Gone To The Park Side

“Franklin’s Tower”

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Monica

Franklin, North Carolina July 1, 2021 – September 5, 2023

The first stop we made on our travels three years ago was Franklin, North Carolina. So, when we were looking for a place to stay this summer so Steve could easily fly down to see his father, we decided to stay here again. We were pleased to find that many of the friends we met three years ago were here to welcome us.

The area around Franklin is beautiful. The drive in is beautiful. We traveled and took in the sights on the Blue Ridge Parkway – which was also beautiful.

More views:

The last time we were here, we hiked and viewed several water falls. This time we tried to find different hikes and different waterfalls. I am glad to say that we were successful. We hiked in the Tallulah Gorge State Park to see the falls. This hike included over 1000 stair steps. It was horrible, but the waterfall was pretty. We also hiked at Deep Creek Trail in the Smokey Mountains National Park several times. I have to admit, this hike was one of the most beautiful that we have ever seen. Most of the trail bordered on a creek and included three different waterfalls.

We also went white water river rafting on the Nantahala. I took my mother on this trip before she passed away – it was her last bucket list item. The trip this time was fun although the people in our raft did not want to get wet or go over any rapids. Why they were on the trip is beyond me – and they fell into the raft going over the largest rapid and ruined the picture for the whole raft.

Rafting with my mother – she is in between me and Steve on the right side. Drew (our friend) is the guide

The weather in Franklin was fabulous and we spent a great deal of time at the pool and visiting with the friends we met three years ago. The drink I concocted when we got on the road was a big hit. It is sort of a combination between and Old Fashion and the Keeneland Breeze (If you want the recipe, just let me know!). I call it “The Monica” and as I told Heather – it is sweeping the nation!

Happy hour at the park (that is Ron standing – since there are 2, he is called big Ron)

Happy hour at the park (from back to front – Ron, Steve, Monique & Heather)

Three years ago we tasted bourbon with Heather and Ron (Big Ron) and we decided to taste bourbon again. Ron has an excellent selection.

We did not venture out to any new breweries during our stay, but we did stop by
Currahee Brewing Company one Sunday to enjoy the beer and live music. It was fun. We also went to Slanted Window Tasting Station for some local wine and live music.

One of the highlights of our stay in Franklin was catching up with Rene and Tom Willoughby, who we knew from Panama City. They live in Blairsville, Georgia. We met them for lunch at the Black Dog Pub in Hayesville, and then we also met them for lunch at the Crane Creek Vineyards in Young Harris, Georgia. The lunch at the vineyard restaurant was fantastic and the views from the winery were wonderful. We had lots of fun hanging out with Rene and Tom and hope to see them again soon.

Lunch libations at Crane Creek Vineyards

Now we are headed down the road to Asheville.

“Franklin’s Tower” by The Grateful Dead

Posted in 2023, Georgia, North Carolina | Comments Off

“My Old School”

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Monica

Columbia, Tennessee June 21 – June 26
Sevierville, Tennessee June 26 – July 1

This stop included a visit with Steve’s roommate from Johns Hopkins, Srikar Reddy. Srikar’s wife, Madhavi, planned our activities, made reservations, and overall ensured we had a good time.

The first day, we met Srikar and Madhavi for dinner at a local restaurant in Columbia – Puckett’s Restaurant. A local band played and they were pretty good.

Steve and I ventured off one day on our own to visit a presidential museum. I know – are there any left that we have not visited? The museum for James Knox Polk is located in Columbia, which he considered his home town. Often referred to as the “dark horse” President, James K. Polk was the last of the Jacksonians to sit in the White House, and the last strong President until the Civil War. The museum is housed in the home originally owned by the president’s parents. Most of the furnishings art and other collectables descended directly through the Polk family and includes many objects owned and used by James and Sarah Polk personally. I enjoyed our tour and the museum was really well done.

The following are right to left top to bottom: James Polk, James Polk, Sarah Childress Polk (his wife) and Jane Knox Polk (his mother).

One night we had drinks and dinner at Srikar and Madhavi’s home. Their home was spectacular and Srikar made pizza on the deck. The company was the best part.

