Nashville, Here We Come!

Two Rivers Campground, Nashville, TN

On Sunday, Oct. 20^th we were all up before 7. Walmart parking lot was pretty quiet, it closed at 11 pm, only one small Class B van besides us staying overnight. No trucks allowed, which was kind of pleasant. 😊 It was a clear brisk morning and Bill had the furnace run through a cycle to warm the floors up. I don’t go far at any time without slippers but Bill is often in bare or sock feet.

Good morning.
An empty lot (almost)
and an empty highway (almost)

Today, we decided it was a shorts day so he dressed in summer clothes and I wore capris with a summer top. I layer up with a fleece jacket because 40F/4C is still cold to me! Black Beauty has a great heater so we were plenty warm in no time. After having our cereal and making our drinks, Bill took Gibbs (in his coat and Gravol-ed up), we left the lot at 7:40 am.

This one was a 'pop' but I had to watch for
the perfect moment to capture it.

Traffic was light, exactly our plan, and I-75S was smooth. Naturally, there was construction with barriers and pylons but with no one working on a Sunday, we had no problems. Shortly after 9, we were ready for a nature stop so pulled into a Rest Area at Montgomery, Oh.  When we approached Cinncinati’s outskirts, we hopped on the I-275W/S bypass, making life easier for us. At least we think so.

Sights along the way.
A water tower and traffic barricades,
of course.

A Rest Area with lots of room to pull in

Traffic had picked up from early this morning and once we got onto I-71S, the temperature was improving in leaps and bounds too. I was pleased that I managed to get a picture of the Kentucky sign as we passed into that state. Often, I get distracted and miss them. 😊 We fueled up at Carrolltown, KY and the price was nice enough at $3.39/gal. They can stay down there too!

Kentucky and fog had rolled in,
thick and soupy

It came out of nowhere and disappeared
fairly quickly.
Welcome to Kentucky.

We took I-264W to Exit 12 which dropped us onto I-65S at Louisville, KY. We expected it this time so weren’t surprised when at Bonnieville, our clocks dropped back an hour. Thank you, we’ll take that boost! That explains why our gps was telling us we’d arrive around 1:30 or 2 pm. We thought we’d be at least 3 pm before pulling into our park.

At points along the Interstate, the highway was separated by a 
groves of trees. I liked those best.

I also like when the pavement marks
the highway numbers for us 'tourists'.
Following the signs to Nashville. 😃

We had one more Rest Area stop at Cave City, KY and yet still ate our sandwiches on the road. 

This segment of pictures is mainly for ONE special friend.
Jim, I'm sure you recognize this place.
After all, you are part owner, no? 💖

We had a few more slow downs, some we had no idea why but they were in Tennessee, just before we exited (Exit 90B/Briley Pkwy) and we were getting closer to Nashville with each one. Is it really that crazy there on every Sunday?

Lastly, Exit 12 onto McGavock Pike had us crossing the Cumberland River and we arrived at Two Rivers Campground on Music Valley Drive (cute, huh?) at 2:05 CT. It didn’t take long to check in nor did it take long to back into our site along the north side. We are up against trees so it will be determined later whether our Starlink satellite has an issue with that. Bill will have to get creative, perhaps, to find the best spot.

Top picture is the traffic pile up coming FROM Nashville.
Ours, on the right, was thinning out.

Anyway, we are here after a drive of 7 hours and 15 minutes today. We were ready to stop for the day and are happy to be staying put for 5 nights. Gibbs was good again, but still doesn’t sleep. That would be the reason both my boys are sound asleep across the room right now. For supper, we’ll have the leftover ham and a side dish (yet to be determined). Tonight, there is entertainment at the clubhouse so we’ll be checking that out for sure at 7. 😊

We have arrived!

An easy meal with mostly leftovers.

Not a Willie Nelson I know but cute effort
in the clubhouse office.
Old Glory needs a breeze but I was
happy without one.

The weather has been awesome all day and our shorts and summer tops were a wise choice. We are sitting at a lovely 76F/25C right now at 4:15 but a cool 42F/5C is on the way for overnight. Brr. Time to take a walk to see the pool etc. This was a good day and now we can relax. Remember Bill's travel update too, here. 

