On Wednesday, the 11th, we drove back up to Nashville. The weather had cleared up and it was supposed to be a beautiful day. Our hope was to be able to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the Ryman Auditorium. We left the coach about 9:30 in our Kia with the iWay GPS attached to the windshield to guide us. I chose a route we hadn’t traveled in order to see some different countryside. The GPS took us along the back roads where we were able to enjoy some of the pristine farmland.

Our first scheduled stop was the Costco store in Franklin. We didn’t really need anything, but we wanted to do some casual shopping in the store and see what merchandise they carried. Our only purchase was a pair of gloves for each of us. They had some weatherproof gloves that normally cost $9 and they were marked down to $7/pair. The Costcos are pretty much standardized as we have found, but it’s always fun to see the different inventory that each section of the country carries.

Our next stop was the downtown Nashville attractions. When we arrived at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Dottie went in to get the prices. I found a parking spot (typically in a metropolitan area the parking spots cost - this was no different) and decided not to pay the $8 parking fee they wanted. Dottie came running out to keep me from parking when she discovered that the Museum wanted $35/person to visit with a self-guided tour which included the Ryman Theater. (I’m just too tight to pay that kind of money! If a city has an attraction that would benefit a person‘s knowledge, they don’t need to be charging those kind of high rates - keep it reasonable!) We were disappointed, but not too surprised. I found a curb parking spot, put 4 quarters in the machine, and we walked over to the Ryman Theater to at least see the outside of it. I took a few pictures and we walked back down to Broadway, the main drag in Nashville.

Broadway is a line of small restaurants and bars with the names of the famous country singers. We saw the Ernest Tubb Coffee Shop, the Charlie Daniels Lounge, and the Broadway Brew Pub. Whoa there, podner! The Broadway Brew Pub? Yep, a small microbrewery with a brewpub that had over 70 beers on tap! We walked by the window and I could see a young lady inside behind the bar with a black top and two of the biggest…most beautiful…round…brown eyes you’ve ever seen! Gotcha!! We decided to go in and have a refreshing drink. The bar wasn’t very busy so Dana, the young lady, talked with us as we sipped one of their local brews, a Yazoo pale ale. She has worked there for about two months and is making just over $2/hour (plus tips) as a barmaid. Dottie enjoyed chatting with Dana after her experiences in Rapid City last summer. Dana had a black top that had “Drink ‘til he’s cute!” printed on the back and talked me in to buying a white one for Dottie. We really enjoyed our half hour sitting and talking with her.

We left and walked back to the car just in time for the parking meter to run out of time. We drove out of the downtown area and back to the interstate to search out a Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits. Good friend Dale Hilmen, a fellow La Mesa Sunrise Rotarian and an attorney that owns some land in Nashville as an investment, owns the property that is leased by two of the Mrs. Winner’s stores. We found one of the restaurants and stopped for some pictures and some sampling. They had special priced chicken breast filets in a biscuit for only 99 cents. We bought three of the them and a box of chicken to take home for dinner.

Back on the road we stopped at the local Sam’s Club to check out their store and got out without buying anything. The GPS took us on a meandering county road that took us to the Natchez Trace Parkway and back to the campground. We got home about 4:30 and tackled that box of warm chicken. It was a great day of being a tourist and enjoying Nashville.

Thursday was a travel day and we headed for Leighton, AL to spend a couple of day with Wayne and Kathy Johnson. We drove down the Trace until we encountered a detour for retrofitting two bridges. Our drive took us to Florence, AL and the Quad Cities of Florence/Muscle Shoals/Sheffield/Tuscumbia. We crossed the Tennessee River and arrived at the Johnson Estate about 12:30. I drove by the house very slowly to look over the approach and the driveway. They live in a rural setting with a circular driveway. I realized I was going to have to drive to the end of the street, turn around, and make another approach from the opposite direction in order to make the turn into the narrow driveway.

