Montgomery, AL

We arrived in Montgomery one week ago today. I haven't updated the blog as other than visiting with Suze and David, my daughter and son, we haven't done much, though it doesn't seem that way!

Last Thursday we went to a Jr. League show that comprised of mostly business's set up in the the coliseum. Interesting, but expensive. Of course part of the proceeds go to the Jr. League.

Friday Suze had a heart cath. done. She had been having some suspicious symptoms and after having a stress test that showed possible problem, the Dr. decided that the cath. was something that should be done to be sure. Fortunately, the test showed that 1st - she does have a heart and 2nd - it's normal - Praise God!

Today we went to Prattville to a Arts and Craft show that David and his wife (Denise) set up at. They make the absolutely BEST homemade candles in so many scents! They can duplicate most any scent that Yankee Candle makes for a fraction of the cost. Sounds like a sales pitch - huh? If you read this and are interested in more information, let me know in the comment section. Anyway, this was a real arts and crafts show and had many interesting items, none of which I bought - Dean is happy - LOL. My son called this evening and said that they had a record show. I'm so happy for them and they really enjoy doing this hobby.

Suze took Dean and me out this evening for our birthday - we went to Smokey Bones, one of our favorite restaurants here in Montgomery. Enjoyed every bite! Thanks Suze.

Tomorrow Dean has a dentist appointment to hopefully get his broken crown fixed. If all goes well, we will leave here on Tuesday headed for Rainbow Plantation for about 7 weeks.

That should catch me up for now. Till next time.........

Callaway Gardens

Went to Callaway Gardens today and I feel like we either walked or drove the whole 13,000 acres - whew I'm tired!

I can only imagine how beautiful it is in the spring and summer with all the flowers in bloom. Even today with the fall flowers and leaves changing color it was beautiful.

I'm going to do another picture entry, but must say that my favorite place was the chapel. It is so quiet and serene in that area. We sat on a bench beside the pond for about a hour listening to the pipe organ music concert. Just wonderful!

You can scroll through these pictures of the gardens and see some of the beauty.













These pictures are from the Day Butterfly Center...









Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Another recommended stop if you happen to be in the area.

We leave Pine Mountain, GA tomorrow morning for Montgomery, AL. Not sure how long we will be staying there, probably a week or so. Then we are heading back to our home turf - Rainbow Plantation. See you there.....

Warm Springs, GA and FDR's Little White House

Even though this morning started out overcast and cool, we decided it would be a good day to drive to Warm Springs, GA and visit FDR's "Little White House". A very interesting place with a lot of history. This is another one of those places that you need to visit to get the full effect. Upon arrival at the Little White House you start your tour in a FDR museum with a lot of memorabilia. There is a 15 minute movie that tells you what brought him to Warm Springs and why he built the house there.

I must have forgot all that I learned in my US Government class from school when I was reminded that he was elected to four terms as President! Guess the term limit came after him.

The captioned pictures will show just a bit of what you see here. A highly recommended place to visit!


Information on the "Little White House"


This Ford had hand controls for the clutch, brake and gas, designed by FDR himself for his use.


The path of flags - every state flag is here along with a piece of rock that is unique to that state.


Guard house outside the compound.


The servants quarters - really quite nice!


The "Little White House" which was designed by FDR.


FDR's bed upon which he died.


The unfinished portrait that he was posing for the day he died.


Street view of Warm Springs. A neat little town with a lot of small shops and eating places.



View from lookout in FDR State Park. Going to Warm Spring we drove through the park and again I recommend this. Very scenic.

Tomorrow is Callaway Gardens - check back later............

No To Biltmore but Hello to Callaway

Biltmore Estate is like the elusive butterfly for me. We did not get to go. Unfortunately, our site at Taps RV Park was already reserved so we could not extend. Most of the parks in the area were booked - it's the Fall season you know and the leaves are really getting to their peak. Oh well, another time I hope since I already have tickets for the Biltmore Estate. Fortunately they do not expire!

