Rain, Rain Go Away!!!

The trip to Memphis for an Elvis sighting at the Heartbreak Hotel RV Park and lots of good barbecue at the Cookoff has been postponed!  The forecast for Memphis is storms, and after the last two trips, I've had enough camping in the rain.  

We were going to use the shuttles and cabs to get around Memphis and it all sounded very soggy!

So I've spent this morning cleaning Saffire.  She's going in for some minor maintenance issues and then we'll pack for the beach.  

Kristin, Elyse, Philip and I leave on June 20th for Hunting Island, SC.  Will have wifi the first night, so look for a post and pix on June 20th from Chattanooga, TN, with a full report on the beach and pix to follow.  

Happy Summer Everyone!

Pictures from Tennessee

More pictures from the Tennessee trip!

The Uppity Blues Women in Tennessee

Saffire, The Uppity Blues Women were performing at the Red, White and Blues Review in Kingsport, TN on May 2.  

A group of WAC's  traveled to TN to join me for a great show.  Luanne met me in Kentucky to travel to Kingsport.  We had planned to stay at Taylorsville Lake State Park, but it was full, probably because the Kentucky Derby was running that weekend and it's close to Louisville.  We ended up at Rolling Meadows, a privately owned park which was very pleasant.  We had sites on top of a hill and a huge meadow behind us for the dogs to run.

Nancy, Patricia, Jeanne, Deb, Mary Anne and Janis all joined us at Warriors Path State Park outside of Kingsport.  

Unfortunately, the rain, rain, rain followed us all the way to TN and really hung around for the whole week we were out. 

 It didn't dampen the excitement of attending the concert and the campfire, fueled with pie and chocolate martinis, which took us into the wee hours of the morning.  Saffire played a lot of their new music and were out mixing with the crowd during intermission.  We all had a great time being together.  There is a story about a rabid fan who was sitting next to Nancy during the concert, but I think you had to be there to really appreciate it.  Suffice it to say, we were in our usual hysterics being together!

Tuesday found Luanne and I heading home in the pouring rain.  We planned to go to Cumberland Gap National Historic Site which has a nice campground and lots of good hikes.

We drove through driving rain which thankfully cleared as we set up at the campground.  It is times like this that I really love my Saffire.  It was really nice to have room to move around in Saffire to eat and watch movies as the rain later dumped on us again. 

The Gap is the opening in the mountains which Daniel Boone explored and brought pioneer families through into the rich farmlands of Kentucky.  We hiked all through the same paths that the Boone party and the Indians traveled.  Knowledge of the history of the land really makes the hikes a special experience.  

Wednesday brought more rain, but we went to the top of the mountain and walked in the clouds, which was really pretty cool.  We returned to the same walk Thursday when we actually a some sunshine and were amazed at the view when the clouds lifted!  The visitors center, movies, all the trails, everything is really well done in this park.  I'd love to go back when the rain isn't a constant threat. 

Cumberland Gap, TN is an historic town just east of the Cumberland Tunnel.  We discovered a nice little restaurant there and had lunch both days.  There was a historical site just down the street, so after lunch on Thursday we went down for another short hike.  The site was an old iron furnace, and as we approached it we heard a growing roar.  The reward for days of rain was an amazing mountain of water cascading just beyond us!  It really was the most magnificent site.  

We packed up and headed home Friday, with yes, more rain!  We chose to drive some back roads and found a wonderful little city park to have lunch and let the dogs run while we had a bit of sunshine.  Saffire makes it easy to pull over, get out a couple of chairs and make yourself at home.  The drive was beautiful, and all too soon we hit 75 to go north.  

As we were going right past Mammoth Cave National Park we went in to check it out.  Just after we arrived a really huge, black, blowing, scary storm arrived, so we sat it out in the restaurant.  We were really glad not to be on the road.  This park is undergoing renovation, and unless you want to go on the cave tour isn't much to see.  

We ended the day at a pretty awful place, Grandma's RV park in Shepherdsville, KY.  It was just a big gravel motorhome site, full of million dollar rv's.  No campfires, no place for the dogs, nobody outside, quiet everywhere.  But we were tired and it was the only place around to stop. Luanne came over around 6 am and told me she was packed and leaving.  I got out around 9 and home early afternoon.  

It was a good trip in spite of the rain, but I am really, really tired of dealing with all the damp mess that rain brings with it.  Skidaway, then TN, now I'm home and it looks like rain again.

Stay tuned to the blog, if it's not pouring Saffire leaves with Susie, Christine and me for the Heartbreak Hotel and Graceland next Thursday!!!!

