The Tennessee Waltz - #42

 

My visions of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee were very, very different from reality.

In my mind: Country roads, small town with cozy mom and pop restaurants;

antique stores, fishing on a creek, the sounds of a bluegrass music in the air…

Reality: The Las Vegas strip during rush hour! Waltzing through traffic was not easy!

With almost three hundred - YES! 300! - restaurants between Gatlinburg, Seiverville, and Pigeon Forge - we passed every single restaurant chain out there in the modern world! There are all kinds of entertainment venues - dinner shows, musicians, amusement parks, mountain roller coasters, ferris wheels, waterparks, The Hatfield and McCoy Show, Titanic Museum, not to mention Dollywood. And of course you need a zillion hotels and RV parks to house these people!  Endless and overwhelming to say the least! If you don't mind making your way through the hundreds of stoplights and traffic, there is probably a good time to be had in this area. For us - it's a big fat NO. 

Our stay at King's Holly Haven RV Park correlates to the busyness and congestion of this city.

Although the campground is clean and offers a pool, and other amenities -  being sandwiched in and feeling like you live in a fishbowl - a little uncomfortable. Fellow campers are usually amazing, interesting and friendly people -but it's all a bit too close for us. We actually couldn't wait to get out of here (I used the word "hate" at one point - although this is not a terrible place by no means) … and the getting out of here part was not an easy task!  Charlie did an absolutely amazing job maneuvering out of the tiny site and lack of space from all the cars and trucks parked along the road.  What an absolute shit show and I told Charlie in no uncertain terms that he deserved a fuckin' medal! Obviously, it was a very frustrating situation for both of us. Whew! Glad that is behind us!

The day prior, we had had a lovely day visiting Dollywood. It is a very nice park and we spent a considerable amount of time there. The weather was great! We would actually have spent more time - if there was any place to get a meal!  What Dollywood isn't up front about is almost all their restaurants were closed, as well as a good portion of concession stands,  to even get an ice cream or snack. What was opened had ridiculously long lines and 2-4 hours waits. We had been looking forward to eating at one of their famous southern cooking restaurants… I had been dreaming of fried chicken! Luckily, I never go anywhere without drinks or some snacks so that helped to carry us through. It was disappointing however I was able to look up a close by, highly recommended bar-b-que restaurant - just a mile down the road from the RV park. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Boss Hogg's!

  

At Boss Hoggs

We left Pigeon Forge on Thursday, 10/14 and arrived about 200 miles west to central Tennessee; the town of Manchester.  We are staying for 3 spacious, quiet, beautiful nights at Cedar Point Campground on Lake Normandy. It's a very small camping area; the view is amazing from our windows; we sat this morning enjoying our coffee just staring out at the water and taking in the peacefulness.  We are actually pretty far in the woods, so we don't plan any excursions from the park.  It is raining a little this afternoon, but tomorrow looks promising and we're hoping to get in a little fishing. I also brought my sketch pad and am going to attempt a landscape and try to channel Bob Ross.

Oh Shenandoah - #41

 

Virginia is a very green state with boundless mountain views. Traveling from one end to another, we  steadfastly were escorted by the very lush Blue Ridge Mountains. We never tired of their beauty.

I had arranged for two stops in Virginia, approximately 200 miles apart.  The first was in the Shenandoah National Park area; we arrived last Wednesday and stayed until yesterday morning, Saturday, October 9th.  Besides the incredible campsite we enjoyed for three days, we drove (48 miles) the southern portion of Skyline Drive in the National Park. It was so lovely! We stopped at most of the scenic overlooks to take pictures and just express awe. I was also very excited to purchase our "Lifetime Senior National Parks Pass". We will be using it again within the next couple of weeks at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.   Here are a few favorite photos from our drive.

Back at the campground, I spent one of the days doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and Charlie repaired a few minor deficiencies.  Just like in a sticks and bricks home, there is always maintenance that needs to be done - on the truck, on the travel trailer.  We still need to go food shopping, get rid of trash daily, clean the litter box (also daily). So although this may seem like a "vacation" - a word no longer part of my vocabulary since we retired - we are just living our lives in our little home on wheels; our backyard just keeps on changing!

   

Making Onion Soup                                   Sometimes We Sleep In                                                                               

So Saturday (yesterday) morning we arrived in Fort Chiswell, VA.  It's an area very close to the NC border and about 175 miles northeast of Asheville.  Asheville is a stop I am considering for our return trip next April. (I haven't planned the return yet). We are staying two nights at Fort Chiswell RV Park.

At first glance, this park doesn't look like much, but what a pleasant surprise! Beautiful bathhouse (the best so far), nice laundry facility. The park butts right up against a vast farm with a variety of sheep, lambs, cows - all grazing on the green hillside within our view. Walking a little further down, I discovered a waterway, meandering through the side of the park. Sometimes first impressions aren't always accurate. 

Sunday,(today), we visited the Fort Chiswell Animal Park. This came highly recommended by reviews and only 2 miles down the road; looked like a great way to spend some time….well - what a fun place this was! We climbed onto the "safari" bus and drove through 45 acres of free roaming animals. The exciting part was how friendly the animals were and we could feed them!! Our photos speak for themselves!

We leave tomorrow for our next stop -  Pigeon Forge, TN! Dollywood here we come! 

