Monday, October 31, 2011
Gay Oct-30-11
6:53 AM | 
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Our daughter’s birthday is today, Happy Birthday Nikki. Today it was back to Cypress Community Church. It sure was good to see our friends and some from our Life Group. We got to visit some before church started and some after church. Six of us went out for lunch at La Cubanita Café which was very good. We sat and visited after we eat and got caught up on things that have been happing while we were gone. On the way home we stopped by Ron and Sandy’s new home that they bought and are fixing up and plan on moving into some time next June. They are doing a little at a time, what they have done looks really nice. It was 1:30 pm by the time we got back home. We stopped by Grandma’s to drop off the van and saw that she was sleeping so we headed home. We called Nikki to wish her a happy birthday; she had to spend the day by herself because Coz had to work. So she spent the day out shopping, she loves to shop just like Cheri. Then we walked over to see Dean and Betty as they arrived from Wisconsin this forenoon. It was good to see them and get caught up on what they did over the summer. When we got back home I settled in to watch the NASCAR Race that I had recorded. It sure was an exciting race. Cheri went over to see Grandma. It was a great day that we spent with friends, family and God.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Gay Oct-29-11
6:44 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
No walk this morning because it was raining. I couldn’t have Cheri out in it as she is so sweet she would have melted. On the other hand it might have done me some good and loosened up the old bones. Carol and Grandma stop over this forenoon. Carol was having trouble with her cell phone and Grandma told Carol I could fix it. Well I couldn’t get the minutes back that she lost, so they left and went to Wal-Mart to see if they could fix it. Late morning I went out and started polishing the motorcycle and Cheri continued with the fall cleaning. I think she is just about done because she now has the pictures of the kids out and set up, plus she has some honey do jobs for me to do. While I was working on the motorcycle Carol came by and said that Wal-Mart got her phone working again. At 3:30 pm I finally got the motorcycle done and ready to ride. I grilled up a couple of good looking steaks for supper, had them cooked to perfection but they were so tough to eat, what a disappointment that was. We did take an evening walk and got to talk to a few people along the way. The Wisconsin Badgers were playing Ohio State this evening and we watched the game. Cheri lasted until the half and then went to bed. It was midnight before the game was over and the Badgers lost another heart breaker.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Gay Oct-28-11
6:29 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was raining when I got up this morning so I figured we wouldn’t be walking this morning but by the time Cheri got up it had quit. So we headed out and stopped at the gym to try working out on some of the equipment there. Then when we left it was starting to rain again so we headed straight back to the 5th wheel. Cheri is still doing her fall cleaning and I made a list of things I need to get done this winter. I checked the mileage of our trip this summer and we put 7,007 miles on the truck and 3,735 miles on the motorcycle, it was a good trip and we had a lot of fun. The rain stopped around 10:00 am so we took a break and went over to Grandma’s for a visit and then down to the office to pay our rent for the winter. Then a trip to Lowe’s to pick up the bug killer to spray the lawn and a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up my medicine. After lunch Cheri continued with her cleaning and I started cleaning the motorcycle. It was really dirty so I got the pressure washer out and use it to clean the wheels and motor. I just got done with that and it started to rain again which was ok with me because I was pooped and ready to rest. Cheri was ready to quit also so we watched a little TV before supper. We tried to watch TV after supper but we both had a hard time staying awake so we called it a night and headed to bed.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Gay Oct-27-11
6:42 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were both tired from yesterday so we were a little slow getting around. We are trying to get back into our old winter routine of walking, so this morning was the first time we have done a morning walk in a couple of months, sure felt good and no trouble with my foot. Cheri continued with her fall cleaning and laundry and I worked outside. I got the bicycle out and aired up the tires; got the grill out, put some fuel stabilizer in the auxiliary tank on the truck as I won’t be using that tank this winter. I had to take a prescription over to Wal-Mart for my medicine; I had gotten the prescription last spring and put it away where I could find it (famous last words). Well I forgot where I put it and we both looked for about 45 minutes before I found it, was about ready to go and see if I could get a new one from the doctor. While we were at Wal-Mart we got groceries and other supplies we were out of. With everything we were doing we miss lunch so I fired up the grill and we had an early supper of turkey burgers, this is something new for us and they were very good. Now that we are settled for the winter we are going to eat better and get rid of the extra weight we put on this summer. This evening we walked down to visit with Bud and Joyce which was fun and had a lot of laughs catching up. Bud and I are going for a motorcycle ride next Tuesday or even before that if it doesn’t rain.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Gay Oct-26-11