Home Sweet Home for 5 nights.
Good night to you!

Thank you for stopping by! 

Travel Day – Border Crossing

Walmart - Wapakoneta, Ohio

On Saturday, Oct. 19^th when I woke and got up at 6:30, the parking lot was quiet and empty except for one Airstream. As it should be at that time. Most rv’s were gone, either to storage or home with their owners. The light fog Bill noticed when he and Gibbs went out earlier had blown out of proportion and it a white blanket across the land. Yeuch. We had our cereal and began the pack up routine.

Good morning!
This is what we woke up to today.
Lots of fog.

At 7:50, we pulled out and caught the 401W to Windsor. A different crossing location for us this time, for a change. There are reasons you’ll discover as the days proceed. It is a chilly 2C/36F so Gibbs had his thunder coat on and I had my toque and mini gloves on. Bill, well, he was in short sleeves. 😊 He has always been that way, since I’ve known him.

It cleared and then didn't.
It was fine for us traveling, the sun was doing
its job.
Nice to see the turbines, a home reminder.

We had an easy drive, watching the fog clear as the sun forced its way through. We stopped at the last En Route/Rest Area before the border around 9 and took care of nature’s call. We can’t get over the improvement of our drive with Gibbs so settled. He was laying down for most of our drive. Tiny whimpers when we had to slow down but it was such a relief, for us and for him. ♥

After we crossed the Ambassador Bridge, we were directed to the far right lane to the truck lanes and we were quite giddy about that. The line ups for the car traffic were plentiful, probably 10 or 12, all open and jammed full. When we reached the truck lanes, about 6 of them, we pulled up behind a Class C RV. Even though it was a wait of about 15 minutes, we could see the guard go out and get into the rv. Hmm.

The Ambassador Bridge as it is now
and the fog looking down at the Detroit River.

This was looking up at the full lines
of cars at the border.
We were directed to the transport crossing guards instead.

Because of our preparedness in packing, I wasn’t concerned at all when it was our turn and he asked us to pull forward and stop. He took our keys and opened the door, stepping inside. He didn’t open slides but took about 5 minutes. There isn’t much that you have access to in our Suite but he came out smiling, handed us our passports and keys and wished us a good trip. 😊 It was probably 20 minutes from the time we got in line and we were on our way.

Fuel prices are below $4 so that will help us along
the route.

Catching the I-75S was easy but we did have a bunch of slow downs further on due to construction but we were relaxed and comfortable moving slowly. We loved how when it was down to 2 lanes from 3, a semi in front of us pulled into the ‘closing’ lane to block all those ‘more important’ drivers from zooming by and cutting in.

This little guy in his Thunder coat was so good again.
He's checking to make sure our home is still coming. 💗

One SUV still tried to get around him and the driver veered over further, forcing him to hug the guard rail. Kudos to the big guy, we all hate that! Happy it did not cause an accident but I’ll bet the little guy will think twice before doing that again! 

The left lane is closing with lots of notice
and the semi pulled over into it to stop the
drivers from racing up to get ahead. 
Love that but it was almost an accident when the SUV
pulled out in the curb lane to pass him. LOL

The rest of the day trip was uneventful, we are getting more mellow as far as putting up with construction delays. There weren’t many workers today but the pylons are still everywhere.

Crossing into Ohio and a
familiar water tower.

We arrived at our destination for the night at 1:30. We’ve often stayed at a Coast to Coast park in Wapakoneta, OH (Arrowhead Lakes RV Resort) but because it is just a one night ‘stand’ (teehee), we pulled into the Walmart in the same town. It could be noisy, not sure how it will be but for one night, we’ll be fine. Gibbs is always happy to get back inside and find our home the way he left it. ♥

Stopping at the Ohio welcome centre
for a nature break.

We didn’t bother reporting in to the manager this time since we know friends who have stayed here and there are a few semis parked on the other side. While Bill and Gibbs had a snooze, I walked in to check out their bread and yogourt section, not expecting much but we also need potatoes and a couple of other things I couldn’t get at Costco.

For the most part, it was a dull drive
but then this stretch was beautiful.

