Thursday, 29June, Lake Gaston, NC

So we have a confirmed booking here for another two nights – we tried phoning several other camps where we might stay for the long weekend, they are all full.  So our plan is to wear them down here, with consistent requests for any cancellations, so we can stay for the weekend, or at least the Saturday night

The only thing we are out of is milk – Kim has discovered just this morning that by necessity he is quite OK with black tea.  Coffee is no problem, he has half and half in his and we have enough of that to last until our next shop whenever it might be.

 

Went for a walk around the whole place this morning, took over an hour (trying to secretly suss out where we might be able to dry camp if we need to).  They are expanding, opening up some more RV sites, hope they are for casuals rather than permanents.  There are 254 sites here, 34 cabins, probably 220 permanents, although they must have standards as there aren’t too many scuzzy ones.

We are bottom left, no. 26

Went down to the loungers beside the lake for a sunning session today, we were the only ones there.  However the lake bottom is not as foot friendly as the pool (stood on some unidentifiable things) so only had a quick dip before heading off to the pool for a proper swim.

Sunning ourselves on the loungers on the sand

Enjoying the view!

Wednesday, 28 June, Lake Gaston, NC

ABDIP!  Same as yesterday - sleep-in, brekkie, relax and read by the pool, in the pool, icecream for a late lunch, followed by HH and dinner, goodnight!

To set the record straight, the icecream Kim chose the other day was “Muddy Sneakers” not Dirty Sneakers!  Has a whole different connotation doesn’t it?  So ‘Muddy Sneakers’ looks so good I think I will give that a go today - Kim chooses strawberry and it looks nice, he pronounces it pretty good!

Tuesday, 27 June, Lake Gaston, NC

Yesterday we tried to make some online bookings for when we leave here on Thursday and next week, being the long 4^th July holiday weekend. Drew a blank with the closest two Thousand Trails parks, but Kim believes they will be holding some sites (?) so today we will firstly see if we can stay here longer, or he will phone some of the other places and ask.  Will let you know how we go. We won’t see any fireworks if we have to stay in a Walmart!

It’s cool, just 20C again this morning and high cloud but the sun is poking through.  A squirrel is sitting on our picnic table!!  He’s probably smelling the aftermath of roast potatoes.  Last night we had Pork Fillet (found the yummy Applewood smoked bacon flavoured one which is the best), with roast potatoes, roast onions, all cooked outside in the electric frypan, and fresh green beans.  Nope, we don’t starve!

Spend a couple of hours at the pool again, no loud music today.  Started a new book.

After dinner we take the drone down to the lake and get some photos from up high. Haven't downloaded them yet though, you'll have to wait.

We still haven’t got any accommodation to go to after we leave here on Thursday, will work on that some more in the morning. We can't stay here, there are more than 20 wannabe's on the wait list ahead of us.  We are on one wait list for another place, but that's not a given.

Monday 26, Lake Gaston, NC

Woke after a very long sleep to a blue sky and just 20C, the lake is still.  Last night while I was out sitting on the bench taking my sunset photos, Sandra came and spoke to me.  Their rig is the first one along the lake front and although it is a permanent, they have been coming here for 12 years, it's a nice new one.  So Sandra says she is going to pick me up in the morning after her meeting and take me into the little town of Littleton.  She said she would come find me so I didn’t really think it would happen.  But around 11am she comes over and said she is ready to go in 5 minutes.  She was really knowledgeable about the town, it has some history of haunted houses and they have ghost tours.  It used to be a stage coach stop back in the day and today it is an enclave of little shops all trying to 'eek' out a living  (I know it is spelt eke but after I typed it wrong thought 'eek' looks way cuter, like a mouse).  Spent some money at the local produce and home made store. They even had wine there, including NZ Oyster Bay, it's everywhere!

Pimento Cheese, Peperoni Marinara soft cheese and locally produced coffee

I left Kim up the ladder fixing the slide awning so that it doesn’t let water onto the slide in the rain - when this happens, before we leave camp we need to jack up either the front or back and let the water run off, if we don’t I get a deluge of water on my lap as we drive off!  We found a tent repair kit at the Trading Post here in the camp so that was utilised to facilitate the repairs!  He was still safe when I got home.

