April 5, 2017

We have both been looking forward to this trip for a long time . . . it's our first RV trip in 5 months.  That's unheard of for us!

We were up at 5:00 a.m., had a quick shower, tossed down some coffee and a bagel then loaded the dogs and pulled out at 5:58, two minutes ahead of schedule.

It was drizzling when we pulled up at the Thousand Island Bridge, but the girl at toll booth was bright and cheery, surprising us both at such an early hour.  She pointed behind the motor home to our tow car and said, "I was waiting for you to say that the car behind you will pay your toll."

Carol and I were still chuckling as we crossed the bridge and saw the sun beginning to rise to the east.

There was no one in line at US Customs at 6:30.  We drove right up and had to wait about two minutes . . . it was shift change.  The Customs and Border Patrol girl was smiling, "Sorry to hold you up, but I had to sign in."  We were her first customers of the day and it was a nice experience for everyone.

As usual, there was no traffic on southbound I-81 in the northernmost part of New York State and we made great time through the steady light rain.

It was just after 8:00 a.m. when we turned onto I-90 at Syracuse and just minutes later we pulled off to gas up in a service area.  Carol picked up coffee and Egg McMuffins at Rotten Ronnie's - they weren’t very good.  In our experience, the McDonalds restaurants in the USA are never as good as their counterparts in Canada.  I cannot understand why, but we are usually disappointed by McDonalds in America and we tend to avoid them.

The rain had stopped by 10:00 a.m. and the roads were dry when we stopped at a rest area to walk the dogs.

By 11:00 o'clock we had driven the entire length of Lake Ontario, then passed through Buffalo and began to follow the southern shore of Lake Erie.  passed through Buffalo at 11:00 and carried on along the south shore of Lake Erie.  It's a pretty area, rolling hills along the lakeshore, with many of the slopes covered with vineyards.

We crossed the Pennsylvania State Line at 12:15 and pulled off in Erie about 25 minutes later for lunch at Cracker Barrel.  It was Wednesday and that's chicken pot pie day - yummie!

By 2:00 p.m. we were in Ohio and stopped at FlyingJ to fill up with fuel just before turning south on I-271.  There was very little traffic and we made great time.  It looked like we would hit our destination at Mansfield Ohio by 4:30, quite a bit earlier than we had expected, so it was time for a change of plans . . .

We decided to drive a bit further to get all the way through Columbus and avoid any potential traffic issues the following morning.  We scratched the Cracker Barrel at Mansfield Ohio from our itinerary and penciled in the Cracker Barrel at Grove City instead - another 70 miles added to an already long day behind the wheel!

This change in plans caused a series of unfortunate incidents that would make Lemony Snicket proud.   Carol went online and found a Disney Store along the way.  We pulled off in a rest area and she went off to walk the dogs while I attended to a pressing call of nature, then updated the GPS to include the Disney Store stop and our new destination for the night.  Carol was back in just a few minutes and said, “Everyone out there must think I’m drunk!” 

You see, Jake is a bit skittish at truck stops and rest areas and when he heard a big semi pulling a car-hauler he panicked.  He backed out of his collar and was running free. 

When Carol saw him loose and frightened she momentarily forgot that she is a sexagenarian . . . she lunged forward, clutching Blue’s lead firmly in her right hand, scooped up Jake in her left arm then spotted a two point landing on her left knee and right thumb.  Her momentum carried her through two forward somersaults in the motor oil, diesel fuel and road grime that covered the asphalt.

People came running from all directions . . . everyone but me . . . I was indisposed in the lavatory and missed the excitement altogether!

Carol reattached Jake, dusted herself off, assured all the truck drivers that she was OK and carried on to the dog walk area.  Guess what?  She stepped in a rut and fell again, plunging her right knee onto a pool of mud and lord only knows what else!  She was a bit sheepish when she got back . . . scuffed, battered and chafed!  Both knees were scraped and her right thumb was aching.  Hopefully she won’t be too stiff and sore tomorrow!

We pulled off the highway again at about 6:00 and she dashed off to the Mall and the Disney Store while I stayed in the RV and fed the dogs.  She was back empty handed about 30 minutes later and we continued south through the heart of downtown Columbus.

