11-14-18

On our way from Jacksonville to The Villages yesterday we saw a restaurant called The Damn Diner in Oklawaha.

We also saw many warning signs about bears in the Ocala National Forest.  Sister Nancy said she had actually seen one while driving that way before.

We arrived at Recreation Plantation RV Park and they couldn't find our reservation, which scared me.  I was afraid I had messed up and made it somewhere else, but we had the paperwork and they had just spelled our name wrong.  We are now settled in in a sand and grass site but with all the needed amenities.  Here is a view from the laundry room.

We went to meet Nancy and her husband, Ken at a community Thanksgiving dinner that Nancy was in charge of.  Everyone seemed very happy eating turkey together.  Here is Ken wearing a turkey hat.

Nancy's singing group, Sisters in Harmony, sang for the gathering.  They did a great job.

11-12-18

Florida!  Heat, humidity and fire ants (ten bites up my right leg).  Gotta love it!

Also, note the state of my hair in this picture with my sister, Janis in Jacksonville.

11-10-18
After we passed miles and miles of chopped down trees and piles of wood chips in the median on I-95 in Jasper County, SC I looked it up online to see what it meant.  Evidently, this was a 30 mile stretch of highway known as the Coffin Corridor because people who accidentally left the highways were killed when they crashed into the trees.  Normally, their cars would have come to a rest without injuries but the trees themselves were the hazard.  This was a 10 million dollar safety project.

On our way from Charleston, SC to Jacksonville, FL we made a pit stop at the Georgia Welcome Center.  I went inside and Gary walked the dogs.  He finished walking Jazzy and put her into the truck and then picked up Baby.  She was a star.  In a minute, they were surrounded by a group of Chinese tourist ladies who wanted to take selfies with them.  It was hilarious!

After they took these pictures they posed in front of the Welcome to Georgia sign to document their experience.  They were on their way to Florida and a Caribbean cruise.

We arrived in JAX and went to see sister, Janis.  On our way to her we saw an oyster bar named Aw, Shucks!!

11-9-18

Beautiful Charleston, SC.  The first thing I noticed was the Spanish moss hanging in the trees.  I had forgotten how pretty that looks.

We arrived last night and had dinner with a friend I have known since fourth grade, Karen Etheridge Edwards.  We went all through school and sang in the Granby High School Nonuette during senior year and longer.  Many wonderful memories.

Downtown Charleston is old and full of history.

We had lunch at a Starbucks that was a bank in the 1920s.  This is the bank vault inside.

We saw a horse and buggy carrying tourists and right behind it was a white van that said Doody Calls - Equine Sanitation on the back.

The other funny thing we saw was a pickup truck with a sign on the rear that said Warning - this truck contains Venomous Snakes!

11-6-18

I've had lots of Internet connectivity issues which have prevented me from downloading my pictures, so this blog entry is a conglomeration of destinations.

This is the French Broad River in Sevierville but it also flows near Asheville.  The RV Park was on its banks.  So beautiful.

A couple of final notes on Sevierville.  They have mile marker numbers on every traffic light.  It is really a touch of genius because it makes it so much easier to give directions. 

Also, weirdly, they have many stores selling boots.  If you buy one pair you get two pairs for free!  What a deal!

We drove to Asheville on I-40 and I-26.  This sign greeted us at the new RV Park.

This park is more rustic than the last two but is perfectly fine.  We had some big rainstorms last night but the water drained off rather than making mud puddles like the one in Conway, AR.

Last night we had dinner with some old friends from Gary's days in the computer world.  Frank and Elaine McIlhinney live in Hendersonville, not far from where we are staying.  It was great fun seeing them.

This is not my picture, but there is no way I could have done this well.  It is the beautiful Biltmore Estate, which was built for the Vanderbilt family.  It is the main tourist attraction in Asheville and all decked out for Christmas already.  It costs $60.00 per person to tour it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My opinion is that is gouging!

We drove through downtown Asheville and saw the restaurant where my nephew, Joe is a chef.  Unfortunately, he and his new wife, Nat are in New Orleans for a wedding.

On the road back to the campground we saw this small pickup truck overloaded with pallets.  It looked as though it might turn over on every curve.

We had lunch at an IHOP where they were testing the air conditioning. BRRRR! Also, there was a piece of toast on the floor that just stayed there the whole time we were there until Gary pointed it out to management.  We really should have left but we were hungry.  They said they didn't notice it.  DUH! 

 11-4-18

Sevierville, TN has been completely unexpected. It is the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains and people come to see the fall foliage.  (The colors this year are pretty but not spectacular.)  However, starting at I-40 and heading south on 66 we have encountered the Las Vegas of the Appalachians.  (No gambling, though.) Through Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg there is one tourist trap after another.  We saw, but did not participate in, an upside-down experience featuring a plantation house on it's roof, The Hatfield-McCoy Dinner Feud, the Titanic Experience, the Smoky Mountains Opry, King Kong on the Empire State Building and a country-western Mt. Rushmore to name a few.  Dollywood is here, as well.

Hatfield-McCoy

Titanic

King Kong

Rushmore

Also advertised was the Kryptology Locked Rooms Experience where you are locked in a room with 7 other people and use clues and games to get out.  They say you can leave any time you want, but I don't think that would be enjoyable for me.

There is an Alcatraz East Crime Museum and a Bible Museum.  The traffic is astounding.

People are very friendly here, they hold doors open, let you go first in traffic and greet you but there is definitely a cultural difference.  We saw a store for Golf and Guns, another store that lets you rent guns, including machine guns and the Smoky Mountains Knife Works, which we did explore.

Gary bought a rain suit here which will be helpful if we arrive at a campground and have to set up in a storm. 

We are staying at Two Rivers Landing RV Resort, which is just beautiful.  It is on the French Broad River and has grass, trees and concrete sites instead of gravel, which makes keeping the TrailBayser clean much easier.

A staple on menus in this area is Meat and Three, meaning the protein of your choice plus three side dishes.  You can also have your choice of Supper or Dinner, supper being a more lunch-sized portion.

You've heard the expression, "When pigs fly."?  Well, now you've seen it.