Nashville, Thursday, day 4

Today’s blog will be short, not that nothing happened, but it was a day of routine, maintenance, shopping, and eating. No good photo ops.

We started out with a plan to hit a bucket of balls at a nearby golf course, pick up needed supplies, and return to the Gibson guitar place for a look a the manufacturing in progress. Well, we did the purchases and while in a new part of town, found an excellent BBQ restaurant – called Famous Dave’s. I believe it is a franchise, but not one I’m familiar with. Anyway, Margaret (our resident BBQ connoisseur) declared this to be the best BBQ she’s ever had. We now have their web-site and plan to order from them when we get back to Fernandina.

After stuffing ourselves, we weren’t in much of a mood for much else so we came back and did the few needed chores, took a nap, and that was the day. So much for exciting life on the road.

I’d like to take some good photos of the Nashville area. It is quite picturesque, what with the rolling forested hills, the Cumberland River meandering through. But the smoke continues to create hazy, whitish conditions. Sometimes you can smell the smoke, but mostly it’s just a haze over everything. The TV folks say it is from the Georgia and Florida fires and there was a report of some fires in the Appalachians – not far from here. Anyway, it all makes for difficulty in finding a good photo op.

The road system is quite good. Besides the three Interstates crossing here (I-24, 40, and 65), Nashville has a large number of local highways built as limited access with 3, 4 and sometimes 5 lanes (plus exiting and on-ramp lanes). It would be smooth sailing except many of the people here drive like maniacs! Yesterday, for example, driving down to Carnton Plantation, the speed limit was 55, I was doing 65-70, and I was the slowest car on the road – and this is with 3+ lanes of traffic. It will be good to return to small town driving!

Nashville day 3

Following several hours of “house” cleaning, we debated what we might do this day. Our current RV park “home” is the next exit up the road from Grand Ole Opry, OpryLand, and Opry Mills Mall. From the highway, the only thing I saw promising was the Gibson guitar factory. Since we had seen a special on TV about the making of Gibson guitars, we thought it would be a reasonable outing.

We parked outside the Apple Barn – a country-style store selling everything from cider to ceramic chickens! The above photo was one wall (one of four) with jellies, jams, and preserves. It may not be artistic photography, but I was amazed at the different kinds that could be made.

Once we got into the mall, it was much larger than it looked from the outside. Shaped as three sides of a triangle, there was a wide variety of shops – not just the typical clothing / shoes. Lots of things for kids including a sea-life merry-go-round, complete with manatees, porpoises, stingrays, sea-horses, etc. Quite innovative. Next to this merry-go-round, there was a restaurant with large vertical aquariums throughout. Naturally, they serve: ta-da! Seafood! But you can’t pick your fish from the nearby aquarium.

We finally got to the Gibson guitar “factory”. Turns out that this one manufactures only mandolins and banjos. There are three other factories – two in Nashville, and one in Boseman, MT – that make the guitars. But it was an eye-opener for us, seeing the wide variety of guitars and other instruments that Gibson makes. We plan to return tomorrow (or Friday) when the “factory” is in operation – we were there today at 4:15-ish and the workers had left for the day. I’ll try to get some photos when we return.

We purchased tickets to the Grand Old Opry show Friday night. Not that we’re country music buffs, but how can one visit Nashville and not see the “SHOW”!

During our tour of Carnton plantation yesterday (about 40 miles south of here), the guide said several times how hot it was in this area during the summer. It was 91 yesterday, and humid. I can imagine what it’s like in August! The Cumberland River flows through Nashville and contributes a lot to the humidity.

More tomorrow.

Nashville - Day 2

Today was Civil War history day. Margaret will elaborate. The photos are from the Carnton Plantation. Photo 1 is the garden and the house side. Photo 2 is the Confederate cemetery - the largest privately owned and maintained cemetery in the country. The story behind all this is hard to synopsize, that's why I'm leaving the telling to Margaret!

I read about this episode in our history from "Widow of the South," a story about this event and those who lived it. The Carnton plantation was quite a prosperous one and the family wealthy and prestegious. On the afternoon of Nov. 30, 1864, the mistress of the plantation, Carrie McGavock watch the advance of the Confederate line come toward the house, walk past on all sides, and advance to meet the entrenched Union Army near Franklin, TN, south of Nashville. The battle lasted five hours. Nearly 1/3 of the Army from Tenn. died. Almost 9,500 soldiers, Union and Confederate, died, were wounded, captured or were never heard of again.