At 7:00 p.m. we pulled off to find the Cracker Barrel at Grove City.  There was a Kroger grocery store just down the road so Carol picked up a few things before we settled in for the night.  By 7:30 we were all set up in a quiet spot behind the restaurant.

As we walked the puppies the darkening sky began to flash with lightning and rumble threateningly.  We managed to get the boys to do their chores before the rain began.  Carol and I got a bit damp on our way to the restaurant. We enjoyed a nice dinner then got soaked on our way back to the RV.  The boys were sure happy to see us at 8:30.  We crashed for the evening.

It had been a long day but we made great progress!  We covered 605 miles instead of the 531 miles we had planned.  That means tomorrow we only have to drive about 365 miles!  Bonus!

April 6, 2017

We never sleep very well out first night on the road and this was no exception.  We were up at 6:00 a.m. and anxious to get back on the road.  As you might expect, Carol was a bit feeling the effects of all that flopping around in the rest area the day before.  She creaked, moaned and groaned a bit for the first few hours.

We enjoyed breakfast at Cracker Barrel and got on the road by 7:00.

It was raining again and the showers carried on all day long.

By 8:00 we were approaching Cincinnati and began to see signs of rush hour congestion.  We decided to take advantage of the I-275 bypass, so Carol revised the GPS route on the fly and we saved a lot of time.  There was only a brief slowdown.

We crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky at 9:00.

We had noticed things getting greener yesterday, but today it was more pronounced.  There were even trees in full blossom.

Carol was so impressed with one of the more common trees that she had to check it out on Google.  It’s called an Eastern Redbud.  You might expect them to be red, but they’re not, they are pink or mauve.  Very pretty!

We pulled off at a rest area at 9:15 and walked the dogs.

By 11:20 we were gassing up at a Pilot Truck Stop when a car ran out of gas about 20 feet short of the pump next to ours.  A man got out and pushed the banged, dented and battered car up to the pump while a woman steered.  She opened the door and immediately asked me for money to help pay for the gas.  Nope!

I drove on to a nearby rest area where we stopped at 11:40.  I walked dogs while Carol made sandwiches for lunch.

We crossed into Tennessee at 1:00 and pulled into our Nashville campground at 2:30.

First campsite they assigned us was not pretty!  The site right next to us was the epitome of redneck . . . there were seven huge black garbage cans proudly displayed in front of his ratty old camper.  Yuck!  We sure didn’t want to look at that every day.

I went back to the office while Carol walked the dogs.  The put us in another site just a couple of rows away.  The site slopes down quite a bit in the front . . . we’ll never get the RV level, but at least we don’t have a junkyard next door!

Once we were all set up Carol and I headed to the Grand Ole Opry House, about a mile away and picked up a pair of tickets for the Saturday night show.

Carol spotted a police car in the campground when we got back home and while she fed the dogs she watched several more police vehicles and a tow truck arrive.  The dogs ate  very well . . . they seemed to know that we wouldn’t be moving for a few days and that showed up through their appetites!

By the time they were finished dinner an entire CSI team was dusting a travel trailer about five or six campsites from us.  They were checking the inside and outside of the entry door for fingerprints.  Hmmmm . . . wonder what happened?

Carol and I drove off to the Opry Back Porch for dinner.  It sounded much better than it tasted.  It was OK but not somewhere we ever intend to go back to!

After dinner we found a car wash to rinse off the tow car.  It was very grimy after two rainy days behind the motor home.

Carol has been looking for a Disney sandwich press which CVS Pharmacy has been selling so we checked in a nearby store.  No luck, they were all sold out!  We headed home and settled in for the night with the dogs.

April 7, 2017

We were up at 6:45 and lounged over coffee.  It sure was nice to not rush back out on the road!

After a shower and breakfast I took dogs to the off-leash park for a run.  When we got back Carol was ready to go!

The plan was some morning shopping, lunch at the Loveless Café and then a stroll around the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  We left at 9:20 and stopped at the Gray Line Bus office just down the street.  Their schedule looked good; we decided that we would probably take a hop-on - hop-off tour the following day.

