Friday, September 30, 2011
Cheri Sept-30-11
8:06 PM | 
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
This morning Gay fixed me breakfast. It was a relaxing morning. I got some laundry started and we made a Wal-Mart run to get stocked up a bit.
Gay spent the afternoon lining up a few more outings with the bike while I finished up the laundry.
At 4:15pm we left for the Hatfield & McCoy Theater. We had tickets for their dinner show. When we arrived, they showed us to our table right away. We were center stage. It was a perfect spot. We were seated on the McCoy side of the theater.
Our dinner was served right away, beginning with the homemade possum soup and cornbread. The next course was mashed potatoes, beans, coleslaw, chicken and pulled pork. It was all served in little silver pots. To top it all off they served chocolate mousse for dessert. It was a great meal. We were ready for the show to start.
There was lots of down home country in this show. The comedy, music, and dancing was good.
They picked 12 people from the audience and did the old spoon game. Half of them were on the Hatfield side and half on the McCoy side. You run the spoon tied to a string, down the gals top and then hand it to the guy to run down through the leg of his pants. The McCoy side won hands down. (That’s us). It was fun to watch. They had to turn around and take the spoon out. The McCoy’s won that too!
It was a fun show. It was still light when we got out of the show, so we were able to find our way home o.k.
We settled in for a little TV before turning in.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Hatfield and McCoy
Cheri Sept-29-11
10:23 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
10am seems to be the magic time for us to be ready for our day’s journey.
It was only 67 degrees when we left this morning. We were headed for the entrance of the Smoky Mountain National Park. Our destination, Clingmans Dome, is known as the “Top Of Old Smoky”. This mountain reaches 6,643 ft above sea level, the highest mountain in the Great Smokies. We stopped to put on more clothes, as the further we went up the mountain the cooler it got.
The colors are beginning to change here in the mountain. They say color should be at its peak within a week or two. Maybe we will get to see that.
When we reached the peak it was 45 degrees. It was still ½ mile walk from the parking lot to the observation tower. On a clear day the tower provides a 360 degree view, but we weren’t that lucky. The ridges were covered in fog. The distance we could see was very limited. We made the decision to hike up regardless of this terrible weather. It was a steep climb. I had to stop often; I was really huffing & puffing. The trail to the summit is paved, but steep, gaining 330 ft in elevation in a half mile. When we reached the top, we still had to walk the circular walkway to the top of the observation tower. During good weather the view from the tower encompasses a seemingly endless sea of mountain ridges and valleys. All we saw was fog. At least we can say we’ve been here. The temperature was a chilly 35 degrees. There were a couple of guys setting up their antenna for a ham radio broadcast. Hope they were able to complete that. The walk back down was so much easier, thank goodness!
We decided to head down the other side of the mountain into Cherokee, N.C. It was only about 20 miles. Coming down from the Dome we spotted 2 black bears coming up out of the ditch. I managed to get a picture of them. WOW!
It was cold riding, but warmed up as we came down off the mountain. We spotted a sign for the Mingus Mill. It was an old flour mill. We checked out the flume and inside of the mill. They had flour for sale that they had ground right there at the mill. We finally figured out we had been there some 20 years ago when we were in the Smokies with the Gold Wing. We had one more animal sighting, a wild turkey.
We arrived in Cherokee around 1:30pm. We found a place for lunch and looked around in the shops. One shop had a flour mill in operation and was neat seeing it work.
We also checked out the Mountain Farm Museum. It is part of an effort to preserve some of the cultural heritage of the Smokies. The buildings dated from the late 1800’s and were moved from their original locations throughout the Smokies to this site to create an open-air museum. These structures offer a glimpse into the past.
The farm house was built in 1899. It took 2 years to complete. There was a woodshed, meat house, chicken house, apple house, cane mill and molasses shed, corn crib, barn, blacksmith’s shop & springhouse. They were well maintained and neat to explore.
We decided it was time to head back over the mountain. Not too far up the road we spotted another wild turkey and then a small bear started out into the road and got scared, turned around and scampered up a tree. What a picture that would have made but again I was not fast enough to get that picture. Gay has decided when we get back up on top of the mountain he wants to take that 7 mile road back up to Clingmans Dome. The weather has cleared and he wants to hike up to the observation tower and get those great panoramic pictures. I said “I can’t climb that trail again”. He started off up the trail and I checked out the gift shop. He was back in no time and happy he made the trip again.
It was time to think about heading for Pigeon Forge. Before we dropped to far down the mountain, we spotted another bear. He ran across the rod in front of us. No time for pictures. These bears are QUICK! We saw 4 bears and 2 turkeys, not a bad day.
It was 6:30pm when we arrived back at the 5th wheel, 119 beautiful miles.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Clingmans Dome.
For pictures of Clingmans Dome by other people click on this link http://www.google.com/search?q=clingmans+dome&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS330US330&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5c-FTtiBG8y2tgeYu8w-&ved=0CEUQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=685
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Cheri Sept-28-11
10:06 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We began our day by going to the Miracle Theater to secure our tickets for the shows we want to take in while we are here.
We purchased tickets for 3 different shows. Our first being for The Miracle tonight, beginning at 7:15pm. We are going to do a backstage tour before the shows starts at 8pm.
It was noon by the time we had things set up, so we went back to the 5th wheel for lunch.
Gay got onto the internet and worked out our reservations that will take us through Oct. 18th.