Bill unhooked Black Beauty for a quick run to the Murphy USA gas station to fuel up and then rehooked. They don’t like you to treat it like a campground. We get that.  At supper time, we agreed to get a pizza from Pizza Hut so he walked across the highway and brought back our choice. It’s our favourite Canadian pizza so we’ll compare. He had his half Hawaiian and my half was meat lovers with, what else? green olives. 😊

Our spot for the night.

It was delicious! I could only eat 2 of the 4 pieces and will have leftovers tomorrow. We cleaned things up and Bill had a new movie to watch upstairs and I’ll find something downstairs when I finish my blog. This has been a good day. Border crossing was painless and finding a spot for the night, just as easy.

Look at what I found in
Walmart! Yay!
I bought 2 loaves.

The weather is perfect and I’m sure you are having the same, wherever you are. 71F/22C and warmer tomorrow. The nights are still cool for a few more days but that’s okay too. Bill’s update for today, with our route, is short and sweet if you prefer checking it out.

Such good pizza!
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by!

A Great Day, Beginning to End

Can Am RV, London, On

On Friday, Oct. 18^th we woke up after a fairly restful sleep in the Reflection. We were tired enough that the queen instead of king bed didn’t seem to hamper our slumber. 😊 It was frosty again outside, at least on parts of the grassy turf. We washed and drove to Tim Horton’s down the road for a coffee, tea and breakfast sandwich. I had a rewards card that easily covered the meal.

Good morning!

We returned home to eat it with Gibbs. At 8:45, we noticed someone in the shop window and Bill said he was putting tools away and our wheel was back on. That was a good sign so when we got the thumbs up that the Suite was done, it made our day! What a good start to our Friday.  

He made a friend in the lounge.
Gary was going to get in trouble when he got
home to his Golden Retriever, Dallas. 

I folded the bedding and we gathered our things together. I took Gibbs inside with my tea and Bill transferred our stuff to the Suite.

Even though he barked a lot at
people, people loved him.
One couple gave him a full bag of
Greenies. 💗

Timmy's came through for us
and filled us for an early brekky.

Since we are staying another night here, we had to wait until someone pulled out from one of the ‘elite’ (plug-in) spots out front. When one opened up, Bill moved us into place and we joined him in our home. It was around 10 so we relaxed until 11:45 when we left Gibbs in charge once more (poor little fellow) and drove to an old haunt, Southside Grill, for lunch with Brenda and Randy. I had a delicious meat lovers Skillet and Bill had a clubhouse. All great food, for a good price too!

We were all surprised when this
prototype robot brought our food to the table.
The waitress followed to set it out.
I think he was being 'fired' tomorrow. 

Good friends
Good food
Great visit

We didn’t expect it but Randy paid for our meal which was very kind of him. ♥ From there, we drove back across the construction-infested city to visit with our dear, long-time friends, Jim and Sharon. I sure didn’t need it but Sharon had put out some nuts, chocolates and lemon squares for our dessert. Of course, my eyes said Yes! 😊 Yummy. We left there just before 4 and drove back across the city to Costco and to fuel up.

My Skillet lunch was sooo good!
Sharon's little treats topped it off. Yummy!

It was another large donation at Costco but we stocked up on things we can’t get in the southwest or at least not in the same allotments. 

The traffic (rush hour AGAIN!) was terrible, 
making us grateful for Durham's one traffic light.

It was 5:30 when we got back to our home and our little boy. He is so good, never has an accident when left alone. He was happy to see us though after almost 6 hours. Neither of us were hungry for supper so I had Madame IP cook hard boiled eggs and mixed half into egg salad.

After Costco, traffic was fine.

I made our sandwiches for tomorrow’s lunch and my supper was a banana cut up with cream. It helps to finish off my last 3 bananas too. I was feeling tired after a long couple of days so finished my blog and sat with Gibbs for the remainder of the evening. It has been fun seeing our friends and we’re grateful our home was fixed in due time. We reached a lovely 18C/64F today with mostly clear skies. Just perfect!

Tonight, we were in line for a pretty sunset.

Good night!

Thank you for checking in with us!