Next stop after that....Hunting Island, June 21st!

I'm going to post a bunch of pictures from this trip, enjoy!

Looking way back!

I prepared a post while I was in Cape Girardeau, MO, the wifi dropped off and I never reposted.  I've decided to put it on now as some of those following the blog will be interested.  I lived with my family in Cape in the early seventies, and my youngest daughter Kristin was born there.  Saffire and I lumbered through the small neighborhood streets in search of the houses we once lived in. 

 The first house was not much changed after thirty years, looking very much as it did when we lived there, it is the frame house on Ford Drive.

 The brick house on Surrey Lane was listed for sale when I pulled up.  The neighborhood, which was new when we lived there, doesn't seem to have fared quite as well over the years.  It would have been fun to go inside and see what it looked like now!

Good memories for all who visited there!

Trip Summary

The picture to the left and the previous one of the alley of oak trees are from the Wormsloe Plantation in Savannah.  The trees stretch for over a mile leading to the remains of the house.  It was very easy to let your imagination roam and feel yourself in a carriage loaded with all your finery on your way to a ball!  Shades of Gone With the Wind!

The rain was a constant during the trip.  One day I spent inside reading a book about Irish immigration titled Galway Bay which I enjoyed.

My big golf umbrella came in handy dashing between campsites and taking Teddy out for his walks.  I was again grateful to Luanne for plugging Saffires hole and I was warm and toasty inside.  

Laraine was in a tent with her dogs, and I admired her tenacity.  I think I would have been packing up long before she did.  It is a testament to the fun we were having that she didn't!

The trip was wonderful in spite of all the rain.  It is always good to be with old friends, and great fun to meet new people you would like to turn into old friends.  We shared so many laughs, walks, dinners and stories during our week together.  

Sunday found everyone on the road home.  Luanne and I were the only ones heading north, so we had a first night at Ft. Mountain State Park in Dalton, Georgia.  It is an area I would like to go back to explore a bit, and was a beautiful switchback drive to the top and the camping area. 

However, it was raining (of course) and snowing a bit, so most time was spent indoors as it was just an overnight stop.  

The next night found us at a commercial campground at Lake Barklay in Kentucky.  It was 20 degrees overnight, and I was wishing for a sunny warm spot to be returning to!  Luanne left at 6:30 in the morning, I got out after nine and was home early afternoon.  

All the WAC's made it home safely, the only drama appearing to be Luanne's as she headed up 57 in Indiana.  The cover on her fan started flapping, so she pulled to the shoulder and got out to bungee it down.  She left the car running and her phone inside, along with her eight month old miniature Australian shepherd.  Yes, you guessed it, Tucker came over and stepped on the door lock and the rest was history!  She was stuck outside with the wind howling and the temps in the low 30's trying to get back in.  After trying unsuccessfully to break a car window with an axe, a trucker stopped and called the highway patrol for her.  The patrolman popped it open in less than a minute, but this story will live on for a long, long time!

Saffire's first journey proved to be a good one.  A couple of minor problems were dealt with, and I now have a better feel of what I need to travel in her.  I have found it was much easier to clean up on returning home, and have returned washing directly to her ready for the next trip. 

I think she must have been a party bus for the 6,xxx miles before I adopted her.  She must have had a very sophisticated audio/visual system installed and then yanked out before they sold her.  The TV is old and the cable hook-up didn't work, so I am going to take out the big old unit they stuck in and put a smaller flatscreen in its place.  I didn't find that I packed anything that I didn't use (except a few clothes) so the Aliner experience was a big help in that.  

We are heading off again on May 1st, destination Kingsport, TN for the Red, White & Blue Blues Festival where Saffire, The Uppity Blues Women will be playing.  A group of WAC's are coming to go to the show, and then we'll camp a few days on our way back home.  I would like to see some of the KY parks, maybe High Falls or Mammoth Cave.   Should return to STL on the 8th or 9th, then on the 14th Susie, Christine and I are taking a road trip.  We're going to Memphis to Graceland!!!!  And we're staying in the RV park at the Graceland Hotel, we don't do things half way!  Planning a night or two at a state park on the way home.  I will be posting pictures of both trips, hopefully finding wifi more often than I did on this first adventure.

I hope you have enjoyed traveling a bit with me.  It is fun for me to be able to look back at where we've been and what we've done.  Maybe one day you will join us!!!

Patricia

 

We're home and getting unpacked.  I'm going to post a few pictures with this now, and when I have time later today will write a bit more about our first outing, and where and when we'll be going again.  Note the pictures of Lake Parker taken from the back window of Saffire.  Boy did it rain!