Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain

Monday, November 18, 2019

The Southern Journey Continues......

Monday October 28- Boy what a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was sunny, warm and light breeze. Today it is cloudy, gray and really cool. It looks very gloomy. We knew we would go in to town today. We needed to fuel up and also we wanted to go for lunch. Benton is a small town with the best Pizza Hut. We say it every time we stop and so far it remains true. It is a super small piazza hut and it has a small town feel to it. The bread sticks are awesome and so is the pizza. Love it!






















While in town we stopped at Walmart, not going to be making many grocery stops for a few days so we needed to get necessities. We came on home and Jeff had to go fuel up the truck too. We took the dogs for a walk and while walking we spotted something sort of interesting. It seems we have lots of hunters here and one of them had a good morning because hanging from the tree was a deer. I know we are from Iowa but never can get used to that.

Tuesday October 29- Not going anywhere today. It is rainy and cold out there. It is a perfect day to stay in and blog. I also did some quilting. This cool weather is really helping the process of my latest quilt. We also put away stuff for traveling tomorrow. It is suppose to rain the whole way. I just hope we can get out of here before it starts pouring.

Wednesday October 30- And we are off..... We had everything put away but we still had to hook up and dump. The rain held off almost until we finished those tasks. We drove thru rain most of the trip. Some times it lightened up to just sprinkles, but most of the time it was raining or pouring. We were on the road by 8:15 and arrived in Nashville at 12:15. We took a couple stops at rest areas along the way. We pulled in to site #811 and got set up. The rain did stop for us to set up which was nice. You could tell they have had plenty of rain with all the puddles around us. After getting settled we went to get us tickets to The Grand Ole Opry. We had planned on going tonight but didn't want to get tickets ahead in case something came up. After getting the tickets we came back and cleaned up. Then before the show we went for supper at The Cracker Barrel. It was good. Then we headed to the show. I'm not sure how many times we have been to Nashville and have never gone to The Grand Ole Opry. It was a must. So this trip was the perfect time. We were excited to attend.











We aren't huge country music fans but love live music. The way the show is it has something for everyone. They even had a comedian, who was really funny. Each show is broadcast live on the radio. They even have an announcer that does commercials...funny. The line up for tonight was Jeannie Seely, Rhonda Vincent, Exile, Charlie Worsham, Henry Cho, Ricky Skaggs and Chris Janson. Each one comes out and does 3 or 4 songs. The sound is excellent and even with all the different groups it went really smooth. I think they have been doing this for awhile. They also bring the audience in. It was a fun night in a super cool venue. Everyone should go once.


Thursday October 31- Happy Halloween.....It rained all night long, it didn't want to stop. I used there laundry facilities here in between rains. Jeff took the propane tank to fill at Camping World. We decided to go to the mall today. I was going to look around, Jeff wanted to see a movie. He wasn't to impressed with the movie and I didn't buy one thing. So that was our Halloween. We did get a couple pictures of the kids in there costumes....and of course Ruby.






In Iowa they recieved snow on Halloween....now that's quite a trick....

Friday November 1- Brrrr it got really cold last night, down to 28 degrees. That's cold. The good news is today we have sunshine and no wind. It is suppose to warm up to mid 50's. We called for a shuttle to pick us up at 10 a.m. We had a quick trip in because they didn't make as many stops as usual. When we arrived Jeff wanted a coffee. Then we took off for a walk to Hot Hattie's Chicken.












We had to walk about 12 blocks right up broadway. It wasn't too bad. I knew they opened at 11 and I thought we would beat the rush.....but when we arrived they were already in line. I found out that it is like that all the time.







We placed our order, got our drinks and found a table. It wasn't long before they brought us our food, which was really good. We both got the mild chicken and it was spicy for me. I'm glad we came. We even ordered the peach cobbler for dessert which was good as well. Then we headed back and I got some pictures of some neat old buildings.





We made our way back down town and was ready to go in some of these establishments and rest our weary feet. Oh yeah they have music to keep you entertained too. You never run out of places to visit when you are here....that's for sure. We always come during the day and it is always busy. We just walk from one place to the next listening to music. They have some really good talent here, thats for sure.



We went to catch the 4:30 shuttle back to the campground. We used a different shuttle this time so the pick up place was different. We saw more neat buildings.



We got back and both of us were hungry and neither of us wanted to cook. So we got in the car and went up the road to Santa Fe and had us steak for supper. It was really good and the service was too. Then we went home and called it a night. We were exhausted. Tomorrow we hit the road.


Saturday November 2- Foggy this morning so we had to wait a bit to get on the road. We wanted an early start to get past all the traffic before everyone gets up. We left at 8:40 traveling to Montgomery Alabama. We arrived at 1:40 at Woods RV. We stay here quite often because it is right off the interstate. All we did here was fuel up. eat supper and go to bed.


Sunday November 3- Happy Birthday #62 to Jeff. He is not going to have a very good birthday because we are traveling again. It is another long travel day for us. Then we had to fall back. So when we got up it was 5:30 Alabama time. When we got in the car it hadn't been changed so when we left it was 7:30. After thinking about it we just left the time because it was going to change when we got in the eastern time zone. I'm not sure what time it is....Jeff and I had ourselves ready for a really crappy day. This leg of the trip there is no easy way to get there. We had to take a road where you got thru lots of towns, with stop lights. We left so early that it wasn't busy and it wasn't that bad. It still was a long trip. The funny thing when we got to the interstate...10. This was busier than we have ever seen it. We pulled into our park. Ragans Family Campground. This to was formerly a Yogi Bear Park. The place was pretty empty and they have super easy sites, just pull in, plug in and you are done. Again this place is right off the interstate so that helps too.


