Blue Ridge Parkway

Last night we stayed in Roanoke, VA, in a Wal-Mart parking lot under one of the big lights for security. For those of you that don't know, over 90% of all Wal-Marts allow overnight RV parking. Only those in areas that are restricted by city ordinance do not allow parking. They realize that RVers will usually spend money during their stay, and we did buy two apples and a roll of paper towels. They will have to make a killing on us next time! This Wal-Mart was near the airport so we did hear a few planes coming in for a landing. Can't believe we failed to take pictures of our second attempt at boondocking, which is staying overnight with no hookups, a truly self-contained experience!

Then this morning we hit the road heading towards Atco, NJ, by way of the Blue Ridge Parkway. What a beautiful drive! Our original plan had been to drive the last 100 miles of the Parkway, but we got off after about 35 miles.

The drive was a little too intense for Russ. It was very winding, and since Russ is relatively new at driving the RV, it was not very relaxing for him! While on the drive not only did a young deer cross our path, but also a young black bear cub ran across the road just a few feet in front of us! Here are also a few pictures on our drive from TN to NJ, including crossing the Potomac River.

Since we cut this drive short, we decided to spend the rest of the day making it to New Jersey. We finally arrived in Atco, NJ, around 7 p.m. to visit Russ' sister, Terri, and her family as well as Russ' mom who lives with Terri. One of the first things we did was introduce Mikey and Abby to their two Scottish Terriers, Barney and Rambo. It was an interesting first meeting as the male dogs had to decide who was in charge, and it seems that Mikey has won. Barney, who is generally pretty aggressive, nearly got his head bit off by mild mannered Mikey! But they're all friends now.

After a few beers, it was time to unhook the Saturn and park the RV for our stay. It really worked out nice in that Bill and Terri live at the end of a street that borders the start of a state protective area called Wharton Forest. We are now parked in a very parklike atmosphere with electricity coming from their garage. What a great way to spend our time here!

Once we get all settled and set up, we'll be back online.

The Lost Sea

The weekend was spent relaxing and trying to organize the RV except for the trip we took to see Bob and Kathy's property. The dogs went along for the ride and had a blast running around and sniffing everything they could!




Today we went to a local attraction called The Lost Sea located down the road in Sweetwater, TN. The Lost Sea is an interesting cavern with an underground lake about 140 ft. below the surface. During Prohibition one part of the cave was used as a speakeasy called The Cavern Tavern complete with a live band and moonshine stills! One interesting fact we learned was that if a person is kept in total darkness for 2 weeks, you will go blind.




Our plan for tomorrow is to head out towards New Jersey by driving about 100 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway so stay tuned!

The Cherohala Skyway Drive

Well, we finally got up and motivated, packed a lunch, got the dogs in the car, and started on our drive about 9 a.m. We decided to head about 50 miles up and over the mountains to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, have lunch, and return. Our trip started at about 1,000 ft. above sea level in TN and topped out at 5,377 ft. at Santeetlah Point in NC. The views were fantastic as we wound through the mountains and shared the road with hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts. Apparently this drive and one further up the road called The Tail of the Dragon are a biker's dream! We started talking to a couple of the riders at one of the lookouts and thought our biker friends in AZ would enjoy this picture.

While we learned many things on this day trip, perhaps the most amazing is that with the exception of the Amazon River basin, the Southern Appalachian Mountains represents the richest and most biologically diverse ecosystem on earth. To think that this area was almost laid barren in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by large timber companies magnifies the vision that President Teddy Roosevelt had to create protective lands throughout the country. As you gaze down the vistas, the number of different tree species literally boggles the mind. While having lunch, we truly got to feel what it was like to experience being under a large canopy of trees. Direct sunlight never hits the ground, and the earth is moist with moss growing and bugs crawling.

Our picnic lunch at the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest allowed us time to reflect on the true beauty and diversity that surrounded us.

No plants living or dead may be cut or removed from this area of the forest. Although we chose not to take the 2 mile hike, we were still able to enjoy many of the things this area has to offer from our picnic table, including a small stream a few feet away.

Mikey and Abby thoroughly enjoyed checking out the area as well as only dogs can...by sniffing all the new and fascinating smells!

The nice thing about not being tied to a schedule is that we can avoid the weekend crowds by just hanging out in our new home. So our weekend will be spent getting better organized, doing the laundry, and just plain relaxing. We would like to leave you with a poem written by Joyce Kilmer.

"I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast.

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray.

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair.

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree."

Change of plans

One thing about being retired is that it's very easy to change your mind. Last night we decided not to set the alarm, and it was 9:30 before we made it out of bed! Now keep in mind that I can't remember the last time that Russ wasn't out of bed by 7 a.m.!! So this was very unusual for us.

As we mosied outside to take the dogs for a short walk, our new neighbors invited us to go with them to the Tellico Grains Bakery shop for pastries and coffee. At that point we decided that would be much more relaxing than a long, winding drive through the mountains. So of course we said yes! The bakery is in the town of Tellico Plains, which is very quaint. Think of Mayberry, and you've got the picture. There are no stoplights or stop signs in the town.

After breakfast they suggested they show us around, and we did make it about 15 miles up the trail by car to Bald River Falls. The drive was simply beautiful, and when we got out of the car, Russ just stood there and said he had forgotten that places like this existed.

It was a great day, and we topped it off by christening our new barbecue pit with a couple steaks, baked potatoes, salad, and garlic bread. Oh, I almost forgot, we also had our first 4pm cocktail hour!

After two days, this RVing has been pretty nice. I wonder how we'll feel after two months. It's late, we are still tired, and we now plan on our day trip up the Skyway tomorrow....or maybe the next day or the day after that.

Till then!

We have arrived!

Up and on the road by 7 a.m., we finally managed to get to our campground at Tellico Plains, TN, around 3 p.m. Eastern time and settle in. In just over 24 hours, we managed to go through 5 states!

Tellico Plains is located just southwest of the Great Smoky Mountains. Our KOA campground is located on the Stokely farm and orchard property. The entire area surrounding us was used for the growing and canning of vegetables by the Stokely family, which some of us remember buying in our grocery stores. It's located right along the Tellico River within miles of the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests. It is also at the head of the Cherohala Skyway, which we plan on driving tomorrow. You can check out the area at http://www.cherohala.org/.

After setting up, we used the stovetop for the first time in cooking some pasta, which we topped with some reheated chicken with cacciatore sauce we brought from LA, and the convection oven for browning some garlic bread.

We met our neighbors, Bob and Kathy, who are from Jacksonville, FL, and who purchased 200 acres a few miles from here and are working on building their dream home. They come up here often and really enjoy the area. It is really pretty here and from what we have heard, the best is yet to come. Although the temperature was in the high 80s today, it has cooled down nicely, and we have a few windows open with a cool breeze being more than adequate.

Mikey, Abby, and Jo seem to be adjusting just fine and enjoyed the ride. Bob and Cathy have two older golden retrievers, and Mikey and Abby have done the doggie hellos with them. :-)

We're on our way!!

Well, we're a few days behind schedule but finally on our way! But then I guess we don't really have a schedule we have to follow any more! For those of you who don't know, this is the first time we've ever spent any time at all in an RV, so you could say we're really winging it!

After a long tiring day, we pulled out of our driveway in Denham Springs, LA, at 6:30 p.m. and spent our first night on the road about 3 hours later at a rest area near Hattiesburg, MS. We fired up the generator, turned on the A/C, microwaved some leftover Chinese, and hit the bed which felt really good to both of us!

Stay tuned for more!