Must be time for a swim by now so down to the pool we wander.  There are only a handful of people there so we score a couple of loungers facing the sun the best way to catch the rays and it is hot – the look water is warm.  A big fat mama waddles in, sits in the corner and immediately turns her crappy music up HIGH!  Of course you can imagine Kim is not impressed so after glaring at her for some minutes, which she ignored, he politely asked her to turn it down, which she was happy to do!  He got the thumbs up from a couple of others around the pool.

One couple was Candy and Buddy who are camped across the road from us.  They are nice, offered to take our rubbish out to the dumpsters which are situated at the entrance to the camp, a rather long walk.  They live just over an hour away and live full time in their 34 ft petrol driven motor home on their property, where their son, his wife and three plus one on the way children rent their house from them.   People live in all sorts of different ways, don't they!

After a couple of hours in the sun we stop off at the Trading Post again, the Salted Caramel Truffle icecream has been calling me.  Kim had the Dirty Sneakers, chocolate with caramel swirls and some sort of candy as well, can’t remember exactly, will check the ingredients when we go back today!  It is Herschey’s brand icecream, some say it is the best brand, but then they probably haven’t tasted Tip Top or Kapiti, which is my all time favourite.  Still I'm up for trying any brand who thinks it can complete!!

Sunday, 25 June – Lake Gaston, Littleton, NC

On checking out of Rolling Views this morning we ask about the voltage drop - the storm had apparently knocked out one of their power stations and they had to restart etc, very sorry ……

I notice the following 'warning' on the back of our check in slip! What the heck??  All I can say is, too late – hah!

Possession and Consumption - really!!

Nobody was actually checking to be fair!  I't's probably their way of getting rid on unruly campers should there be a need!

Anyway, this morning we have a late start, got away around 11am, we only have an hour and a half drive.  However we stop off at Home Depot in Louisburg and Walmart (I have a haircut and one I am happy with) plus a stop for diesel ($2.239/G – yay!) and on to Thousand Trails Lake Gaston, 562 Fleming Diary Rd, Littleton NC 27850.  It’s a big camp, 200 sites and when I phoned the other day they said they do have quite a few seasonals, but for the rest of us, it is first come first served.

The lovely young lady gave us quite a few campsite options so we go check them out, some are not actually available tight now and some are not suitable, but we eventually decide on 26 which is quite large and close to the lake, neighbours on one side, nobody on the other.  We set up, 50 amp, water, no dump and non-existent internet, but we can get hotspot down at the Trading Post if we need it.  We wander down there for a gander, they have cone icecreams but we didn’t take money with us so I made sure they weren’t going to run out of the most awesome looking 'salted caramel' before tomorrow and they promise they have another whole carton, just in case.  They also do some food up there, tonight it is US toasted sammies, nachos etc., they are not in full swing yet with their grill.

   

This lake is beautiful, I can see some beautiful homes across the bay so we ask about boat hireage, but it seems they no longer do it, although there is some one down the road who does, but it is expensive at around $300 day!

Lake Gaston

Anyway the lake looks good, so does the pool, that is for us tomorrow and there is also a little beach across the jetty, which has sun loungers on the shore.

Lake Gaston Marina

Sunset on Lake Gaston, fishing in the foreground

Saturday, 24 June - Falls Lake, Rolling View Campground, Durham, North Carolina 28587

It rained, hard, during the night, had to get up and close windows again but it was still super hot and humid - the rain only cooled it down marginally.  A few dead branches fell making loud thumps on the ground, yikes - none on us thankfully.

It’s going to be another hot one, already 30C+ and we are only on 30 amp (which being so far away has voltage drop which affects what we can run electrically wise) so one AC is doing it’s best to manage the heat.  Just as well we have shade here.  Glad we are not in northern California where they are experiencing temps up in the mid 40’s!  They have lost some people in this heat wave.

I’ve got another 65 books loaded on my Kindle so that should keep me entertained for a couple of weeks!  Nuthin’ better than ‘laxing back, on your recliner, in the sun, having a read!!  I am looking forward to my new Kindle, the later models have a lot more features which I would absolutely use, plus my old cover is worn out and falling to bits : (  Def’ need a new one!