The time got away from us, so we didn’t get anymore riding in today.
Gay grilled out for supper and he had some visitors begging for a handout. The ducks were lucky; we gave them some bread crumbs.
By 7pm we made our way over to the theater. There were 8 of us there for the backstage tour. It was so interesting. We were taken on stage and told about the lighting and told how the angels were made to fly through the air. We went backstage and were shown the props that were used. Our next stop was the make-up and costume rooms. We witnessed the actor that would be playing Jesus getting his hair done and make-up on.
We were standing in the long hallway where all the angel wings hung. Lucifer’s wings were the biggest and heaviest. They weighed 45 lbs and cost $25,000. One of the angels, which spent most of the show in the air, had wings that weighed 35lbs and cost $10,000.
We were taken outside to the barn where they kept the animals that were used on the show—3 camels, 3 sheep, a donkey & a boa constrictor.
We were back to our seats about 5 minutes before Showtime.
The show began with Lucifer flying over the top of the audience and landing on the stage where the fierce battle began that was the beginning of Lucifer’s fall from grace.
You witness the birth of the Savior and the wise men riding onto stage on camels, where they bow & worship the infant King.
We watched as Christ performs, miracles, and we experience the wind & rain before Jesus calms the sea.
We watched as Jesus was captured, convicted, and beaten before he was hung on the cross and then resurrected.
It was a spiritually moving performance. The costumes & sets were fabulous. Time seemed to fly by as you watched this show.
We did purchase the DVD of the show and will be happy to lend it out to whoever wants to watch it.
It was after 11pm when we got home. This is just the beginning of the plans we have while we are here.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Cheri Sept-27-11
10:05 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We didn’t leave our campground until almost 10am, even though we planned an early departure. We got to talking with our neighbor and he is headed to Pigeon Forge next week so we were giving him tips on campgrounds etc.
We had one last stop before heading too far down the road and that was The Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson. The Hermitage had been purchased by the Ladies Hermitage Association back in 1889 and made into a museum for people to visit. One bit of interesting information is that a slave named Alfred, who was born on the Plantation, worked as a boy assisting with the horses and maintain the wagons. When emancipated, he became a tenant farmer on The Hermitage. He lived at Hermitage longer than anyone else, white or black and worked as a handyman and was the first tour guide for the Ladies Hermitage Association when the house opened as a museum. He died in 1901. His funeral was held in the center hall of the Museum. Alfred is buried in the Hermitage garden near Jackson’s tomb.
Some 15 million people have visited here. When we checked in at the visitor’s center we were given the earphones & receiver for our audio tour. We first watched an informative movie about Andrew Jackson and then began our museum & walking tour.
Jackson was born in South Carolina in 1767. He never knew his father and lost his mother and two brothers at a very young age. He lived on his own and at 13 years old he served in the Revolution. At 20 years old he became a lawyer and moved to Tennessee. In 1794, he met & married Rachel Donelson. They had no children of their own, but did adopt one boy, Andrew Junior. In 1802 he was elected Major general of the Tennessee Militia. In 1804 Jackson purchased The Hermitage and they lived in a log cabin there until they constructed the brick Hermitage Mansion in 1819. During this time Jackson was commissioned Major General in the U.S. Army. Jackson owned over 150 slaves at any given time. He raised cotton on the plantation.
We walked the pathways and punched the numbers along our route into our audio system. We got the full history of whatever area we were walking in. This is a great way to tour someplace. It was a short walk to the mansion and we were met at the entrance by costumed guides and directed through the house by guides stationed throughout the house. It was beautiful inside, again no pictures allowed, ninety present of what we saw was original to the house. My guess is because the Ladies Hermitage Association took over the property as early at 1889.
The doorways to each room were blocked off with Plexiglas, so one could just glance into each room. There were only 4 people in our group so it was nice to be able to more around and see everything. The rooms were bright colors and some were wallpapered. There were even venison blinds on some of the windows. All the furnishing was beautiful. It would be a dream to have some of those pieces in one’s house today. We went out of the main home to get to the kitchen. Everything was cooked out there and carried into the house at mealtime.
In 1829 Jackson was inaugurated as the 7th president of the United States. He and Rachel moved to Washington and his son and wife took over the house. During this time the house burned and Andrew Junior rebuilt the house as we see it today. He gave it that Greek look with the big pillars in the front. He also had two bedroom made downstairs.
Rachel died in 1828 and Jackson had her entombed in the garden on The Hermitage. He never remarried. He went on serve another term as President. Andrew Jackson is known for starting the Democratic Party. He is also responsible for the “Trail of Tears”. He moved the Indians further west, off their land. Thousands of them died because of this. The Indians name for Jackson was DEVIL. Jackson also did not believe in freedom for the slaves. Because of these two things Jackson was not very well liked.
We visited the other out buildings on the tour and completed our visit in the garden at the grave site of Andrew & Rachel Jackson. One interesting we learned by the audio tour was that in mid 1900’s they saw cracks in the tomb slab covers so they were removed for repair. Under the cover for Rachel they found dirt on top of her casket but under Andrew Jackson’s there was no dirt to cover his. You just saw the engraving of his name on top of his. They thought maybe it was his wish he not be covered by any dirt!
After serving that last term as President he came back to The Hermitage and lived out his remaining 8 years there. He died in 1845. After his death his son inherited the property and he was not a very good manager, and within 7 years he had lost the house and surrounding land. We thought it was a very informative tour. We loved the audio.