We visited a couple of breweries in town. Neither was anything special. We visited Bad Idea Brewing Company and Asgard Brewing Co. On our short stop in Sevierville, we went to Gatlinburg Brewing Company, which had really good beer.

Madhavi planned a day trip to taste Tennessee whiskey. The definition of Tennessee whiskey is a spirit manufactured in Tennessee; filtered through maple charcoal prior to aging, made from grain that consists of at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak barrels. We, of course, visited the Jack Daniels Distillery. The tour was great and the grounds were beautiful. I did not like the whiskey.

We also tasted Tennessee whiskey at Nearest Green Distillery. This is a great story. Nearest Green (Uncle Nearest) was a slave owned by a local preacher who distilled spirits. Nearest was his distiller and trained a young boy named Jack. Yes – that Jack. Nearest never really received recognition. A few years ago, Fawn Weaver (she is a writer) read about the story and began researching the history and all of the details of the story of Uncle Nearest. Fortified with that information, she decided to open a distillery and the rest – as they say – is history. The tour was really good, the whiskey was delicious, and the restaurant was fantastic. Overall this was a definite highlight.

Our tour guide at Nearest Green Distillery

Humble Baron restaurant at Earnest Green Distillery

Madhavi kept us busy and on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we traveled to Arrington Vineyards and enjoyed a food and wine pairing. It was lovely. Afterwards we sat on the grounds and shared some wine with good friends. It was a nice ending to our visit with the Reddy’s.

Madhavi, Srikar, Steve and me at our tasting

We left Columbia and made a short stop in Sevierville, Tennessee, where we celebrated Steve’s birthday and then on to Franklin, North Carolina.

“My Old School” by Steely Dan. Steve picked this song because this stop on our journey focused around his friend from school — and it is a great song.

Posted in 2023, Tennessee | Comments Off

“What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been”

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Monica

I can’t believe we have been on the road for three years. (June 30, 2020 – June 30, 2023) We still enjoy traveling. We had a detour this year for a family emergency (Rest in Peace Myra Applebaum), but hope to get back on schedule next year.

So to recap our third year, we traveled 6,240 miles, 13 states, 36 cities, 25 breweries, 13 wineries, 8 distilleries, 7 bike trails, 8 battlefields/forts, 9 presidential museums, 13 other museums, 4 concerts, 5 sporting events, and 23 friends. Oh – and we also saw 2 gators. Here are a few highlights.

We visited many beautiful places this year, but we had our favorites. Steve and I both loved Bar Harbor, Maine. You cannot beat Acadia National Park for the hiking, the views, the carriage trails and the whales.

We went to so many museums, it was hard to narrow down our list. Our favorites were the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis,

Side view of the museum that features the Lorraine Motel

the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour in Ticonderoga, New York,

The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York,

and The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

Steve in front of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

We visited several presidential libraries and museums. Our two favorites were Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and William J. Clinton Library and Museum.

William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum

We always visit local forts and battlefields. My favorite fort was Fort William Henry in Lake George, New York because our guide was fabulous and super funny. Fort Niagara was much larger with better views, and this was Steve’s favorite.

We visited some fabulous wineries, distilleries and breweries. Our favorite winery was Ryan William Vineyards in the Finger Lakes because the wine was pretty good, and views were spectacular. We absolutely loved Nearest Greene Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee. The whiskey (Tennessee whiskey not bourbon) was very tasty and story about Nearest Greene was even better. Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky was a close second because it was beautiful and had lots of bourbon.

This year we were rewarded with a couple of the most beautiful scenes we have witnessed on our travels. We loved Mount Washington (the highest peak in New England) and Niagara Falls. Both were fantastic!

We rode on several bike trails this year. Besides the carriage trails in Maine, we also rode our bikes on a very pretty trail in Arkansas called the Razorback Greenway. It was a highlight.

We attended several concerts along the road (I used words from the song “The Load Out”- don’t shoot me – I thought it was appropriate), but our favorite was definitely Jackson Browne at the Grand Ole Opry. He played for three hours and was great!