I’ve made coffee and as we have no internet !!! open our ‘manuals folder’ and start to read the ‘I Phone User Guide’ for  entertainment, well  I never knew it could do some of this stuff, very interesting reading and I only got 30% of the way through.

Anyway it’s time for an explore, so off to the swim beach we go.  We take the bikes, those little slopes you hardly notice in the coach are much more noticeable on the bikes, even with the gears!  Being Saturday there are a lot of people, mostly day trippers I guess, at the swim beach. And there is a wedding happening at one of the shelters, aww, a bride and she looks beautiful too!

Falls Lake Swim Beach

The lake water is rusty brown, and there is a posted warning to shower afterwards and not drink any, as if!!  But it was refreshing, even if a bit warm and it did get deep enough to swim in.  We were there for a couple of hours and then rode back for a late lunch. I braved the sunshine outside but had to get under the hose to cool down in between times!

 

The power voltage still drops so we have run the generator to keep the AC ticking along this afternoon.  So about 5.30, we hear the distant drum of thunder and within 20 minutes we are skeltering to get the chairs and the wet togs and towels  inside, the awnings out, the drinks inside, the windows open and others closed, those which are not sheltered by the awnings, OMG it is very busy!  Our new neighbours, holidaying from Ireland in a Minnie Winnie, a Dad and two sons I think come over to ask about the power situation.  They got here just in time, before the rain set in.

There is quite a bit of water lying in pools outside, maybe I should be looking for beavers tonight rather than racoons!

Friday, 23 June - Falls Lake, Rolling View Campground, Durham, North Carolina 28587

It rained gently during the night (we had to get up to check for open windows) and the drizzle carried on until early morning.  By the time we surfaced though it was fine again.  Spent a bit of time going over our tax returns while we had hotspot, bloody IRD‘s online service is befuddling to say the least!!

We get underway around 11am and pretty much take the I 40 East through Winston Salem and Greensboro until we divert onto the US 80 towards Durham to then find Falls Lake and Rolling View Campground. Trundling along  the I 40 we saw at least six red-stickered cars in the 40 odd miles we were on the interstate, very enthusiastic sheriffs I guess!  The other thing we have noticed in this State is the beds of bright yellow flowers (kinda look like lillies) planted at most of the highway junctions – they are very pretty!

Sunny Yellow Flowers, go North Carolina, you rock!

We arrived at Falls Lake, where we had booked on line and collectively agreed on site B 048 - but when we get there Kim doesn’t like it (just like we usually have to move from the first table we sit at in a restaurant) so we do a circuit to see what else is free then we go back to the office to negotiate.  I relegate all responsibility, just want to get set up and enjoy, so Kim takes up the gauntlet and gets another site for us a bit further around Loop B.  Well, it is easy to get into and it is level, but it has no shade and it is 33C outside, so we drive back to the office to renegotiate.  This time the office girls are onto him and provide a list of all 16 sites available in both A and B Loops for him to check out!  We finally decide on A03 which has a very long driveway up to it and is level enough that we can use the jacks.  Man, it is hot and I don’t offer to walk back to the office to tell them where we are now, (can’t phone, we only have one dit) so Kim ‘walks’ up to the office and gets all our paperwork sorted.

Large campsite A3 - Rolling Views, Falls Lake, NC

I take pity on him, we pulled in at 2.45pm and it’s now after 4pm and we only had an apple for lunch so I mix us some cold drinks and put together a platter of cheese, gherkins and crackers etc. and we sit outside in the shade to enjoy.  We saw a deer as we drove into the park, so there is wildlife here, hope we see a racoon!  However, there are squirrels and fireflies galore!

As I am writing this (in word, as we don’t have internet here) I hear a threshing about outside in the trees so take the trusty flashlight outside to investigate – by the time I get out there with said torch, I can’t see a blessed thing!  I will wait in anticipation!

I can now report I saw no animals but the stars were super bright, as they are when there are no city lights in proximity, and I did see a satellite, might need a couple of those when we leave here to help us divine our way to the next stop.  But that is still a whole day away....

Thursday, 22 June – Bandits Roost, W. Kerr Scott Reservoir, Wilkesboro, NC 28697

I‘m awake early but Kim slumbers on!  Do some more work on the tax returns - we have lots of data this month so no problem to use our hot spot. 