Carnton, less than a mile from the line, became a Confederate field hospital. When the house could hold no more, the porches and yard were filled with the wounded and dead. The blood stains still darken the wooden floors.

The Confederate Army lost a horrible battle that day, and with it many of their best officers. Our guide, a historian, said that the Union line used 400 wagon-loads of cannon balls/ammunition. I can't imagine. And the firing was point blank. It was brutal.

From all this horror, the McGavock's and the citizens of the area buried the dead, Union and Confederate. The Union disinterred their dead transporting the bodies to the North. The survivors help identify their fallen comrades and they were buried on the McGavock's land, grouped in death by state. Florida had 4, GA 69, Tenn 230 -- I don't remember the other numbers, plus many they would name or identify with an outfit.

Day 2 part b, as I posted this before I was ready.

We took a guided tour of the home. It is lovely, this building, constructed in 1826 is four bricks wide on the outer walls, 3-wide on the inner. Plus the main hall/gallery, there are four 20 x 20 rooms on each floor (basement of 7 feet height, floor one: the parlor, dining room, family sitting room and plantation office; floor two: four bedrooms with a smaller room of undetermined use; and an attic. Each room had a fireplace and fine old windows on the north and south sides, none at the ends except at the attic level. There were original items to the house and period items as well. There were floor cloths in the hall and dining room, bare wood in some rooms, carpet in others. Everything was exquisite.

The guide was eloquent and informative, himself a historian who had written a book about the battle. His retelling of the scope and development of the battle was detailed, but never boring, and he took pains to bring it home to us in comparisons we could understand. For instance, if you stopped in Franklin at Starbucks for a cup of joe after the tour, you would never know that bodies of the dead and wounded had been laid in rows up and down the street. Certainly, not a topic of conversation over one's latte.

The cemetery was quiet and as orderly as a parade drill, meticulously kept, cool under the trees. It was a moving experience.

Nashville, TN – Monday – Memorial Day

Margaret tells me that folks reading the blog(s) aren’t interested in our “problems”. But they are part of our travels, so here are some.

Last night, being the Sunday of a 3-day weekend, it was impossible to find a empty campsite, so we did what all red-blooded American RV-r’s do, we stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Actually worked out pretty well except we didn’t have any hookups; so we did the obvious, started the generator. We weren’t alone, I counted 5 other rigs in the lot (and there a few more this a.m.).

When it began to cool off (we transitioned from Eastern to Central time zone – so it was earlier than it seemed), we shut off the generator and moved outside in our “easy” chairs to watch the world go by. While were sitting in front of the RV’s refrigerator vent, I began to notice an intermittent clicking. It was the refrigerator’s pilot light trying to start the refrigerator on gas (obviously, no electricity). When I went inside to turn it off / on (whatever), the control lights / switches on the refrigerator were dark – no refrigeration!

Out came the tools; off came the access panels; and my next-door-neighbor came over to help. To make a long story short(er), we couldn’t find anything wrong - at least nothing we could point to to make it “right”. After 45 minutes of collective head-scratching, we gave up and replaced all the panels and put away the tools. Then, all by itself, the refrigerator started working again. Go figure!

Meanwhile in the midst of this crisis, I accidentally left the door open – and out went Suki-cat! Margaret was beside herself. All ended well, she tracked Suki down in an open field and lured him close enough to grab him and return him to the unit. We’d always worried about this happening; and it finally did. But it ended ok, this time.

We have decided to spend a few extra days in Nashville – there is a lot to do in the area. Check-in time at the RV park was 11:00 a.m. so we killed time enroute by stopping at the Sam Davis home. No, he was not the president of the Confederacy – that was Jefferson Davis – but Sam Davis (no relation) was killed by the Federals as a spy. Naturally, that made him a local hero. Anyway, here are some photos of his homestead.

The first photo is the front. There is a long drive, typical of southern "mansions" leading from the road between rows of cedars. The second is the kitchen (with dinner bell) and the outhouse to the left. The third is the door of his childhood home which has been moved to the family estate in Smyrna, TN (about 30 miles south east of Nashville).

Wayne

Sunday night in Manchester, TN Wal-Mart!