A low light was the time in Elkhart, Indiana for the upgrades to the camper because it snowed every day. It was sooooooooo ccccccccccold!

Of course our travels would not be complete without sampling the local food. We had lobster in Maine, Barbeque in Memphis, a bacon flight in Auburn and a wonderful brunch at Louis Bossi’s for Easter in Fort Lauderdale.

The best part of our travels this year were the friends we saw along the way and here are few memories.

And now we are on to the next year of our adventure!

“What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been” by the Grateful Dead

Posted in 2022, 2023, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, Vermont | Comments Off

“Doctor My Eyes”

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Monica

Nashville, Tennessee June 14 – June 21, 2023

While Nashville is almost exclusively about music, Steve and I did find other things to do while in Music City.

One of our favorite things to do while traveling – you guessed it – a presidential museum. We went to the Hermitage which was the home of Andrew Jackson. We toured the grounds and the home. You were not allowed to take pictures in the home (What is up with that?). The museum was small but pretty good.

Andrew Jackson’s grave on the grounds of the Hermitage

Cemetery of other Jackson family members on the grounds of the Hermitage

Museum film that included Jon Meacham (Author of American Lion)

Portrait of Andrew Jackson at the museum

Another favorite thing we like to do while traveling – yes – a battlefield. We took a day trip to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to Stones River Battlefield. The North narrowly obtained a victory at Stones River to give them control of central Tennessee. The museum was small but informative. I liked the short hikes around the site to view the battlefield.

Cemetery at Stones River National Battlefield

We also visited the Parthenon. This is a pretty impressive building and Centennial Park that surrounds the Parthenon is lovely. I was a little underwhelmed by the statue of Athena and the museum inside.

Now on to the music!

We went to the Nashville Palace which had music everyday beginning at 11:00. We saw music here several times. Most musicians here played a combination of cover songs and originals, which I liked. Some musicians were great and some were not so great.

We also went down to Broadway, which contains several blocks of restaurants and bars. The latest trend is for country music stars to open a restaurant and bar on this street. We went to several including Blake Shelton’s place called Ole Red and Luke Bryan’s. On Broadway, most of the musicians played covers, but they were pretty good.

Friends in Low Places (coming soon) – Garth Brooks

Steve having a cold Bud Light on Broadway (at Ole Red)

Jackson Browne played at the Grand Ole Opry while we were in town. Our seats were not the greatest because we didn’t even think about the Opry when looking for concerts, but we had a great time. Jackson Browne played for three hours and he was awesome. This was definitely the highlight of our stay in Nashville. he even played by favorite song – “Doctor my Eyes”.

We are headed south of Nashville to Columbia Tennessee to visit Srikar Reddy (Steve’s roommate from Hopkins).

“Doctor my Eyes” by Jackson Browne.

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“Walking in Memphis”

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Monica

Memphis, Tennessee June 8 – June 14, 2023

I was pretty excited to visit Memphis to see one of my best friends from high school, Sheila Smith. She has been living in this area for a long time and was an excellent host. She took us to see the sights and eat barbeque.

We strolled through Beale street and stopped in a couple of bars.

One of Sheila’s favorites on Beale Street

Sheila invited us over for dinner at her place (which was fantastic) and we had a great time catching up.

You cannot visit Memphis without Barbeque and Sheila took us to the Blues Café right on Beale Street. It was exceptionally delicious. Steve and I also tried barbeque at the famous Central Barbeque in downtown Memphis. It was pretty tasty as well.

One of the highlights of our stop in Memphis was Sun Studio (recommended by Sheila). It was awesome. Sun Studio is the “Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (their words not mine) which touts that they discovered musical legends like BB King, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. The tour was great and given by one of the studio musicians. Sun Studio is still a functioning studio.

Photo at Sun Studio with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins

While in Memphis we visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. This museum was huge. The museum explores the history of the civil rights movement from slavery through today using interactive displays, short films, models and life size exhibits. You also tour Martin Luther King, Jr.’s room at the Lorraine Motel. This was a fantastic museum.

National Civil Right Museum (Rosa Parks)

We had a good time in Memphis, mostly because I was able to spend time with Sheila.
Hopefully, we will see each other again very soon.