Brunch is bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and tomatoes!  Do a couple loads of laundry, potter about, fly the drone, go for an explore, come back to have a coffee and a read and the day is nearly done, once again! We have some comings and goings today, a new lot of neighbours.

Late afternoon, it starts to mist over with light rain but it's still nice to sit outside and enjoy, watching the birds, there was a super bright red one earlier and the orange chested ones are pretty cute too.  We watch the squirrels, chipmunks and the mice  : )  Didn’t need a swim today, it stayed a pleasant 25 C pretty much all day!

Bandits Roost Campground NC

Wednesday, 21 June - Bandits Roost, W. Kerr Scott Reservoir, Wilkesboro, NC 28697

Nice quiet night, watched America’s Got Talent until late so was ready for some zzz’z.  

Woke to birds chirping and a vivid red sky.  Thought this morning would be a good opportunity to start work on our tax returns, before a swim and a float on our lilos and then a laze in the sun.  Where did the day go?

Anyway as I was drying off outside I saw the mice - two quite large ones, brazen as could be, just checking out the little dip between us and the trees.  We haven’t seen the exterminator yet, just the yard boys cutting grass and weed eating etc.

Spent a bit of time arranging our next two stops, the Thousand Trails camp we were going to try next is full and the first free dates they have aren’t until late July - must be a great place!  Anyway we decide on another Thousand Trails, just a bit further east but it’s too long a drive for one day so we have booked a couple of days at Falls Lake State Park – Rolling Views Campground in between.  So all sorted for the next week : )  Will need a Walmart for some fresh fruit and salad stuff between times I reckon.

Tuesday, 20 June - Bandits Roost, W. Kerr Scott Reservoir, Wilkesboro, NC 28697

OK, so we are on a mission this morning - decamped and ready to leave before 9.30 am.  We could not make the sharp turn to get up the hill behind our campsite, so had to go much further along the steep and rough roads into the campground - there were still no loops we could get into to turn around, so in the end we just back up around one corner and turn back to the exit.  So the first stop is the front office to confirm we are leaving today.  Surprisingly there was no argument, they will credit us the two free days we booked but didn’t want to stay for, but they ask no question about our stay and why we were leaving early??

We take the small country roads for 25 miles north towards Wilkesboro where we would like to stay at Bandits Roost Campground on W. Kerr Scott Lake, a Corps of Engineers Camp.  I could not book on line yesterday as they need two days in advance, but the website said there are usually sites available.  So we rock up to the office with a firm idea of which water front sites we would like and a lovely man helps us find the perfect site, right by the water and it is available for 3 nights.  The previous residents, just this morning moved from this site as they said it had mice!!  But the office had the exterminators booked to come in today and seriously who cares about mice, we have traps and stuff.  When we arrive we found food strewn around the campsite, no surprise there may have been mice.  We pick up the food and put out our sticky mouse traps everywhere, just in case.  But I have been sitting outside most of the afternoon and haven’t seen any rodents!  Just squirrels - and one was particularly precocious in getting onto our picnic table and putting his cute little hands around the can of “Bugg Off” which I had left on the table, aww – they are so cute!

The sun is just slightly filtered by high cloud and it’s hot so we want a swim.  We have a little track meandering down from our campsite right to the swim beach, which is just a square of floating orange plastic pipe, with a maximum depth of 6 foot.  There are house boats and runabouts to’ing and fro’ing and it is pretty.  This is much more like it!!

Our campsite by drone view!!

Plus we have a grill and a fire ring, so tonight we are cooking more of our flat iron steak over the coals, mm mm!  Kim does an awesome job being chief chef and the meat is delicious!

We can see the lake, framed by trees, from our front window and that is where the sun is setting, lovely! 

Our swim beach at sunset

We like this place – a lot!  We are on 50 amp, no WIFI, but great cell coverage, the bath houses and dumpsters are just a short walk away with just with a mild incline.  Our neighbours are friendly and life is good!

Monday, 19 June – Green Mountain NC

We slept in and then stooged around looking online for our next campsite and pretty soon it is 10am and we haven’t done anything constructive so we elect to stay here in this yucky place one more day and make an early start tomorrow.  I will lose myself in my book!  It’s a pleasant 25C and the sun is out.