We returned to the 5th wheel for a quick bite to eat and were on our way. We arrived at Pigeon Forge around 6pm, got set up and called it a great day.
Gay has uploaded pictures of our tour of Hermitage, click this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Hermitage.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Cheri Sept-26-11
6:40 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was raining when we got up this morning. It had been raining most of the night.
Our plan is to visit the Belle Meade Plantation by Nashville.
It was only 23 miles from our campground and it was cool and possible chances of more showers, so we took the truck.
Belle Meade, meaning Beautiful Meadow, was founded in 1807 by John & Sarah Harding. It began with a log cabin and 250 acres. It grew into 5,400 acres.
Belle Meade is an 1853 Greek Revival Mansion named one of America’s grandest Mansions. The costumed interpreter guided us through the two story, beautifully furnished mansion. We heard the tales of 4 generations of Harding and Jackson families who resided at Belle Meade. All the furnishings were great to see. It brought the house alive. The grand circular staircase was spectacular. The pictures of horses were everywhere. This plantation made its money by breeding race horses. Seabiscuit, Secretoriat, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones were just a few of the great thoroughbreds that trace their bloodlines back to Belle Meade. Our tour of the house took 45 minutes; we asked lots of questions and looked in every crook and cranny. It was nice not to be limited on what we could check out. Once again we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the house.
We began our self guided tour of the outer buildings. The original 1790 Harding cabin was only one room, until they added a second one, as their family grew. They lived there until they moved into the Mansion.
Next the Dairy, which produced as much as 24o lbs of butter each week, the slave cabin, the mausoleum, this vault housed the remains of members of the Harding & Jackson families, the Gardner’s House, the smokehouse, where as many as 20,000 lbs of pork were smoked in a single year, the 1890’s carriage house & stables and the dollhouse, which served as a playhouse for the children.
The plantation had a total of 136 slaves. John Harding supervised his slaves personally. He knew them all by name. After the Civil War the slaves were free and some choose to stay right there at Belle Meade.
It was fascinating to listen to the history of this place and picture all those beautiful thoroughbreds.
There was no damage to this property during the Civil War. The soldiers stayed for the most part in Nashville.
Winemaking was a part of the tradition of the Plantation for over 150 years. The grapes still grow wild throughout the property today. We were invited to the Winery to taste a few of the flavors they make today. Our favorite we the Blackberry wine.
We ended our visit with lunch at the Belle Café. We had a pulled pork sandwich on cornbread with beans and coleslaw. It was excellent.
We were back at the 5th wheel by 2pm. We started thinking of what needed to be done to get ready for our move tomorrow. I gave Gay a haircut and we will be getting up early tomorrow morning to head out to Pigeon Forge.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Belle Meade
Gay Sept-25-11
7:03 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We went to the 9:15 am service at the Community Church of Hendersonville. The sermon was excellent. It was about how our plans change and God’s plans don’t change. After church we headed back to the 5th wheel and decided to have a rest day. I did help our neighbor install a temperature gauge in his grill. He had seen ours a couple of days ago and said that he didn’t know that the grill came with a temperature gauge. I told him that I had bought the gauge at Home Depot and installed it myself. Well he came to the door this afternoon with a gauge in his hand and wanted to know if I had a drill that he could use. So I got out the drill and helped him with the gauge. We have talked a few times over the last few days. He has only had his class A motor home a couple of months and has never done any RVing. So he was asking a lot of questions about RVing. We order in a Papa John’s pizza. We haven’t had one since we left Florida, sure was good. After lunch we watched a couple of shows that we had recorded and then it was time for NASCAR racing and football. Both were very good as our Packer won. What a wonderful day God has made for us.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cheri Sept-24-11
10:36 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We had a busy day planned for today. We left the 5th wheel by 8:45 am so we would arrive at Mansker’s Station here in Goodlettsville by 9am.
The Fort is an authentic reconstruction of a frontier station typical of the early Cumberland settlements. We were the only 2 on the first tour of the day. Our guide was dressed in period clothing and walked us through each building in the fort and gave us a great history lesson.
One could also tour the Bowen Plantation house there on the grounds. Built in 1787, the Bowen house is among middle Tennessee’s oldest brick residence. Again we were given a personal tour. Our guide was dressed in 18th century fashion and was very well versed on the history of this old house. Before it was restored he used to play in it as a kid. It was all so fascinating.
We then traveled about 45 miles from Goodlettsville to the south side of Nashville and stopped in the town of Franklin to learn the history of the battle fought there between the Union and Confederate soldiers. The town is full of Civil War history.
We began by touring the Carter House, which was caught in the center of the Battle of Franklin. Outside on the grounds we checked out the extended kitchen, built separate from the main house for two reasons; fire proved a hazard & the heat from cooking was unwelcome in the summer.
Next the slave quarters, Carter’s slaves helped grow and harvest 4,000 bushels of corn, nearly 500 bushels of wheat & oats, and 12,000 pounds of cotton.
The smokehouse and the farm office show extensive damage due to the battle being fought around the property. They were riddled with bullet holes. The bullets went into the back wall and through the buildings and out the front walls.
The Carter House was a Federal style brick house. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the home. There was a formal parlor and a bedroom, which also served as a family room downstairs and upstairs 2 small bedrooms. The kitchen was located in the basement. Our guide really loved his job. He pulled you right into the history of the house and the battle that was going on outside between the Union & Confederate soldiers.
