Cleveland Ohio...............

We are about 50 miles east of Cleveland Ohio, in Jefferson.  On our way here we stayed in Rising Sun Indiana, on the Ohio River.  Nice little town, but not much to do.  Beautiful Riverfront area.

Kentucky is across the river.

The RV Park we are staying at here in Ohio is very nice, and we are again overlooking a lake.

We think we might have headed North a bit too soon, since it is down right COLD.  Yesterday it is was cloudy and didn't get above 40, so we were pretty much hermits.  Today the sun is out, but still a little chilly.  Since it is Memorial Day weekend, there are many planned activities around the area.  Just 5 miles North of here is a small town, "Geneva on the Lake", located right on Lake Erie.  It reminds us a little of Seaside Oregon, with shops, arcades and rides for the kids, eateries and beautiful views of  Lake Erie.

There are 19 covered bridges in this county, so on Wednesday we managed to find 12 of them.  All but one are still in use today.  Our search will continue for the rest.

On Thursday we took a road trip to Cleveland to visit the "Rock & Roll Hall of Fame".  We had a blast watching videos of some of the groups we grew up with, looking at all the memorabilia and listening to some Oldies but Goodies.  They were currently featuring the Rolling Stones.  Great place to visit.

Pink Floyd   "The Wall"

I really need to go on a diet.

Just a block away was the Cleveland Browns Football Stadium.  It is located right in downtown, so it must be crazy finding parking when there is a game.  We didn't see many parking lots nearby.

So, that's all for now.  The weekend is upon us, so away we go to explore.

Till next time, Thanks for checking in on us.................

Steve and Roberta

Caves and a Ferry in Indiana

Well, we have moved on and are currently in Indiana, until tomorrow.  We are outside of Indianapolis, about 75 miles, in Batesville, where they make Batesville Caskets.  Here we are just kicking back and enjoying the warm sunny weather, except this afternoon it is showering a bit.  We needed to do a little laundry and sweep out the old wheelhouse.  

Before we left the Great Smoky Mountains we managed another day trip through a different part of the park.

Beautiful country out here in the South.

We took a hike up to Laural Falls, which was very pretty, and a wonderful walk through the woods.

After leaving Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, we headed up North to Mammoth Cave National Park, in Kentucky.  Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world, with over 400 miles of passageways. We took a 2 hour tour through the Historic Section of the cave.  Pictures will not give you any idea of the enormous size of some of the caverns we walked through.  Lots of history surrounding this cave.

Here is a link if you want to check it out...

http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm

I swear they named this portion of the cave for me.

Just a few miles from Mammoth Cave is Diamond Cave.  This cave is much smaller, but it is a totally wet cave.  It was amazing the differences between the two, for being so close together.

One afternoon we decided to just drive around the park and explore the beauty that was everywhere.  We came across a sign that told us that the "Road Ends in Water", so we had to go see.  There was a ferry to take you across the Green River, and then about a 40 mile scenic loop back to the Park.

On The Ferry.....

Tomorrow we will be heading a little East to Ohio, about 60 miles NE of Cincinnati.  We will be staying there for 3 nights, so we will see what the Cincinnati area has in store for us.

Thanks you for taking the time to check in on us.

Until next time,

Steve and Roberta

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee

We arrived in Pigeon Forge Tennessee early yesterday afternoon.  After checking into the RV Park, we took off for an afternoon drive up into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It was a beautiful afternoon for sight seeing.  Pictures would never show the beauty of this area, but here are a couple.  If you get out this way you need to drive through.  Reminds us a little of home.

Since the weather was not as accommodating today, like yesterday, we spent the afternoon today looking around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.  This area is truly devoted to making sure tourist, and their children, have something to do.  We believe we spotted at least a dozen different Putt-Putt Golf establishments, along with arcades, rides, lots of shopping and just about anything you can think of.

 

 

It is not the Space Needle in Seattle, but they do call it the Space Needle

 

We found a Moon Shine store, where they actual make Moon Shine there.  They were giving out free tastings, so we had a little buzz going when we left, since we hadn't had lunch yet.  They had many different flavors of Moon Shine along with the original and White Lightning.  Good stuff, but expensive.  Since we are tight, and squeak when we walk, we didn't get any.

Here is a link if you would like more info.....

http://www.olesmokymoonshine.com/



 

Gatlinburg is a very cute little town, nestled at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We enjoyed walking around, checking out some of the shops and having lunch at the Gatlinburger Grill, that had a balcony overlooking the Pigeon River.  The town of Pigeon Forge seemed to be a much larger town, but also had plenty of amusement parks, including Dollywood.  We only drove through Pigeon Forge since it is very spread out.  The RV Park we are staying at is right along Mill Creek, and the view out the back window of our wheelhouse looks over the water.  Very pretty area and we are glad we are here now.  From what we hear, late June and July are "CRAZY" with tourist. 

