Tenzin

I woke up and decided to stay home and clean. I finally got ahold of Tenzin and she has the day off. So, I got ready and drove 4 hours to see her. I'm glad I did. We decided to have lunch with her boyfriend. Her boyfriends father joined us, so the 4 of us had lunch and visited. His parents are very nice and Tenzin is lucky to be able to stay with them this summer. She is to check her work schedule and we will spend one of them together.

Tenzin called and she has Sunday and Monday off. We decided on Sunday as I'm leaving Tuesday and have to drive. I got up early and left home at 6am got there about 10am. We visited with her boyfriends mother and then decided to go to the mall. Once there we went to a movie, saw Karate Kid. Better than I thought it would be. Left there before 5pm as I did not want to drive those mountain curves at night.

Wild Wood Campground

It was a relative short drive to this park. On Star let me down on this one. Said I had arrived at my destination and there was nothing there. I pulled off the road and called the camp and no one answered, so I call OnStar and had them find the park and give me better directions. I was only about 3 miles away but they were curvy mountain miles. I arrived and got set up. Thank goodness they had a pull thru. I was in no mood to have to back in.

This is a nice park, lots of trees, playground, pool and mini golf. There isn't a lot to see around here, but I only came so I could see Tenzin.

Escapade

Well Friday was interesting. I was driving down to see Cades Cove which is 2-3 hours away. I was getting low on fuel and decided I best fill up. I saw a sign that said diesel and pulled in. There was a big truck getting fuel and when he pulled out I pulled in. Saw the green handle and started filling my tank. Realized I was not putting in diesel but regular GAS!!! I stopped immediately and went in to the station and told the owner what I had done and one of the customers called a tow truck associated with a garage. They came and got me and took me to their place, just a few blocks away. Thank goodness I did not start the engine and just let my truck sit in the way. No gas got to the engine.

They called a car rental place for me and I finished my sight seeing in a Kia mini van. It was a sweet ride, very impressive handling, etc. got back about 4pm and they had drained and cleaned by tank, filled my tank with diesel for me. It was a very expensive lesson. PAY ATTENTION!!

A green handle does not mean the same in all parts of the country.

I've spent the last few days feeling very embarressed and depressed about it. Still haven't told anyone about it. Just decided to post it on my blog. But today I have to go shopping and fax the tow bill to the insurance company to get reimbursed - probably in about 6 months.

Tomorrow I leave for Va and hopefully a visit with Tenzin, my little sister. She is there for the rest of the summer. I probably won't get to see her again for a while.

Roan Mtn State Park/ Rhododendron Garden

Today I had planned on going to Gatlinburg but realized it was a 2 hour drive and I was already behind schedule. So I drove to the Roan Mtn State Park and then the Rhododendron Garden. The garden is just off the Apalachian Trail and well worth the drive. I was not sure what they looked like, so it was all a very pleasant surpise. Naturally, I did not do any research and was not prepared for the cold weather. It was 59, windy and foggy. But even the weather could not deter me from walking the garden. It is just awsome. My pictures do not do it justice but here are a few.

On the way back I stopped at a little cafe and had lunch. Had the best lunch in a long time. Hat off to the chef!!!

Tomorrow I'm going to drive to Cades Cove near Gatlinburg. Everyone says that Gatlinburg is just a tourist town with to much traffic.

Bluff City, Tn

I got up early this morning and started getting ready to leave. Even though I started early I was dripping wet by the time I left at 8 am. I got here about 3:30 pm but there is an hour difference in time, so it did take me 6 1/2 hours travel time. I stopped twice, once for a rest stop and then for fuel.

The park is very nice and the spaces are wide. I had to have help backing in as they keep the pull thrus for the overnighters. Tomorrow is a planning and local day. I'm all driven out!!! pooped, actually.

Billie is too, he slept all the way here and is still asleep. The only time he woke up whas while I was setting up and he let me know he was one unhappy cat. oh well!!!

Staying home

Today I'm staying in and keeping cool. Yesterday I met Carolyn and we went into Birmingham to a farmers market. It was very good. Lots of different tomatoes. Most I had never heard of. Then we went to their house and dropped off our purchases and then went to Annitson to a museum and yarn shop. I bought some really knit yarn for a scarf and some ribbon to see what I can knit.

We went to the Natural History Museum and it was very good. We stopped at an antique store, but they did not have any that I could not live without. Carolyn fixed dinner and we had a very nice visit. I'm so glad I caught up with them. They are friends of Dan and Rebecca that I met several years ago.