Our next stop was Dollar General; Carol wanted some solar powered Disney figures.  Success, the store had a good selection.  She got Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy figures . . . and naturally a few other things she wasn’t looking for.  I picked up a few Disney garden flags for my Mickey lamps. 

We looked briefly for a Lowes or K-Mart but didn’t see either.  The last stop of the morning was a Kroger grocery store where she picked up a few staples to take home.  You guessed it - I stayed in the car reading my book!

We dropped the goodies off at home, walked the dogs and headed off for lunch at noon.

Our campground is on the eastern side of the city and the Loveless Café is on the western side.  It was a 30 mile trip, but well worth it!  The Café is famous for it’s fried chicken, biscuits and preserves.

We checked in with the hostess at 12:30 and she told us there would be an hour and a half wait . . . yes, it’s that popular!

With our electronic buzzer in hand we toured the shops that surround the restaurant then found a couple of chairs and soaked up some sunshine while we waited.  It was a beautiful sunny day, about 68°.

Our buzzer announced that our table was ready after only an hour - bonus.

Carol had fried chicken.

I had chicken fingers.  Both were excellent and the portions were huge.  Neither one of us could finish, but we did have room to share a piece of their homemade coconut cream pie.  It was good, but like the pecan pie we sampled the night before, it was quite a bit different than what we make at home.  We both commented that their pies were thicker or heavier.  Carol got it right when she said that pies here in the south are “denser”.

We took a longer route back home after lunch, following Highway 100 past the Belle Meade Plantation and into the western suburbs of Nashville.  We had intended to go north on I-440 to return home but an unfortunate navigational error (mine - not hers) put us on southbound I-440.  Our course correction put us on I-65 heading north, right through the heart of downtown Nashville at 2:45 Friday afternoon.  Not a good place to be!  It wasn’t really all that bad though, traffic moved faster than I expected.

We were back in the area of the campground by about 3:15 and decided to go straight to the Opryland hotel.  We toured through two of the four conservatories, the glass domed areas between the hotel wings are spectacular.  They are lushly landscaped and uniquely themed.

The Delta Conservatory really does look like the French Quarter in New Orleans.

The Garden Conservatory abounds with waterfalls, statues and little hidden nooks and seating areas.

We got back home to the dogs at 4:45 - they don’t quite understand the whole concept of time zones . . . from their perspective dinner wasn’t 15 minutes early, it was 45 minutes late.  By the time they adjust we’ll likely be on our way home and surprise them with an early dinner.

After resting our my legs for a while we struck off again, this time into the downtown area to check out some of the honky-tonks on Broadway. 

We parked near the Bridgestone Arena where the Nashville Predators play, and started walking the three block stretch of Broadway that is filled with saloons playing cowboy music.  I prefer old 50’s and 60’s Rock ‘n Roll, but Carol is a country fan and she was in her element.  (I enjoyed it too, but please don’t tell her)

As we walked the street, down one side and up the other, we stopped at open doors and windows to listen to the bands playing (LOUDLY) inside.

Big party bicycles pedalled past, music blaring and pedalers swinging their beer!

Big party buses roamed the streets.

Caliches’, pulled by horses and asses, moved tourists up and down the busy strip.

It wasn’t even 7:00 p.m. yet and the area was rockin’!

We listened to a few numbers from the band playing at Nudies, then poked around in the Ernest Tubbs Music Store.

As we looked and listened through one of the open honky-tonk windows Carol spotted an array of framed pictures on the wall.  It was labelled “Mullet Hall of Fame”.  We chuckled as we picked out photos of Billy Ray Cyrus and a few other  country artists, NASCAR drivers and well known rednecks.  But wait . . . isn’t that actress Florence Henderson I see in there?  And look - there’s singer Lionel Ritchie. 

I forgot . . . but I guess those two really did have Mullets back in the day!

We stopped in at the George Jones Museum and Saloon and I slurped down a beer while we enjoyed the band that was playing there.

We walked the other side of Broadway, stopping and listening in along the way, as we slowly made our way back to the car.  After 2 ½ hours our my legs were done.  Carol dragged, pulled and urged me back to the car, then checked her FitBit.  We had walked over 10,000 steps today, about 4 ½ miles.