Our site (78) at Green Mountain Park

Site Map, sprawling property on a mountain

Might as well put the day to good use so Kim retrieves the sewing machine from the bowels of the coach, the first time it has seen the light of day since we owned it.  It works a treat - we sewed up the rip in the BBQ cover (aka bike cover) where the seam split the first time we tried it and added some reinforcing so it’s now pretty much a custom made bike cover - might go into business!

Customised Bike Cover

Then we are sitting outside minding our own business about 4pm when it starts to spit, then rain, then pour, then thunder and lightning and torrents of rain – the little creek behind us has risen to four times the volume and the rest of the water is racing down the roadway.  It only lasts for ten minutes but it was pretty exciting for a while!  It’s quite cosy inside, it’s nice and dry and we have cable so life isn’t too bad and as Kim points out, if it is raining you might as well be at any campsite in the world.

Another major milestone:  My name is Kim - and today it has been 42 days since I last had Maccas, even though I am voraciously vocal every time I see a billboard or McD outlet.  Well done Kim!!  See you at the meeting next week!!

Sunday, 18 June – Smoky Mountain State Park to Lenoir, North Carolina

The most scenic route to take from Gatlinburg to North Carolina is SH 441 south through the Smoky Mountains to Cherokee.  The road looks very windy and tight on CoPilot but we google reviews and it seems reasonably RV friendly so that is the way we decide to go.  It is very pretty, lush green with a breathtaking backdrop of mountains.   We climbed a ways up to 4,512 feet.  We crossed the state line into North Carolina near the top but there was no ‘welcome to’ sign up there.

Lovely drive through the Smokes National Park

One of these must surely be Old Smoky, didn't see any runaway meatballs though!

Before we get right into Cherokee we have the option of taking the Blue Ridge Highway but mindful of the low hanging trees we had to dodge on a previous foray into this musical highway, decided we would forego any futher desert pinstriping and give that a miss today.

Cherokee NC

We take the lesser and more scenic Hwy 19/23 for a ways east, through Maggie Valley before joining the I40 to get around the large city of Ashville.  We are still pretty high, 4,280 feet and the decline was much more dramatic - 9%, I think that is one of the steepest if not the steepest we have done.  All trucks were ordered to leave the highway to read the hazard warnings before getting back on the road.   There were many truck runoff areas - sand shaped into little hillocks. Didn’t see any tire tracks so assume all trucks recently have not suffered brake failure.

Truck Run off

Perfectly shaped sand wedges, obviously made by a master sandcastle builder

We had a slight delay, only a few minutes, while we skirted a very recent accident between two cars, I am sure they should not be parked that way, someone should tell them it's not safe!

Luckily looks like nobody hurt

We have been on the road for nearly five hours today, including a stop for groceries, so it’s been a big day for us.

We get to Green Mountain Park Resort (sounds nice doesn’t it), near Lenoir, one of our Thousand Trails sites which we are still staying at for no cost as we are working through our 30 days free.  We have booked in here for four days but it is really disappointing!  Mostly scungy old permanent campers, in fact they were finding it difficult to find us a site at all.  The property is very steep and the roads are falling apart, the bathrooms and pool area is miles away up a monstrous hill and the facilities are old and scummy, there is no fire pit, no grill, we don’t even have a patio as our site (87) is a handicap friendly site.  We are on the main camp road so everybody passes in front of us and the road out is up a steep hill right behind us so we hear them grunting up the hill too.  The traffic is mostly cars, trucks and golf carts as most campers are here permanently and drive in and out each day, or only come at the weekends.  There is no WIFI.  Plus, the maintenance man accused us off running over the brick edging on the site opposite us, knocking over some bricks, I don’t think we did, but if we did do this heinous crime he didn’t need to be so freakin' nasty about it!  So tomorrow we will suck up the loss of the remaining  three  free days we’ve booked and find somewhere nicer.  Weather is nice though, sunny and about 30C and we do have shade and 50 amp.

Saturday, 17 June - Gatlinburg TN

The morning dawns sunny and just about the right temperature at 23C.  I go for a walk around the camp perimeter and see if I can track down the otters, or the wild turkeys, deer or even a bear or two!  See lots of pretty sights but not too many critters  : (

Hunting for the otter family who have come here each year for the last five!