7:27 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were up and at the service center by 8:00 am. They didn’t start working on the truck until about 10:00 am. It was fixed we were on the road by noon. If you read yesterday’s blog you know what the problem was. They hooked a computer to the truck and got the fuel pump working and pumped the fuel up to the filter, it was air locked and that is the reason for not being able to pump the fuel to the filter by the filter pump. Ok now the reason for the air lock was I run the truck out of fuel. The fuel gauge said that I had close to a half a tank of fuel left. So I was surprised that we were out of fuel. We arrived in our campground around 1:30 pm. I had a hard time getting the 5th wheel backed into our site as our neighbor had put in a concrete driveway and not much room to make the swing to get lined up to our patio, took me four time to get it right. Cheri started the fall cleaning and I started setting things up outside. We took a break and went over to see Grandma, she was happy to see us and she looks great. After a short visit we headed back to the 5th wheel to do some more work. At 5:00 pm Grandma took us out for supper at Chili’s. On the way back we picked up our mail and then Cheri and I went to see Mike and Pam’s new house as they had moved while we were traveling this summer. What a beautiful home, after the tour of the house we visited and played two games of Hand and Foot that the gals won. Some things never change. I have started a list of things I need to get done this winter and the truck fuel gauge is at the top of the list.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Gay Oct-25-11
7:06 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was another nice morning with a temp of 52 degrees. Cheri and I headed over to the club house at 7:15 am for the free breakfast of pancakes, boy were they good and so was the coffee. We didn’t have to unhook the truck last night so that was one less thing to do this morning. Long story short we were on the road by 8:10 am which was great because that would get us to our winter campground (Baker Acers) in Zephyrhills around 1:30 pm. Now this is where our great plan went bad. At 12:00 pm and about 6 miles north of Ocala FL the truck lost power. Wow I couldn’t believe the fuel filter was plugged again after only about 500 miles. Well we were so close to Florida that I didn’t buy another filter because I have extra ones at Zephyrhills (not a good place for them now). I got on the phone and call our Good Sam Emergency Service and they sent out a mechanic with a fuel filter. After it was change we couldn’t get any fuel pumped to the filter so he went and got 15 gallons of fuel, still no luck getting fuel to the filter. 3 hours and $529.00 later the mechanic is gone and I am on the phone again to Good Sam Emergency Service telling them our problem. An hour and half later our wrecker came to tow us in to get the truck fixed. The wrecker driver was really nice (sorry I don’t remember his name) he said that he is supposed to tow us to a place about 50 miles away, back in the boondocks. He said that was really strange because there is a GMC truck shop about 8 miles down the road. So we told him to take us there. It was 5:00 pm when we got there and everyone was so nice. The truck and 5th wheel are locked safe inside a fenced in compound. They will start working on it tomorrow forenoon. Now it is time for us to find a place to sleep tonight the truck shop said that their insurance wouldn’t allow us to spend the night in the 5th wheel. Well we will see what tomorrow brings. I have upload pictures click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Truck break down.
Gay Oct-24-11
6:15 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 52 degrees this morning some different after high 30’s the last three mornings. We only had 150 miles to go today so we took our time getting things ready to leave Darren and Jodi’s. I took Harper for a long walk before we left. By the time we got to the campground and got our 5th wheel out of storage and the motorcycle loaded and on the road it was 1:30 pm. The traffic was light and we made good time arriving at our campground in Unadilla GA at 3:30 pm. It is 76 degrees here in Unadilla, now that’s my kind of weather. Thanks Darren and Jodi for the wonderful time.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Gay Oct-23-11
7:12 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 39 degrees this morning but quickly warmed up enough for me to wear shorts to church. At 9:30 am I took Harper for a long walk. I think she is going to miss me as when they ask her if she wants to go outside she come to me to take her out. Also when she rings the bell to go out she comes to me. After church we went to Brown Bag Deli for lunch, good place for a sandwich and soup. Then we went to Lowe’s (another man’s store). Darren and Jodi want to put tile up on the back splash of their counter top and Jodi found one that really looks nice so they bought a couple of pieces to see how it would look in the kitchen. As soon as we got home we had to see how the tile would look and it is going to look great. Then we put up the vinyl lettering wall art that Cheri and Jodi picked up yesterday, looks nice. Then it was time to settle in and watch the Green Bay Packers play. I was pretty worried the first half, but the Packers came through for another win. I did miss the NASCAR Race, next week I will get back in the groove. It was another great day to spend with family. Tomorrow we will be leaving here and moving further south looking for warmer weather.
