Cross Country Trip 2012

We're starting our trip this year by driving the Jeep down to Red Bay, Alabama, to pick up the motorhome which was having warranty work done at the manufacturer.  Tomorrow, we drive south to spend New Year's Eve in Biloxi, MS, then on to the west coast of Florida, before heading west to Texas and Arizona.
Let the fun.......and sun.....begin!  


Here's a familiar photo op........Tony takes his first nap of this roadtrip!!!

He has to rest up to prepare for Texas Hold 'Em in Biloxi.


Had a "little problem" today......We made a fuel stop, and entered the wrong driveway, which was adjacent to the gas station.  Instead of ending up in the gas station, we were on the "road to nowhere", which dead ended in the woods!  No where to turn this big monster around, so we had to un-hitch the Jeep, and back the motorhome all the way back on a very narrow road!


Woke up this morning and ...........no TZ !! Where, oh where, could he be, in this casino town???  Oh, of course!......he went out in the early hours of the morning, before sunrise, to play poker at the Beau Rivage.   Silly me!  Hope he brings home the bacon.  :-)


Update........he's up $55....To be continued........


We went out to eat on New Year's Eve, then a little Black Jack, and a new BJ game called 21+3, where you play regular BJ, but put up a side bet using your 2 face up cards, and the face up card of the dealer.  If those 3 cards show a poker hand, like a 3 card flush, or 8,9 and 10, or 3 fives, you win 9 times your side bet.  A dealer told us about it and there was only one table for 21 + 3 in the casino. We watched as one player won over $2500 from the side poker bets alone!   In less than an hour! TZ has found a new game.  
As for me, well, I made my usual $ 50 donation, and walked.  They don't call me "Squeaky" for nothing......


On our last day in Biloxi, Tony won almost $1000 playing Texas Hold 'Em   :-))  ......OK - let's go shopping!


Tomorrow, we head east to see the Florida Panhandle, en route to see Mom & Dad in Englewood.

TENNESSEE

Left for a week with Cori & Craig to visit Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Nashville.  

Took forever to get here - 800 miles from CT, but today was a 10 hour day due to I-81 completely closed down due to blasting.  Did they ever hear of night work???  Bumper to bumber traffic for miles. After a long day, cocktails were in order, and dinner by Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee.

On our first full day here, we went to Dollywood.  

The wooden roller coaster was super - very fast but very noisy too.  Took a tube ride and we all got drenched!  But it was so hot, we welcomed the soaking.  


We saw a show featuring birds which were injured and rehabilitated, then trained to perform. Beautiful creatures!

Tuck, the African Pied Crow, took a donation out of Cori's hand and put it in the box

The coal fired train ride was a welcome treat for our tired feet, but the engineer was a little too eager with the whistle - it was so loud that the kids were holding their ears!

The performers in the country music show were very talented and energetic.

One morning we opened the door and were greeted by a group of quacking ducks.

Tony doesn't look so happy about this!

Here's a shot you won't see too often - Tony feeding ducks!

I thought they were going to follow me into the motorhome!

Today, we're heading to a Cherokee Reservation about an hour away, in western North Carolina.

The museum was very well done, depicting life on the reservation in the late 18th century.

Within the reservation, there was an area which depicted venues of various demonstrations of Indian handicrafts:

Making clay pottery

Weaving

Belt made of buffalo hair

This tiny weaved basket goes for $50

Chiseling an arrowhead

A tree becomes a canoe

Council Lodge

Wood and hide drum

Larger weaved baskets range from $100-$400

An elk in the meadow

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

We headed to Nashville, and stopped at The Opryland Hotel. It's a massive building with a magnificent atrium, which has waterfalls, a "river" flowing through it, a rainforest and numerous shops and restaurants.  The hotel is such a tourist attraction, that they charge $18 to park your car. Of course, we found another parking lot - for free :-)  
Here's a video of the atrium, called "Cascades":
Click the arrow below:

Some other photos of our day:

Orchids growing out of a tree

We stopped for a wine and cheese tasting on the way home, always a good thing.  


On another day, we visited Carnton Plantation, a privately owned home which was taken over by the Confederate army and served as a Civil War Field Hospital during the Battle of Franklin.

This is said to be the five bloodiest hours of the war. The battle involved a massive frontal assault larger than Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg. The bedrooms upstairs served as the operating rooms, and there are stains on the wood floors where the blood soaked through the rugs. Of the 9,500 casualties on both sides, fifteen hundred Confederate soldiers are buried here, including 4 generals.  The 2 acre cemetery is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the country.


Later, we went to The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which was well done, depicting early stars of the genre all the way up to the present.


We drove north into Kentucky to see the Lost River Cave.  

It consists of a cave with a river running through it. We rode along the river in a small boat, and in some sections, the ceiling was so low that we all had to bend way over so as not to scrape our heads!  

Animal life consists of bats, crickets, craw fish and cave fish.  The bats and crickets are able to exit the cave to forage for food, and their excrement becomes fish food (!).  The fish have adapted to the darkness and are thought to be sightless and since they have no preys, they do not have to be camouflaged, therefore their skin is translucent.

Outside, there is a canopy with a beautiful chandelier hanging from the center, where functions are held.  

During the Civil War, the area was used by the Confederate Army.  


Tomorrow,  Cori & Craig fly home out of Nashville, and we continue down to Red Bay, Al, to leave the motorhome with the manufacturer to finish up with some repairs.  

GREAT ADVENTURE

We're on the road again, this time with Christie, Leo and Andrew, the first roadtrip for Christie and AJ.  The temperatures are soaring close to triple digits, and the best place for us to park ourselves is at a waterpark.  We'll save Great Adventure til tomorrow, and head for Hurricane Harbor to soak for a few hours.

AJ does not look too happy about the shark!

On our second day we hit the amusement park in the morning, then came back to the pool at the campground during the hottest part of the day, and returned to Great Adventure for supper and more rides.  Here are some photos of Andrew on the kiddie rides:

Bucket looks a little tilted......

Mr. Goose came to taunt TZ

The boys are tired after a long day

"Louie the Lip"

Green Lantern

Andrew feeding the geese potato chips

Buddies Forever