Twin Creek RV Resort is family owned and operated and has been since 1984. The entrance is marked by a huge pine tree, 150 ft tall.  Unfortunately it was damaged in high winds back in 2008 when some limbs had to be removed and 32 ft lopped off the top.  A local chainsaw artist took five weeks to carve ten animals in the remaining tree. 

Giant Pine Tree Art, looks way better in real life, very clever artist!

It was Johnny Cash who mentioned Gatlinburg in the song, My Name is Sue:

 "Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July.  And I just hit town and my throat was dry, I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.

At an old saloon on a street of mud, There at a table, dealing stud, Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue." 

Of course there are many songs about the Smoky Mountains and Tennessee, ie - Rocky Top Tennessee, My Tennessee Mountain Home, and even Copperhead Road by Steve Earle, the list goes on and we all know them enough to hum along!

Last November (2016) wildfires burned through the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg, taking the lives of 14 people, destroying over 2,400 structures and annihilating nearly 16,000 acres.  It is told that the original fires were lit by two teenage arsonists but as they were underage nothing much was done about it.  They weren’t to know that a couple of days later unseasonal southerly winds would pick up and spread the fire to such an extent, or did they??  Regardless it is very tragic!

2016 Fire photo - courtesy of internet

Still visible evidence of the 2016 wild fires

Fire damage still visible up along both sides of the SkyLift

Right next door is Crockett (of King of the wild frontier fame) Mountain.  Actually though, as we were reliably informed by our entertaining trolley driver last night, Davy Crockett was always known in these parts as David Crockett and it was Walt Disney who was responsible for the diminutive moniker change to Davy! There you go, trivia for the day!  Hope that question comes up in one of our LBYC quiz nights!

Anyway, so far today, apart from the walk, we have been mucking around, making the most of the internet, drinking tea then coffee, until we decide we really should get into town and finish our sightseeing.  The trolley comes along in about 20 minutes and once we are in town we check out the mall (?) and some of the villages before hopping onto the free open-air trolley and let it take us a full circle before dropping us outside a Starbucks-like coffee/icecream bar where we order a couple of ice cold frappes to go – yep brain aches ensue!!  You’d think we would have learned by this time of life, but Kim swears he didn’t get them when he was a kid!!

Open-air trolley ride

Anyway we hear distant thunder and see the sky is ominously dark, so think we should best get back to the coach while the gettin’s good. 

Once home, the rain has pretty much been and gone so we spend a couple of hours outside on our deckchairs contemplating the pool and enjoying the ambience!

 I’ve taken another 100 photos today!  Spending some tine sorting through them!  Won't bore you with too many more....

Friday, 16 June to Gatlinburg, TN

Up at 7am as we want to get on the road early today, we have a three hour drive not including trying to get some propane, and we are paying a premium for two nights at Twin Creek RV Resort ($70/night) so we want to spend as much time as we can enjoying that.  The last time we were in this area we drove through Gatlinburg and I made myself a promise that if we came this way again I would like to stay here.  It’s beautiful, like a US version of our Queenstown, surrounded by hills, trees and sky lifts etc.  There is a trolley to take us into town and Gatlinburg is supposed to be a foodies paradise so will def check that out tonight. 

So, the first propane hunt was a wild goose chase, nobody home, but the second works out fine, went to Loves in the end.  Diesel is cheap ($2.189/gallon) around these parts too so we fill up enroute.  The drive was great, even if the road through the Smoky Mountains was a little narrow for my liking, but we didn’t want to go I 45 or the same way we went last time.

Smoky Mountains in the distance

Lovely smooth, narrow road with blue wild flowers alongside

We drove through Pigeon Forge and remembered all the cool stuff and shows we saw last time. Even recognised where we bought Kim's guitar : )

Dolly's Smoky Mountain Adventure, Pigeon Forge

The road between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is real pretty, two lanes each way with a stream separating the two.  It's only about 10 miles, or less.

Stream between the two carriageways

We found Twin Creek RV Resort easily and checked in, we are in site 13 right beside the babbling brook.  The website says they have a family of otters living in the creek so we might be lucky enough to see them.  They also say they often see a mama bear who has twins or triplets every year so will keep an eye out for them too - wouldn't that be awesome!