 



We have one more day before moving on.  We want to explore the National Park some more and do a little hiking, if the weather permits.  We will see what tomorrow has in store for us.

Thanks Again for looking in on us.

Steve and Roberta

 

Knoxville Tennessee

We arrived in Knoxville this afternoon, and what a beautiful afternoon it was.  We found our way downtown to grab a late lunch and look around the city.  Knoxville is the home of the University of Tennessee.

We drove around the college campus, which is huge, and it appears, from all the construction going on, that the college is growing.

Knoxville also hosted the 1982 World's Fair.  The fair was constructed on a 70 acre site between downtown and the University of Tennessee. The area is now known as World's Fair Park and is a nice place to spend a sunny afternoon.  The Sunsphere was constructed for the fair, and during that time it served as the symbol to the Fair, sort of like the Space Needle was the symbol for the Seattle World's Fair.  There is an elevator that you can take to the observation level of the sphere, where you can see all around Knoxville.  The price is also very reasonable.....FREE.

The Tennessee Amphitheater was constructed for the Fair, and during that time it was home to both country music and classical music concerts.  The Sunsphere, and the Tennessee Amphitheater, are the only structures that remain from the 1982 Fair.  We had a wonderful afternoon exploring Knoxville, and hopefully see more of this city tomorrow, if the weather cooperates.

We will post again in a few days.  Thanks for checking us out.

Steve and Roberta

Our Week In Nashville..... "AWESOME"

We arrived in Nashville, checked into Montgomery Bell State Park, unhooked the old wheelhouse and found our friends Gary and Debi.  Gary and Debi live just outside of Nashville in a beautiful little community of Kingston Springs.  Everywhere we drove was like a park setting, with homes having huge landscaped yards (acres), lots of trees and rivers and streams.  The Nashville area is nothing like we expected.

Our first outing was into Nashville where the New Grand Ole Opry is located.  There is a massive convention center, hotel and shopping area that we had to see.

 

The entire complex was inside and was unbelievable.  There were canals with boats to take you around, waterfalls all over the place, trees and foliage everywhere, with restaurants and shops intermingled.  The upper levels were hotel rooms that overlooked all the beauty.   We spent hours walking around in amazement.  And the best part was it was all free.

Looks like you are outside, but it is not.... 

Outside, and just a short walk away, is where the new Grand Ole Opry is located.  The original Opry House, the Ryman Auditorium, is located in downtown Nashville.  A large circle was cut from the floor of the Ryman stage and inlaid into the center of the new Opry stage.

After hours of walking around the Grand Ole Opry area, it was time to sit down, and enjoy a refreshing Beverage....... BEER.  We drove closer to the downtown area and stopped at the Historic Union Station, that has been refurbished, and is now a hotel, restaurant and pub.  The beer menu at the pub must have had 200 different beers to choose from.  This landmark has exquisite architecture with historic Southern charm.  If you get to Nashville, definitely check it out.  Beer is optional.

After a few days of camping in our wheelhouse at Montgomery Bell State Park, we pulled up stakes, parked the wheelhouse in the woods by Gary and Debi's, and stayed with them.  They have a beautiful home in the woods, and if we didn't know better we would have sworn we were in a park.

 

You can't visit Nashville without stopping by the Honky Tonk area of downtown.  Music venues, restaurants and bars galore. 

 

And if you want to see it all, and have a drink while doing it, might we suggest the "Peddle Tavern".  You don't have to worry about a DUI, because the bartender steers the Tavern, but you do have to power it by peddling.  Every seat at the bar has peddles, and you are required to do your part.

Too Much Fun



Another evening we went to Music City Roots, Live From The Loveless Cafe.  This is a weekly, two-hour radio show, that revives the historic legacy of live musical radio production in Nashville.  They broadcast on Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm, CST.

Here is the link if you would like to check it out.

http://musiccityroots.com/

 

We had a wonderful time in Nashville, and will definitely return someday.  We owe our "GREAT" time in Nashville to Gary and Debi, who took the time to show us around, give us a beautiful place to stay, and since Gary is a gourmet cook, fed us some delicious meals.

 

When in Nashville, stay at Vern and Helga's Bed and Breakfast.  There is no place better.

 

We are now headed for Knoxville, to check out the Great Smoky Mountains, Dolly World and whatever else we can find.  We'll post again in a few days, so come back soon.

 

As always, thanks for looking in on us.

 

Steve and Roberta