We had 2 more tours to get in today, so we were on the run. We headed across the street to the Lotz House. It has one of the finest private collections of American Victorian furniture in the Southeast. Again we could not take any pictures inside.
The last stop was the Carnton Plantation. The Carnton house served as the largest Confederate field hospital; blood stains still mar the floors today. In just 5 hours, during the battle of Franklin, 10,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, captured or missing. Land was donated on the Carnton Plantation for a Confederate Cemetery. We toured the slave quarters, the springhouse, the smokehouse, private family cemetery plot and the Confederate Cemetery before entering the main house, no pictures allowed in this house
The Carnton house was built in 1826. The furnishings were elegant and we got another history lesson of the bloody battle fought in Franklin on Nov. 30, 1864.
Our tour was over at 5pm and we headed to the Bunganut Pig for the best hamburger in town. We sat out on the patio and just as we were finishing our meal we felt rain drops. We headed for the bike. It was time to make tracks for home. We ran into a light rain shower and then the sun came out and we had a really neat rainbow.
We were home at 7:00 pm just before dark and we settled in for the night. What a great day!
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Mansker’s Station and Civil War in Franklin TN
Friday, September 23, 2011
Cheri Sept-23-11
6:24 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Today was a special day. We met some dear friends, Mike & Pam, at Fontanel Mansion & Farm. We had last seen our friends4 months ago in Lake of the Ozarks. It was great to have the opportunity to get together again and catch up on all the news. We had missed those great times together.
Since we were both going to be in the Nashville area, we made plans to tour Fontanel together. This was the home that Barbara Mandrell built in 1988. It is a 27,000 square foot log home located just 15 minutes from downtown Nashville.
We met in the gift shop at 10am and at 11am the bus arrived to take the first tour group up to the mansion. There were only 16 of us in our group. We made our way through the huge log archway and up the mile long driveway. We were met at the front door by our wonderful tour guide. She began by telling us some of the history of the home and about Barbara and her family before we started our tour.
The mansion has 20 rooms, 14, bathrooms, 5 fireplaces, 2 kitchens, an indoor pool and even an indoor shooting range on 136 acres. Our tour guide told us “if you see a seat and want to sit down, go right ahead.” When have you ever toured someplace and were told that!
The house was amazing. A lot, but no all, the furnishing were original pieces. We even got to walk on top of the pool. When the pool was not in use, they covered it and at times it was used as a dance floor.
History buffs will be interested to know the land surrounding the mansion is where Jesse & Frank James came to hide out after the gang’s ill-fated Northfield, MN bank robbery, and also it was here the Confederate Calvary used the land as a place to assemble during the battle of Nashville. There are also many hiking trails that surround the property.
After our tour we headed to Fontanel’s Farm House Restaurant for lunch. It had a neat atmosphere with quilts displayed up on the ceiling. The food was good, we enjoyed visiting. At 3pm we said our goodbyes as Mike & Pam had to head out to pick up their grandson from school.
It was such a great day to spend with special friends.
If you go to this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfyW8ETbzwc you can watch part one of two as Barbra takes you through the house. Then you can also watch part two at the same link.
Gay has uploaded pictures of our day go to this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Fontanel Mansion & Farm
Gay Sept-22-11
7:35 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were on the road at 9:15 am with the motorcycle headed for Bowling Green to do the Corvette Factory tour and what a beautiful day for a motorcycle ride. We were an hour early for the tour, wanted to be sure we got a ticket to get on a tour. It worked out really well as we were on the first tour and watched a 45 minute video on how the corvette is built along with the motors. By watching the video it helped to understand how things were done when we took the tour. Well we just started the tour and all of a sudden the loud speaker said to evacuate the building. So everyone had to leave and go across a parking lot and wait by the fence until everyone was accounted for. While we were waiting for the all clear signal we looked at all the corvettes waiting to be shipped out, there must have been over 400 of them. Well we got the all clear signal and it turned out to be drill. So we headed back inside and started the tour again. The tour was amazing and I was ready to take it again after we got done. There was so much to see and not enough time to check everything out. The tour was a little over an hour long. I would recommend it for anyone coming through the area. Of all the colors they make black is the most popular and white is the least popular. 40 percent of the corvettes have automatic transmissions. They make on an average of 80 cars a day and about 28,000 a year. After the tour I now have one more thing on my bucket list. It was around 1:30 pm when we left the factory and took some back roads back to the campground. Our next stop was at Cross Plains where we stopped at an old drug store that had an old soda fountain. We had a chocolate shake and a chicken pita sandwich for a late lunch. Then we had to go across the street to an old store so Cheri could do some shopping, she was a good shopper as she didn’t buy anything. Then we continue on our ride through the country side taking pictures of old barns. We saw one barn that we were sure was on fire because of all the smoke that was coming out of it. Then we saw several more barns smoking and realized they were tobacco barns and the smoking is part of the tobacco process. It was around 4:30 pm when we got back to the 5th wheel. We had some time to relax before our baroque pork and chicken dinner here in the campground and live county music afterwards. It was another wonderful day that God made for us.