We decided to head on toward Alabama and spent Wed. night at Jones RV Park on the north side of Atlanta. Not bad for a overnight and if you were wanting to tour Atlanta and the surrounding area it would be OK, but it's just a parking place - not many amenities.

Yesterday we started out with all intentions of parking somewhere in Montgomery. As we were heading south (I love that word - south, south = warm weather) on I-85 we passed a sign for Callaway Gardens - BINGO - a place that I've never been and have wanted to visit. Off the interstate we turn and ended up at Pine Mountain, GA at the Pine Mountain Campground. That's the nice thing about this lifestyle - just do it!

Pine Mountain Campground is an old KOA but nice. They have a lot of drive thru's and long ones at that. There is the normal amenities available and really nice camphosts. I like it because it's in the woods (pines) and quiet. Today we are going to Warm Springs to visit FDR's Little White House and tomorrow it's Callaway Gardens Day. I hope to get some pictures so please check back for the next post. Life is great!

Cryin The Blues, Rainy Day Blues That Is

We arrived at Taps RV Park on Sunday after a wonderful drive across the mountains on I-40. What views you get from that portion of the interstate - breathtaking. Didn't get any pictures, sorry. The leaves are really just beginning to change and the color is still sporadic.

Monday was supposed to be a fairly nice day, but mother nature had other plans. It was overcast in the morning with showers in the afternoon. Besides that, Dean got up with a nasty cold! So much for going to the Biltmore Estate today. I did manage to get our laundry caught up and did some grocery shopping.

This morning it was raining and has continued to do so all day. No Biltmore Estate again today! We just stayed in, hopefully it will help Dean get over his cold. Between computer games, TV and a nap the day passed quickly. While we were eating dinner, I spotted what appeared to be light and yes, it was a ray of sunshine - yeah! We even saw a rainbow over the hills, very pretty.

Maybe tomorrow will be the Biltmore Estate day?

Come back later and see........

Streams, Decorations, Shows and Fun

Earlier this week we drove over to Gatlinburg to go to the Fall Craft Show. The craft show is in the Auditorim and very large. There were many neat items and I would have loved to purchase some, but two reasons why I didn't. First there was the cost - everything was kinda high priced and Second - NO ROOM! Dean's already gettin scared that he's going out if I buy anything else. You know - the something in something our rule - LOL. Here is a picture of the stream that runs along the road going to Gatlinburg.



As this is the Fall Season a lot of the commercial establishments decorate for it. Here are a couple of examples....





A very artistic use of gords, pumkins, corn and flowers.

We have gone to three shows this week. The first one was the Blackwood Breakfast Variety Show. First, I have to say that I was really surprised with the quality of the food at this show. Breakfast consisted of a fruit cup, muffins, cheese omelet, hash browns, bacon, sausage and a biscuit, along with coffee, tea and orange juice. It was served hot and that was the biggest surprise considering how many there were to serve. And, the food was very good.

Now onto the show. I took pictures, but they didn't turn out very well and you can't hear the wonderful music through the pictures anyway. This was primarily a gospel music show and it was very uplifting. There are still two of the Blackwood Brothers, Ron and R.W, sons of the RW Blackwood the founder of the Blackwood Brothers, singing along with their wives and two other great singers. They also had a couple, Bob and Marty, who did comedy. They were so funny, I hurt from laughing so hard. I highly recommend this show.

Next was the 50's Rock-n-Roll Show. What a entertaining group of young folks. They not only sang a lot of the 50's songs, but did some comedy skits along with the singing. They even had a "Elvis" (what would a 50's show be without Elvis?). I felt very special as I was sung to by him and it was on my Birthday! The song was "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" - be still my heart - LOL!! What a treat!! This this show was well produced and full of energy and great songs. You were encouraged to clap your hands, tap you toes, sing along or dance to the music(there was a dance floor in the auditorium). If your into the 50's, this a not to be missed show.