Kim gets a txt from Tim Keppler who ran the Safari Rally in Baraboo, Wisconsin in 2015.  That was the rally we went to in a rental car as the coach was in having repairs.  Stan didn’t even see our coach then, but he obviously knew we had a Cheetah and he must have recognised the NZ decal on the back as he followed us into town, so he txted to see if it was u - small world huh!  They are staying about 15 miles away in Sevierville, so we will see if we can catch up tomorrow.

We crossed a time zone sometime this morning so it is later than we think by one hour!

After setting up and getting something to eat we go out to the roadside where the trolley stop is, literally right outside camp.  A yellow (Arts and Crafts Route) trolley comes along within 10 minutes so we take that one as it will take us around parts we would not otherwise see.  It takes about an hour to get around the circuit and end up back in town.  We disembark outside the Aquarium/Visitors Centre and wander along the main street seeing the sights.  

Pretty town. flower baskets everywhere

The Needle

Stream runs right through the middle of town

Old Smoky Holler, live music

One of the villages, featuring Gatlinburg Goal

I love this place, it is humming and there is so much to see and do. A necessary stop off at Ben and Jerry’s for an icecream (probably won’t do it again tomorrow as it was nearly $14 for two waffle cones, but I guess they were double scoops).

There seems to be rather a lot of moonshine tasting but we don't partake, smells gross! There are a few wineries too offering tastings, might try and find one that isn't fruit wine to try tomorrow.

We were recommended Calhoun's - Best Ribs in America, for dinner which good advice we took - they also served a pretty nice Margarita!  

Best Ribs in America!

There was street entertainment tonight, a few groups fiddle playing and busking, plus a dude on a penny farthing!  I took hundreds of photos today, flattened the battery in my phone and the camera!

We walk back along the main street to Trolley Central and wait about 30 minutes for a blue trolley to take us back to camp. The trolleys are $0.50 each per trip or you can get a multi trip card for $2 each.  Don't need to though, tomorrow they have free trolleys, our lucky day.  We had a lovely day and felt like we were in Paradise.  Oh, and it was a nice temperature, about 25C, not too hot to walk around town and there are no bitey insects : )  Best thing is we get to do it all again tomorrow, plus the Farmers Market and the Sky Lift : ) Going to bed now, it's late. Sweet dreams!

Thursday, 15 June - Cumberland Mt State Park, Crossville, TN

Woke to a stunning azure blue sky, sunlight filtering through the trees and a woodpecker keeping a staccato beat close by.  And it’s not too hot - 25 C. Heaven!

This is a lovely State Park, well laid out and cared for.  The campsites are extra long, paved and the sites are separated by trees so nice and private.  We have our own clean dedicated garbage bin.  The bathrooms are close and clean and the showers had  needlepoint pressure, so able to luxuriate for ages!  And today we got the WIFI code, so we’re online to the world.  And it’s quiet, no road noise, no trains nor planes - very peaceful.

Cumberland Mt State Park, great campsite

Distant thunder eventually drew closer late morning and rain fell during the afternoon.  A great day for planning our route leaving here and making some bookings.

The sun came out again later in the afternoon and it morphed into lovely evening, fire flies here too and squirrels and lots of birdlife.  The stars were bright, viewed through the canopy of trees.  And it was nice and cool during the night, conducive for a good night’s sleep, even need to pull up the blankie as some stage.

Wednesday, 14 June - Crossville, TN

It was light well before 5am and I was up at 5.30 (I know), but don't have to share WIFI at this time of day, it is super fast!   It’s already 25C and the forecast is for hot and humid all day.

We’re on a mission today - snuck in a load of washing over at the laundry and another load in the coach before brekkie.  We are packed up (after coffees) and ready to hit the road by 10 am and that is even after a protracted goodbye hugs and family pats with C&C.

We head eastwards out of Nashville and then drive south then east along the scenic Highway 70 which runs parallel to the I 40. It was a very pretty drive, some winding roads and lots of green and even some hills to climb. 

Lovely smooth road

SH 70 East, hills in the distance

We passed by Alexandria, where we saw on the news earlier this morning there was a shooting at an annual baseball game between the democrats and republicans and where a senator was shot, he is OK thankfully!