Next stop Nashville, Tennessee!

“Walking in Memphis” by Mark Cohn

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“Arkansas”

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Monica

Fort Smith, Arkansas May 26 – May 30, 2023
Eureka Springs, Arkansas June 5 – June 8, 2023

Stop number three on or Arkansas tour was Fort Smith. The main attraction was the Fort Smith National Historic Site. Fort Smith was active for 80 years (beginning in 1875) and housed the federal district court with jurisdiction over Arkansas and the Indian Territory. The Fort is famous because John Wayne (True Grit) and Clint Eastwood (Hang Em High) were based on stories that arose from this Fort. It is the home of the hanging judge (86 people were hung at Fort Smith) and last resort of law an order before heading west.

Movie posters from movies based upon the fort and characters passing through the fort.

Portrait of Judge Parker (the hanging judge)

After Fort Smith we went to Fayetteville (see previous post “Southern Nights”) So, the fifth and final stop on our Arkansas tour was Eureka Springs. The town is touted as a new age hippy town. I did not see a single hippy while I was there. The town was cute and we took a trolley tour to view the Victorian homes that are on the national historic registry. We enjoyed the rv park in Eureka Springs because of the wonderful view.

We moved pretty quickly through Arkansas. Overall, Ziva had a pretty good time, but she did not get to settle down anywhere. During our travels, she found a squirrel that she tried to catch (no luck – the squirrel was to fast) and a bird (no luck – she was inside) and she also celebrated her birthday. She turned 11.

Next stop is Memphis, Tennessee to see my good friend Sheila.

“Arkansas” by Glen Campbell. Glen Campbell grew up in Billstown, Arkansas a small town near Hope, Arkansas.

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“Southern Nights”

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Monica

Fayetteville, Arkansas May 30 – June 5, 2023

The fourth stop on our Arkansas tour was Fayetteville. We love botanical gardens so we visited the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens (I have no idea why the name is “Cape Fear”). The botanical garden was pretty small. Unfortunately we selected the day of the “little sprouts” program, so the place was mobbed with children.

We also stopped into a very small museum that was the home of Bill and Hillary Clinton when they were first married. It was a small museum, but certainly not the smallest presidential museum we have seen (that honor still goes to Millard Fillmore).

One of the reasons we were excited about Fayetteville was the 45 mile long Razorback Greenway that begins south of Fayetteville and extends north through Bentonville. It was a very nice trail and one of my favorites!

We took a day trip and visited Pea Ridge National Military Park the site of a civil war battle (March 1862) that decided the fate of Missouri. The short film was well done and the little museum was nice.

Elkhorn Tavern (field hospital and confederate headquarters)

Inside the tavern:

We took another daytrip to Bentonville. Wow – what a nice town!. You can really tell that the Waltons put a lot of money in this town. We stopped in at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Arts which was spectacular!

Inside the museum (this is a view of the restaurant)

We left Fayetteville and traveled to Eureka Springs (I combined Fort Smith and Eureka Springs into one post – “Arkansas”)

“Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell. Glen Campbell did not write the song, but when he sang the song he said that it reminded him of growing up in Arkansas.

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“Don’t Stop (Thinking about Tomorrow)”

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Monica

Hot Springs, Arkansas May 14 – May 20, 2023
Little Rock, Arkansas May 20 – May 26, 2023

Hot Springs was our first stop in Arkansas. The primary attraction was the old bath houses that lined the main street. Most of the bath houses are still there but not operational. One has been turned into the welcome center and a small museum in honor of the time when the bath houses were very popular (a very long time ago). The museum sort of reminded me of an old insane asylum and some of the spa equipment looked like torture instruments! It was interesting but a little creepy.

Fordyce Bath House (Visitors Center and Museum)

Lamar Bath House (now Bath House Row Emporium)

The city was pretty, but not much was going on. One of the bath houses was converted into a spa, so we scheduled a bath in hot springs water. Another bath house was home to the only brewery on national park property. We could not very well pass that up!