Another non-photo-op day. After departing the Forsyth, GA, KOA at 9:45 a.m., we headed north along I-75, took the by-pass around Atlanta and by 1 p.m., we were in Tennessee.

We’re not sure where the fires are, but it was serious smoky all the way from Forsyth to Manchester, TN (about 60 miles south of Nashville) on I-24. We haven’t watched the TV news in several days so we’re not up on the local info. I guess we could get on the Internet and track down the source of the smoke, but I guess it’s not the important in our daily travel (as long as we don’t hit any detours!).

We were unable to get into the local KOA and didn’t see any other commercial campgrounds along the way, so here we are in the Manchester, TN, Wal-Mart SuperCenter. Not our first choice but we’re not alone: I count 3 other RV’s in the lot and it’s only 6:45 p.m. (Central Daylight Savings Time).

We’ve made reservations for a 4 night stay in Nashville – a spot about 2 miles from the Grand Ole Opry. Don’t know if we’ll make that or not, but Margaret has a spot near Nashville she read about and wants to visit. If we’re successful in finding it, I’ll let her tell the story.

Saturday in Forsyth, GA

Who’d thought we’d end up spending 3 nights in Forsyth, GA. After all, we’re only about 300 miles from home. I spent a big chunk of Friday playing golf with my friend, Rick Kemp, from Warner Robins. Margaret used the day to catch up on her reading, a power nap, and minor clean-up. Friday evening we visited the grocery store and stocked up on Southern veggies and even some country ham.

Today, Saturday, was a maintenance day for me. I spent the morning getting our new wide-screen LCD TV working. It took a quick trip to Radio Shack to get a different cable to connect the DVD/VCR to the TV. The picture looks pretty good (with a DVD). Putting in a small LCD TV enabled us to cut the cabinet back so it no longer protrudes in the walkway / access to the driver’s seat. I am no longer hitting my head on the TV cabinet.

Then I took out the dash (really!) and connected the air conditioning ducts which had fallen off over time. I used hose clamps so they should stay put.

Today’s photos are of down-town Forsyth, which is about an hour from where we once lived. The first photo is the local Monroe County courthouse. This is typical of the courthouses built in the deep South. It is situated on a square with various businesses around the square. The second photo is where we had lunch – the Grits Café. We heard about it years ago when living in Warner Robins but had never ventured up to try it.

You’d never know you were in middle Georgia, with fine cuisine that would be welcome in any big city. The only way you might know where you were was several dishes included some type of grits (my lunch was Shrimp and Grits – with the grits mixed with yellow corn, made into a croquette, and deep fried). Margaret had a grilled salmon and spinach salad garnished with fried shredded sweet potato (at least we think that’s what it was)! Very delicious, and the other menu items were tempting as well.

I’m hoping that the traffic will be moderate tomorrow (Sunday) when we drive into / around Atlanta on our way north. Not sure where we’ll be Sunday night but probably somewhere between Chatanooga and Nashville. Wait and see.

MH – watched a regiment of geese marching across their domain yesterday, all in step with the one ahead of them, goose-stepping, I guess. They scattered young children and claimed the basketball court until the older kids chased them. They are a raucous gaggle.

Forsyth, GA

No photo tonight. We arrived at the KOA in Forsyth, GA, (about 20 miles north of Macon) at 4:00 p.m. (roughly) after a hard day on the road. Even though we left before 10:00 a.m., it took over 1/2 hour to fuel up on I-95 near Brunswick, GA (problem with the credit card network at Flying J) plus the folks refueling in front of us.

Then we stopped at Burger King in Metter, GA. I won't describe the problems at the checkout counter. But lunch took another 45 minutes.

Even though I-16 is a relatively new highway, it has been beat up by the 18-wheelers (plying between Atlanta and Savannah), so the ride was pretty tiring.

The KOA in Forsyth, GA is actually pretty nice. We are parked away from I-75 so we are anticipating a quiet evening. There is a family of geese, a couple of males and several females, and at least 6 goslings at the lake. I wanted a photo but I was tired and light wasn't good (etc.) so maybe tomorrow.

Margaret drove almost 3 hours today so was ready to stop earlier. It reminded us that many folks ask "How many miles do you drive a day?" When we respond, "About 210." They look puzzled. After all, most of have drive 500-600 miles a day in our youth. But when you sleep late, break camp (disconnecting / connecting stuff) and pilot a 15,000+ pounnd behemoth along bad roads at 65 mph (with 18 wheelers coming at you); then reverse the process in the evening in time for an adult beverage, relaxation, and a good night's sleep; a couple of hundred miles is about all you're good for!!!