I have uploaded pictures of the day. No pictures from inside the corvette factory as they don’t allow any cameras, backpack or phone inside the plant. Click this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Corvette tour ride.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Gay Sept-21-11
6:44 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was still raining when I got up this morning. I am kind of bummed out because I wanted to go for a motorcycle ride today. Will it quit raining around 10:00 am but still looked like more rain. I made reservations for a campground in Pigeon Forge this morning. I have heard the campgrounds can fill up during the month of Oct in the Smoky Mountains. So now we don’t have to worry about that. We have decided to ride the motorcycle up to bowling Green tomorrow to the Corvette Factory for the tour. So I got on line to make my reservations and found out that they have to be made at least 9 days in advance. Well we are only going to be here for six more days and we already have reservations made in Pigeon Forge. So I sent them an e-mail as there wasn’t any number to call and told them that we were in the area for only a few days and wanted to do the factory tour tomorrow, thought it couldn’t hurt. We needed to make a Wal-Mart run for groceries and a few other things. Well when we got to Wal-Mart it wasn’t a Super Wal-Mart so that met not much in groceries. On the way back to the 5th wheel we stopped at a Saves a Lot to get the additional groceries. When we got home I checked my e-mail and had an e-mail from the Corvette Factory and told us to come up tomorrow for the tour. If you wanted to see one happy guy you should have seen the smile on my face. We have been looking for the book Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick. I checked on line and found a Barnes and Noble book store about 13 miles away. I called them and they had the book and they set it aside for us. So I wrote down the address and plugged it into the GPS and took off. Well the address end up in a subdivision. Now what do we do, Cheri said check your phone call history and call them (she is so smart). I called them and asked them what their address was and we had it right. I told them where we were and they directed us to the store. The address was 300 Indian Lake Blvd. Well we went east and we should have gone west. The thing about it is there is no east or west Indian Lake Blvd. Well after much frustration on my part we got there and now have the book. In the process we passed a Super Wal-Mart (more frustration on my part). On the way home I was checking out the gas stations as I was getting low on diesel fuel. I had checked on Gas Buddy and found some in Nashville for $3.659 and everywhere else it was anywhere from $3.75 to $4.10. I am not driving down into Nashville to save a few cents. Well we found a gas station that had diesel for $3.699 and gas was priced low also, people also knew about as the all the pumps were busy and still busy when we left. By the time we got home it was too late to do anything else for the day. I got the grill out and gilled up some pork chops for supper.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Gay Sept-20-11
7:17 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Sorry that my link to the pictures yesterday didn’t work, I forgot the s on the end of travels. I have it fixed and it will work now. We were on the road by 9:10 am eastern time. We traveled about 250 miles and are in Goodlettsville TN. The GPS got me again as it took an extra hour to get here because the time is back to Central time where we are at now. We had planned on stopping in Bowling Green for one night and take the tour through the Corvette factory. Well I got to checking and they had a good week’s campground rate in Nashville Country RV Park. So we headed on down here and will drive back up to Bowling Green one day as it is only 45 miles away. This way we get to set in the same place for a week. The trip down here was uneventful, the day was mostly cloudy and very little sun, and also for the last 100 miles we had showers off and on. The good thing was no rain while we were getting set up, but rained just after we got done setting up. We got more rain through the night. We are looking forward to exploring this area as it is new for us. We did spend a couple of days in Nashville about 20 years ago; we did the city tour and the Grand Old Opry. Cheri is already looking at brochures and planning our weeks stay. We already have one thing planned and is the reason we are here as we are meeting our good friends Mike and Pam Gregory Friday at Barbara Mandrell’s Nashville log home, Fontanel. She has sold it and is now open for tours.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Gay Sept-19-11
6:56 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It rained all night and all day today, not hard just enough to make it miserable. We left the 5th wheel at 10:30 am and headed for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon in the museum looking at many of the past 500 winning cars. We also watched a movie that gave the history of the speedway. We wanted to take the bus ride around the speedway and decided if it was raining we wouldn’t do it. So after looking through the museum it was still raining and then decided to go ahead and take the bus ride around the speedway because we may never get back here again. I did take a lot of pictures inside and on the ride around the speedway. It was almost 2:00 pm when before we got back to the 5th wheel for a very late lunch. Around 4:30 pm we left for Harry C’s Pub and Grill. We got an early start as Steve Jeffirs plays from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm every Monday night. Steve told us to get there early as it fills up fast. Well we got there at 5:00 pm and there were only a couple of tables left and they were in the back where it was hard to see. We were pretty disappointed then I look in the bar area where a guy was sitting by himself at a high bar table. Cheri went and asked him if we could join him and he said yes and that he was leaving soon. Well as it turned out we probably had the best spot as we could see over everybody. We ordered the prime rib special and it was excellent. Steve started playing at 6:00 pm and also had four of the entertainers that performed at his Caboose Festival yesterday. It really was a fun time and was just a jam session with great music and lots of laughs. They play for an extra 45 minutes as they were having a lot of fun. It was after 10:00 pm before we got home and it was Cheri’s night to watch Dancing with the Stars that we had recorded. Well it was midnight before we got to bed. I sure am glad we stayed the extra day in Indianapolis or we would have miss a fun day, thats the nice thing about being retired. I have uploaded some pictures form the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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| Fun Night at Harry C's |
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Cheri Sept-18-11
9:35 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were up and ready to head to church by 9:15am. The community Church was only a little over 2 miles from our campground. After church got out we headed for Steve Jeffris Caboose Festival. Steve mixes Country, Gospel, Old Standards & 50’s rock music. We have seen him a number of times in Florida. He has talked about the Festival he puts on for his fan club at his home in Indianapolis and he invites everyone to come. This year our schedule for heading south worked out just right. We finally get go to this festival we have heard so much about.
