Bringing in 2022-January to May

JANUARY/FEBRUARY/MARCH

PALMETTO/CITRUS VALLEY - FL

In early January, we drove to Palmetto Florida and stayed at the elegant, Class A only, Tides RV Resort. We were there to meet up with family and celebrate my Aunt Maryanne’s 80th birthday! My cousin, Annmarie, with her sophisticated food and wine palette, led us to the most lovely restaurant in St. Petersburg. It was a perfect Florida evening to eat outside and celebrate. I was so happy we were able to share that milestone with my Family Matriarch!

From left, Chris, Auntie, Annmarie, Uncle Tony, me and George.

Outdoor dining allowed us to be mask-free.  

During "peak season," several of the members of our FMCA local chapter, The Islanders, joined us at Elite for a few months and we shared many nights of laughter, wine, food and conversation. If you have access to Charlie's blog, he documented all the trips and dinners out. For George and I, it was daily life spent with lots of friends who enjoyed the time away from the cold winter up north. They "flew" back north in early April to celebrate Easter with family. 

APRIL

OLDSMAR, FL

We drove Bertha over to Tampa for Easter with the girls, their Uncle Gregg and his girlfriend, Angie. We camped at the beautiful and super-convenient Bay Bayou Resort in Oldsmar. The food, wine and company were wonderful.

Meily, me, Stella, Gregg and me (with glass of wine:).

Not happy with her Easter Bonnet.

MAY

All to soon, May approached and it was time to start out on our next adventure, which was traveling north-west up through Georgia and Tennessee. First exciting event was Cinco di Mayo. Stella was having a grand time, but Mommy had to cut her off after her second margarita.

Humm, she didn't seem to mind this hat after her second drink!

CHATTANOOGA

After two one-night stops, we landed in Chattanooga for a few days, which is steeped in history and had explorable caves.  We visited Ruby Falls and it was our first time experiencing an indoor waterfall. Revolutionary Mountain was close by, filled with Civil War history.

NASHVILLE

Our next stop was Twin Rivers RV where we met up with fellow "Islanders" again where we toured  Nashville. First order of business was a trip to The Grand Ole Opry. We saw the Gaitlin Brothers along with a couple of up-and-coming singers. Sitting in the burgundy velvet "pews" was enough for me, because I found this historic place, with the ghosts of past performers and it's original wooden "circle" on the stage exciting. The Opry is a definite destination stop if you want to be part of country-western music and history.

Top: Charlie, Johnny, John, Doreen and Tony
Girls from L-R: Chrissy, Fran and me.

Note wooden circle on the stage.
 It was cut from the original Opry stage and installed in the new venue.

A little history of the Opry: 

• The Opry began in 1925 and has continued to be the longest-running radio broadcast in US history
• The Opry had multiple venues, from small second-floor offices to its current relocation in the renovated Ryman Auditorium. A circle had been cut from the original stage when it was in another location and then installed front and center of the new stage. So many famous people stood on this piece of wood, wearing it into a smooth, darkened sphere. I would think that every new performer who stands on it gets chills. 
• An interesting fact: Elvis performed there only once and was never invited back due to his provocative moves and style. Their loss.

One evening while in Nashville, we went on a dinner cruise aboard the General Jackson. We were provided with a delicious meal and terrific country-western music. 

PIGEON FORGE

After Nashville, we headed to Pigeon Forge and the land of Dolly Parton. Dolly single-handedly took a small coal mining town and transformed it into a thriving community by building Dollywood and employing local residents. New businesses were needed to accommodate the influx of tourists. A sort of reverse domino effect.

Some Hudson Islanders (I won't mention any names) had much fun buying up a bunch of Moonshine. Evenings were spent with us all taste-testing different flavors. The day following a tasting required re-visiting Gatlinburg to stock up on favorites.

George and I took a tour of of famous cars from movies and TV shows. It was a trip back in time for both of us. See if you recognize any from the not-so-perfect photos before scrolling down.

Answers:

In order: The General Lee, from Dukes of Hazard; The truck from the Beverly Hillbillies; 
Barney Fife's Patrol Car; The Jeep from Mash and The Ghostbuster-mobile 

For some reason, things like this catch my eye all the time!

As May came to a close, it was time to celebrate another 80th birthday! Not sure if this is in Pigeon Forge or Croton, but regardless, we raised a glass to toast our dear friend, Charlie's milestone birthday! 

