Travel Rambles

Saturday

The thing about travel days is that there just isn't that much to write about. It is just a matter of putting one wheel in front of the other, trudgin' down the highway.

Woke up feeling really rocky. Didn't think I could get Miko out for a morning walk. I decided I would try to get around the lake, I could always turn back if it was too much. Last night, it took me about 35 minutes to walk the 2.5 mile loop. This morning it took me an hour and a half. We made it though – yay us!!!!

 

I took a pretty cool video - the frogs were going crazy but I guess I still need to figure out how to get that done in this blog.  Seems to me frogs have pretty much disappeared in Minnesota, it was a real treat to hear so much robust croaking going on.

Drove out of southern Illinois, across western Kentucky (isn't Paducah a great name for a town – it is so much fun to say), down into Nashville. When I saw the Welcome to Tennessee sign, I found that I was rather elated. There is something about Tennessee that is very special. I really feel at home here.

I was also excited about this night's lodging. Yes, it was a Walmart, but I picked the Walmart on the north side of town which was supposed to have a fantastic view of the Nashville skyline. Ya gotta get your joy when ya can.

Nashville Sunset

The thing about Walmarts is that they are free to stay at and most of them are welcoming to Rvers. That said, what they don't tell you is about all the money you spend in their store. You are parked in their parking lot and it is so convenient to just hop in and pick up one or two items, except it never is one or two items. So far on the trip, my Walmart stays have been more expensive than the campgrounds.

Sunday

It was a quiet night. Woke up to a sunny beautiful day. I have put away my winter coat and gloves for good now.

Drove through Chattanooga. Pretty hilly country. There was one stretch of 6% grade that was four miles long. At the top, they tell the truckers to use a lower gear, where the truck runaway spots were and depending on your weight, what speed you should be driving at. Check, Check, Check. Instead of putting my vehicle into third gear, I dropped it down into second gear inadvertently. The good thing (I guess) is that it kept my speed down to 45 MPH without any brake use. The bad news is that when I shifted it back up, once I got on flat land, I shifted into third and it took me a while to figure out that this was what was causing the engine to make high whining noise at a high RPM. Hopefully there is no harm done.

Right before I got to Chattanooga, there was a Welcome to Georgia sign. A few miles down the road – Welcome to Tennessee. Then we were being welcomed back into Georgia again. I felt like they were fighting for my affections.

I was planning on stopping at the Georgia Welcome Center to pick up all sorts of information on “Trashy Tourist Traps” cause that is what I'm all about. Imagine my pain at the fact that it was closed. What am I supposed to do now?

I am currently in Adairsville Georgia. Tiny little park. Us overnighters are huddled around the office for our hookups. I am the third in line and it looks like I will have to wait until the two in front of me pull out before I can go.

Shorts, flipflops, robins, ice cream trucks – it is close to seventy degrees.

Tomorrow is a short driving day, but I have to go through Atlanta, one of the worse places to drive an RV.