The weather is cool and they call for possible showers. We are praying the rain holds out until after the festival.
Steve’s residence was only about 13 miles from the church. He lives on 5 acres of land. He wants to create an old town right there on his property. He has a good start. You can tour his caboose and check out all the Country Music Memorabilia, visit the 1800’s cabin, built for his wife, Sharon and their grandchildren and go aboard the diesel locomotive cab.
Steve was doing his first show of the day when we arrived. We were lucky to be able to sit right up front and hear his performance. They had one performer after another all day. It was continuous music. There was Angie Bain from Nashville, country & gospel music singer. Bernie Waldon, an Indiana native, songwriter and musician. Joe & Jan Edwards, Joe is a member of the staff band on the Grand Ole Opry. He and Jan tour the country and make many personal appearances. Billie Jo Harrelson, singer songwriter from Lakeland, Fl. She won female vocalist of the year three years out of four. Robert Lee Crigger, he played with a number of well known bands. Since 1977, he has been a member of the Jean Shepard Band on the Grand Ole Opry. As a piano player, he has played on the Grand Ole Opry more than 2500 times. Today he has a solo show and performs across the country. His boggie woogie country style music was our favorite. And last of all, George Hamilton IV who is known as the International Ambassador of Country Music. He recently celebrated 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
At noon the bell rang and lunch was ready. They served the whole crowd of about 900 people pulled pork, baked beans and coleslaw-free of charge! And later in the day they served everyone hotdogs and chips. Wow!
The day flew by, with a light shower, but it didn’t amount to anything. We toured the cabin, locomotive and caboose. They had raffle prizes and 50/50.
It was a fun day. We were so glad to be a part of the festival this year. It was after 7:00 pm when we got home.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the Festival. Click here https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Caboose Festival.
Gay Sept-17-11
6:23 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We spent a little time with Kari this morning before we moved on down the road. We had a great time with Kari the last eight days. We were on the road by 9:10 am. It is a long drive to get through or around Chicago, about 100 miles. I missed our turn that would have taken us around Chicago on I-294 toll road. So I figured God wanted us to see downtown Chicago, the traffic move well with no backups. We made only one stop at a rest area about 100 miles north of Indianapolis for lunch. The GPS said we were going to arrive around 4:00 pm and we were there and hour earlier and finally figured out that we lost an hour due to the time change. We are staying in Indianapolis at Indy Lake Campground. We will be here for two night and maybe a third as we may take a day and tour the Indianapolis Speedway and museum.
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| Downtown Chicago |
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Gay Sept-16-11
7:13 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was a little warmer this morning by about 6 degrees. But we didn’t have any sun today and sprinkles late this afternoon. Cheri and I took the collar/leash holder to Camp Bow Wow and did the installation and it took us all day as Kari had a few other projects for me to do. We also had to make a couple of trips to Home Depot for materials (that was the fun part). We didn’t get back to the 5th wheel until 5:30 pm. Kari got home at 6:00 pm and Tim arrived at 6:30pm. Kari and Tim took us to Crystal Lake for supper at Buffalo Wild Wings. They serve wings in about 15 different flavors. So we had two orders of 24 wings in 8 different flavors. They were all very good and what an experience. I checked on line and they have a Buffalo Wild Wings in Lakeland Florida which we will defiantly try. Tomorrow is pack up and move day, heading for Indianapolis for a couple of days.
I have up loaded pictures of Kari’s collar and leash holder. Click here https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Kari’s Camp Bow Wow Collar and Leash Holder.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Gay Sept-15-11
7:55 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 39 degrees this morning and cold inside as I didn’t have the furnace running last night. I didn’t want to get out of bed to start the furnace. It felt like it was when I was a kid and had to get the wood stove going to warm up the house. It did warm up to the mid 60’s with a lot of sunshine. I finished the sanding on the collar and leash rack this morning and Cheri put on a coat of clear finish on it. Being we have been running the furnace the last few days I thought I better swallow my pride and go to Ace Hardware and get the tank of LP. Well it wasn’t too bad, only had to pay about two extra dollars for it. When we got home Cheri put on a second coat of finish. Kari got home around 2:30 pm, later her and I headed for Glacier Park to meet Nancy Merkling to have another lesson on using my new camera and Kari wanted a refresher course. I think I now have a handle on how to take pictures off of the automatic setting. I need to take a bunch of pictures tomorrow for practice so I can get the hang of it. It is going to be an ongoing learning process. This is something I have wanted to do for many years. While we were taking the class Cheri was home making chicken and dumping for supper and also put the last coat of finish on the collar and leash rack. When we got home we took Kari out to the garage to show her the collar and leash rack, she was really surprised. So tomorrow my project is to take it to the camp and install it. I will share pictures of it tomorrow after it is installed.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Gay Sept-14-11
7:51 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