Sometimes There are More Chickens to Hatch

Can Am RV, London, On

On Thursday, Oct. 17^th we woke up with a different view. Just ask Gibbs, no fooling him! He could hear noises here, unusual for a Ridge sleepover. 😊 The traffic all night didn’t bother me, even though it is a very busy highway and our bed was facing it. I slept well. Bill didn’t say otherwise so I assume his sleep was fine too. We were up by 7, had our cereal and we made our tea and coffee.

Good morning!
A frosty one to wake up to

It wasn't long and our home was being moved
to the shop

It wasn’t long after the office opened at 8:30 when Bill said they were ready to bring the Suite into their shop. Yay! As for what work needs to be done, please check out Bill’s blog (here), he has explained it quite well. So, we went inside and sat in the lounge to wait. There was frost on the windshields of the vehicles this morning but shaping up to be a lovely day. Full sunny, blue sky. ♥

The wait begins

Always makes for a long day,
especially with a pooch.

The nice thing about waiting in the lounge is that you meet people and we met a nice lady this time too. Corinne was getting hitch work done on a ‘new-to-her’ trailer and planning a 6-month trip across the United States, on her own. I won’t say she is ‘brave’ (we laughed about saying that) but I will say she is strong and admirable. Just like another great friend of ours………….you probably know I mean Nancy. 😊

It was after lunch when Corinne got
her test drive out and back
and she was on her way home to the Hamilton area.

Bill did his best to answer her questions and help her with tips and such. She was quite pleased to have bumped into us (him) for his knowledge. We sure hope to bump into C in hers and our travels this winter. We had lunch from the food truck that frequents Can Am daily and my quesadilla was a surprise and delicious! By 3 pm, we were getting a bit concerned that our Suite was still in the shop. We took breaks and walked around outside a few times to stretch our legs.

When I heard there was chicken quesadilla on the food truck,
I had to order one. It was delicious too!

Apparently, there were issues getting the old ‘block’ out and then even more getting the new one in. Not their fault, just age has rusted and ceased up things that were unexpected. Peggy wasn’t happy to have to give us the news that it would not be done today nor could they bring it out for us to sleep in tonight. What to do, what to do? I began calling a nearby Motel 6 when our miracle worker saved the day – again.

Our home for the night and early morning

Parked and plugged in just outside the shop

A Peek into the shop at our Suite

Peggy set us up in a Grand Design Reflection for the night, saving us grief and $$ as well. We transferred some necessary items (bedding, bathroom items, Gibbs food dishes and my trusty laptop. We’ve been invited out for supper so we’d hoped to be able to change into clean clothing for the visit but it was too much trouble to get into our closet. We cleaned up the best we could and left feeling presentable at a few minutes past 5.

I got a few chapters read in between
conversations and walks.

Not quite as far across town in a different direction. No matter how far, we can always add 15 minutes to the mix because of city traffic at rush hour. We stopped to pick up a couple bottles of wine and arrived at Bill’s cousin’s home before 6. Joan loves to cook and after a cocktail and catch up, Bill with Rick and Joan and I inside, she brought out a beautiful meal! Scalloped potatoes, roasted beets and squash, and carrots. Rick barbecued sausage and chicken and it was delicious!

Crossing the Thames River in the city

The traffic on Wonderland Rd. is always crazy at
rush hour. We used to drive it every day for 5 years.

The Bain's beautiful street.

For dessert, we had a scrumptious serving of lemon custard/cheesecake. I’m not really sure what it was called but yum! We chatted and laughed around the table until 9:30ish before we thought we’d better get home to Gibbs. He was in a strange trailer (not his own) and basically just got dropped there before we left. ☹ He was waiting for us and dutifully went out for his piddle.

The meal

Our hosts

We all stretched out in the recliners after turning the furnace on to warm the Reflection up. It was another chilly night of only 0C/32F. So, we tried not to count the chickens before they hatched, as the old saying goes, but our disappointment today showed that we did. Oh well, it all worked out great with Peggy providing us with a place to sleep for the night. It turned into a lovely day too, reaching 16C/60F.

Everything was so good!

We all indulged and had dessert too.
Thank you Rick and Joanie.
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by.