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| The kids and Grand Pets |
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Gay Oct-22-11
10:49 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 36 degrees here this morning with frost, now I know it’s time to move south. Darren and I took Harper to the dog park this morning. The closer we got to the park the more she cried as she knew we were getting close. She had a good time playing with all the other dogs. She has such a work out that she slept most of the day. The four of us went to Panera Bread for a late lunch. Then Darren and I dropped Jodi and Cheri at Hobby Lobby and then we went to Home Depot (The Mans Store). Darren needed to get some paint to for the flashing by the roof and some chalking for around the patio door. We got the flashing painted and got things ready to chalk the patio door tomorrow. The gals picked up some vinyl lettering wall art to put up in the dining room. That’s another job to tackle tomorrow. Darren and I took some time to play with our helicopters and enjoy the nice weather in the afternoon. We ordered pizza around 7pm and then settled in to watch the Wisconsin Badger football game. The game started out great but soon it all changed and Michigan took charge of the game. It was the first lost for the Badgers this season.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Gay Oct-21-11
7:59 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was 39 degrees this morning, windy and clear. Jodi is done with her classes and is now working from home; Darren is also working from home today. So I didn’t take Harper out for a walk until around 3:00 pm and that was because I needed to get out for a walk. We did the two mile walk and it was warmer but still need to have a heavier jacket on. Early this evening we went to see the movie Paranormal Activity 3. It did have some scary parts and Cheri let me know about it with grabbing my arm. This was the first paranormal movie we have seen, Darren said they were all about the same. The movie theater was in the mall so after the movie we walked the mall doing some shopping. Darren bought a new jacket and I got a new case for my cell phone. Cheri also got a new coin purse. We made a stop for yogurt at Tutti Frutti, it was ok but not as good as Yogli Mogli. Then back home for some cheese, crackers and summer sausage while watching some TV.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Gay Oct-20-11
9:03 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It is cold, windy, and cloudy today with a high of 57 degrees. I don’t think Harper likes the cold because she walks much faster and doesn’t take much time to sniff around. About 12:30 pm Cheri and I headed up to Georgia Mall as Cheri had an appointment to have her hair done. So I got to look around the mall, didn’t find anything I needed and when I got back to where Cheri was having her hair down she was just walking out of the shop, what great timing that was. This evening the four of us went out for supper at Fire House Subs, I sure do like their subs. I just checked and they have one about 15 miles from Zephyrhills where we spend our winters. After supper we headed to Nether World Haunted House. It has been in operation for 15 years and has been rated in the top ten best haunted houses in the United States, last year it was number one. While we were waiting to go through we talked to one of the people that worked there. He told us that it takes over a hundred people each night to do everything. He also said that when they close for the season that they take a month off and then start working on the house for the next year. There were two different tours, Raw Meat and Nightmares. We went through Raw Meat first and I must say that I got surprised a few times and Cheri screamed a few times. Then it was time to go through Nightmares which had a lot more things going on, more screams and surprises. The things that they did looked so real and the actors were made up to look like death warmed over. It was a great scary time.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Gay Oct-19-11
10:26 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We got a lot of rain during the night and it was still raining this morning. It finally quit around 10:00 am and now is very cool and windy. I think our high for the day was in the low 60’s but with the wind and no sun it was actually cold walking. Our activities today were no different than yesterday. Walking Harper and watching TV. We are enjoying our evenings with Darren and Jodi, wishing we had more time to spend with them during the day, but that thing called work interferes with that. We look forward to the weekend to have more time together.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Gay Oct-18-11
9:53 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It was a lazy day for us. The most excitement I had today was walking Harper. We did three different walks during the day. The first was about a mile, the second was over two miles and the last was cut short because it started raining. Boy when it started to rain Harper really picked up the paste as I found out she doesn’t like to get wet. The rest of the day was spent catching up on the TV shows we missed. We were going to grill out but the rain canceled that plan. Jody got out the George Forman and did some pork chops for supper along with fresh green beans and seasoned potatoes. Then we settled in for an evening of TV. It was still raining when we went to bed.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Gay Oct-17-11
