2013 Winter Trip; Nashville Story and Homeward Bound

Now the rig is turned west and we are getting out before tornado season starts in the Oklahoma/Tennessee area.

We didn’t get far before we ran into engine trouble.  Walt started to see smoke from the tail pipe off and on.   We looked up International service centers and found one in Nashville.  Cumberland International told us to come right in.  Now the going gets tough!!   We were there 18 days!   We were “fixed” 3 times and sent on our way only have to come right back with the same issue.  Towed again too!!  Hotel life with a cat is not our cup of tea.  Good news, we were stuck in Nashville.  Could be worse places to be stuck.

 

 

 Really enjoyed the town.  Did you know they have a Parthenon??  We didn’t either.   It was built for a Centennial Celebration in 1897.

 

Got to check out the American Pickers store here.  They have a shop here in an old Marathon automobile factory.  Didn’t get to see Mike, Frank or Danielle.  Click on American above to go to their website.

 

Have you ever seen a bike riding dog with dreadlocks?  We did.  Here he is.

 

 

While there, we met a up and coming singer.   Their RV was parked next to ours with her name across the back.  Charee White.  She was recording her second CD and was kind enough to sing for us and give us a CD.  Lovely young lady. We hope she makes it to the big-time.

 

We headed home a bit later than we wanted to.  Tornado season has started.  Just getting out of here in time.

So, arrived home  April 19^th.

 

Gone 109 days, 8230  miles,  14 states and 1091 gallons of fuel.  We will be home a month and then head out again for our Pacific Northwest trip.

2013 Winter Cross Country Trip; St. Augustine, Savannah, Tybee Island, Charleston, Myrtle Beach & Mooresville

After 7 weeks in Florida, we are now heading northward.  We visited St Augustine, Savannah, Charleston, Tybee Island, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach before heading inland to visit the Meesters’ in Mooresville, NC.

St. Augustine is a very pretty city.  It is the oldest European settled & continuously inhabited city in the USA.  Architecture is heavily influenced from its time being under Spanish rule.  

Savannah was also very  beautiful. The live oaks (term meaning they don't drop their leaves) are everywhere and lovely Spanish moss hangs from them.  Every few blocks there is a square or park in the city that date back to when the city was first designed. They call these parks the Jewels of the City.

We drove to Tybee Island to visit the lighthouse and beach.  Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs on this beach every year.  Click on Tybee above to go to a website about their turtle protection program.

We moved up to the Charleston area and found a wonderful county park with large spaces, full hookups and lots of bird life. We saw male and female cardinals, wood storks in trees and many egrets sunning themselves in the trees.  Also, great hiking trails. 

 

The name of the park is James Island County Park. Click on the word James on the left to go to their website.

We went out to a plantation that still had their authentic slave quarters.  They had a very informative visitor program to talk about slave and plantation life.

We stayed next in Myrtle Beach at Ocean Lakes Campground.  Needed to get a little more of the Atlantic Ocean before we head westward. 

We golfed there and a big squirrel ran up to us.  He was really big and had this white nose.  We had never seen one like it before.  We didn't know if we needed to run or feed him. Turns out, he was a Eastern FOX Squirrel and very friendly.

Next stop Moorseville, NC to see our friends Joe and Linda Meesters.  

We were the first of their RV friends to plug into their new RV spot. 

While there, we drove up to Mt Airey,  NC the real “Mayberry USA” and  home town of Andy Griffith, Opie and Aunt Bee.  Had our first PORK CHOP SANDWICH for $4.05 and it was real good too. Breaded pork, chili, cole slaw and mustard.