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