Tomorrow we will be traveling again. This will be our last 1 night stop for awhile and both of us are ready for that.

 Monday November 4- One more day of traveling and we get a little break. Both of us are ready for that. It was a fairly easy trip today. The route wasn't complicated and most of it was interstate. We also didn't have too many miles to go. We didn't have to leave early today so we thought we would go for breakfast at the Waffle House. It was just right up the road. Well that turned out to be a big mistake. This was the worst Waffle House we have ever been to. Yuck, not a good breakfast at all. We were on the road around 8:30 and arrived at Lake Louisa State Park around 12:30. The trip went pretty good but toward the end of the trip the tail lights on the rig weren't working. I tried to stay right behind Jeff then for sure. We got our paperwork and drove the 3 miles to the campground and our site #40. It is a back in site, actually I think we have been in this one before. We have been at this park before but it has been awhile. We have a full hook up. We are right across from the shower house.


It is really quiet here with lots of empty sites. We got everything set up. Since Jeff didn't really have a very good birthday we decided to go in for dinner. We went to Outback and had dinner. Everything was great, the food, service and atmosphere. Jeff was happy.


Tuesday November 5- Today we are staying put. I needed to groom the pups. Belle needed to be combed and trimmed. Ruby needed a bath. That's quite a chore. She loves the bath, but after she really sheds. Her hair is so thick it takes quite a while blow drying her.





















We explored the park, well the campground. There are a couple lakes right here and it was so calm they looked like glass. It is a warm one out there and the humidity is high. Taking awhile to get used to that again.



We decided to make us a good dinner.  I cut up veggies and chicken for kabobs. It was good to have a home cooked meal. Today was also a special day for our grandson Ashton, he went to orientation for his first job. Way to go Ashton, he's only 14. We are so proud of him.














One more thing, I finished the quilting process on my quilt. I just have to bind it. It is always exciting to finish that process. It's like reading a book. You can't wait to finish it but when you do you kind of miss it.....

Wednesday November 6- Today I started the day with a walk with Ruby. Then I came back and cut fabric for binding. I pressed it and got it all ready for sewing. We got ready and took a road trip. First we went to The Showcase of Citrus. It is just right up the road. They have frozen orange juice. So I got one of them.



Then we drove to Disney Springs. It is not far from the park. We found us a parking spot and headed in. It has been a while since we've been here. It seems to get bigger every time. It is a shopping area with lots of restaurants, stores, and activities to spend money on. It wasn't overly crowded so that was good. It started out cloudy but when the sun came out it got really warm. We looked around at all the stuff. We had a good time. We picked our lunch spot....The Earl of Sandwich. We both were surprised how good. We looked some more and then went back to the campground.





On our way home we fueled up the car and stopped at the store. We had leftovers for supper and then I got busy sewing the binding on. I actually couldn't put it down. I finished it. So here is the finished product.





















Thursday November 7- It is another warm one out there. Today we are meeting Sandy. She used to be married to my step brother. She lives in the area and invited us to meet for coffee. We had just been texting. She never gave me the name of the coffee house. She just texted me that it was in the Hancock Commons across from the Starbucks. I thought I could just look it up. When I looked it up, well I had the wrong one. So we were kind of lost. Well in the end we found each other and had a nice long visit. It was nice to catch up.

 

When we got back I decided to use the laundry facilities here. The bad news is the one in the shower house across from us is broke. I had to use the one in the next loop. So instead of walking over I had to load up the stuff in the car.


Friday November 8- Today started out really nice day. Went for a bike ride and sat outside a bit. We had a visitor.


After lunch Jeff wanted to go to a movie. I just shopped in the area. On our ride to town I noticed something weird in the sky. I think someone was getting a special message today. I didn't get to see the finished product.



The afternoon was nice. It did cloud up and sprinkle some but I had my umbrella. It is cooling off a little too. Jeff enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed my shopping.

Saturday November 9- Had a cool front come through last night. It's not cold but you can definitely feel a difference in the temps and humidity. We didn't leave the park today. We walked around the campground and took Miss Ruby for a bike ride. We rode up to look at the water and then made our way back. Then we loaded up our bikes, grill and chairs. We are moving on tomorrow. We did get to watch the Iowa Hawkeye's play, we didn't like the outcome but I guess you can't win them all.




Sunday November 10- Today we are driving to Jonathan Dickinson State Park, not to volunteer but to camp for a few days before heading on to the Keys. The trip wasn't going to be a long one, probably about 3 hours. We made a couple stops so it took longer. Both of us thought it seemed way longer than it was. We arrived and found our site #49. Jeff backed her in and we set up. Really a pretty day. I took Ruby for a walk after we set up. I took a few pictures.




We decided to go to Blue Point for supper. Neither of us wanted to cook. We both like this place. They even had some live music. We didn't stay too long. Our food was good. We headed back to the park and called it a day. That's all for now......




















































































































































































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