To celebrate this spectacular fitness achievement we stopped at John A’s, a saloon just down the street from our campground.  Carol always teases me about ordering my favourite cocktail, a Manhattan, in biker bars and cowboy saloons.  She rolls her eyes because they never know how to make one.  Tonight it was my turn to roll my eyes and giggle.  Her favourite cocktail is a Caesar, a uniquely Canadian drink made with vodka and Clamato juice, garnished with a stalk of celery.  The drink is virtually unheard of in the USA.  So when she asked our waitress if they could make a Caesar she quickly replied, “Yes, of course, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  The lettuce is a bit brown tonight.”  We both giggled and Carol ordered a diet coke.

Carol had a cheeseburger,  onion rings and that coke while I enjoyed coconut shrimp and two beers.

It was a great day.  We were back to our lonely dogs by 9:30.  Zzzzz!

We enjoyed another slow start and a pot of fresh, hot coffee.  Carol took the dogs to the park and encountered some fresh cut grass.  Dew and grass clipping is not a good combination . . . she had to comb them thoroughly after their run!

We left for downtown at 9:15 a.m. and parked near Broadway, right beside the Old Town Trolleys ticket centre.  It’s a hop-on and hop-off tour with 15 stops around the city.

We paid for a pair of tickets and immediately boarded the waiting trolley.  Our tour began at 10:00 a.m.

The driver gave us a running commentary as we passed by historic sights including some of the honky-tonks we had seen the night before, Fort Nashboro, the State Capitol, the Parthenon, Music Row and Vanderbilt University.

We got off at the Bicentennial Mall and walked along the timeline memorials to the farmer's market where we browsed and enjoyed some cheese and donuts before reboarding the bus to continue our tour.  Our adventure ended at 1:00 p.m. when the bus dropped us off at our starting point.

We walked to Wild Horse Saloon and  had lunch while watching line dance lessons.

Before long we were back home with the dogs.  We took them to the dog park for a run, then relaxed for a while.

At 6:15 we headed out for dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse, just down the road from the campground.  It was OK - not great, just OK.

We made a quick stop at the motor home to let the dogs out and then headed to Grand Ole Opry House to watch the 9:30 show.  It's a good thing we left early . . . we had to lurk in the parking lot for about a half-hour waiting for a spot to open up.  Saturday nights the Opry House is very busy and the adjacent Opryland Mall is full of shoppers!  It's a very busy area.

We were ushered to our seats at 9:20 and the show started at 9:30 sharp.  It's a live radio show, complete with commercial messages read out to the audience in the Opry House and those tuned in on the radio, or online at opry.com   Like any live broadcast, timing is everything so it all runs like clockwork.  The 90 minute show is presented in three separate segments, each one hosted by a "senior statesman" from the country music industry.  Our hosts tonight were Jeannie Seeley, Bill Anderson and Connie Smith.  The performers were Mike Snider, Kelly Pickler, the Charlie Daniels Band, The Whites, Midland, the Opry Square Dancers, Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top Express and Mark Wills.

Kelly Pickler was a crowd favourite!

Charlie Daniels brought the house down with his mega-hit The Devil Went Down To Georgia!

This group is Midland.  We were lucky enough to see them perform for the very first time at the Opry.  They were great; good instrumentals and amazing harmonies.  I predict that you're going to be seeing lots more of Midland in the future.

Carol is a real country music fan but I'm not, I prefer my old time rock 'n roll.  But the show was terrific; I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it as much as Carol did!

Funny thing, it took almost as long to get out of the theatre area as it took to get into it.  Even at 11:00 p.m. that parking lot was crazy busy!  We didn't get home to the dogs until 11:30.

Zzzzzz!

April 9, 2017

We were up at 7:00 and enjoyed a lazy start to the morning.  Carol took the dogs off to the dog park for a walk while I replaced some of the knobs and drawer pulls in the motor home.