Quapau Bath House and Spa (an operational spa)

The next stop in Arkansas was Little Rock. We stayed at a park that was right on the Arkansas River Trail. This is a trail that runs about 17 miles on both sides of the Arkansas River and through Little Rock. The trail was great and included a ride over the Big Dam Bridge.

Big Dam Bridge on the Arkansas River Trail

A highlight of Little Rock was the William J. Clinton Library and Museum. The museum was huge and very informative. Information was divided by year and subject matter. It was impossible to read everything. The visual displays were well done and we really enjoyed the museum. The museum also had a restaurant appropriately named “42″. The food was delicious.

We also went to the museum for the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. The museum is in a separate building because the school is well —- still a school. The museum does a good job telling the story of the “Little Rock Nine”.

Next up Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Eureka Springs.

“Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow” by Fleetwood Mac. This song was Bill Clinton’s official song for his 1992 campaign.

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“Black Water”

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Monica

Biloxi, Mississippi May 3 – May 7, 2023
Natchez, Mississippi May 7 – May 11, 2023
Vicksburg, Mississippi May 11 – May 14, 2023

We stopped in Biloxi for a few days. We parked the camper and spent a couple of nights at the Beau Rivage. I sat in the wonderful bath tub every day. I also went to the spa and had an awesome massage. We gambled some and had dinner at Half Shell Oyster House in the Hard Rock Casino. I did not take pictures inside the casinos because I thought I might be arrested! It was a short stop, but we had a good time, and we broke even, which is a win in our book.

Steve and I visited Mississippi on our first vacation together almost 30 years ago. One of our stops was Natchez and we visited again on this trip. We stopped into the visitors center, visited Natchez Under-the-Hill (a strip of shops and restaurants close to the river), and had lunch at The Camp (the food was pretty good). Our campground was right on the Mississippi River and we watched barges going by most days. Steve and I were both recovering from colds (Steve caught the cold first), so we did not venture out as much as we normally would.

Some barges we saw on the Mississippi River from our front door.

Bridge between Natchez and Vidalia, Louisiana

Our last stop in Mississippi was Vicksburg, and of course we visited Vicksburg National Military Park. This park was nice. The visitors center was a little short on information, there were no Park Ranger Tours, part of the park was closed for renovations, and the battle itself was hard to visualize because the area changed. I know this sounds like we did not like the park, but we did. The monuments were fantastic. The museum had a few exhibits and a film about the battle. This was less of a battle and more of a siege. Grant described sieges as which side could out camp the other. While Grant won several skirmishes near Vicksburg, Grant forced Pemberton to retreat to the city of Vicksburg and waited Pemberton out until he surrendered. Some think this was one of Grant’s best campaign.

Some exhibits in the museum.

We learned more about the battle/siege after watching a you tube video on the battle (given by Matt Atkinson, the Park Ranger we met in Gettysburg who is from Mississippi) and going to the Depot Museum that had a diorama of the area. The Museum had exhibits of miniature trains, planes, helecoptors etc. It also had a diorama of the battle/siege.

Here are some pictures of the trains.

This is the diorama of the battle field.

We stopped at Key City Brewery and Eatery while in town. The beer here was okay, but the food was delicious. The historic downtown had a cool vibe.

Murals in Vicksburg and a riverboat docking

This was our last stop in Mississippi, and now we move to Arkansas

“Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers

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“Hanginaround”

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Monica

Crestview Florida April 24 – April 29, 2023
Gulf Shore, Alabama April 29 – May 3, 2023

We had a nice visit with my sister. Steve cooked – and she took the leftovers home (Valorie is not much of a cook). We went out to eat a couple of times. We also went to dinner and played cards with Valorie’s friends Bob and Liz. Not much happens in Crestview, but we had a great time hanging out with Valorie.

We left and spent a few days in Gulf Shores, Alabama at the state park. Despite the fact that the park has almost 500 spots, it is very had to obtain a camp site. We had to move once, and were only here for 4 nights. We stopped in Gulf Shores in 2022 for a month, so I mentioned in that post about the miles of bike trails (Banyon Back Country Trail) in and around the park. On this trip we rode bikes everyday. It was awesome!