We arrived back into the Atlanta area just before the July 4th weekend and the heat was definitely on. As noted in the previous blog, we had time to have the kids at the pool while we were staying at the Garrett Ranch, which is always the highlight of any visit back to Atlanta
Not a lot to report of our time in Atlanta other than it was hot! Regular things were accomplished such as a few more doctor appointments (getting old sucks!), some recall work on the Honda (Lolita), repairing a crack in Lola 2’s windshield, and visiting with friends and family.
The highlight was when we visited the grand babies (almost 2!) at their home and watched them play in the puddles, in their little pool, and inside. They are starting to “talk” to each other and from time to time come up with a word (“puppies” seems to be a favorite right now).
On the 24th of July, we pulled out for 40+ days on the road with the main objective to get some warranty work done on Lola 2.0 at the factory in Decatur, Indiana. First stop was Cloudland Canyon State Park in NW Georgia. All the years we have been in Atlanta, we’ve never visited this popular park. The campground was very spacious, including our site. Lots of trees provided good shade the whole time we were there.
We were only there for three nights and two full days but both days we got out to explore the park and particularly the gorge. On our first day we took what we had expected to be a rather easy 2 mile hike but it was more like 3 miles with some rocky trails along the way. On top of that, a rain storm caught up with us at one point so we ended the hike rather soggy.
Chanterelles 
The next day we took a much shorter walk to a view of the west rim (the rim we hiked along the previous day).
We packed up our things and headed northwest, just up the road to the very small town of Shelbyville, TN. This would be a unique 4-night stay at a farm with full hook ups. They only have a couple of spaces, plus a few glamping style cabins. This is a working farm called Crossing Creeks Farms and it is run by three generations of family. They have ducks, chickens, dairy and beef cows. It was a wonderful place to spend some quiet time. This was Adele’s first time on a farm and she really didn’t know how to take the farm animals.
Ducks for sale 
Lots of chickens! 
Farm store, Lola 2.0 in background 
Bull
Not much to do in the area but we did drive over to the cute town of Bell Buckle one day to check out the shops and have lunch. An odd name for a town so we had to look it up:
“Bell Buckle, Tennessee, a railroad village of preserved and restored Victorian homes and churches, is nestled among the hills, farmland and Walking Horse country of Bedford County, Tennessee. The most commonly asked question about Bell Buckle is the origin of its name. Stories vary, but some believe the name came from a bell and buckle tied around a tree close to a free-flowing creek. Others believe the Indians carved a bell and buckle into a tree to discourage settlers, while still others believe the bell and buckle symbol was used by surveyors to signify the usefulness of the land for pasture. Whatever the origin, Bell Buckle is one of the oldest names in the county.”
On the last day of July, we loaded up and headed further north up to Nashville. Now, for those who have been following our blog you’ll know that we visited Nashville for a week during our first year of full-timing and we pretty much wore ourselves out seeing all the typical sights. This time around, we planned for a more laid back and shorter visit on the shores of Lake Priest, to the east of town. We didn’t have much plans and since the hot weather finally broke, we were looking forward to time sitting outside and enjoying the outdoors. But, you’ll have to wait for the next update to hear about this visit as well as our adventures as we head further north to Indiana. Who knows, we may even have updates more often than once a month if things get really busy! 😉