Sunday, August 18, 2019, Move to Payne COE Park, Acworth, GA

Today's drive included a couple of things I would have preferred to avoid - the drive, or should I say climb, over Monteagle, TN, on I-24 and the traffic in Chattanooga, TN. Neither proved to be that terrible as we made our way 230.1 miles (95,240.9 total) to Payne Campground on Lake Allatoona just 20 miles northwest of Atlanta, Georgia's perimeter.

Payne Corp of Engineer's campground was our fall back when our reservations were canceled at Sawnee Corp of Engineer's campground. We found Sawnee was closed because the COE could not find anyone willing to workcamp there. It seemed such a shame because it was a very nice park and it would have been the ideal location for us.

Our site (site 59) was one of the two previous host sites so it had full hook-ups unlike the other 58 sites in the park. It also had more parking area than we have ever had before. That made it convenient when Jon and Sara and Mike and Kate all drove over for the afternoon. That was especially nice for me, I was finished driving for the day and we were able to see everyone!

Sara and Jon are expecting our first grandchild, a girl, on September 23rd and we wanted to be here for the big event. That is only about five weeks away but we will stay busy and I'm sure the time will pass quickly.

Thursday, August 15, 2019, State Capitol, Nashville, TN

Today, Joani, Mom and I met Doug, Carol and Matthew for lunch at the food court in the Farmer's Market in downtown Nashville, TN. We were a little early so we looked around while we waited for the working folks to arrive on their lunch breaks.

It was warm (by warm, I mean it was mid-90's with 90% humidity) and while there was a pretty good selection of fresh produce for the middle of the summer there was nothing that screamed: "Take me home."

We headed back inside for some much-appreciated air conditioning while we checked out the wide array of dining choices. Between the six of us at the table, we had quite a collection of foods: Indian, Mexican and Chinese.

Easily visible from the Farmers Market was the Capitol building. Getting there was more of a challenge than I had expected. No longer a Nashville native I was thankful for Google maps to navigate our way to the Motlow Tunnel on Charlotte Avenue where I dropped Mom and Joani off. The Motlow tunnel provided direct access to elevators to the Capitol without any stairs.

Parking was available off of James Robertson Parkway at the bottom of Capitol Hill. The climb was a bit daunting in the heat.

Along the way, I passed the burial site for James Knox Polk, a prominent Tennessean who became the 11th president of the United States in 1845.

The last time we were in the area a significant portion of the building's exterior was cloaked in scaffolding and tarps for some renovation. Our timing was better this visit and I was able to appreciate the classically inspired architecture. Tennessee has one of the few capitol buildings without a dome.

Tennessee is one of ten state capitols without a dome.

I found Mom and Joani patiently waiting for me in the cool halls of the capitol. There was a guided tour available but we opted to just look around on our own. I had visited so many years ago that I had forgotten there was no rotunda. The building seemed very small and not quite as impressive as many of those we had visited.

We had to work around this professional photographer for pictures of the house chambers. He was taking his time setting up the perfect shot. He had two assistants and a truckload of equipment.

The library was the only room I recognized from long ago. I seem to remember we were able to use the spiral stairs and browse the upper levels - no more. I'm pretty sure there was nothing on those shelves I would want to read anyway.

Hiking back down the hill to retrieve the car was much quicker but this time I found the road in front of the Motlow tunnel closed due to construction. I had no choice but to wait on the curb on Charlotte Avenue while Mom and Joani walked to me. Not being quite as confident in the Nashville traffic as my brother I did not attempt any further sightseeing downtown and we headed home.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019, McNamara's Pub, Donelson, TN

After reconnecting with a couple of old high school friends on Facebook we agreed to meet face to face one afternoon at McNamara's Pub in Donelson, TN. I brought my laptop PC with a collection of pictures of us in our 20's and a copy of our Senior year annual to trigger old memories.

Mark, aka "Zemo", on the right had just retired and was adjusting well to the concept of not working. His hobby was working on Civil War-era history and he just self-published his third (or is it fourth) book.

Mike, behind us, had not made the leap into retirement yet. He had no compelling ambition or interest outside of his work at NASA to make him leave the ranks of the employed. He did, however, have quite a few questions about fulltime RVing.

We had a couple of pints and some Irish nachos (quite tasty!) before heading to Mark's condo to sip some scotch and continue reminiscing for a few more hours. We will have to plan on another get-together but maybe not wait another 40 years before we do.

 Not very many pictures from the '70s have David in them, but every now and then he would set the timer and jump in the photo. This one has Mike (far left), Zemo (yellow coat) and David (far right).

 Another timer shot - Mike far left and then David, Zemo is in the window center.

 David is behind the camera this time, but Zemo is second from the right and Mike is fourth from the right.

I took over camera duty to capture David in front of Fall Creek Falls.

Sunday, August 11, 2019, Goodman Family Mini-Reunion, Mt Juliet, TN

We learned Steve and Jane's son Danny (Joani's nephew) lived nearby so we tried to get everyone together for a little reunion. Steve was able to get in touch with Joani's younger brother, Ron, and his wife Kelley. They drove over from nearby Goodlettsville to visit for the afternoon. Rachel brought Steve and Jane's two grandsons, Blue and Chase as well, making this the largest family gathering, on Joani's side, in some time. (Trying to avoid last names can sometimes be a challenge.)