The last show we did was Fixin' 2 Rain, a Broadway type musical. This is the story of Noah and the Ark - Smoky Mountain Style. Very entertaining with another cast of young folks. Well, except for Noah and his wife of course. The story takes place in Bee Log Holler and is complete with the Ark and pairs of animals. A very entertaining show that is great for all ages.

I have to mention one place that we had dinner a couple of nights ago. The Great American Steak & Buffet Company in Pigeon Forge. Pass it by!!! We went around 4 pm and the food was pitiful. There was ham that was dried up, baked sweet potatoes that looked like they had been sitting for a week. The only thing that was tasty was the salad bar, but it cost to darn much to just have salad. Even the pieces of steak were not good looking. There are plenty of other restaurants to go to, so, in our opinion, PASS ON THIS ONE.

Speaking of restaurants, today we are meeting some friends from our "backhome" church. Peggy and Wilkie. We are meeting at the Old Mill Restaurant and this one we recommend. The food is great. Just expect a long, long line if you are here during peak season.

First picture shows Wilkie, Dean and Peggy and the second is the restaurant.



We are supposed to leave here on Sunday. If our replacement receiver for DirecTV arrives tomorrow, we will be on our way to Asheville, NC, otherwise we will have to hang here until Monday/Tuesday. Until we move, I probably won't do another post, but check back, you never know......

Dam's, Alabama (the singers), Bears and Deer

I'm behind in posting, I know. So today is catch up time.

Last Saturday we drove to Norris Lake and Dam which is northwest of Knoxville. Was hoping to see a little more fall color, but it's still just a little to early. The drive was a very scenic one though. Here are some pictures of the Clinch River, the Norris Dam and Norris Lake.

This young lad was showing off his early morning catch - all trout!

While we were at Raccoon Valley, we met another MS owner - Jake and Nancy. A really nice couple that were just getting started in their fulltiming adventure. They have a beautiful toy collie, but I failed to get a picture of her - bad me! Here is a picture of our new friends... If you see them down the road tell them hi for us.

We are currently parked at Ripplin Waters Campground in Sevierville, TN. We had stayed here about 8 years ago and loved it. The park is still the same but the surrounding area has certainly changed! The biggest change is the helicopter tour company located across the highway from the campground, so all weekend there were helicopters taking off and landing - noisy! At least they don't fly at night!

Some of our campsite pictures... First one shows the river behind, the second one is the view from our rear window.

Yesterday we drove into Pigeon Forge to purchase some show tickets. After getting that chore done we stopped at the Alabama Cafe for a light bite. What a really neat place, especially if you are into country music. It's more like a country music museum inside. They have guitar's from most all the popular well know performers along with a lot of other memorabilia including a Dolly Parton dress. I thought that the top looked to small! Here are a few pictures including one of my Birthday Boy - Dean. Yes, he had another one of those yesterday!

After a lite bite at the Alabama Cafe, we decided to drive to Cades Cove. I thought we had been there years ago, but I now know that we hadn't - I would have remembered a place so pretty.

We did the full 11 mile drive through the Cove and saw some beautiful scenery. Below are a few pictures of the area including one of the Methodist Church that was built in 1902 for a total of $115 - try doing that today!

Look close in the forest - two deer..

And the best, I saved for last. I had a wish to see some live wild bears and my wish came true. There were three cubs and a mama bear in the woods. Unfortunately the bears blend so well in these woods that pictures were hard to come by. As she led her babies across the road I did manage to snap two that came out just OK. The first one was the mama and the next one of the cubs. I was about 15 - 20 feet from them - how neat. I wasn't alone - traffic had stopped and there were about 20 of us watching along with a park ranger. I can see how people get into trouble with bears - the cubs were sooooo cute and cuddly looking, but I kept my distance! Because of the dense woods and no sunlight getting through, the pictures came through very dark. I used an editor to lighten them. The one with the mama bear turned out pretty good and the baby is kinda fuzzy, but you can still see him or her. I can't tell you how thrilling this was for me!