The colder weather is here in McHenry now. We had a high of 59 degrees and never saw the sun until about 3:30pm. I worked on the dog collar and leash rack today. I did have to make a trip to Home Depot to get some wood glue, very cool ride on the motorcycle, glad it was only a seven mile round trip. Kari thought that she would be done work around noon so she and Cheri could go shopping. Well she didn’t get home until 2:00 pm. So they had a late start to shop. I got some sanding to do on the collar and leash rack and then it will be ready for Cheri to put on a couple of coats of clear Finish. Anything that involves a paint brush isn’t for me, that’s where Cheri takes over. Cheri and Kari didn’t get back home until after 6:00 pm. We were going to go to a farm market late this afternoon and when they got home I asked them if we were going and they forgot all about it (I think they had more fun shopping). Kari said it was too late to go. We had left over lasagna and garlic toast for supper and watched a show that Kari had recorded.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Gay Sept-13-11
8:24 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We went for a cool motorcycle ride this morning and I don’t mean neat as it was on the cool side weather wise. We made a stop in Richmond IL to check out the old stores and most of them are closed on Monday and Tuesday. So Cheri was only able to get in a couple of stores. The main purpose for the ride was to see if we could find the school where I went to first grade as I wanted to take a picture of it. Well we found it and there were so many trees around it I couldn’t get a good picture. There is a family living in the school and from the looks it has been for many years. Well I pulled around the corner and there were a couple of guys outside so we stop and asked them if I could take a picture and they said sure. The school was a lot smaller then I had remembered it, maybe because I was smaller back then. I had only gone to first grade there as we moved north in Wisconsin after I got out of the first grade. Then we rode on down the road to find the place where we had lived back then. It sure looks different now; in fact I wasn’t sure it was the same place until I took a second look. A couple of places I remember were gone completely. Plus there were more new houses in the area. We rode back though a couple of other towns and then back to Kari’s place to have lunch. After lunch we took the truck and went to Home Depot to get some materials so I could build a dog collar and leash rack for Camp Bow Wow. Kari is getting more dogs then she has room for the collars and leashes. So I am now building two racks that each will hold 23 collars and leashes. Kari had to work all day and didn’t get home until after 7:30 pm. Cheri had made Lasagna and garlic toast for supper and brownies with chocolate topping for dessert. Tim also joined us for supper. Cheri and I turned in early this evening as we were both tired.
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| First Grade School |
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| First Grade School |
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Gay Sept-12-11
8:06 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
I had looked on the internet for a place to get a tank of LP and found a place about a mile away. Well when Cheri and I go there it was a bulk distribution plant. I was told I needed to go to Ace Hardware to get it filled. I decided to wait until we get to another place as I went to an Ace Hardware a few years ago and they charge me almost double the price that I was paying at other places. From there we went to Border Books that we saw on our way into town. When we pulled in to the parking lot it was empty, yep it had gone out of business. Well that was strike two. We stopped at a Meijer store, lots of cars so we knew they were open. It was noon by the time we got back to Kari’s. Kari worked until noon and took the rest of the day off to spend with us. The lady from the photography class we took Saturday told us about a guy at a camera shop in Rockford that really knows cameras and will take time to help you out with any questions you have. So this afternoon we headed to Rockford to see him. Kari had several questions about additional lens for her camera. I wanted to see about a new camera. After all was said and done Cheri and I ended up with a new camera. It was after 6:00 pm by the time we got back to McHenry and drove by a Cruse in Car Show in down town. So we grab a sandwich for supper and stopped at the car show. I got my new camera out and started taking pictures. After 87 pictures and looking at all the cars it was time to go home. So if you aren’t tired of looking at cars I have uploaded more car pictures. Click on https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: McHenry Car Show.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Gay Sept-11-11
8:45 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
This is one day in history that everyone knows what they were doing when the first plane hit the world’s trade building. This is a day we need to pray for our country to be strong. It was a busy day for us. First thing this morning Kari, Cheri and I took Kari’s dog Ski to a county park a few miles from her house and did a two mile walk. Then it was time to head back to the house to get ready for church. We left for church at 10:30 am and made a stop in Johnsburg to set up our chairs for the afternoon parade. We went to Meadow Land Community church. We visited this church when we were here to see Kari in June. After church we headed back to Johnsburg to watch the parade. By the time we found a place to park and got to our seats the parade was ready to start. It was Saufen Und Spiel Days in Johnsburg, with a parade, food, and live music. After the parade we walked down to the park where the music and food was. We walked around and then got something to eat. Then we headed over to Tim’s parents (Len and Sue) house. We got to meet all of Tim’s family; we were treated with open arms, like family that they hadn’t seen for some time. Then Tim took us for a 1 ½ hour boat ride on the river and around Fox Lake. When we got back Len and Sue had a wonderful chicken dinner waiting for us. After more visiting it was time to head for home. It was 9:30 pm when we arrive home. What a great day it was, time spent with God and new friends.