7:18 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Jodi has a training class to attend for the next three days so Cheri and I are grand doggie sitting. Harper was very good; we thought that we might have a problem as she hasn’t been taken care of by anyone else. Darren left about 5:30 am and headed to the gym for his workout, when he got back we were able to spend a little time with him before he left for work. I rode the motorcycle to take back the helicopter back to Georgia Mall for a replacement, no problem with that. It was a nice day for a ride and wasn’t sure I wanted to come back. When I got back I took Harper out for a long walk which she enjoyed. Cheri did a lot of reading today and this afternoon we watch some of the TV shows we missed while camping in north Georgia. I did try to fly my helicopter but the wind was too strong and I almost lost it. This evening Darren and I both were able to fly our helicopters which were a lot of fun. Later this evening Darren and Jodi took us to Yogli Mogli’s for yogurt. They have about 14 different kinds and you server yourself with whatever kind you want or you can mix them all together, then you can put on all different types of toppings. Then you put it on the scale and pay 32 cents per ounce. It was really good; I think it was better than Ice cream.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Gay Oct-16-11
9:05 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
At 7:30 am we all headed to the dog park so Harper could do some running. The dog park is about 10 miles from Darren and Jodi’s. It is a really nice and a large area for the dogs to run. There were also a lot of tennis balls that Darren and Jodi could throw for Harper to chase. It was around 9:00 am when we got back home and time for some more coffee and breakfast. Then it was time to get ready for church which was at 11:00 am. After church we came back home and Darren started the grill for brats and hamburgers. Cheri also made a potato salad. Then it was time to settle in and watch the Packers play. They played pretty good against the Rams for a win. When there were about 5 minutes left in the game Darren wanted to go back to Georgia Mall to buy another helicopter. Of course Cheri and Jodi wanted to go also so they could do some more shopping, which they did while Darren and I were checking out the helicopters. Darren decided we needed the RF remotes so we could fly outside. Well long story short Darren bought two larger helicopters, one for himself and one for as a Christmas present for me. Thanks Darren. When we got home we opened the boxes and put the helicopters’ on the charger. It was going to take an hour for them to get charged up so we took Harper outside to the dog area across the street from Darren and Jodi’s. The dog area is not fenced in so we had to keep a close eye on Harper. After she got tired from running I was able to take a bunch of pictures of her for Darren and Jodi. After that it was time to for supper, left over brats and hamburgers. Now Darren and I are both excited because the helicopters are charged and ready to fly. So outside we go to be great helicopter pilots. We couldn’t both fly them at the same time because they were both on the same frequency. Darren did an excellent job of flying his. Now it’s my turn, well if something can go wrong it will happen to me. My helicopter would not start up, so I tried using Darren’s remote and still nothing. So we gave up and when back to the house. When we got back inside Darren took mine and turned it on and smoke started coming out of it (Black Hawk Down again). Tomorrow I will make a trip back to Georgia Mall to get a replacement.
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| Worried dedicated Packer fans |
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| Harper |
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Gay Oct-15-11
9:09 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
At 7:30 am this morning the four of us along with Harper were on the road heading for the walking trails near Darren and Jodi’s. We did a three mile walk which was through the woods and along a stream which was very nice. When we got back to Darren and Jodi’s it was time for breakfast and coffee. Darren and I went outside to fly the helicopters that I bought at the flea market in Pigeon Forge. We had a hard time flying them outside and couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Well I crashed mine to the point that it was no longer working (Black Hawk Down). After showers and getting ready it was time to head for the Georgia Mall for some shopping. Jodi wanted to get some new shoes. Cheri and I didn’t need anything (we thought) but both of us bought new shoes. We eat lunch at the Mall and some more shopping at Old Navy. Then Darren and I saw a guy selling the helicopters in the Mall. So we stopped to ask him some questions on why ours didn’t work very well. We learned that they can’t fly them outside in the sun light because the control is inferred and the sun interferes with the inferred control. Darren flew one there in the Mall and when we got home Darren mastered his and is doing a good job of flying it in the house. Jodi fixed us a delicious supper and then we settled in for some TV. It was another great day to spend with family.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Gay Oct-14-11