We did a hop-skip-jump to New York. The first stop, Wytheville KOA, in Virginia, was a very nice campground and then on to Jonestown AOK (not a typo), in Jonestown, PA. I was far from a-okay.

It seems that the closer we get to the tri-state area, besides the roads being worse, there are less campgrounds and they become more rustic. 

2022 TO BE CONTINUED...

Deep Thought for the Day: It is said that the biggest journey begins with just one step. I had been dreading the enormity of documenting the last two years and, sadly, many details have fallen by the wayside, so I will push through with the second half of 2022, because 2023 needs to be etched into this blog before the mind sifts out the details. ~ vc

Stuck in the middle (of the country) with you.....

For the past two weeks, we have been hanging out in eastern Tennessee, soaking up the sun and all the tourist attractions in the area. I still haven't Zip Lined or gotten in any White Water Rafting, but we've kept ourselves busy with tech-y stuff, wine tastings, hiking and plain ol' every day life. 

Our "tech" stuff was related to our trusty HP printer that finally decided it had taken it's "final trip" and quietly refused to print one day when it was truly needed. It was lovingly replaced with a newer model, but after spending about 4 hours trying to get a wireless connection to both our laptops, iPad and Kindle, I realized it might just not be compatible or able to handle so many devices. Back to the store it went and a different model was purchased and connected last night. It took a long time to download the drivers and software over our phone's hot spot, but George actually got his set up and running before even I did. I'm hoping that wasn't just a fluke, because I'd gladly turn over the technical stuff to him.

Now for the reason for why we've been hanging in limbo in TN for so long. We hadn't wanted to share our good news until we returned to NY, but a mechanical glitch threw a monkey wrench in our plans. Since we've had to explain our behavior to most of our families and friends, I will now officially announce that we will be purchasing a new and improved version of Allie that we will finally be able to take possession of on June 9th. Her name will be determined. I was thinking of Gracie II or Allie II (two, duex, due, du, dois, dos, zwei, et al), but I think I need to see her in person to make my decision.

Many may shake their heads and wonder why we would purchase a newer version of the very same motor home opposed to getting something totally different, however, we purchased the the one that had the most of what we really wanted and needed.  There is no motor coach that embodies every single desire, but this model, the Tiffin's Allegro Open Road 36LA, continued to come the closest for us. We love the bath and a half, the recliner, the fireplace and tons of storage and the huge counter top in the master bath is crucial for me. Other than opting for a big 40+ foot diesel pusher, we couldn't find all of those things in this class of motor home.

Some of the different or newer features include a heavier-duty chassis, an outdoor TV (George's favorite) a residential refrigerator (bigger, better and no defrosting), a ceiling fan in the bedroom, pull down shades (opposed to chain pulls), mocha wood cabinets, porcelain bathroom sinks, a straight (opposed to L-shaped) sofa, a computer station that has file drawers, pull-out shelves for a laptop and the new printer, lighter colored wall coverings and accents, upgraded faucets and counters and a beautiful kitchen back splash. I now have extra storage under the stove top since we opted to omit the never-used oven. 

Although it was an afterthought, we realized that perhaps Lucy might not even notice the difference since her litter box, scratch pad, water fountain and food dishes will all be located in the same areas. We can only hope.....

Here a few stock photos I found on line that are the closest to what we ordered: 

Rear end.

Same exact floor plan as Allie, just with a regular couch and the table with desk option.

The huge counter top in the master bath.

 

George insisted on this....

New fridge - no more defrosting! Ours won't have that oven but the counter and cabinets are the same.

New one will have a ceiling fan. Handy for warm Walmart nights.

Half-bath with lighter colors and porcelain sink and commode.

We have a lot of work ahead of us next week. The almost 400 mile trip to Sherman MS, transferring all of our possessions from one coach to the other and then the long, three day ride back to NY will surely exhaust us once our adrenaline stops pumping. 

The delay in taking possession of the new RV was due to an issue with the Anti-Lock Braking System that needed to be rectified by Ford before Tiffin would release it to the dealer. We figured we would give Ford all the time they needed since brakes were involved. We really want and need good breaks, I mean good brakes. 

That bad break with the brakes necessitated a revision to Phase II of our journey out to the west coast. We decided to shave off two weeks in order to give us some extra time in NY to catch up with family, friends and doctors. 

Our discovery of The Badlands, Custer State Park and Grand Tetons will need to be postponed until we head out west again. The more I think about it, the more I realized I tried to fit way too much into that trip, so the disappointment and frustration in having to reschedule so many reservations has just faded into quiet acceptance.

