Month: August 2019

After some good times in Kentucky, our next stop was Tennessee. This time, we’d be camping near Pigeon Forge, which is near Gatlinburg which is the western entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We selected a campground with high marks but not having a lot of the extra amenities (no pool, no outdoor games, no laundry room, no bathhouses, etc.). It was known for large, shaded campsites along two creeks and it lived up to its reputation. Up the Creek RV Camp may have won the award for the best campground of the trip. Paved roads, lots of space and shade, a nice shaded dog park, and very quiet. But only 10 minutes from all the shopping and sights at Pigeon Forge!

Although this is a mecca for tourists with tons of shops, restaurants, and activities, we didn’t really have a ton of plans for this stop. We knew we wanted to do a few things, particularly see some of the mountains but otherwise wanted to take it easy. This was also a stop to get some long overdue maintenance work completed on Lola’s shade awning but more on that later.

We knew we wanted to check out the new section of the Foothills Parkway that had just opened in 2018 (we’ve been to the park many times over the years including Cades Cove, Newfound Gap, and various trails). It was a nice little ride with good views of the park although the heat and humidity limited visibility somewhat.

Another day, we tried out a few wineries. Not really at the level like what we enjoyed in Michigan but given the tastings were free, it was a nice way to see parts of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. And we got a couple of wine glasses as part of the deal!

On another day, Jill remained back at camp while Dan explored two things that were of great interest to him:

• The Titanic Museum – Yes, Dan realizes the ship sank but he’s still interested even after 100+ years and this was a unique chance to see many artifacts from the wreck as well as 6 or the 12 known existing life jackets from the ship.
• Moonshine tasting – we’ve tried wine, we’ve tried bourbon but if we are in Tennessee, we have to try the moonshine!

Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in the museum but Dan was able to get some exterior pics as well as pics of the largest lego model of the Titanic (built by a 10 year old!).

• 

• 

• 

After some history and culture, it was time to head over to Ole Smoky Distillery for some moonshine tasting. They have a great process where you step up to the bar and for just $5 (which you get back if you buy anything) you get to taste 13 flavors! It was a challenge Dan was happy to take on!

But probably the most important and exciting plan we had was to have our awning repaired. A little background on this awning:

• The day we took possession of Lola back in February of 2018, the awning (which is on the right side and provides a ton of shade when it is open) worked the afternoon we got her but then went in and would not extend again.
• We had it repaired back in Atlanta
• We took it out to Stone Mountain in May 2018, it extended and then would not go back in. We had to pay a Mobile Tech to come out on Mother’s Day to get it manually pulled in and secured so we were able to leave the campground.
• We got it repaired prior to going full time and it worked a few times in Florida before it refused to go out again.
• We had another mobile tech come out while in Florida and he wouldn’t work on it – too complicated.
• So, we basically gave up on it for awhile. We did reach out to a few mobile techs along our travels but in all cases, they either didn’t work on awnings or didn’t even bother responding or showing for appointments

But this all changed as we contacted Longship Mobile RV based in Pigeon Forge. They responded to our questions and even showed up for the appointment as planned. They were able to diagnose the core issue (poor wiring done by the previous owner) and then built an entire new wire harness to replace the mess that we had. They came back multiple times to ensure the awning was repaired correctly and was functioning reliably. So far, the awning continues to work, a first in more than 1 1/2 years! Now we can have shade even when we are in a campground with no trees!!!!

After a great week in Tennessee, it was time to turn south once more, back to Georgia for the first time in over 3 months. This would bring a close to the Mended Bones Tour but not the end of our adventures. Stay tuned for the next adventure!!!

After enjoying some time in Ohio, it was time to move farther south, back thru Kentucky, this time farther east than our northern route had taken us. First stop was Georgetown, KY, just north of Lexington. Our campsite was at one of our lesser enjoyed campgrounds, in wide open gravel with little grass and no trees. About half the camp was occupied by long term campers and/or work trailers so it was not the most “family friendly” location. But it worked for our needs for our short time.

We had three main objectives while in the area:

• Visit the town of Georgetown which was supposed to be quaint full of unique shops and restaurants
• Visit Lexington and specifically the home of Henry Clay
• Take a tour of the Toyota manufacturing plant

We drove into Lexington our first day and took a tour of the Clay home. It was full of history and artifacts and was well worth the time to discover more about this man who helped mold the nation and (some say) delay the civil war by several decades by his compromising approaches to issues.

On another day, our plan was to take a tour of the local Toyota manufacturing plant. What we didn’t realize was that this was a very popular attraction and tours booked up in advance. We had failed to lock in our tour so we had to go standby. We arrived an hour before the 11:30 am tour and we were lucky enough that two spots opened up for us. It’s an amazing facility, more than just an assembly plant. They build the engines here, fabricate most of the metal and plastic body parts and then assemble both the Camry and Lexus sedans. We were not allowed to take pictures, unfortunately, but it really was something everyone should see if they get the chance.

• 

• 

We wrapped up our time in Georgetown by visiting downtown, having a great local lunch, and picking up a souvenir for Dan.

• 

• 

• 

It was time to move farther south into Kentucky, down to a town named Corbin. You may not recognize this name but it has a famous place in Americana history. More on that in a bit. For the first time, our GPS really messed us up, taking us down a road that was very narrow with very low hanging branches that eventually became a dead end (at a church, of all things). We retraced our tracks and eventually found our way to our campground. We finally had some shade but it was accompanied by a very dusty road and campsite, the result of no rain for some time in the area.