For pictures of the day click here https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Parade, Park, Boat.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Gay Sept-10-11
8:16 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
This forenoon we hung out with Kari catching up on all the things that have been happing over the last year. This afternoon Kari and I took a three hour photography class in Hebron IL. It was held at Nancy Merkling Photography. The class was on composition and black and white. It was very interesting and the three hours went by quickly. We got some great ideas on how to take good pictures. Kari and I even rode the motorcycle to the class, it was a 49 mile round trip and it was the first time Kari had rode on our motorcycle in about 30 years. Cheri stayed home and started work on one of her quilt projects. At 6:45 pm we headed to the Half Time Bar and Grill where we met Tim to have Pizza for supper. Then we came back to Kari’s to watch the movie Source Code. I didn’t think it was much of a movie and hard for me to follow, I guess it was because I had trouble staying awake.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Gay Sept-9-11
8:02 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Being it was move day there isn’t much to write about. I am not sure why but it took us a little longer to get things packed up and ready to leave this morning. Maybe it was because we only had 110 miles to go. We had a pleasant surprise while we were closing things up. We knew Coz was going to come over to send us off but Nikki was with him. She had the day off and never told any of us. So with our goodbyes it was 10:30 am before we were on the road to Kari’s in McHenry IL. We arrived at her place about 1:15 pm. We are set up in her driveway. After we got all set up and a late lunch we drove over to Camp Bow Wow to see her. We got here garage door opener so we could get in the garage to hook up to power. After she got home we visited for a while and then went over to Tim’s place (Kari’s friend). We sat outside and visited for a while with Tim and his mother. It was the first time we had met his mother and she is very nice. Tim’s dad couldn’t be with us as he was home fighting a summer cold and wasn’t feeling good. Kari took all of us out to eat at Wilmot Stage Stop. Kari had taken us there last fall and the food was excellent. It was built in 1848 and has been in the family for seven generations. It was built as a stage coach stop and hotel. We didn’t get back to Kari’s until after 10:30 pm.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Gay Sept-8-11
7:56 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was a nice fall day and we were headed to Brandon to spend the day with friends from the days when we lived in Brandon which was in the 70’s and 80’s. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to take the motorcycle or the truck, well the truck won out because when we left 9:30 am and it was still pretty cool out. We had a fun time visiting and playing SOB. We played one game before lunch and then went down town for lunch. Then back to play a couple more games before it was time for us to head back to Fond du Lac. Of course we had to stop at the Brandon Meat Market to stock up on meat to have this winter. We made a quick stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things for the Packer party at Coz and Nikki’s. We played one last game of Hand and Foot before the Packer game started. Coz and I finally won and now we have the bragging rights that we were the last winners for the year. Wow! What a Packer game, fun to watch, of course anytime they win it makes for a fun time. Tomorrow is move day.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Gay Sept-7-11
7:31 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 39 degrees this morning, (our coldest night) fireplace running and also the furnace to take out the chill. We are moving Friday so Cheri was getting all the laundry done as we will be staying in Kari’s drive way without any hookups. We plan on sleeping in the 5th wheel but will be taking showers in the house. It is always better sleeping in your own bed. I worked outside putting some things away and getting things ready to leave. Being it is Wednesday we headed up to Capone’s in Pipe for their half price pizza which has turned out to be a Wednesday thing and being this is the last Wednesday we will be here I didn’t want to miss the great pizza. Nikki wasn’t with us this evening as she had a doctor’s appointment. When we got back to Fond du Lac I filled up the truck with fuel at $383.9 per gallon. I checked Gas Buddy on the internet for the cheapest fuel and it was on our way to the theater in the mall. We looked around in the mall and then went to the 7:05 pm movie. We saw the movie Apollo 18, which we enjoyed; it had some clips from the other Apollo missions. We were home by 8:45 pm and watched some TV and called it a night.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Gay Sept-6-11
7:44 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 49 degrees this morning, so I started the fire place to get warmed up. Nikki dropped Cece off at 6:30 am and she said she was cold so we started the furnace for the first time this season. At 7:30 am we left to take Cece to school and got big hugs from her as we won’t see her again until next year. It was tough saying goodbye as we had a lot of fun with her this summer. I like to tease her and she has caught on to that and likes to give me a hard time. We are really going to miss her. My job for the day was to wash the 5th wheel. It was after noon before I got done with that project. I had enough for the day and wanted to watch the NASCAR Race that I was recording. Cheri worked on cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer this morning, some ironing this afternoon. Later this afternoon Cheri took a nap and I settled in to watch the race. Everything was good until the last 13 laps of the race when the recording stopped as the race went longer because of the rain delay so I missed the last 13 laps. I had to go to the computer to find out who won. What a bummer, watching a race for three hours and then miss the end. Nikki came for supper and we played Hand and Foot which Cheri won again. I asked her if she ever got tired of winning and she gave me that look. Then I said well I get tired of losing and we all had a good laugh.
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| Cece and Nikki showing their long hair |
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Gay Sept-5-11
7:45 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
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| Cece |
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| Cece and Nikki |
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| Cece |
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| Cece |
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| Cece |
It was 52 degrees this morning and did finally get up to 61 degrees, was cloudy and windy. It is supposed to get down in the 40’s this evening and they even have a frost warning out for northern Wisconsin. Well today was one of those days that I didn’t feel like doing anything. I did some work on the computer and then sat and watched TV all day. Cheri on the other hand was busy all day. She fixed lunch for Nikki and Cece, yes me too. Then the three of them went down to the plant where Nikki and Coz work. Nikki had some work to do in her room for the preschoolers. Coz took Cheri for a tour of the plant. Quad/Graphics is the largest commercial printing company in the world and the plant in Lomira is the largest plant. When she got done with the tour she helped Nikki with her class room. Then Cheri took a bunch of pictures of Nikki and Cece in the flowers out in front of Quad/Graphics. It was time for supper when they got home so Cheri fixed spaghetti with garlic toast. Then the three of them play cards for a while and then it was time to give Cece her Christmas presents as we will take her to school in the morning and that will be the last time we see her until next year. We have been having fun spending time with her.
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