My birthday was a couple of days ago and George took me out to the restaurant of my choice (there were two to pick from). I chose Angelo's on the Point, which was located right on Douglas Lake. We had lovely views of the lake and the Smoky Mountains in the distance. Of all things to order, George chose pizza! After the waiter left, he looked at me and said, "What made me order pizza in Tennessee?" I ordered a soup and a salad and figured I would taste his pizza. Turns out (Moe - don't read any further) that there is a whole lot of sugar in their pizza dough. It tasted like dough you would use for an apple pie. It was topped with "less-than-acceptable" mozzarella cheese, but the sauce was tasty.

Regardless of the food (my soup and salad were good), we had a fun night as we celebrated yet another year of my life. The ride to and from the restaurant afforded us the opportunity to see the old town of Dandridge, a very quaint, friendly-looking place that is depicted below.

I've included a few photos of my birthday celebration and what we've been doing.

Celebrating my birthday!  Bad lighting is so flattering. I think my eyes were even open!

George's Tennessean pizza!

George's opinion of Tennessean pizza.

My birthday dinner, soup and a salad (plus a taste of the pizza)

They were closed when we drove by, but I'd love to have seen the soda fountain!

Jefferson County Post - the local newspaper.

The Maxwell House - B&B. I wonder what kind of coffee they serve.

Can't figure our when this dike was built. Am I missing something?.

No post is ever truly complete without a "Lucy" update. As you can see below, she is very comfortable in Allie. Like I said earlier, she may never know we got a new motor home because all of these spots will be the same.

Morning spot - in the sun.

Afternoon nap spot.

Evening location. At first I was very worried, but then I heard her gently snoring.

Deep thought for the day: As much as we are the masters of our own destiny, there are many contributing factors that make us just a novice.  

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

We spent Saturday afternoon driving, walking and hiking through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park is spread almost evenly between North Carolina and Tennessee. It is the most visited of all the National Parks, and I wonder if it's because there is no entry or parking fees, or if it's for the breathtakingly beautiful sights, its "hike-ability" and "drive-ability."  There is surely something for everyone regardless of your physical abilities or limitations. 

The higher mountains, full of spruce and fir, actually appear to have smoke billowing from the treetops and cool mist fills the air creating an approximate 20 degree difference to the forest floor way below. 

It was so interesting to learn about the different "levels" of the forest and the species of trees that thrived best in each. For instance, below the spruce and fir trees you will find hardwood trees such as beech and yellow birch. The next level down intersperses the poplar, sugar maple, hickory, magnolia and hemlock.  At the bottom, growing alongside the pine and oak are mountain laurel, rhododendron, the delicate dogwood trees, wildflowers and various indigenous shrubbery. I love nature....a place for everything and everything in its place.

The weather was misty, damp and chilly, but we managed to see a lot via the road trails and one hiking trail. Clingmans Dome trail allowed us to stand on the border of NC and TN in 46 degrees!  The wind chill made it actually feel more like 30 degrees. After a very steep half-mile hike we had to still climb to the top of the dome itself, and were a bit disappointed by the lack of any view, but the fact that we set out to conquer it and did, made it worthwhile. The photo at the misty-aired top is our proof. I happily "earned" my Smoky Mountain NP t-shirt.

Tomorrow we plan to head to Cades Cove, a section of the park that early settlers had developed. There are some original and reconstructed buildings, including a church that I'd like to hike in to see. Since it promises to be a much easier hike, I'd like to tackle one more, Laurel Falls, which is another easier hike of 2.6 miles that will afford a nice vantage point for photographing the falls.

I believe if we had 100 days to spend here we would not be able to devour it all. There are so many birds, mammals, trails, waterfalls, sights, sounds and acres of land that change with every season. You would need to be a Park Ranger to truly appreciate this place, that or a black bear!

Enjoy the photo show.....

Little Pigeon River

We came across several tunnels through the mountains.   The bottom section of forest - Pine, Oak, wildflowers, shrubs.

Close to the top - smoky and full of majestic fir and spruce

Clingmans Dome - we did it! 6,643' elevation.

 

Below Clingmans Dome.....the boundary sign at only 5,046 feet, warmer and clearer.

Stage where John D. Rockefeller presented the National Park to the people.

A crossroads.....we chose Clingmans Dome Trail.

The end of a long day.

Deep thought for the day:  Please - tell me what I can't do, because I will prove you wrong. When faced with a challenge, I hate to lose.   ~ vc