The Rain, The Park And Other Things - #40

THE RAIN:  You know when you make a comment about how much worse things could be and then the worse happens? That was our drive through the Pocono Mountains on our way to Kutztown, PA. Charlie commented how pretty the scenery was but too bad the sun wasn't shining; I responded how I like a little rain; looking through the wet truck windows the landscape appears a little blurry like an impressionist painting. Then I added "It would be so much worse driving through these winding mountain roads in a downpour" - and as the last word hung in the air before it reached Charlie's ear - it started to pour.  

It was a slightly stressful drive in and out of heavy rain, but as we got closer to Pine Hill RV Park, the weather began to clear and the sky opened up to a really pleasant afternoon. That was our golden ring.

I diligently follow the weather for each leg of our trip; it's constantly changing.  Rain is forecasted for most of this week, however, we've seemed to luck out so far - not encountering as much as expected.  Today is Thursday, October 7th; we have already left Kutztown and arrived yesterday afternoon at the Shenandoah National Park area.  To date, we have completed approximately 1/4 of the way to our ultimate destination.  

THE PARK: It is very rare that we don't find something positive about each campground. They are all different; the levels of amenities, care and cleanliness also move back and forth on the scale but are really never too far off, either side, from the middle.

In Kutztown, PA, we were welcomed to Pine Hill RV Park by a huge and still fragrant display of pink petunias. The scenery in the area was spectacular; farmland abound!  

This morning, at the Shenandoah KOA, I sit on our "deck", complete with gas grill, patio furniture and fire pit, enjoying my coffee and writing. We are enjoying this premium site and a bit of  "glamping"; the cost was premium to match! 

OTHER THINGS: We visited Crystal Cave while in Kutztown (say that three times fast). This was a very nice, compact tour of beautiful rock formations inside the cavern. (We've been to Carlsbad which is much, much larger) 

Kutztown is in the middle of the Amish country; we visited a small Mennonite run market. I purchased locally produced Dutch egg noodles, apple butter, home made peanut butter and some other goodies.

And now for an admission - or should I say omission.

Let me premise this by saying - everyone knows I am a master packer. Very organized, detail oriented, I never forget anything. I pack all of Charlies' and my clothes.  The first couple of days of the trip we boondocked and generally don't use the shower; we have wet wipes we use to freshen up and honestly, we wear the same clothes for a couple of days. (this is camping, my friends) However, I did want to change my underwear. But hmmm..... it wasn't where I usually kept it; I figured it must be some other place. I would take a good look through everything once we got to our first campground with full hookups (which is when I reorganized all the cabinets and closets). Well, apparently, after all my lists and perfect organization, I forgot to pack underwear for myself! But wait - that's not the funny part. I have an old sheet I keep in the truck. I use this to cover myself when Minnie the cat sits on my lap when we travel (so I don't get totally covered with cat fur - I also have a lint roller in the truck too) 

When I shook the sheet out to refold - out popped a pair of underwear! Must have gotten caught in the elastic corner when I did laundry. The underwear gods must have felt sorry for me. Well, now I have two pair until we I get to the store! LOL!

 

3, 2, 1...Blast Off! - #39

 If you haven't had the opportunity to view - Countdown: Inspiration 4 Mission to Space (Netflix limited series documentary covering the first four American civilians launched into space) you are missing a wonderful, exciting - and yes, inspirational story.  As Charlie and I watched the final episode last evening on my "Ei"phone in our camper, I commented how similarly I felt to these "civilian astronauts" preparing for and setting off on their adventure. While I know there is no way to compare RVing to blasting off into space and circling the earth - an adventure is still an adventure and being able to live out a dream is indescribable. 

Our launch date was Friday, October 1st, 12 noon.  We were right on schedule! The first leg of our trip was very short - just over 80 miles to Foxwoods Casino where we boondocked for 2 nights. We can set up very quickly and spend the day walking through the casinos, Tanger Outlets and just relaxing. This also gives us an opportunity to to get adjusted - especially to sleeping. I always have a tough time sleeping the first night anywhere new; I just can't seem to sleep. Charlie also had difficulty and Minnie too couldn't seem to settle down.  Maybe it was the excitement! So after a relatively sleepless night,  we got up early Saturday morning,  headed down to the casino for coffee and a little gambling.  The closest I got to winning was sitting next to a lucky lady who won $6,000+ on a slot machine! I spent a couple of hours back at the camper on the internet and phone, making reservations for the next two weeks.  This was a little challenging due to the upcoming Columbus Day holiday weekend, but we were able to secure several great campgrounds in the locations we wanted. Then, I had a craving for a burger and we returned to the casino for a late lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Donating more money to casino after we ate, we headed back to our trailer to rest for the balance of the afternoon/evening. We were really tired and I had my fingers crossed we would get some decent sleep Saturday night. 

  

Sunday morning, October 3rd, we were packed up and ready to move out by 9 a.m. Our destination for today was Tri-State RV Park in Matamoras - 184 miles. We have stayed at this park previously; this time was just a 24 hour overnight stop (no site seeing planned) on our way to Kutztown, PA, just under 100 miles from here. When you've allowed yourself a month to get from point A to point B, you can really take your time to stop and smell the roses!

I spent my time at Tri-State  totally organizing and reorganizing all our personal aids and clothing in the closets and cabinets to make things easier to access. I also got in some walking and exercise. I made hot dogs and vegetarian beans with sauerkraut for dinner. Yum!  It always feels like a luxury when you have power, water and sewerage and cable TV - after roughing it for a couple of days! 

Unfortunately, rain is in the forecast for the next several days, but we have some interesting indoor activities we might take in at our next stop. Everywhere we go from Matamoras on - is new to us. We will be leaving within the hour.