Tennessee Travels

Our trips are getting shorter, but we're still able to get on the road and scratch that "hitch itch".

We have missionary friends who have an orphanage in the mountains near Chiang Mai, Thailand.  When we
learned they were coming to the States for a visit, we made arrangements to meet them in Tennessee.  We checked the Passport America and Resort Parks International campground books, plotted our course, and
made the appropriate reservations.

On March 31st, we headed out - lists made and checked, RV loaded and we were excited to be on the road again.  Our first stop was at Southern Trails RV Resort in Unadilla, GA.  Gene had wifi for his tablet, so
he was delighted.  Our next day's travels took us to Hidden Cove in Arley, AL.  This was a beautiful campground on Smith Lake - nice and quiet and very clean bathhouse - my two major requirements.  Along
the way we saw beautiful redbud and dogwood trees in full bloom and purple wisteria climbing into trees.

The trees had new leaves in what I call "spring green" - a sign of new life, renewal and hope.  The pine trees,
with their darker green makes me think of constancy and stability.  It was a beautiful drive to our destination at Natchez Trace Wilderness Preserve in Hohenwald, TN.

Our friends, Bobby and Namatha and their teenage children C.J. and Cece arrived at Natchez Trace on Sunday afternoon and settled into their cabin.  It was a wonderful spacious area to visit and prepare our meals.  We had not seen them since C.J. was 4 months old, but we're able to stay in touch via Facebook.
It was a wonderful time of sharing how great and faithful is our Heavenly Father. All too soon it was time to say good-bye.  They left Tuesday morning for Arkansas and we left Wednesday morning heading south.

We traveled through Tennessee most of the day.  Gene was beginning to think he was in a time warp and we'd be in Tennessee forever.  We drove over the Cumberland Mountains and stopped at the TVA Ocoee
Dam to take pictures and stretch our legs,  then finally entered North Carolina and Georgia.

We've been to Yonah Mountain Campground in Cleveland, GA twice before and really like it there, so that was our stopping place for Wednesday night.  After a peaceful night, complete with rain pattering on the roof, we were ready to go again.  Across the street from the campground is Mt. Yonah Book Exchange.  No way could we pass that up!  I found six Rosamunde Pilcher paperback books that I did not yet have.  She sets her stories in England, Cornwall, Scotland, etc and has a wonderful way of describing people, places and scenery.  Our next stop was the new Babyland General Hospital (home of Cabbage Patch Kids) in Cleveland.   Pictures are allowed and we took plenty.  It's a lot less expensive than adopting a doll!

We joined Gene's high school friend, Frank Anderson, for lunch at Sweet Baby Jane's Buffett in Lawrenceville, GA.  Delicious fried chicken and Southern cooked veggies filled us up.   I highly recommend this place!  We had a long chit-chat while Gene's meal digested (so he wouldn't fall asleep while driving) and then were on the road to Dublin, GA where we spent the night at Honeysuckle Farm RV Park.

Friday morning we woke up in "go mode" and we were on the road early.  At Kingsland, GA, we stopped
to visit with Gene's 99 year old step-mom.  She is still very alert and active - had hung her sheets out on the  clothesline before we arrived!  It was good to see her doing so well.  We left there and headed for home, making one stop for ice cream.  We had enough energy left to unload the RV, but it always takes a few days to get everything put away. 

It was a wonderful, albeit short, trip and we so enjoyed being with our friends.

Until next time, safe travels and blessings to all.