11:01 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We only had 86 miles to travel today so we said we wouldn’t leave until around 11:00 am. The trip was uneventful until there was a cooler lying in the road in our lane and the cars wouldn’t let me move over so I hit cooler with the left front corner of the truck. I looked in the mirror and there was pieces flying in every direction. When we got to the campground I checked the truck and the only damage was one of the covers from the hubcap was missing. We got the motorcycle unloaded and the 5th wheel put in storage for the next week or so. Cheri drove the truck and I rode the motorcycle over to Darren and Jodi’s which about ten miles from the campground. Jodi works from home so she met us as soon as we drove in. Darren also gets to work from home on Fridays. He had gone to take Harper (their dog) to Pet mart for a bath. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting. Later Cheri and I went with Darren to pick up Harper. She was really excited to see us. Jodi wasn’t able to go with us because she had to be on a conference call. She works for a company that is on the west coast and make it hard for work because of the time difference. This evening we went out to eat at Fire House Subs. The subs Cheri and had where excellent and we will go back there again before we leave Atlanta. We stopped on the way home and Jodi bought some ice cream so when we got home we had ice cream and watched a movie.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Gay Oct-13-11
4:40 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It wasn’t a very nice day as we got rain on and off all day, so it was another inside day. We have watched all the shows we had recorded. We played Hand and Foot and Cheri was the big winner as I never had a chance. I am tired of reading and just not happy with this campground so we have decided to leave tomorrow and move to Duluth (near Atlanta) where we can spend time with our son and daughter in law. We talked to Darren and Jodi and they said that it was ok for us to come a few days early as they didn’t have any plans. We will put our 5th wheel in storage and stay with Darren and Jodi. I was out checking the 5th wheel this afternoon and since we were at the factory to have our slides fixed in May, we still are having problems with them going in and out and now have discovered that the floors in the slides are rotting and I think that was part of the problem when we were at the factory and didn’t want to take care of it. So now I will take pictures and send a letter to see what the next step is to have the floors fixed.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Gay Oct-12-11
6:46 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
The rain finally quit shortly after we went to bed. I woke up at 2:30 am with pain in my back near my kidney. It was another kidney stone, suffered through the pain and was over by 5:30 am. So that met not much sleep for the night. Today my back is pretty sore and didn’t feel like doing anything. It was also a gloomy day with no sun and a temp in the low 60’s. We spent the day reading, watching shows we had recorded, and playing two games of Hand and Foot, we each won a game. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Gay Oct-11-11
8:06 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It rained all night, a nice gentle rain and was still raining this morning. Our plan was to leave Pigeon forge at 11:00 am as we only had 108 miles to go and we can’t check in to our next campground until after 2:00 pm. Well you know how good plans get changed. It stopped raining at 8:00 am and we decided to get the 5th wheel closed up and the motorcycle loaded before it started to rain again. Just as I finished loading the motorcycle it started rain again. So we were on the road by 9:15 am. We took our time going up over the mountain and Cheri took a lot of pictures of the fall colors, in fact she took 279 pictures. We decided that we would stop at a Wal-Mart and do some shopping to kill time before we could get into our campground. Plans changed again. About 11:30 am while we were driving the truck lost power which means the fuel filter needs to be changed. Just as we lost power there was a pull off along the highway that we pulled into. Yes it is still raining, from the time we left Pigeon Forge it was raining or a heavy mist coming down. We decided to have an early lunch and I told Cheri that after lunch I was going to change the fuel filter. When I went outside it was raining much harder. So we sat in the truck for a few minutes and it stopped raining. So I went to work on change the fuel filter. I got done and all the tools put away and it stated to rain again. Well we didn’t have to stop at a Wal-Mart as I used the extra time changing the fuel filter. It was 2:05 pm when we pulled into our campground where we will spend a week. It isn’t a very nice campground. We are stuck on top of a mountain with straight up and down roads to get to and from our site. We are in the trees, so no satellite TV. I thought that’s ok as we are on top of the mountain so we can get TV from our antenna. Nope, not one station to be found. Oh and we only have one bar of service on our cell phones, haven’t tied them to see if they will work. Oh one more thing we had to set up in the rain. So you wonder why we are staying a week. We booked the campground though our Coast to Coast membership and probably would lose our money if we didn’t stay. I think it is God’s plan for us to be here and spend some quiet time with him which is a good thing.