It was a bright sunny day.  We had talked yesterday about what we didn’t want to do . . . but had not agreed on what we wanted so we just hopped in the car and headed for a nearby town.  Clarkesville had a nice ring to it . . . so we left for Clarksville at 10:15.  There was no last train to Clarkesville; we didn’t even see any tracks!

Along the highway Carol spotted a sigh for an Antique Market.  Hey, we have no plans, let's look at some antiques we don't need!  It was quite a nice spot, lots of vendors, nice product and it was all nicely displayed . . . not junky like some we’ve seen.  There was nothing Carol had to bring home though, she came out empty handed.

Then we visited a series of stores, three Dollar Generals and two Lowes.  She is still looking for another solar powered Disney figure from Dollar General and a Disney bird feeder from Lowes.  Again, no luck with either item.

It was a clear sunny day and the temperature hit 80° - a great day for a drive in the country.

One of the clerks at Dollar General told us about a big flea market not far away . . . “go west on I-24 to exit 4, turn left and drive a few miles.  When you see the big pink elephant turn right.”

We had a quick bite of lunch at Burger King then spent about 45 minutes searching for that danged elephant.  The pachyderm was nowhere to be found!

The clerk seemed nice, but I beginning to wonder if she was just having some fun with a pair of hapless tourists!

We were home to the dogs at about 2:45.  They were so happy to see us that we decided to reward them with a nap.

Later in the afternoon I drained the RV’s holding tanks, flushed them out and disconnected from the sewer so it will be quicker to get ready to leave tomorrow morning.

At 5:45 we left to find dinner.  First we stopped at a nearby K-Mart; Carol wanted to get some shirts before all the K-Marts are closed.  We enjoyed a nice dinner at Cock of the Walk, a catfish joint just down the road from our campground.  We each had a catfish, chicken & shrimp combo.  It was very good but couldn’t finish it.

A man at the table next to us, from Northern Mississippi, heard us tell our waitress that we hadn't been to Cock of the Walk in 10 years.  He asked where we were from and we ended up having a very nice chat with him.  He recommended Corkey’s in Memphis for BBQ.  After he left the folks on the other side, from Williamsport Pennsylvania, had heard our conversation and said “forget Corkey’s, go to Rendezvous.”  Our server agreed - Rendezvous is the place to go.  We may have to try both!

We were home at 8:00 and enjoyed a quiet night of TV.

April 10, 2017

We were up at 6:45 and enjoyed a pot of coffee.  It’s going to be a short driving day so we took our time getting ready.

We pulled out at 8:30 and made good time in nice weather and light traffic.

By 11:00 a.m. we had made it half way to our destination.  We pulled off at Jackson Tennessee, home of both that famous train man Casey Jones and Rock ‘n Roll pioneer Carl Perkins.

After walking the dogs we spent a full hour poking around Casey Jones Village, a collection of unique old shops and a museum dedicated to Casey Jones. 

We debated . . . an early lunch at the buffet . . . or ice cream now and a sandwich later.  The ice cream won out!

We were back on the road at 1:00, made one quick stop to top up with gas, and pulled into our Memphis campground at 2:30.

The campground is down at the end of Lonely Street, just past the Heartbreak Hotel.  We’re in camp site #58 on Don’t Be Cruel Lane.

Graceland RV Park and Campground is owned and operated by Elvis Presley Enterprises and there is no other resort closer to Graceland.

It’s a very small campground and the sites are small, but we are camped about 100 yards from the Graceland entrance.  Sweet!  No worry about where to park the car, we just walk!

Carol walked the dogs then we set up camp, had a nap, walked the dogs again and struck out for dinner!

We popped in at Graceland to check out the ticket options.  Everything was closed when we pulled in just before 6:00 p.m. but we walked back to the box office and read all the ticket options.  We decided on the $93.75 VIP ticket with the $5.00 add-on to see the planes.  Hopefully we’ll be able to pop out to tend to the dogs during the day, then resume our tour.  There is so much to see!

Carol is standing under the entrance gate at Graceland.  Do you see that car, furthest away on the left?  Behind that car you can see the windshield and air conditioner on a motor home.  That’s ours - that’s how close to Graceland we are camped!

