nice and was most accomodating when we arrived. Tomorrow we will try to get tickets for a tour of the BMW plant. It sounds like it would be great fun.

Misc, lots of things-June 17, 2011

I did not blog yesterday because all we really did was go to Paula Deen's Kitchen in Cherokee for lunch. It was positively dreadful. I think she may get a letter from me, seriously. We had a longer talk with our neighbors this morning. They are from South Carolina. It's a nice couple who has 3 boys. All 3 are cute as can be. They are very active boys and it is fun to watch them. Their dad told us today that when it rains, the boys go to Jonathan Creek beside our park and watch for watermelons floating downstream. People upstream put their melons in the water to keep them cool. When it rains like it did Wednesday the get loose and float downstream. And here all I saw was a garbage can and a "bunch" of ducks. I had no idea what I missed. What dummies we are, we put our melons in our refrigerator! The storm was much worse than we thought. Trees fell across the highways. The DOT came in and cut them up and tossed them to the side of the road. We booked our next park. It is in Roebuck, South Carolina. The reviews are good so we are looking forward to it. We have already checked out our space online. While we are traveling we learn so much from the internet about the parks we hope to go to and about their pros and cons. We know we have to plan ahead for the days around July 4th. We surely don't want to have to park in a WalMart lot. We will if we HAVE to, but we hope we can avoid that. Our day consisted of a trip to Wally World so we would have food supplies to get us down the road. Waynesville has a fabulous new WalMart that is divided into three distinct sections. You enter the door you need the most. It's a great store. It's time for our walk around the park. Hope your week is going well.

Rain and ducks-June 15, 2011

The predicted rain arrived today. We had a couple of really bad wind gusts before they ran a crawler on TV warning of a thunderstorm in Waynesville. Jonathan Creek in front of us is now muddy. It was so pretty and clear before. It will be clear again. I was watching out the front window when a blue 35 gallon garbage can floated down the creek. It did not fill with water and sink. Then came about 8 or 9 mallard ducks. They were spinning in circles and bobbing like bouys. I have never seen ducks doing that. I bet they were paddling like crazy underneath. Somehow they flapped their wings and jumped up on the bank. Then they started eating like someone had put a royal banquet in front of them. Bless their hearts. There is a rule against washing motorhomes or cars in this park. Most allow it for a fee. A few allow it free. Not to be outdone by a silly rule, I grabbed an umbrella and a sponge full of Dawn dishwashing detergent. I soaped the entire front of the coach, all that I could reach. I think I managed to get all the bugs off. I do not care if anybody saw me. I was not using water that cost money. God sent it for free. And now I thank Him we have the bugs off the front of our land barge! Sometimes we just have to put our brains in gear to come up with solutions. This was one of those times. We will sleep well tonight because the rain on the roof is hypnotic and very relaxing.

Cafe-June 14, 2011

We drove into Maggie Valley today. It was pitiful. What businesses were not closed (out of business) were for sale. We could not guess what exactly caused that problem. So, we went back to Historic Waynesville. There were fewer people so we walked up and down and into as many stores as we could. Our favorite was Mast General Store. It was started in 1883. It had those old bare wooden floors that creaked when you walked on them. It was truly a step back in time and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We decided this evening to walk around the park. They have many activities. We stopped first to check out the menu on the Pride Cafe which is only open for breakfast. I'm sure it is the focal point of the day for some of the permanent residents here. Monday offers a stack of pancakes (2) $1.75. Tuesday has (2) biscuits and gravy $1.75. Weds. repeats Mon. However, Thursday caught our eyes, (2) biscuits and grave $1.75. Yes, it said GRAVE. We immediately decided to skip eating at the cafe. We played a game of putt-putt. It's free and you can play whenever or however you choose. Jerry beat me badly. Correction: I let him beat me! We tied the 18th hole, both of us had a hole in one. That's really true. It is supposed to storm tomorrow. If so, we'll stay in and do "housework". Hope you are all having a good week.

Beautiful day-June 13, 2011

The creek in front of us must be Jonathan Creek. Whatever the name, it is so nice. They have chairs and swings beside the water. So, we sat in a 2 seater swing and just watched the water roll over the rocks. Two of the little boys from next door were in the water fishing. (One of them caught 3 rainbow trout last night). It was incredibly relaxing to not have to think about anything, just listen to the water. We did want to shop in downtown Waynesville today but there were so many people walking around it looked like ants at a picnic. Maybe tomorrow will be better. The highest temperature we saw today was 81 degrees. It was one of the prettiest days we have experienced since we left Orange Beach. I think this is what we both thought fulltime RVing would be. But this is the first day like this we have had to date. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as pretty.