I have uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Pigeon Forge to Lakemont.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Gay Oct-10-11
6:30 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
It has been a very quiet day. I worked outside getting things ready to leave here tomorrow. Cheri is working inside getting her part ready to go. We have done everything we have wanted to do while we are here and decided not to fight the traffic and just stay home. This afternoon I asked Cheri if she wanted to beat me at a game of Hand and Foot and she said sure with a big grin. Will I guess she didn’t really want to win because I won the game. I told her now I have something to put in the blog. She said that is the only reason you wanted to play was so you would have something to write in the blog. As you can see she was right. Tonight is Dancing with the Stars. I am pretty much fed up with the show as they aren’t voting off the people that need to be voted off. I am sure Cheri will want me to watch it with her. Maybe I can sneak into the bedroom and watch Monday night football. It started to rain around 7:30 pm and was still raining when we went to bed. We had perfect weather while we have been in Pigeon Forge the last two weeks.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Gay Oct-9-11
7:18 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We left for church at 9:00 am and the traffic was already backed up along the route we had to take (time to move south). We really like the church here in Sevierville and the message today was another great lesson for us. After church we headed for Wal-Mart to get some groceries. Then a stop at Big Daddy’s Pizza, we had pizza here last Sunday and it was so good that we wanted to go again. It was near 1:00 pm when we got back to the 5th wheel. Cheri did a load of laundry and I did a couple of chores outside. Then it was time to settle in for the afternoon, for me it was the NASCAR Race and Cheri with her book. This evening it was football, watching the Green Bay Packers play Atlanta. The way the Packers played the first half of the game I was sure they were going to get beat. But the second half was all about the Packers as they won 25 to 14. It was a very nice fall day, partly sunny and a high of 74 degrees. The fall colors are really showing up on the mountains now.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Gay Oct-8-11
6:45 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We rested this morning and didn’t venture out until after lunch. Once we got on the road we wished we would have stayed home. The traffic was terrible, traffic was backed up from stop and go light to stop and go light. The good part we only had 6 miles to go to get to the Muscle Car Museum. The 50’s, 60’s, 70’s were a unique time in the American automobile industry, the golden era of the muscle car. This museum had over 90 of them. After our visit to the museum we only had a couple of blocks of bad traffic and then we were headed out into the country side for our motorcycle ride. Cheri was able to take a few pictures on our 57 mile ride. About half of it was on roads we have been on before. We did make one stop for Cheri so she could have her shopping fix for the day. I figured that was the least I could do as she looked at all the cars with me. Our stop was at a country store that had just about anything a person could want. There wasn’t anything for Cheri as she left the store with only me (she is such a good shopper). We were back home around 5:00 pm. We settled in and had a sandwich for supper and then an evening of TV. We haven’t watched much TV in the last two weeks and have a lot of shows to get caught up on. It was another wonderful day that God made for us. We are so blessed.
I have uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Muscle Car museum.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Cheri Oct-7-11
7:09 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We were ready to go by 10am this morning. Our destination was The Great Smokies Flea Market. This is listed in the “Top 10” Flea Markets in the USA! They have 1000 rotating indoor/outdoor vendors. It is 15 miles north of Pigeon Forge.
We wandered through all the vendors. Gay bought a remote control helicopter. It’s a small one he can fly in the 5th wheel. He should have fun with it as long as he doesn’t have it follow me around!
We took some back roads as we left the flea market and checked out the Douglas Dam just off of Rte 139. We got some nice pictures there around Douglas Lake. The Lake is very low on water and you can see this from the pictures. I would guess it is down about 20 to 25 feet.
We stopped further up the road in the little town of Dandridge. Historic Dandridge bears the distinction of being the only town in the U.S. named after Martha Dandridge Washington, wife of our first president, George Washington and is the second oldest town in Tennessee.
The town was settled in 1783. You can take a walking tour and enjoy its century old homes, inns and taverns. Many of them are privately owned, so we could not tour them. We just checked them out from afar.
We walked through the Revolutionary War graveyard there. We checked out the gravestones marking the final resting places of many Revolutionary War casualties.
We also checked out a few shops in the area before heading out of town.
We continued through the countryside to Chestnut Hill, the home of Bush Baked Beans. When we entered the Visitors Center we were escorted to the movie theater where we learned about Bush Brothers & Company’s 100 year old canning history and how Bush became the NUMBER ONE name in beans. They do not take people through the factory on tours but do show people a movie on the process the beans go through to be canned. It was all quite interesting.
We went through the museum of exhibits about the Bush’s story and then had our picture taken with Duke, the dog. He didn’t give us any of the secret receipts! We checked out their Old-fashioned General Store. It was neat.
