Up at 5:30 to get headed west by 6. The drive was long but we arrived in the Memphis KOA mid-afternoon. Had traffic jams at a couple accidents and had to stop to remove my brake buddy because it was braking while I was not! Other than that the trip was uneventful. We ordered pizza for dinner and will be in bed early so that we can repeat the day tomorrow - up at 5:30 - on the road at 6. Home tomorrow - the. Trip has been a good one!!
Today was our day for Dollywood! We went to breakfast on our way and we were there by about 10:15. It is a really nice place. Here we are.
We started it our day of rides with one that was very mild - working our way up to some that I can't believe that I rode. Here is our first ride.
Then the Ferris Wheel, the Scrambler and the Swings.
After that, Helen and I went kind of wild. We rode the Sky Rider, the Dizzy Disk, and the Barnstormer. Both Helen and I were glad that the Barnstormer was a relatively short ride!
We all rode the River Rampage , which was our longest wait. They promised that we would get wet and that we did - we were soaked!!! Outside the ride they have a Family Dryer for 5 bucks - here are Ron and Helen in the dryer.
We rode the Tennessee Tornado which is a roller coaster with all kinds of loops and straight down in a dark tunnel. After that Ron and I were"done"! We ate some lunch and Helen went to ride the Wild Eagle which she loved but she did say I was probably glad that I hadn't gone!
We didn't leave the park until after 4. All in. All it was a great day. Tomorrow we head west. Will spend tomorrow night in Memphis - but not at the Memphis East Campground!
Okay, there is full, then there is stuffed, then there is how the hell did you eat that much...think I am at that last stage. We went to The Old Mill for dinner tonight. After a 2 o'clock lunch at DQ, I really wasn't very hungry but the meal comes with soup, salad, corn fritters, rolls, mashed taters, beans (at least I didn't eat the beans) and dessert along with a HUGE portion of whatever main course you order. The country fried steak (or chicken fried as we Texans call it) was really really good as were the corn fritters and the blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream! Did I mention how stuffed I was??!
As for the rest of the day... We went back into the park today to drive up to the top. Clingmans Dome at 6643 feet is the highest point in the park and it is in North Carolina so we would hit another state! Here is a picture from the top. You can see why they are the Smoky Mountains. It really is a beautiful spot.
Since we are half way across the park and there is a casino in Cherokee we went the rest of the way across the mountains. Helen and I left the deposits for the Indians but Ron did quite well. Guess my luck was used up yesterday when no one stole my car!
We came back and sat out by our wonderful stream for a while and then went to dinner. Did I mention that I was STUFFED?! Tomorrow is Dollywood.
Today we headed into Smokey Mountain National Park to go to Cade's Cove. Even though the trip is only about 35 miles it is a long drive. Beautiful, but long. We ate breakfast at The Red Rooster before heading out to the park. Our first stop was at the visitor center where we bout the obligatory t-shirt, and a toy for Daisy! Then we continued on the way to Cade's Cove. We stopped at 3 of the old churches on the way. Here is one of them.
When we got to Cade's Cove we looked at all of the buildings. The mill is the greatest. It was grinding corn into corn meal while we were there. Here are Helen and Ron in front of the water wheel.
And Ron on an old farm implement.
On the way out we saw a deer. Other than that the only wildlife we saw were wild turkeys.
When we got out of the park we stopped in Gatlinburg to eat because it was past 3 and we were starving. We ate lunch and then wandered the town a bit stopping at the moonshine tasting booth! Wow was that stuff awful! But the most amazing part of our stop in Gatlinburg was that when I looked for my keys for Ron to go back to the car, I couldn't find them. When we had arrived and were just getting out of the car Mike called so I got out of the car talking to him. When we got back to the car, it was still running!!! Yep - the keys were in the ignition, the car was still on and low and behold the amazing part was it was still there! No - children it is not quite time to put me in the old folks home but it may not be far off! I cannot believe that I did that and the the car was still there with all the possessions still inside! Anyhow, that was our day - a good one - and one that ended with me being a really lucky old lady!
Today seemed to be a much easier day driving even though it was almost as long. I know the scenery is better. And we didn't stop as much.
We started the day at 6 - even though I had set my alarm for 5:30 pm instead of am! We left that "lovely" campground in our rear view mirror never to be seen again and filled up with gas and went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Then headed east. Through Nashville and Knoxville and then off the interstate to Pigeon Forge. Here is my co-pilot.
The campground here is definitely a keeper!!! It is really nice. We are right next to a nice stream which Breck is loving. Here is a picture of our motor homes in our spots.
Here is Breck coming out of the stream with his "beach" stick - I brought it from Galveston. And here are Daisy and Breck enjoying an afternoon treat in the sun! And the ducks in our stream. All for now - weather is great - going to be cold window open listening to the stream kind of sleeping night!
This morning we left Frisco at 6:15 - who knew Ron would get up early to go on a trip!! We had been planning to leave at 6:30 and at 6 my phone rang and it was Ron asking if I could be ready in 10 minutes!
We stopped for breakfast at Waffle House in McKinney. YUM! And then headed east. It was a LONG drive. We stopped at the Arkansas welcome rest area and walked the dogs. Then stopped for gas and linchpin at McDonalds in Arkadelphia. Stopped at one more rest area in Arkansas. Then crossed the Mississippi which was really really full - actually over its banks on e west side - into Tennessee.
The one thing that I left at home was Breck's shock collar and as we continued on the drive I realized that I really did need it. So in Memphis we found a PetSmart to get a new one. They didn't have one like his old one but they had another with rechargeable batteries. I bought it but it should charge for 24 hours before using - not going to make that. Hopefully, 13 will be enough!! Actually just putting it on hi and pointing the controller at him is usually enough!
The we get to the campground and great googly-woogly it is a DUMP. To put it mildly!!!! No tv - really just an afterthought to a mobile home park. Breck could jump across the dog park. Really awful - but we are just here for the night - hoping to head out at 6 tomorrow morning.
All for entry #1. Tomorrow is another long day of driving but then we get to stay pu for 4 days!
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