Sunday, May 19, 2013, Move to Cave City, KY

Drove to Singing Hills Campground near Cave City, Kentucky, (91.3 miles, 332.9 trip/59,814). Very pretty country here - green rolling hills, pastures and woodlands just outside Mammoth Cave National Park. I can't believe how close it was to where I grew up and I never bothered to see it before.

Before Mom finished asking "Is there any wildlife here?"  this unlikely pair appeared.

Apparently, you need to make reservations to tour the caves. Everything was full so we bought tickets for the next day and settled for the free museum.

Saturday, May 18, 2013, Adley's graduation, Murfreesboro, TN

We went to our niece's High School graduation in Murfreesboro, TN. It seemed like she went from being a little girl to a young woman in a flash. We are very proud of her.

Thursday, May 16, 2013, Fall Creek Falls, TN

We had originally planned to camp at Fall Creek Falls, TN, but ran out of time, so we did the next best thing - we drove over for the day. It was only about 90 miles so not a bad trip. Fall Creek Falls has got to be one of the prettiest falls anywhere. Recent rains meant decent flow in the creek and an exceptionally pretty view!

Cane Creek Cascades was really pretty as well. I remember swimming in the cascades many years ago, but I think there was enough water to wash me downstream today.

I went on the swinging bridge. It looked exactly the same as it did 40 years ago. It might have been swinging a bit more under the increased load.

Just as we wondered what kind of wildlife might be around out jumped a deer who posed for us.

We finished our park tour with Piney Creek Falls and the Piney Creek gorge. I don't think we could have had any better weather.

The tree in the picture below is on "Buzzard's Roost." Walking out to it required stepping across a gap in the rock. I could not see the bottom of the gap. The cracked stone someone had cemented in place over the gap looked a bit precarious, but we ventured on.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013, Finished the Floor, Lebanon, TN

Joani finished the grouting!

Wow! If we had known how much work the floor would be we might not have done it, which would have been too bad because we really love the floor now that it's done.

Saturday, May 11, 2013, Move to Lebanon, TN

We drove to Tennessee for the first leg of our real full-time travels. Stopped at Countryside Campground Resort in Lebanon, TN (241.6 miles/ 59,722.7). It was a very nice park with lots of rolling hills around.

I probably shouldn't include this since it might make us look a bit flaky, but after spending three months creating our to-do list and things to pick-up list we actually left home without remembering to check it one last time (luckily, we didn't forget anything.)

Mom didn't have much in the way of a work list. Put up a ceiling fan in the spare bedroom. My brother, Doug, made an aluminum panel for our stairwell. It fit perfectly and looked great even without polishing. (Thanks again, Doug!)

Friday, May 03, through Thursday, May 09, 2013, Week five of the floor renovation, Cumming, GA

Week five of the floor renovation:

That's right - the last piece of tile!

With all of the tile in place, Joani started the grout under the furniture first so we could get it back in place. We rationalized that all of the grout did not need to be finished before leaving, so we focused on getting everything else packed for the road and set our departure date for Saturday. 

We've been saying goodbye to friends for weeks, today it was Sam's turn. Sugar came by to romp.

Friday, Apr 26 through Thursday, May 02, 2013, Week four of the floor renovation, Cumming, GA

Week four of the floor renovation:

Finally, the actual tiling begins. Placement of the first tile is critical, but Joani has an eye for those things so, of course, she got it just right.

Maybe half of the tiles required no cutting at all and another 40 percent of the tiles only needed one straight cut, but every now and then the cut was a bit more complicated. Good thing the tiles could be cut with a nice sharp utility knife.

Above the stairwell was an improvised panel made with the hardwood flooring so it needed a makeover. We decided to combine the tile we used for the counter backsplash and the wood we used in the ceiling A/C vent. When it gets finished it will pull things together to make it look like we had a master plan from the beginning.