They also have a café there, but it was only opened until 4pm and we were too late to take advantage of it.
We finally got back home about 5:30pm. It was a wonderful, full day. We did 76 miles.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Dandridge and Bush Beans
Friday, October 7, 2011
Cheri Oct-6-11
8:58 AM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Gay did a little cleaning on the bike this morning and then grilled some pork chops for lunch. A little later we hopped on the bike and went downtown to the Three Bears General Store.
They had a little bit of everything there—even 5 black Himalayan bears out back in their enclosure we could check out. It was pretty sad; there were no trees or grass, just cement with water they could get into if they wanted. At certain times of the day they allowed people to feed them from the walkway above the pen. We watched them for a bit, whenever they wanted to go down the stairs, they backed themselves down—odd! They had an extra tuff of hair around their necks.
We had a little time to kill, so we went back to the 5th wheel and by 3:30pm we were ready to head to Cades Cove. It’s located in the western corner of the Great Smoky Mountains Natural Park. This is a 4,000 acre valley that is a natural paradise and a historical museum. You can drive the 11 mile one-way loop around the cove. Cades Cove was for centuries a hunting ground for the Cherokee Indians. A treaty in 1819 opened the valley to settlement. By 1850 there were 132 families farming in the flat land.
Today Cades Cove is home of one of the most complete collections of historic structures in Southern Appalachia. There are a number of cabins with the out building and a church you can check out. We visited this site last year and checked out all of these places. Our plan for today was to just ride through and check out the wild life.
We stopped in at the Visitors Center before starting the loop. One of the workers there told us evening was a good time to drive the loop. He even said they could not open the gates on time this morning because there was a bear right there by the gate.
We began the loop at 5pm. Just as we started, we spotted a group of wild turkeys. Right away the traffic began to back up. We were bumper to bumper the whole way through the park. We got a glimpse of a bear (we think) and saw 3 big bucks along with a number of doe.
We had to keep pulling over because the bike would get real hot from going to slow. We pulled into the half way mark to take a break and Gay got some pictures of the old grist mill.
The 11 mile loop took 2 ½ hours! It was not a fun ride.
The ride home was in the dark, the temperature had dropped and we needed to stop and put on extra clothes to keep warm. We arrived home at 8:30. We had put on 78 miles today.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Three Bears and Cades Cove.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Cheri Oct-5-11
5:08 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Our plans today are to do the Arts & Crafts community 8 Mile Loop Road.
The first cluster of shops had a number of Galleries. The pictures were just beautiful. They were all at different locations throughout the Smoky Mountains. There were lots of Jewelry and Glass Shops, Pottery and Country Crafts Shops.
Our second group of shops was The Covered Bridge Complex. They were condos with the bottom floors made into shops. There was a Candle Shop, Misty Mountain Soap Shop, a Glass Studio, Pottery Shop and the one fascinated us the most was the Glass Blower Shop. We stood and watched him sculpt an angel out of glass rods and then blow a tube into a ball that will be made into a Christmas ornament. We saw a few items we would of liked to have, but our travels are to ruff for such delicate pieces.
We made our way to Sevierville and found another quilt shop. I looked around and did find a few fat quarters that I added to my stash.
It was way pass lunch time so we stopped in Pigeon Forge at Happy Days for lunch/dinner.
We were back home by 3:30pm. We only did 40 miles today. The weather is beautiful. It got up to 79 degrees today.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Craft Run.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Cheir Oct-4-11
10:07 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We left the 5th wheel around 10:30am heading for the Tail of the Dragon Highway. There are 318 curves in an 11 mile stretch of this highway. It is one of the premiere motorcycle & sports car roads in the country. This road is not for the weak at heart and can be quite an adventure. People are killed each year on this road. In 2009 they reduced the speed once again from 40 mph down to 30mph. They run radar on this highway. The Dragon is located on US 129 crossing the Tennessee/North Carolina state line.
The weather was perfect for bike riding, around 74 degrees. We stopped at some of the scenic areas for pictures before reaching the start of the Dragon Tail. The trees are turning a little more. The reds are starting to show.
I tried to get lots of pictures as we took the curves. Gay said this time it was more fun than when we road it on the Gold Wing some 20 plus years ago. Traffic wasn’t too bad; for the most part we were traveling by ourselves.
We reached the end of the tail at Deals Gap around 1:30pm and grabbed some lunch at the café and Gay purchased a Dragon Tail T-shirt at their store.
