The Trip Begins

Suz and I left Palm City on June 9 for our extensive trip up and down the Eastern part of the U.S. Our first destination is Red Bay, AL to have some warranty work done on the new coach. After that we will be heading to Nashville, TN to sample some country music culture. From there we plan to go to Sevierville, TN (pronounced "severe ville" by the locals) to see Dollywood, Gattlinburg, Pigeon Forge and other sites.

Then its on to Maggie Valley, NC for some relaxation and trout fishing. Next will be the Endless Caverns region of Virginia with a stop at New Market, VA. Harrisburg, PA is next on our way to Mansfield, PA for the annual Corey Creek Invitational golf tournament. This will put us at the end of July.

From Mansfield, we will head up to Verona, NY to the Turning Stone resort for a couple of weeks for relaxation, visiting with friends (Virgil and Sue) and touring the area.

The casino might get some attention as well.

After that we'll be off to the sea shore for a month or so. We start in New Hampshire, and hope to see Rocco and Mercine a couple of times while in the area. Then it is off to Maine, first Rockport, then Thomaston. While there, we will gorge ourselves with lobster and visit with Bob and Sheila Leach. We hope to get a chance to say hello to other friends as well.

Starting back South around the first part of September, we will hit the Boston area and visit with Rocco and Mercine again, then travel through Connecticut, New York and stop in New Jersey to visit Philadelphia for a few days. Continuing South, our next lengthy stop will be Charleston, SC. Then it will be off to Lake Toxaway, NC to see the fall foliage. We then pass through Sevierville, TN again on our way back to Red Bay to get the doors for our cabinets around October 6.

Finally we will head to Pine Mountain, GA for a Tiffin RV Network motorhome rally to share experiences and reconnect with many friends - including Joe and Jerri Blair. After the Rally, we will head South to Palm City, expecting to arrive around October 18.

With that having been said, our first nights stop heading to Red Bay

was at the Casey Jones RV Park in Lake City, Fl, followed by one night at the Capital City RV Park in Montgomery, AL. Casey Jones was nothing special, but the Capital City park is a worthwhile stop.

On Saturday, June 11, we rolled into the thriving metropolis of Red Bay

and met up with our friends Joe and Jerri Blair, who were having work done on their Phaeton.

We spent the next week in the Tiffin campground and in the service bays having work done by

Tiffin

and also by Brannon Hutchinson and Chris Berry. We got all the small corrections made by Tiffin and Brannon installed a new "high def" satellite dish, a surge protector and a battery monitor. He also corrected a bunch of flaws in the TV hookups. Chris built us a new cabinet for the coach and put a shelf in one of the cabinets. However, because of delays at the Tiffin plant the new cabinet will be without doors until we return in October. Oh well. It will look great when it is finished.

While in Red Bay, we took advantage of the many fine dining spots including Suzanne's favourite - Jack's drive in, the Belmont Cafe, Reeve's (very good catfish), and the Rattlesnake Saloon (25 miles outside town - and in a "wet" county). The dining fare is best if you stick to catfish - in general!

Reluctantly (ahem), we and the Blairs left Red Bay on Sunday, June 19 and headed North up the Nachez Trace to Nashville, TN. The Trace was a major commercial artery that ran between Nashville and Nachez, MS in the pioneer era. It is beautiful county and very peaceful - no 18 wheelers and a 50 mph speed limit. Suz found the road to be a bit narrow for her liking, but it was well maintained and really no problem to drive. There is quite a bit to see on the Trace and it is nice to take your time and drink in the history. We stopped along the way for a quick lunch break,

then departed the trace for the backroads of Tennessee on our way to Nashville. The entire area has a lot of Civil War sites, from Vicksburg in MS, and to Franklin near Nashville in TN. We were told that while Virginia had the most Civil War battles, Tennessee had the second most.

Arriving in Nashville, we found our way to the Nashville KOA for a four night stay. I say found

our way, because our Streets & Trips GPS program, which I installed on my large Dell laptop, managed to put us onto a back road not 3 miles from the KOA and we wound trough a residential neighborhood. We ultimately came out at the KOA, but had we followed the Google Maps version of the route, we would have gotten there much more directly.

In any event, the KOA is very nice and we are enjoying Nashville. On Monday, we took a tour of downtown where we saw one of the earlier Grand Old Opry sites, the Ryman Auditorium, which was originally a church.

I believe the Opry began in 1926 and moved to the Ryman, its third location, in 1934, where it remained until 1974 when it moved to its current location. It was while the Opry was at the Ryman that its fame grew with the likes of Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl (sculpture), Hank Williams and other country music legends.

Then it was off to visit the neighborhoods of the rich and famous of the country music world - and rich they are! One of the more interesting spots was the home and guest house of Dolly Parton (one of her many homes).

Our tour guide was Tommy Garmon, a self styled comedian. He was very entertaining and had a broad knowledge of the area and its history. While on the tour we also and noted the major "bar" areas for later - Broadway, 2nd Ave. and Printer's Alley. Later that evening we hit one of the local eateries near the KOA, Caney Fork, which looks like a tavern, but has the best catfish I have ever eaten.

On Tuesday we visited the current Grand Old Opry and the the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. We quickly toured the hotel, which is spectacular with two huge indoor atriums hosting shops, and restaurants.

We were told that it is the largest hotel in the United States without a casino. After lunch we took the tour of rthe Grand Old Opry, visiting the dressing rooms of the country music greats, and standing on the stage itself.

The stage includes a circle of wood from the original stage at the Ryman, and is where every entertainer stand when they perform.

Then it was off to

downtown to explore some of the famous bars and listen to some country music.

To avoid the driving and parking hassles, we took local transportation, which is cheap ($10 per person round trip from the KOA) and readily available.

Our first stop was Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Next we took a look at the famous Tootsie's.

It is very small and was the favourite hangout of the country music legends after they performed at the Ryman, which is located behind Tootsie's.

Next we walked to BB King's,

the Wildhorse Saloon, which was closed, and finally Coyote Ugly, where we had a drink. While there, I was forced to ride the "Pink Pony" (don't ask, but Suz, Joe or Jerri will undoubtedly tell you should you run into them!).

From there we went to Demo's for a diner of pasta. Outstanding food, inexpensive, but very crowded! Then it was off to The Stage on Broadway for some more country music (and booze). Finally, we caught the bus at the designated spot and were taken back to the campground - accompanied by more history from the driver. A great day was had by all.

Wednesday we spent the morning tidying up and fixing this blog. Then we headed back to the hotel for lunch ans to allow Suz and Jerri to "shop." We are now back at the coach - it is raining abit and we will likely go to another local restaurant, the Santa Fe, for diner. Tomorrow we head for Sevierville for a few days. Until then, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog!