Sunday, May 13, 2012

Music City - or Alls Well that Ends Well

We are now snug in our next overnight home just East of Nashville, Tennessee.   It was a 9 1/2hr drive from Jordan Lake, over the Smokey Mountains, and across the rolling terrain of Eastern Tennessee to get here.  

Our Home for the night


Our day started with bright sun and we were on the road at 8am sharp - the moment that the State of North Carolina opens the gates to the park and allows us who are incarcerated within to depart.

It was a strange morning to say the least...

First - we were driving for about 15 minutes and my navigationally challenged co-pilot Kate says as we pass thru a highway intersection:  "hey - isn't this where we left from this morning?"

Now I have to admit it did look a lot like the intersection that we turned at last night to enter the park and for a moment I'm thinking how can that be?  We turned and headed west and have been driving straight all along....    Then of course all my synapses fire at 100% and I realize that no - we have not entered the twilight zone and will forever be driving this one stretch of highway....   It just looked familiar...  That's all.

But wait - it gets better

About 30 minutes into our drive I notice our shadow racing us down the highway... 
More importantly I see out TV antenna is still extended and sticking up in the air.  
Now Big Rig Semi Trailers are 13' 6" tall.   All Federal highways have bridges that will accommodate at least that height and a bit more.

Our rig is 13' 3" to the top of the Airconditioner - but with the TV antenna sticking up another 3' or so - we were every bit of 16' high going down the highway....  Just waiting for a bridge to come along and peel off that sucker at 60mph!

About that moment that I see the shadow I see a bridge marked 14-6 ahead but an off ramp just before it, so I zip onto the off ramp and start to slow down thinking I've dodged a bullet.
As soon as I start feeling safe - I see some phone lines running across the off ramp and they don't look very high off of the ground.

So - Long story short is I stomp on the brakes and get my 26,000 lbs of traveling home stopped in the middle of a rural off ramp about 10' before running into the phone lines.  We run back to the coach hoping that the 60 mph winds have not hurt the antenna and thankfully all was ok.

But wait - the day is not over yet...

Back on the road - we are driving for another hour or two and start to run into the rain that the weather forecast had promised us for most of our trip today.   About the time the rain starts to splatter the windshield I say to Kate - "you closed the bathroom roof vent right?

You see - Kate handles the inside stuff and I handle the outside stuff, and once we are in our groove we are a well oiled machine but at first (especially with the new rig and not having our routine down yet) we are more like the keystone cops.

The roof vents are not supposed to be left up while driving down the road so when I got stopped I was worried that we had damaged it but lo and behold...  the vent was fine.  

I think tomorrow morning I'm going to slow down....
and have that second cup of coffee before we depart.

Our home tonight is the 7 points Army Corp of Engineers Campground.
The Army Corp manages a lot of dams and reservoirs and they have created some nice parks along those reservoirs.   This one is on J. Percy Priest Reservoir and would be a great place for a family vacation.

It has playgrounds and a nice beach.
  This is looking at the playground from our campsite.


There is water and electric at the site.
Clean restrooms with hot showers

The road thru the campground looks just like some nice suburban development.


You can see its still  cloudy but tomorrow we head West into the Sun.

This is looking out over the beach & Reservoir


Tomorrow as we continue our push West we will also stay at an Army Corp Campground in western Arkansas near the Oklahoma border.

Tonights Kudo goes to Kim for checking out the google map that I've created, and even making a comment on the blog...  Way to go Kim.

We've also been enjoying that homemade bread and muffins from Hayden & Raydeen.

Last night we had hot turkey sandwiches on homemade bread, and today homemade chocolate muffins.

New map point tonight on the google map shows where we are.

Tomorrow Arkansas.


5 comments:

  1. This is so much fun...running along with you two. It was funny thinking about blowing off the TV antenna on a bridge or phone lines...that was close. Hey Kate, step up your game and double check that interrior before you hit da road! If not...no more bread for you! Thanks for the fun read,myou are a great writter.
    H

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  2. Thanks for the chuckle this morning. I'm glad all was ok and no real catastrophes. I checked the map again and got it with my first click today. Kim

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  3. Just catching up after out run to Alexandria, Baltimore and back. Everything was great except traffic in the B&W corridor. The wedding was really great. The wedding itself was in the little church used in the film "Run-away Bride." The reception was beyond awesome. I expected to see FBI agents out there writing down license plate numbers. Have some great pics (some will even make Mac jealous) that we'll share when your return. Have a great trip and remember always check the roof before you pull out. Kate may be sunbathing. Bob

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  4. Hey Guys!

    Hope today goes smoother! How did the doodles react to the braking action on the ramp? Did they fall off the bed or end up front? Since I am your prayer warrior, here is your first one:

    God,
    Bless Greg and Kate, that they may enjoy the beauty that surrounds them and complete their travels safely and successfully under Your ever watchful care.
    Amen

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  5. That Google map is really cool! We miss you already. Kate, your plants are doing fine so far. I even remembered to water them last night when we returned from Baltimore. Sounds like you have found some nice campgrounds. But where are the daily self-portraits?? Love you both!

    Margie :o)

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