A challenging day-June 12, 2011

We moved to a park in Waynesville, NC this afternoon. We are starting to plan our return, though brief, to the Gulf coast for doctor's appointments. We have to go back to our "old" doctor because of our insurance policies. We are in a big valley with mountains on both sides and we are beside a beautiful stream. We will watch for flood warnings! We went to the spot assigned and there was no water. So, they suggested a spot so tight that we could not open our slides. When we said we were going to leave, they upgraded us to streamside. That seems uneventful, right? Well, Jerry thought it would be a good idea to park the coach on top of a picnic table. He is unable to see what the side cameras tell him. I can clearly see them but I was outside talking to a little girl who was crying because her family was leaving and she did not want to. Anyway, the picnic table won, so we now have our official mark on the coach. Not pretty, but our very own mark. For a short while we thought we might be dragging the table with us when we left. God is good. The table will remain here when we go! It is life and we are now laughing. We'll start exploring tomorrow and keep you posted. This is truly a beautiful place and this park has the highest rating so we are not unhappy. Just sorry we bruised our coach, but hey, it's a big old thing. It will be ok and so will we.

Odd dog alert-June 10, 2011

We thought the odd dog in the office would be the only one. Nope, there are two next door. The couple on the left of us are from Florida. He is here to be treated at the VA Hospital. This one is one of the tops in the U. S. Anyway, they have two Yorkshire Terriers. He said they were, but you can't tell it. They are both shaved except the hair on their ears. Neither of us has ever seen any dog quite as odd looking as these two. The next time you see a Yorkie, visualize it with no hair except the long hair on its ears. Weird, really weird.
Today we went to the Folk Art Center which is nearby on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a state sponsored, juried display of all sorts of mountain artist's work. It was wonderful. Some of the jewelry was breathtaking and just about that expensive. And the quilts were the likes of nothing we have ever seen, with an out of this world price tag. We came away with a full map of the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs from Georgia to Virginia. We saw on a relief map that we have hit the top of it in height, so it's all downhill if we go north on it. We won't do that this trip. It was a gorgeous day, in the low 80s. The weather here is very nice. Well, the two long-hair-on-ears-shaved-Yorkies are yapping their fool heads off. Think I'll go talk to the little rats.

Rain-June 9, 2011

It was cloudy when we got up this morning and it was easy to see rain was headed our way. So, we decided not to drive miles out of town to see the scenery. Our expedition today was to find a Target store. Both of us dislike Walmart, so we gravitate toward Target. We found a store and enjoyed spending the steamy morning inside of it. On the way back we stopped at a cute little hippie-type coffee shop for lunch. The thunder started rumbling while we were inside. Just as we got home, the rain began. And it rained and rained and rained some more. To fill our time while we listened to the downpour on the roof, we started thinking about where we want to go next. We may head north instead of staying in North Carolina. There is just something here that we don't care for. It's not something we can put our fingers on, just a feeling. It will be extremely hot on the coast which does not excite us. So, if you have any suggestions of great places you have visited in this area, email me and tell where. Our pomegranate plant which grew into a bush and is now close to a little tree really enjoyed today's rain. It is the most extensively traveled pomegranate tree in the country having made the trip with us from our house on Ono. That of course is my opinion. How on earth would you document something like that claim to fame? Will let you know tomorrow what we have decided for our next destination. Today was a really nice day.

Lots of stops today-June 8, 2011

We went first to the Western North Carolina Farmer's Market. It is acres of huge warehouses where people sell their produce. Two of the warehouses are so big you can drive through them to shop. We walked so we could see the veggies close up. We don't have much space in the coach, so we only bought tomatoes, cherries and strawberries. Our car smelled so good when we left there. This is not a road side truck farmer or two. It is a sight to see. Then we drove through downtown Asheville. It is like being on some kind of weird roller coaster ride. Dozens of one way streets up and down hill. I'm not sure people who live here can grow up standing straight! Then we drove some more to find a Harley dealership. The one we found just changed hands 3 weeks ago so there were no logo shirts to buy for Derrick. We tried. Our last stop was at the Cove, Billy Graham's Training Center. We asked if we could just drive the property? Well, no you cannot. We were directed to the Chapel and Welcome Center where we were met by a man who knew we were coming. Jerry's driver's license was scanned on the way in. Our every movement was traced. After we toured the Chapel we walked outside. The volunteer "guard" notified the gate that we were leaving. We could feel that we were being followed by cameras in the trees. It seems odd that a religious training center owned by Billy Graham would have to have such extreme security. Something bad must have happened in there at some point in the past. I will say that it was truly beautiful, full of peace and a calming spirit hung in the air except for the heavy survellience. As we were leaving we drove by 2 hen turkeys with a minimum of 16 babies (called poults???, not sure) following them. It was a neat sight. But we did not stop to watch them for fear we'd be run off the property. It was still quite a unique drive to take. We have not planned tomorrow yet.