We decided to do the reverse ride back up the Dragon’s Tail road instead of going to Cherokee and up over the mountain. Gay liked the reverse trip the best. It was a fun ride.
We checked out a few shops on the way back and even stopped at a farm market. The pumpkins were huge there. The big ones were $40-$45. The mums were beautiful.
We were back home by 5pm and had put on 112 miles today.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Tail of the Dragon
Monday, October 3, 2011
Cheri Oct-3-11
6:20 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We slept in until 7am this morning. It was 42 degrees this morning and supposed to get up to 70 degrees.
By noon it was up to 65 degrees, so we ventured out on the bike. We took the back roads to try and get pictures of old barns. There are lots of them around here. We thought the back roads would be free of traffic. Boy, were we wrong.
We did a 62 mile loop and got quite a few pictures. As long as we were going slowly the cool temperatures were tolerable.
We did find an old covered bridge and we were able to stop and get pictures of it.
We were back at the 5th wheel by 3pm. We had chicken on the grill for supper and tried to catch up on some of our recorded shows.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Old Barn run.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Cheri Oct-2-11
7:32 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
Gay said church was at 8am this morning, so I was up very early to get ready. He let me know at 6am that he read the information wrong on the church service time. It was really 9:30am. (Gay here, I probably should be in the dog house but Cheri was good about it. Good thing we went to the quilt shops yesterday).
Since we were up early and ready to go, we went to Mel’s Dinner for breakfast and then back to the 5th wheel until time to leave for church.
We’d been to this church last year when we were here. The minister had a great message and all the people greeted us and were so nice.
After church we headed for Townsend, it was about 45 minutes away. They were having a wood carving exhibit there and we wanted to check that all out.
The carved pieces on display were exquisite, such detail.
The Heritage Center also has a Historic Village to tour. There was an 1897 cabin, the Montvale Station Stagecoach stop, smokehouse, blacksmith shop, sawmill, wheelwright shop, Wilders Chapel, corn crib, cantilever barns, and an authentic underground still. It was a neat collection of old buildings.
About 1:30pm we headed back towards Pigeon Forge. I got Gay to stop at a couple of shops on the way back. One had a couple of guys doing some carving with his chain saws.
This is Sunday, pizza day, so we decided to try Big Daddy’s Wood Fired-Brick Oven Pizzeria. The pizza was very good.
We were back home by 3pm, just in time for Gay’s stock car races. It was perfect timing and another perfect day.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Cheri Oct-1-11
8:17 PM |
Posted by
Sharp's Travels
We hustled around this morning to make it to the theater by 9am. We were going to see the Blackwood’s morning breakfast show.
We were seated down front at a table with a couple from Mississippi. We enjoyed visiting and having breakfast with them.
Promptly at 10am, the show started.
The original Blackwood group began in 1899, when 12 brothers and sisters joined their musical talents of banjos, mandolins, guitars and fiddles and began entertaining friends and neighbors around Mississippi. That was 110 years ago. RW Blackwood Jr and his wife Donna continued that family tradition.
RW & Donna have been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and RW was presented the Living Legend Award. They sing country and Gospel music and have a wonderful group of singers that perform with them.
The show also had a comedy skit and a puppet master. The music and entertainment was great. What a nice way to spend a Saturday morning.
We were supposed to be riding the bike today, but with last night’s temperature down to 45 degrees and today’s high only 54 degrees, it was a truck day!
Gay had printed off directions to 2 quilt shops—so off we went.
The first one was called The Cherry Pot in Sevierville. It was a nice little shop. I picked up most of the material I needed for the American Flay pattern I want to do.
The next shop, Holloway’s Country Home Quilts, was a log cabin filled to the brim with material. We’ve been here before and yes I did pick up a few more projects there. I’m trying to keep all these projects separated so I know what material goes to what project. Hopefully I will get it right.
We left there and went to an apple orchard about 2 miles away. We picked up some mackintosh apples and some apple/cherry cider. We also got a hot little apple pie. It was good.
The trip out through the country roads to Holloway’s quilt shop was neat. There were lots of old barns. We’ll definitely be going back over these roads with the bike so we can get some pictures.
We made a full day of it again. We didn’t get back until 5pm. Gay put steaks on the grill and we turned the fireplace on to snuggle in and warm up a bit.
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day click on this link https://picasaweb.google.com/sharpstravels then click on album: Blackwood show and Quilt run
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