We stop at Smithville  for supplies (yay -  found more of that flat iron steak) before moving on to Crossville where we waste at least an hour searching for a non-existent propane station!  In frustration we give it away and head another five miles south to Cumberland Mountain State Park where we choose a lovely tree clad camp site in area 5.  We had to divert up a wrong way road within the camp to make way for the 5^th wheeler which was being towed out, sad to see.  Just as we arrived a splash or two of rain plopped down but it didn’t come to anything so were able to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air which is pleasantly way cooler than we had in Nashville!  Plus, here we are on 50 amp so can run the AC, dryer, coffee maker, microwave and anything else we feel like, all at one time.  And we have a concrete picnic table on the patio and a fire ring – perfection.

No happy hour tonight – phew!!

We had our special “Lois Fried Chicken” for dinner – it’s always so good (thanks Lois).  Followed by the rest of the birthday cake with Toffee Philosophy icecream, so we have very happy and very full tums – gonna be real good tomorrow, promise : )  Another beautiful day in Paradise!!

Tuesday 13 June, Two Rivers CG, Nashville TN

Man, it is hot already first thing in the morning - hot and muggy.  The girls catch a cab to Opry Mills Mall, where we spend many (five) happy hours and we both came home with parcels so a good effort all round.  

We had Cinnabons for lunch and chose the most value added decadent option, eyes bigger than the tummy, couldn't eat it all.  While we ate though we watched the next batch being produced - warm dough, legendary Makara cinnamon, topped with caramel frosting and pecans. 

Cinnabons being rolled, before being cut ready for baking

Just as we were leaving the mall there is a torrential down poor, reminiscent of our last trip here in 2015. By the time we get back to camp, maybe 5 minutes later, we find most of it is submerged and the lawn looks just like lily pads under water.  Our ‘50 to 30 amp’ converter is under water and so is the TV cable etc.

A lake of water covering the ground making the grass look like lily pads

We wait until the rain subsides and in the lull wade barefoot (don’t have any gummies) next door for a drink with C&C.  This is our last night together for this leg of our adventure, we are heading east and they north.

Monday 12 June, Two Rivers CG, Nashville TN

Happy Birthday to me!!  The day dawns sunny and hot.  We are packed up and ready to leave around 10 am but before we set off we take a coffee break with C&C who have a birthday treat for me!  Thanks guys!

See the damage previously caused on the extremely low bridge getting to the camp

Once on the road, the scenic route, we take a diversion into the little town of Columbia where we need to fuel up and get some supplies for tonight’s birthday dinner!  Right next door is a mall, pretty much empty except for the JC Penny Dept store, sad to see.  Although I had a quick look there was nothing that wanted to come home with me : (

Mule Town Trolley in Columbia TN

We arrive at Two Rivers Campground mid afternoon and there are about six rigs parked in front of us waiting to check in – not a particularly good time to arrive, but we are looked after promptly as we had booked ahead and they had all our info on file, so we just need the welcome to pack and be told which site is been allocated to us – no 104. We are only 30 amp, yikes - not sure how we will run enough AC to keep us cool, it’s 35C outside!!

Anyway the WIFI and cell coverage is good - we are happy to be on the grid again!

Spend some time getting sorted and pretty soon it’s time for HH which is a special birthday HH so is at ours and as it is so hot, we break the outdoor tradition and have it inside where we have the AC on full (one zone due to just 30 amp) and the bubbles are cold!  I had seen a recipe on FB which I kept, for a creamy Italian Chicken Casserole which is all cooked in one electric fry pan – it  looks delish  and that is what we are sharing tonight. Plus... I found a ‘caramel cake’ at Walmart for birthday dessert, so all good - very good in fact : ) 

Birthday Cake

The live music started at 7 pm so while we are finishing up eating outside we are entertained by 'Pork' up on the deck.

A little birdie (thanks Chris) told Pork (McElhinny) there was a birthday in our midst and lo’ and behold a country rendition of ‘Happy Birthday Julie’ was rung out over the camp.  I feel very special - not everybody has had Happy Birthday sung to them in Nashville, Tennessee!

Pork McElhinny - live music on the verandah at Two Rivers Campground

The music was really good, particularly liked some of Pork's own written work, so we bought the CD except he has three out so we got all of them for $20 - pretty good investment I'd say : )