Biltmore Estate-June 7, 2011

Oh my are we ever tired. The Biltmore Estate covers 8000 acres. I think we walked half of it today. Not really, but we did walk a lot. I think I need retreads on my tennis shoes! We climbed steps up and down 4 or 5 floors of the house and from one end to the other. It is a monstrous house, more like a massive castle. I would not have wanted to live there, but it was fun to see how they did live. It was quite beautiful in places and in other places it was almost depressing. The library was most impressive with 23,000 books. The upkeep on that place has to be astronomical. Jerry did not like the furniture but in the late 1800s that's all they had. It is easy to see that they were tiny little people. And they could not have been overweight if they lived in that place which required extensive walking just to get to the dining room for dinner. The estate sits along the French Broad River. We have crossed that river about two dozen times both in Tennessee and here in North Carolina. It is not a particularly pretty river. I hope I'm neither broad or French. Neither of us had ever heard of this river but it apparently is a big deal. I think we have crashed for the day. Not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow.

Blue Ridge Parkway-June 6, 2011

We went to the office to check in this morning. Bill seems like a nice man, but his dog is odd. It crawled under a blanket to bark at us. Jerry said to Bill, "Your blanket is barking" and Bill just nodded his head. You know along life's way you meet lots of odd people, but so few odd dogs. Well, we met one today. We then decided to check out the Blue Ridge Parkway. We went all the way to the Cherokee Indian Reservation "on the other end" in Cherokee, NC.  What a pretty and breathtaking drive. At the peak we were over 6000 feet in elevation. Since our Loveland house was at 5115 feet, we felt right at home. The interesting part of this drive was not just the vistas, but the fact that there were such pretty flowers blooming at that altitude. We have no idea what they were, but they were such bright vivid colors of orange, fuschia, pink, yellow and white. What a treat. There were views from the top of nothing but one valley after another full of trees. Looked like gigantic bowls of trees, or even gigantic broccoli. We passed close to 200 motorcycles today, going in the opposite direction. We wondered why so many people were not working? We even talked to one couple on a Harley at one of the lookout points. They were very, very nice and we enjoyed talking to them. Their Harley was the same color as our CRV, so that was a big topic of conversation. We came back home on a different road. I should say we flew home. People drive very fast here. We covered a lot of miles today so tomorrow we will stay closer and go to the Biltmore House.

Arrived in Asheville, NC-June 5, 2011

So far Asheville seems to be a pretty place also, but it does not have the feel of Sevierville, TN, yet. Maybe later. For a reason I cannot explain I let Jerry talk me into a short cut from our previous park to I-40. Never again. It had so many twists and turns we were honking our horn at our own tail lights. Unbelievable. It was about the same size road as I drove through the mountains all day yesterday. However I was driving the CRV (Cute Red Vehicle) and today he was driving our "land barge", a name given to our coach by our Decatur friends. Quite a BIG difference. This is not an articulating bus. I have not looked in the mirror yet. My hair may have turned white! We were so happy to get to this park and find we have been assigned a spot under a gigantic tree. We just stood outside and stared at it. So few parks have trees as they can cause hazards to coaches and coaches can hit trees. There's a wonderfully cool breeze blowing. We would be completely speechless if it stays this way. However, there is a downside. Our DirecTV cannot find a satellite so now we have to go to a Wally World somewhere and buy a coax cable so we can connect to the park's cable. We left a kazillion of them in our storage unit in Orange Beach. The choice seems to be a tree for shade or DirecTV. We want the shade, so off we go. Not sure yet what or where we will go tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Cades Cove-June 4, 2011

At the suggestion of a lady at the Sevierville Post Office, today we drove to Cades Cove. That's pronounced Kay-deez Cove. It was an early settlement (1820s) in this area that was eventually taken into the Smoky Mountain National Park. The original houses and churches are still there. They are open to explore. There's also wildlife in the area and some of the most beautiful meadows we have ever seen. The sun was warm and there was a slight breeze. It was an incredible day and the drive through the Cove was so much fun. We have pictures of a very pretty white tail deer and some wild turkeys. Live ones, not on a bottle. The more we travel the more in awe I am of the people who settled this country. How tough and strong they had to be. And what incredible faith they had. As we came home through the mountains again, I was able to see that the sides of the river in most areas were filled with tiger lillies and ferns growing wild. Such a pretty sight. Two interesting observations we have made about this area. (1) There are only two banks here: Tennessee State Bank and BB&T. That's odd to us. (2) There are very few pine trees. The trees are deciduous. Imagine what they would like like in the fall. It must be a beautiful sight. I cannot explain either of these oddities. We are leaving tomorrow for Asheville, North Carolina. I spoke to the owner of the park who told me he would not be there when we arrived, but he would leave our lot number taped to the front door. He will be around on Monday to collect the rent. It amazes us when we find people who are so trusting. We plan to stay in Asheville about a week because there is so much to do in that area. We especially want to see the Biltmore House. I wish everyone a blessed Sunday.