• 

Our campground was very close to Cumberland Falls and the Cumberland River so most of our focus was outdoors. We spent one day just scoping out the river and the falls which are truly spectacular. At certain times of the month during a full moon you can go to the falls at night and see a moonbow but we were not there at the right time. But that didn’t stop us from seeing a wonderful daylight rainbow!

We loved our time next to the river so much that we decided to take a guided rafting trip on the river. The trip started just below the falls, paddled up to the foot of the falls (and the nice cool mist from the falls) and then ran about 5 miles downstream thru mostly class II and III rapids. It ended with a pickup by a river boat where we could cool down and have lunch as the boat continued downstream to the takeout and the shuttle back to our car. The rafting company, Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort, was terrific. Great process to get everyone equipped, loaded and on the river. And our guide was super sensitive to the needs of the folks on our raft – one lady was on a river for the first time and of course, this was Jill’s first trip on a river after breaking her leg! I’ve included there link below for those in the area and/or interested

https://www.ky-rafting.com/

It was a wonderful day of fun! No pics were taken but we grabbed a couple of pics from the brochures for an idea of what it was like:

• 

• 

We had some spare time before departing so we drove up to the dam of Laurel Lake to see what the lake looked like. We also headed into town to visit the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yep, the one and only Harland Sanders set up his cafe in Corbin and perfected his secret recipe for fried chicken. There is still an operating KFC at this location along with an attached museum (and it was free!) so how could we resist?

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

In addition to his restaurant, Sanders also had a motel back in the 40’s and 50’s (“motor court”) and to help entice his customers to stay the night, he installed a model of a hotel room complete with bathroom. And he installed a phone in the closet of the model so that those who needed to make a call, would also have cause to see the model room. Pretty slick marketing for the time 😉

That brought us to the end of our time in Kentucky, time to journey farther south back into Tennessee (and hotter temps!). We were really hoping for a great campsite and to get our awning repaired at our next stop but more on that in our next blog.

With Lola’s makeover complete, it was time to continue on our travels, heading south into another new state! Our next stop was Wapakoneta, Ohio. Never heard of it? Yeah, neither had we when we booked it. It just was a good short drive and looked like a nice place to spend a few days. As it turns out, this is a rather famous place and we were stopping over at a really unique time. You see, Wapakoneta is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon! And the 50th anniversary of that landing was happening right before we arrived in town! So, here’s a short run down of our visit to Wapakoneta:

Campground – we stayed at a KOA that was nice but wins the award for the most narrow site we have stayed in. Each site had a nice deck with picnic table but we were so close to our neighbor that their slides overlapped onto our deck (and our slide overlapped our neighbor). Luckily, the neighbors were quiet and nice.

This was really meant to be a shakedown stop, organize and sort out things with our new furniture, storage, etc. Having something to actually do one day was an extra bonus! We headed over to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum on our 2nd day. It was built back in 1972 and it had not been updated much since then so it was a quaint visit. It did a good job of showing how Armstrong’s life progressed to ultimately result in his historic step onto the moon’s surface. Lot’s of artifacts from his life. And perfect timing to visit almost exactly 50 years after the landing.

• 

• 

• 

• 

After our brief stop in Wapakoneta, it was on to Cincinnati where we would stay for a week. Our campground for this leg was actually a small (about 15 full hook up sites) camping facility run by the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) behind their offices which is available only for members (which we are). It only cost us $60 to stay for a week. Of course, you don’t get much for that price other than a place to park, electricity, water and someplace to dump your “junk”. But it was a nice open space and we had access to a very peaceful paved walking path around a lake next door.

• 

• 

We relaxed several days at this stop, walking the dogs around the lake as well as riding our bikes. It was very quiet at this stop so nice to just slow down a bit. We did have three major “tourist” stops during this visit.

First up was a visit to the Cincinnati Arboretum at Eden Park. This was a small botanical garden within a larger park along the Ohio River. It was mostly indoors with various sections for different climates. It was very relaxing and a nice option on a very warm day.

Another day we decided to visit the Cincinnati Museum Center. The building itself is a wonderful piece of art. Originally built as the city’s passenger train terminal, it has been reborn as a venue for several different museums all under one roof.

• 

• 

• 

Once inside the museum, we visited two sections. The first was the Cincinnati History Museum. It was small but well done. It consisted of two main sections – one that was a miniaturized version of the city in the early 20th century, very detailed with moving trolleys and lots to look at. It is still being expanded but the section we saw was terrific. The lighting even changed to represent the entire day to night transition in just a few minutes.

• 

• 

The second section was a recreation of what the riverfront of Cincinnati would have looked like at the time of the paddlewheel boats plied the Ohio River. It was very realistic, sort of in the vein of a Disney display (without the animatronics).

• 

• 

We then visited the Natural History section which had the obligatory dinosaurs as well as some interactive displays that the kids seemed to really enjoy. They also had a couple of recreated cave environments to simulate what it was like to hike thru some of the neighboring cave environments.

After a few hours of history, it was time for some lunch and we found a restaurant perched on one of the hills overlooking the city and enjoyed good food and views.

A few days later, we took a riverboat cruise up the Ohio River. This gave us a great perspective of the city from the water as well as getting a little more history about the city. It was a nice way to spend a few hours floating along the river enjoying the views.

As our adventure moved into August, we wrapped up our time in Ohio and pointed Lola back onto I-75 heading south, back to Kentucky. More on that in our next blog.