Ashville, North Carolina

...finally heading north....

...well, at least we THOUGHT we were heading north...meeting up at the Dill's Food Mart parking lot turned into a whole morning and noon happening...we were to meet and leave at 10:30...we finally, left five hours later...thanks to Good Sam's road assistance, we found out Jim had a couple of bad batteries...we were THEN on our way...a few miles down the road, Karen found out you can't hang your whole wardrobe in the closet...one bump and they were all over the floor...a few distractions didn't dampen the day...we still celebrated Bessie's BD in style...seeing white frogs and all....the next day was the visit to the Biltmore Estate...America's largest home...250 rooms built in 1895...it had its own electric generator in the basement along with a bowling alley and swimming pool...the library contained more than 10,000 volumes in 8 languages...the main dining hall had a seven story high ceiling...this place was unbelievable...we just could not take it all in...a short visit to the gardens and a stop over at the winery for tasting and lunch...we then toured the River Bend Farm...next stop, Fredericksburg, Virginia...look out Washington, DC....

Hiawasee, Georgia

...North Georgia Mountains...

...Bald Mountain RV Resort didn't know what hit it when the Thomas' from Arizona, the Halls from Florida, the Freemans from Georgia, the Browns from Oklahoma and the Hoggards from Texas all arrived...wonderful weather...50s in the mornings and low 80s during the day...lots of evening campfires catching up on old times...a drive up to Brasstown Bald (the highest point in Georgia)turned into "memory lane" for Bill...we stopped off at an old campground that was home to him for 5 summers attending and working for the YMCA...some of the buildings were still there and the new owners had dedicated a wall with old pictures back in the 60s when he was there...Hiawassee was having their North Georgia Mountain County Fair...wonderful parade...lots of folk crafts and a music show in the evening featuring Larry Gaitlin...at times, I felt like we were in Branson...he he...however, great entertainment....the last day was spent washing clothes and packing heading out to North Carolina...first stop Biltmore Estates...I'm updating this at 4 in the morning...seems like we are nonstop...so many things to do and see....

...Georgia on my mind....

...being back in Georgia is special for Bill...after the wine tasting we loaded six bottles of wonderful wine in the Rv...we washed clothes and got ready for the next day...we visited the Railroad Depot in Ringgold where Bill 's dad worked for a number of years and then headed to Lookout Mountain...the tour guides loved their jobs and loved history...so the story at Point Park about the Battle Above the Clouds turned into about a 45 minute talk...very interesting and you could see Missionary Ridge...it was amazing how they were able to travel thru the hills...I really wish I had listened and learned more about the Civil War in school...after that was a treat for me...Rock City...oh my gosh...in the 1920s Freida Carter spent four years tracing a path thru her back yard, thru rock formations, creeks and caves to turn her back yard into the gardens it is today....her great great grandson keeps it alive today...and yes, I have my Rock City birdhouse...in the mid 1930's, her husband painted on barn rooftops all over the US advertising the garden that was opened to the public...by the 1950s he had painted over 900 barn rooftops from Michigan to Texas...the rock formations were so unusual...we then drove out to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park...to see where the actual men fought was eye opening...it was a 7 mile car route thru the park...of course we had to find the Georgia and Texas monument to honor the men that fought from those states...a full day...the next day would be one of a short drive to Bald Mountain Resort to meet up with our friends...will update when we leave for North Carolina on Monday....

Ringgold, Georgia

Burns, Tennessee

...four days and four states....

...time to take a break...wow...from Texas to Arkansas to Tennessee and then to Kentucky...Montgomery Bell State Park was a beautiful little state park with a creek running thru the middle...we arrived on Thursday and drove to Franklin on Friday ...on the way to Franklin we stopped at the Loveless Cafe...famous for scratch-made biscuits by Carol Faye, the biscuit lady famous on the food network...Franklin is the site of the Battle of Franklin, the deadliest 5 hour battle of the civil war...we visited the Lotz House and Carter House...both were used as hospitals during the deadly battle...Saturday, we drove to Hopkinsville, Kentucky to visit my uncle and his wife...wow, did they show us a great time...a stop a Ferrell' Hamburger joint...visited with the original Miss Ferrell who turns 90next month...she was counting her money and telling us a story about how she hit President George Bush with his microphone when he stopped in to eat a hamburger...she was also visited by Guy from "Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins"...then a trip thru the tobacco farmland to Jefferson Davis' Monument and a short visit with Lita's mom and dad...what wonderful people...Sarah Nell makes the best homemade lemonade ever....we then drove out to Lake Barkley and boys will be boys...after a sampling of "burgoo"...oh my gosh, to die for...we drove back to the park...Sunday was a short trip back to Franklin to tour the Carnton Plantation House...it served as the largest field hospital for the dying Confederate soldiers...very impressive cemetery with records of all those buried there....today we left Tennessee and are in Ringgold, Georgia...Bill's birthplace...we are staying at a KOA with a winery attached...imagine that...he he...already had a wine tasting....tomorrow is an all day adventure of touring the area of Lookout Mountain and battlefields of Chickamauga and Chattanooga...

...back to Arkansas...

to Lake Catherine State Park...we took off around 9:00 Wednesday morning...stopped at our favorite truck stop...Texas Best Smokehouse...Gus hung out with the "big boys"...drove longer than we really wanted to, but Lake Catherine was definitely worth it...beautiful, and our site was huge...wish we could have stayed longer...we'll be back...we left this morning and headed to Memphis,Tenn...oh my gosh...another "we'll be back"...we had no time for all the sites there...did catch a glimse of Elvis at the Welcome center...then drove on to Montgomery Bell State Park and Resort....again, a beautiful park...sites are a little close together...we got here late so I'll update in a couple of days....having a great time...

...it's been three weeks....

and it's time to pack up and head out...leaving Wednesday and going northeast to spend a few days around Nashville, Tenn. and then to Hiawasee, Georgia to meet up with some friends and head up to Pulaski, New York...a little fishing village on Lake Ontario...will post as we travel along...

Bismark, Arkansas