Well, I guess that about brings me up to date for now. I'll be back when I have more to report....

WW II's Secret City

Yesterday we drove about 20 miles to a city that during WW II "didn't exist", at least couldn't be found on any map and if you were to ask about it, no one knew anything of it. That city is Oak Ridge, TN. It had a population of around 80,000 but was the "Secret City" of World War II's Manhattan Project.

What was the Manhattan Project? It was the race against the Axis Powers to build the first atomic bomb! As we all know, we were successful in this race. "Little Boy" and "Fat Boy" were the two atomic bomb's that were dropped in Japan and brought WW II to an end.

In Oak Ridge we visited the American Museum of Science and Energy. A very interesting place to discover the history behind "the bomb" and the "secret city". They have a movie that tells how Oak Ridge was picked and why. How the farmers were given notice that the government was purchasing their land and they had only weeks to move. How this city grew, practically overnight, from farmland to a bustling city. Funny thing though, they were so busy building buildings, that no roads or sidewalks were put in so they had to put up with an extreme amount of mud! Of course, you couldn't just drive, or walk into the city, there were three checkpoints or entrances to the city where you had better have a darn good reason to want in or the answer was NO. These checkpoints were very military in look, so those on the outside would think it was just another military training base.

This sign is one of many different ones that reminded the people who lived in Oak Ridge how secret their jobs were. Others included the famous "loose lips, sink ships".



Security was so tight that only the President and a few of his top advisors knew of Oak Ridge's true purpose. Harry Truman, then Vice President, didn't find out the truth of Oak Ridge until he was sworn in as President!

The museum also houses displays on The World of the Atom, Earth's Energy Resources, plus a lot of hands-on exhibits. While very interesting for adults, it is also educational and entertaining for children. Another in the don't miss it if your in the area attractions.

Tennessee Country

Last Friday we arrived at Raccoon Valley, an Escapee park in what else - Raccoon Valley, TN (actually Heiskell). This is not one of the nicest parks that we've been in but the friendly staff and campers make up for it. Saturday morning we went to the French Toast Breakfast at the clubhouse - very good. Sunday evening was the Ice Cream social. Wednesday we are going along on the "dine out" and Thursday is the Bluegrass Jam session. A very busy place!

Our MS parked very conveniently near the clubhouse, laundry etc.



Sunday we went to Heiskell United Methodist Church. I guess we picked the right church as it was Homecoming Sunday with dinner on the grounds following the service. We weren't going to stay, but members said that no one was allowed to leave without eating, so we stayed. Talk about a spread of food - wow! For a small church - there were about 50 in attendance - I never saw so much food. Just the dessert tables themselves must have had at least 30 different cakes, pies, brownies, cookies and other items. We stayed, we ate - God is Good and so was the meal.

Today we went to the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, TN. Their slogan is "Preserving the Past for the Future" and they mean it. This is much more than a museum - it's a village that shows how the mountain people of Tennessee lived then and probably some even now.

Some of the animals/fowl roaming the museum property....



Just one of the many handmade baskets on display .. very beautiful.......



Can you spot the "Ham Can" fiddle?



Or how about the toilet seat or bed pan mandolins?



Some handcrafted items - this is how a lot of the men spend their spare time.



The Mark Twain Family Cabin - from Possom Trot, TN. His parents lived here before moving to Missouri where Mark Twain was born five months later.



A Overhang or Cantilever Barn found in Eastern Tennessee. Gristmill in the background.



And of course there is the JOHN - this one is a double!



The pictures posted here depict only a small portion of what you will see if you visit the museum. I strongly recommend doing so if you are ever in this area. Well worth the time (allow at least a half day) and the entrance fee.