Old Mill Village-June 3, 2011

Today we found a road that looked interesting and took off to see where it ended. It was another route through the mountains to Gatlinburg. This is such a beautiful area I really cannot put it in words. The mountains are so peaceful and soothing. We also stopped at Old Mill Village which is the exact spot where Pigeon Forge was founded. We had lunch in an old flour mill. What a fun environment! The food was good, too. We walked afterward and then struck out on yet another road. Ended up in Sevierville, only a few blocks from our park. We have one more road to explore tomorrow. They are having a rally here for a certain brand of 5th wheel trailers. Every single trailer that comes in, unloads and hooks up. Then they rent a golf cart to ride around and gawk at everybody else. There are so many of those stupid little carts, I want to play "shoot the duck" with a bb gun (not really) or at the very least, go out with flares and direct traffic. Would there be injuries if two carts collided doing a max speed of 7 mph? Probably not, but there would be a lot of screaming and yelling going on. We have never encountered this before. We don't see the need for it either. But to each his own. I did forget to tell you that yesterday after we explored the bird store, we stopped at the courthouse. There are only two bronze statues on the entire property. There's a beautiful eagle honoring all military personnel. It had a pretty floral wreath in front of it. The other bronze statue is of Dolly Parton. Not kidding. We were told that she gives a concert every year at Dollywood and all of the proceeds goes to children's programs in this area and/or to the public library. Bless her heart, how generous. Jerry said he did not care for this area too much until we found these back roads and also encountered some very nice local people. He really likes it now. So do I. We'll see what we find tomorrow.

Historic Sevierville-June 2, 2011

I have more to share than I have room for tonight. So, I'm picking one of the unusual things we did today. We were returning to the park on a different route this morning when I saw a sign that said "Historic Downtown Sevierville". So, we went downtown. We parked across from the old Courthouse. It is a very nice building. We started walking around and there were some neat businesses. We happened upon a small engine shop. Jerry was drawn in so I followed. The engines were in the back. The front was a tropical bird store. Oh my goodness, what a sight and what an incredible amount of noise. The young man who was in charge proceeded to "take us under his wing" and introduce us to every one of his birds. And each had to talk to us. He had one of those African Gray Parrots that live for 80 or 90 years. He said the bird in his the family will. The cockatoo in the front was not for sale. It was truly a gorgeous bird and it was peach in color, not white and small like most of them are. We actually had fun in there. His love for those birds was infectious. However, we did not buy a bird. While he was telling me about a beautiful red parrot, Jerry felt a tug on his sleeve and he sort of jumped. It was one of those big birds pulling on his shirt to get his attention. Indeed he got Jerry's attention. It was quite comical. I told this young man I was going to blog about his shop and he gave me a card so I could do it correctly. The colorful business card reads "FOX SHOP" "Small engines", "Tropical Birds", "Thrift Store". Can't you see how all of those are connected? He said the shop has been called the Fox Shop since it's inception in the 1920s so they kept the name. The original wooden floors are still in there. It was a really something to see. We walked out the door and I said, "I think we just got a taste of the real Sevierville." We probably won't forget this day for a long time.

Smoky Mountains-June 1, 2011

First, let me say that I did not spell Dolly's name correctly in last night's blog. It is Parton. I hope she forgives me. We got up early and headed to Smoky Mountain National Park. What a fabulous treasure. And it is free. Most other National Parks have an entry fee. It was so green and clean. There were butterflies everywhere. And butterflies do not live in dirty air. I never really knew why they were called the Smoky Mountains, but it is obvious why. It is humid like a rain forest and that humidity hangs over the mountains like smoke. It creates a beautiful panorama. I drove to the Tennessee/North Carolina border, a summit at 5000 ft. Jerry drove back. We decended much faster than the trip up. And admittedly, part of that is because every time I saw something I liked, I pulled off and took pictures. It was just spectacular. We will visit the park from the North Carolina side in the days ahead. We had lunch in Gatlinburg. For my Colorado friends, it is just like Estes Park only at a much lower elevation. It's still fun. This was a delightful day spent in the beauty of our great nation. We so look forward to visiting as many National Parks as we can as we continue our journey around the country. However, we will never forget this one. It is spectacular. I can clearly imagine in my mind's eye how beautiful these mountains would be when the colors change in the fall. If you are near here and have never been to the Smokies, please try to plan a trip soon. It is so worth it. Today's little history lesson: When the Europeans forced the Cherokee Indians out of the Smoky Mountains, they began their journey to another place to live. That route was called the Trail of Tears. It started here.