We unhooked the car and I carefully maneuvered the coach into the driveway. With our huge wheelbase, turning the coach so as not to damage the lawn was a real challenge. Between some low wires and tree branches, I wasn’t as successful as I would like to have been, but I got the coach parked facing out into the street with as little lawn damage as possible. As soon as I stopped, Wayne grabbed a tree trimmer and we snipped some branches to prepare for our pending departure. We ran an extension cord and hooked up to a 20-amp outlet, enough to keep the batteries charged.

Our stay with Wayne and Kathy has been a very relaxing respite from the campgrounds we’ve been seeing. Both of them have been wonderful hosts and we have had the privilege of sampling Kathy’s fantastic cooking. On Friday morning we struck out to see the Coon Dog Cemetery. It’s in a remote part of the county and the GPS took us directly to it. The GPS even had the cemetery as one of its many points-of-interest. We walked around and looked at some of the graves and headstones and took some photos. It’s a very quiet location and had the first “occupant” in 1937. There are probably close to 100 graves that are only for coon dogs.

From there we drove to Red Bay, AL and the Tiffin Motorhome Co., the maker of the Allegro brand of motor homes. We arrived too early for the afternoon tour at 2PM, so we found a BBQ restaurant and had lunch. We were back at 2 for the tour and joined 8 others. The plant is small compared to Monaco, but very interesting to see the construction of the coaches. When the time comes for us to upgrade our coach I wouldn’t consider anything but Monaco. However, I have to admit I was impressed with the construction of the Allegros. The plant wasn’t as clean as Monaco's, but the end product is well-made. There are only 13 coaches a week being manufactured and the workmanship was very well done. We toured the plant in about 90 minutes and then had the chance to walk aboard some of the coaches waiting on the line that weren’t yet sold. The top-of-the-line Zephyr is a magnificent coach with some very nice luxury items on the interior. The coaches are built on Spartan chassis with 500-hp Cummins engines. The plant tour was interesting and informative, and Wayne and Kathy also seemed to enjoy it.

On Friday night the Johnsons took us to Dale’s Steakhouse on the river in Florence. We had a fantastic first-class dinner among several high school prom attendees. The young ladies were decked out in beautiful gowns accompanied by their dates dressed in tuxes. It was fun to see these kids and brought back memories of over 40? years ago.

Saturday was a day to stay home with bad weather forecasts. We experienced a huge line of thunderstorms that passed the country and rained on us. In spite of the rain I was able to change the oil on the Kia and grease the u-joints on the coach. I got a little wet, but it was only rain water and the job is finally completed. We were up early on Sunday morning to join Wayne and Kathy for Sunday school and church at the Leighton Baptist Church. Both of us enjoyed the warmth of the congregation and the friendliness we encountered. Some long-time friends of the Johnsons dropped by on their way home to central Alabama and we listened to some funny stories and memories. Sunday night was a quiet evening in preparation for our departure on Monday for the Cherokee Landing TTN park.

On Monday morning I was up early and getting the coach prepared for travel. After securing everything, I got the coach started and slowly rolled out the driveway. With Dottie watching carefully, I was able to pull into the street and make the slow turn without getting the rear wheels in the drainage ditch. We hitched up, said our goodbyes, and began to roll toward the highway. Wayne had made a phone call to a local propane dealer and they were waiting for us to fill the tank. We headed west on US-72 all the way to Walnut, MS and turned north on MS-15/TN-125 before turning west at Middleton on TN-57. We topped the fuel tank in Walnut paying $2.80/gallon for diesel fuel. We drove right past the entrance to Cherokee Landing since there was no sign. After turning around, I found the entrance, drove the 2 miles to the Ranger Station and got checked in. Much to our surprise, there are a few full hook-up sites in the park, and we got one of them. That is a pleasant relief since Dottie can use the washing machine and save some effort in washing clothes. It also means we can take showers in our coach and not have to use the restrooms.

The park is a place of absolute peace and quiet! We’ve been told we will see deer walking through the park and hear wild birds in the trees. Wayne and Kathy will drive up and spend Wednesday and Thursday with us in a cabin we already have reserved for them. It will be a great week!!