We drove about a mile south on Elvis Presley Boulevard and followed two bright pink stretch limos into Marlowe’s, a Memphis institution.  They’ve been dishing up award winning ribs and BBQ since 1974.  Elvis even ate there!

It was terrific . . . Carol came close to finishing a full rack of their ribs and I almost finished a club salad.  We sure didn’t need it, but we decided to share a Crispy Crème Banana Foster Sundae.  OMG . . . it was amazing.  A donut topped with vanilla ice cream, smothered in sautéed bananas, topped with whipped cream then drizzled with peanut butter sauce.  I wanted to use a straw to suck up every drop of juice when we were finished; Carol was tempted to lick the bowl clean . . . but we behaved ourselves!

We were back home with the puppies at 8:00 and settled in for a night of TV.

April 11, 2017

It’s Graceland Day!

We were up by 7:00 and rolled out the door at 8:45 for the short walk to Graceland.

We bought the VIP Tour Tickets and by 9:15 we were wearing our i-Pads and headphones as we rode the shuttle across the street to Elvis’ mansion.

WOW!

Graceland was so much more than we were expecting!

The mansion itself sits on a 13 acre property and it's the second most-visited house in America, second only to the White House.  More than 650,000 fans visitor Graceland each year.

The Living Room

The Living Room

The Dining Room

Elvis' parent's Bedroom

We took our time walking from room to room on the self-guided tour.  As we walked the i-Pad we were each given gave us a running commentary, interpreting what we were seeing and giving some interesting background information which helped bring the exhibits to life.

The Television Room

The Pool Room

The Jungle Room

Vernon Presley's Office

The Presley Family Tree

Memorabilia was on display everywhere!

Once we finished our tour of the mansion and the surrounding grounds we hopped the shuttle back across the street and stopped for a cold drink and a hot dog at Gladys' Diner.

Then we toured some more . . . through an amazing new building that just opened to the public March 2, 2017.  Many wonderful exhibits that used to be scattered in several buildings, and a number of new exhibits, are now housed in one building.

Exhibits are arranged in a number of themed galleries including Presley Motors Automobile Museum, Presley Cycles Exhibit, The Archives Experience, Private Presley: Elvis in the Army Exhibit, ICONS: The Influence of Elvis Presley Exhibit, Elvis The Entertainer Career Museum, The Fashion King Exhibit, Elvis' Tupelo Exhibit, The Fairgrounds, Mystery Train: The Sam Phillips Exhibit, The Country Road to Rock Exhibit and Graceland Sound Stage A.

If you haven't been to Graceland in a few years, hurry back!  There's some exciting new stuff to see!

Carol dashed home to let the dogs out at noon while I waited on a sunny park bench just outside Vernon's Smokehouse.

When Carol got back we had a nice lunch at Vernon’s and then continued our tour.

Did I mention airplanes?  Two of Elvis' jets are on display.

By 2:30 we had finished the last of the exhibits and we were pooped!

We headed for home, let the dogs out and then enjoyed a well deserved nap!

Hopped in the car at 5:45 and drove to downtown Memphis for dinner.

We drove around for a half-hour looking for a tour bus company office - they have moved since our brochure was printed.  Eventually found the new office - it was closed.

We parked just steps from the Beale Street area that is filled with blues clubs. 

The Beale Street Strip is three blocks long and is closed to vehicles in the evening.

We walked up and down the strip enjoying the sights and sounds, then went to B. B. King’s Blues Club for dinner.

Carol had a smoked brisket sandwich; I had a shrimp po-boy.  They were great!

The house band, the King Beez were playing.  We both really enjoyed their music; we sat and enjoyed them for a while after dinner.

We got home to the puppies at 10:00 p.m.

What a great day we had!

April 12, 2017

Today we planned to do a City Tour.  We like to find a "hop-on hop-off" tour operator every time we visit a new city.  It helps us get oriented and we always see some things that interest us enough that we head back later on our own!

We were up at 7:00 left at 8:30  . . . we weren't sure what sort of morning rush our traffic we might encounter on our way downtown.  In a word - none.  There was no rush hour, no congestion, no delay.  By 9:00 a.m. we had checked in, paid for the tour and were sitting, tickets in hand, waiting for the bus.