Oldest to youngest (L to R), Steve, Joani and Ron. Ken, the youngest brother, unfortunately, could not be reached. Ron thought it was unfair that he wasn't on the permanent vacation I call retirement but he will have his chance in a few years (he was only 56).

Everyone was interested in Joani's newest passion - lapidary. She has quite a collection of rocks and minerals that never fail to amaze. They were even more impressed when they found out she was willing to let them have a few samples for themselves. Kelley teaches science in middle school so she picked some specimens for show-and-tell. 

I think everyone enjoyed the afternoon and we all agreed we should try to get together more often.

Saturday, August 10, 2019, Tomato Arts Festival, Nashville, TN

My brother, Doug, took me downtown to the Nashville Tomato Arts Festival. We hit the same event a few years ago and I was looking forward to some people watching and some more of that famous Nashville Hot Chicken.

There was a lot of good people watching at the festival but not a single food truck with hot chicken. As it neared noon we headed to Hattie B's where I took the challenge and ordered the "Shut the Cluck Up" chicken, their hottest offering. It did work up an oh so delightful sweat but an ice-cold PBR balanced things out.

Afterward, Doug drove us around Nashville and I must confess there was little I could recognize as the town I grew up near. In my early years, the only tall building on the Nashville skyline was the Life and Casualty Tower. That building was dwarfed by all of the new construction and, in fact, I couldn't even spot it on the skyline below - it must have been behind one of the new towers. At least the Capital building was familiar and visible on the extreme left of the picture.

One of the most recently completed high rise hotels made for this artsy photo. 

The "Bat Tower" loomed behind the old buildings along Broadway.

Nashville had certainly taken on a party atmosphere as tourists flocked to the "Gulch" for food and drink and music. Apparently, this is one of the most popular destinations for bachelorette parties and we saw many open-air party buses filled with young ladies having a good time.

All in all a great day cruising around Nashville - thanks Doug!

Sunday, August 4, 2019, Move to Cedar Creek COE Campground, Mt Juliet, TN

Today's drive of 67.0 miles (95,010.8 total) to Mt Juliet, TN, was pretty easy until a right turn heading into the park that looked nothing like we expected from viewing it on Google satellite view. Luckily, the traffic was light and I used all of the road in both directions to negotiate my turn. The park was a little more of a problem. We arrived at about 11:45 to a closed office. A surly park host let me know the office wouldn't open until 12:00 and we were 3 hours early for check-in and we should have known that because it was part of the reservation instructions. Fortunately, there was room to park alongside the road and wait for our site to open up.

I should have taken a few pictures. Sometimes it is difficult to remember the camera when you are in the moment. Our site was spacious and level but a bit muddy. That was easily handled with the large mat we placed at our doorstep. What I really hate was that I never got a picture of the dozen or so vultures that raided the trash bin on a regular basis. The hosts tried to keep netting over the garbage but the birds seemed to have no trouble getting to the tasty scraps people had thrown out.

Friday, August 2 and Saturday, August 3, 2019, Move to Clarksville, TN

The move from Hollister, MO, to Clarksville, TN, was more than we were willing to tackle in one long travel day so Joani found a Walmart that allowed overnight stays in Dexter, MO, to break up the trip. First, we needed some diesel and we found a Kroger fuel center that could not have been more perfectly placed. I parked off to the side of the lot while Joani headed inside to purchase some gift cards (at 4x points). With points in hand, we pulled up to the pumps and filled up at an average of $1.84 per gallon! 

A few more miles down the road we found the Walmart. It was very conveniently located and we were able to park in the shade. After 242.9 miles (94,772.3 total), I was ready for the break. What I did not understand was why we were the only ones staying overnight at what had to be our best Walmart experience to date.

The next day we continued east on Missouri highway 60 which eventually became I-57. We left the Interstate highway on the much smaller highway 62. As we neared the border, the road became narrower with not even a hint of a shoulder. Big rig trucks were coming from the other direction so I reasoned the road must be OK. I just had to steel my nerves and take it slowly. The road took us to a sketchy looking bridge that crossed the Mississippi River. I'm not sure there was much more than a few inches between us and the bridgeworks - it was a good thing there were no pedestrians - my mirror might have whacked them.

Immediately following that rickety bridge into Illinois we turned right and headed across another early 1900's vintage bridge over the Ohio River. I'm pretty sure we will take whatever route, however many extra miles we need to avoid crossing those bridges again. Another 20 miles of narrow, shoulderless road and we reached I-24 and a much-needed rest stop.

The rest stop was quite a sight with the facilities inside an old mansion and expansive grounds and gardens where Sam was able to work out some of the tension from the drive.

Holy cow! This is the rest stop just inside the Kentucky border in Paducah.

We finally reached the Clarksville RV Park after 171.5 miles (94,943.8 total) of road I would prefer to never see again in our travels. I was so grateful Joani added the overnight at Walmart, I'm not sure I could have managed that 420 miles in one day!

One of my friends from high school, Paul, and his wife, Janice, live near Clarksville and agreed to visit. We had only briefly met one time in the past 45 years so we had a lot to catch up on while we had some BBQ and talked about life on the road fulltime. 

Joani's brother, Steve and his wife, Jane, live in Clarksville, TN, so we planned a few days stay to see them as well. Their daughter, our niece, Kristy was down from St. Louis, so we were able to see her too. They taught us how to play Hand and Foot and we had a great time until late into the evening.

I had such a great time with my big brother, Steve, his wife Janie and my niece (their daughter) Kristy.