Anyway, I'm off to play golf at 8:40 a.m. tomorrow. Margaret is going to relax. We're thinking about staying an extra night to catch up on some maintenance. I'll know more about that tomorrow. (We have a air-conditioning duct (or two) that have come loose in the dash plus some tire questions that need answers before we take off. More on these later.)

Signing off from middle-Georgia,

Wayne

Starting the 2007 RV Adventure from FB

We finally managed to “get on the road”. Being on the road is defined here as being moved out of the house with food, clothing, cat, and stuff. But as one might expect, it didn’t go as smoothly as we’d planned. Monday (21st) we moved the motor-home from storage to space 112 (see photo for the local “paved-paradise:” at Pecan Park RV Resort (sic) – directly under the JAX flight path!). But we were not able to complete moving the critical stuff until Tuesday – so Monday night was our last at the house.

Tuesday, the Fernandina Beach housing inspectors were to come inspect the roof repairs. They did arrive – and approved the work (Hallelujah!) – but not until almost 4:00 p.m., so we didn’t get the cold foods (or cat) out of the house. We did spend Tuesday night in the motor-home. We had our first surprise of the trip. Margaret was taking a shower when the cold water control knob came off in her hand (actually it simply spun without effect). Since the water wasn’t “off”, I turned off the water supply. So, no running water (no toilet flushing!). What to do?

As luck would have it, the folks at AJ RV service (near the airport) had serviced the motor-home recently and were able to take us right away Wednesday a.m. – about 8:15. I was out of there at 9:00 with a new shower fixture.

We continued cleaning out the house and were completely “moved” out by noon. Of course this was not with irony. We haven’t had any real rain in 3 months. So naturally when we were carrying boxes of food from house to car it poured buckets! The vegetation needed it so it’s ok – we didn’t shrink.

I still have to hook up the Saturn for towing. I’d like to do it this evening but it looks like more rain so it may not get done until tomorrow a.m.

Our plan is to spend Thursday and Friday evenings in a KOA just north of Macon, GA. I will play golf with my friend, Rick Kemp, Friday in Macon – assuming it’s not raining. Margaret may see friends or may lay low and “organize” our home on wheels.

The Adventure has begun!!!

RBY BUG modified?

In case you haven't seen Margaret's VW recently, she's added a few new "features". This is in response to her recent comments about selling the BUG. Thought you might like to see the mods.

Enjoy
Wayne

Shrimp Festival in Fernandina Beach & Travel Prep

As we reached the end of April, there were two activities for yours truly. First, the annual Shrimp Festival in Fernandina Beach. A small town of 15,000 (roughly) is host to a hundred thousand (plus?) visitors once a year (this year, the first weekend in May). The central part of downtown is closed for 2 days and vendors, artisans, and antique(?) dealers set up shop in the streets. This year they came almost to our doorstep (see photo above) across the street.

It is a sight to see but as this was our 7th year, we'd seen enough. We made two short walks down Centre Street to see a few friends and old acquaintences but didn't buy anything. Glad it only happens once a year.

The parade, like most small town parades, was fun. Lots of folks in cars, walking, mini-floats, and two bands. The politicians and local businesses provide most of the entries. As this year's theme was cooking (with shrimp, naturally), the cleverest entry was a life-size mannequin of Barbie with a giant shrimp draped over her head - titled (obviously) "Shimp on a barbie."

Meanwhile, we have begun seriously preparations for this year's trek in the motorhome. Unless something comes up, we will be moving out of the house / into the motorhome on May 21st. We are trying to get most stuff / packed in the motorhome to allow us an early exit from the area. Last year, being the first time, took a little over a week to get everthing stowed and the house prepped for our house-sitter. I think we're more ready than last - fewer unknowns. We've had maintenance done on the motorhome so we should be in good shape. One thing left to do is we are in the process of replacing the old big (heavy) TV and with an small LCD HDTV. In addition to being 50 pounds lighter, I'm hoping to cut off several inches in the old cabinet and avoid hitting my head every time I get in / get out of the unit. I'm taking the rig to a cabinet maker next Monday a.m. - wish me luck!