Since we had a full hour to wait we strolled through the area around the tour office and met a videographer who was setting up for a video shoot.  He recommended yet another restaurant, One and Only for BBQ.

We boarded our tour bus at 10:00.  There were eight of us.  Our tour guide was extremely difficult to understand.  She had a heavy southern accent - “If y’all has any quision be sure to axe me.”

Our first stop was just down the street from the tour office, at the Sun Records Studio where Elvis cut his first record.

We carried on through Downtown Memphis to Millionaire’s Row, a neighbourhood of grand old mansions dating back to the hay-days of the cotton industry.

The "Million Dollar Quartet"

Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis and Johnny Cash

We arrived at the Peabody Hotel in plenty of time for the 11:00 a.m. parading of the ducks - a daily tradition at the hotel since 1934.  The ducks live on the roof of the Peabody and every morning at 11:00 the "Duck Master" brings them down to the lobby where they spend the day in the central fountain.

The guide pointed out many more sights as we made our way to our next stop; St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital founded by Danny Thomas.

The grounds were beautiful and there was a touching tribute to Danny Thomas and his family.

We stopped at The Pyramid beside the Mississippi River.  The huge building houses a five star hotel and a sprawling Bass Pro Shop.

Just down the Mississippi shore from the Bass Pro was the I-40 Welcome Centre where we saw the two kings - Elvis & B. B. King.

Locals call this bridge over the Mississippi the "Dolly Parton"

We stopped briefly and overlooked the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.

We made a brief stop on Beale Street then cruised past Graceland and our campground on our way back to the tour office.  The tour was over at 1:00 p.m. and we had a bite of lunch at Domino’s Pizza, directly across from the tour office.

We were back home with the dogs at 2:30 and after walking them we loaded them in the back seat of the car and drove across the Mississippi into Arkansas on Interstate 55.

We stopped at the State Welcome Centre to pick up a few tourist brochures and returned to Tennessee on Interstate 40.

We were back home at 4:00 . . . and it seemed like the perfect time for a nap.  The dogs agreed!

Later we walked dogs then left for dinner at 6:15.  The One and Only on Perkins Road was about 8 miles away and it was every bit as good as that videographer we met told us it was.

It was amazing!  Carol’s ribs were the best yet and I had a smoked chicken pasta dish that was possibly the best pasta I’ve ever had.  WOW!

We were home with dogs at 8:00 and had a relaxing night of TV. 

April 13, 2017

We had absolutely no plans for today so there was no need to rush in the morning.  We slept to 7:15, then took our time over coffee & toast.

At about 9:45 we hopped in the car and headed out for the Bass Pro Pyramid.

We rode the elevator to the top and enjoyed a great view of Memphis and the Mississippi River.

Carol didn’t like the glass floor on the two outdoor observation decks so she enjoyed the view from way back by the door . . . where the floor looked a bit more solid!

Hello Dolly!

A wrong turn (my fault) took us on an unplanned tour through some seedy neighbourhoods in downtown Memphis, but we soon got our bearings and headed south on I-55, destination Southaven Mississippi, about 15 miles south of our campground.

We crossed into Mississippi at 11:20 and pulled off at the second exit to have lunch at Chik-Fil-A  Lunch was great, but it was the busiest Chik-Fil-A we have ever seen.  At 11:30 the drive-thru line wound from the order window backwards, 360 degrees around the building and all the way back to the rear of the parking lot.  There was a restaurant employee on duty in the parking lot, directing traffic to keep the drive-thru line moving.  Crazy!

We parked nearby in the mall parking lot and ate lunch inside.  By the time we left at 12:20 that drive-thru line extended beyond the restaurant parking lot, out onto the entrance road and then around the corner almost out onto the highway. It’s really good chicken . . . but Holy Cow!

We took a more leisurely route home, following US Highway 51 from Mississippi into Tennessee.  At the Tennessee state line it became Elvis Presley Boulevard and led us directly to our campground.

It was sunny and 84° when we got home to the dogs at 1:00 p.m.

We spent a few hours packing up and getting ready for the three day drive home then enjoyed a restful few hours.