Tomorrow I plan on getting all ready to leave Tues for Bluff City, Tn. It is in the smokey mountains and I am really looking forward to seeing all that I can while there.

Tannehill Ironworks State Park

Yesterday I went to see the Tannehill Ironworks State Park. I reccommend it to everyone. It was very interesting. The museum is wonderful. There are a lot of machines, etc from the ironworks that I don't understand how they worked but just the fact that they did is amazing to me. The forge was gigantic. I can't even imagine working it.

I hiked over to the ironworks and that also was very interesting. On the way there they have restored cabins from that era. It is a state park with camping and rv sites so they had a playground tucked up in the trees and there was a creek. All in all a good place to take the family.

I had lunch at the local bbq spot. Good but messy!

On the way back I was not paying attention and passed the I-20 exit. I took the next one thinking I would get off and then backtrack. But no that did not work. The next exit was miles away and took me north and east of where I wanted to be. I did get off and decided to see if I could find my way back to I-20. I did pretty good but panicked and called On Star to find out that I was only about a mile away from it. I think I did pretty good though as I was on country roads that did not look like there was a destination. I love OnStar!!!

Lakeside Landing RV & Marina, Cropwell, Al

I made it! I got here about 3:30 pm and got set up. It was so hot and humid I was dripping wet and overheated by the time I got everything done. I am on a lakeside spot and have a great veiw of the lake. There are dozens of ducks and I think some swans. Billie and I went for a walk this am and there was a heron on the dock. It is so peaceful and beautiful here. I think I will like it.

I checked out things to do and there are caverns and hiking trails. Also antique stores. Yeh!

Coca Cola and Old Court House Museums

Yesterday I did museums. The Coca Cola Museum was small but interesting. Evidently a local store owner decided that if Coca Cola sold so good in town he needed to get it to the outlaying areas. He bottled it and started selling it that way.

The Old Courthouse Museum was very interesting. One of the best museums so far. There was a lot of Civil War memorbelia. A must see if in the area.

I'm leaving today and going to Alabama. Not sure how long I will stay, I usually stay for a week but I do want to see Tenzin this trip and she will be in Virginia in a town close to DC.

Longwood in Natchez MS

Saturday I drove to Natchez and found it to be a very quaint town. I stopped at a Trading Post and was given ideas of what to visit and where to eat. One of the places I was told to visit was the Longwood home. It is the largest octagonal house in America. Construction was started in 1860 before the Civil War. Unfortunately it started before the home could be completed. It was to be 6 stories but only 1 was completed and the family lived there and never finished it.

I then went to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians. It had 2 mounds and 1 replica of their homes. The grounds were beautiful and I enjoyed the walk around the grounds. There were tons of birds and I thought I would get my binoculars and sit and watch them for a while. Well I got them and naturally they were quiet and not flying around when I got back to the bench.

I wake up to birds singing and I love it. There are tons of song birds in the area.

Vicksburg National Military Park

I got up and thought I would go to the Vicksburg Battlefield Museum. Well the csr at OnStar did not listen to the whole address and sent me to the wrong one. In my effort to find it I came to the National Military Park and decided to go there. It was a very good decision. The park is beautiful and there is a large number of statues to commemorate the Civil War battles. One of the most surprising was USS Cairo one of a fleet of iron clad ships. It was the first ship to be sunk by a remote detonator. Very impressive.

I did find the Battlefield Museum and went there too. It was ok, but not as good as the park. I went back home and took a nap.

Trip to Vicksburg, Ms

I left early this morning, about 8:30am. Nothing unusual, just rolling along and then wham! Up ahead of me an accident between a car and a motorcycle. I put on my brakes and managed to pull off to the side. I went up to see if I could help but there were already folks there to help. I helped the man over to the side of the road and checked him out for any dangerous injuries. He was dizzy and had some scrapes on his hands. His wife was on the ground and was breathing, they finally got her to talk. I pulled my rig up to protect her and make sure no one drove up to the accident. Everyone was so helpful and patient. No horns honking etc. The EMS got there right away and got her on a back board and in the ambulance. Her husband went with her and his friends took his motorcycle. I lost about 30 minutes in all. Which was not bad for that type of accident.

I arrived at the RV park around 1pm. it is nice and there is a sewer connection. I can take a shower and shave my legs. I had to take very quick ones in Slidell as they did not have sewer hook ups, but did have a dump station on the grounds. The water was so soft I thought I would never get the shampoo out of my hair.

It is good to finally be someplace again for a while. There is a lot to see, so I best get my schedule done. Right.