I drove Carol to a Memphis Disney Store before we had our “Best of Memphis” dinner - a repeat of that wonderful smoked chicken pasta dish at One and Only, followed by a second helping of Crispy Crème Banana Foster Sundae at Marlowe’s.  By the time we finished the pasta dish neither of us felt like driving to Marlowe’s for that wonderful sundae so we tried the banana pudding at One and Only.  It was OK, but nowhere near as good as the sundae!

We were home with the dogs by 8:15.  It will be a long day on the road tomorrow so bed came early.

We woke up a few minutes before the 6:00 a.m. alarm and got moving!

After coffee and a bowl of cereal I disconnected the utilities while Carol battened down all the stuff inside the coach.

Carol followed me out of the campground in car . . . to Lonely Street where I pulled over beside the Heartbreak Hotel and hooked the car up behind the motor home.  We were on the road at 7:20 a.m.  It was 65° and overcast but traffic was very light and we made good time.

We pulled off for a stretch in a rest area at 9:40.  Skies had cleared and it was warming up!

By the time 10:30 rolled around we had the air conditioning going!

We crossed the state line into Kentucky at 11:35 and just a few minutes later pulled off for lunch at the Kentucky Welcome Center.

At 1:12 we saw the sign telling us we had entered the Eastern Time Zone, near Exit 76 at Upton Kentucky.  Carol re-set all clocks to 2:12 p.m.

We stopped and topped up with gas just before reaching our destination, the KOA Campground at Louisville.

By 3:00 o'clock we were all set up in our campsite with both roof air-conditioners going - it was 84°

We rested for a while. then fed and walked the dogs, then rested some more.

We left for dinner at 5:45, made a quick stop at Dollar General, then enjoyed a nice dinner at The Cattleman’s Roadhouse.  Carol had beef tips while I sampled the salad bar.

We were back home with dogs at 7:15 and watched TV all evening.

April 15, 2017

We wanted to get an early start today.  I thought, "As soon as the birds chirp I’ll get up."  They were late!   It was 6:35 before I heard a peep!

We got moving quickly and hustled to get ready in less than an hour.  When we pulled out at 7:35 it was overcast and raining.

When we crossed the Ohio state line at 9:45 it was pouring rain.

We pulled off at a FlyingJ at 10:30, Carol picked us up some hot coffee while I gassed up.

We zipped through downtown Columbus at 12:00 then stopped at a rest area just north of the city for lunch.

At about 2:00 p.m. all the driving caught up with me.  I was getting very sleepy.  We pulled off in a rest area where I took a 30 minute power nap.  That did the trick!

We were in Pennsylvania by 4:30 and arrived at the Erie KOA campground at 4:45.

We quickly settled in then took the dogs for a walk.  When we got them to the off-leash park it was much too wet to let them chase their ball, so we just carried on walking around the campground!  Too bad, they needed a good romp after being cooped up all day!

We left at 6:00 for dinner, a quick sandwich at the Chik-Fil-A in Erie, then a brief stop at the nearby Christmas Tree Shop.

We were home with dogs by 7:45 and watched a bit of TV before crashing early!

April 16, 2017

Early to bed, early to rise!  We were up at 6:15.  I drained the holding tanks and gave them a very thorough rinse and we were on the road by 8:00 a.m.

It's an easy drive home from Erie, nothing but gentle rolling hills as we skirt the southern shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario,  Not much traffic, just endless farmland and vineyards.

We crossed the New York state line at 8:30 and passed through Buffalo at 10:00.

I pulled over to fuel up for the last time at a FlyingJ truck stop just east of Buffalo at 10:30 and we turned north onto I-81 at noon.

We had a quick lunch in a gas station parking lot near Mexico, NY before arriving at the Canadian border at 2:00.

We were home by 2:30 and started the worst part of the trip . . . unpacking after it's all over!

The unpacking was even more difficult this time, because we knew it was to be the last time!  We will be selling the RV in the very near future!

We've had a terrific time travelling the eastern part of the continent in the coach over the past dozen years, but this trip completed our "bucket list."

We'll both be sorry to see it go, but it's the right time!