After leaving Suzanne's house on Sunday, we stopped in Ellis,KS for the night. On Monday we drove to KC and spent the night with John & Marge. Had a wonderful time just catching up with the news. Marge made lasagna & meatballs. What a treat to have a great dinner that I didn't have to cook.
On Tuesday we continued on. Carol wanted to go back to the great bakery in Herman, MO so off we went. We spent the night at the city campground in Herman then went to the bakery on Wednesday morning. We vote this bakery as the best ever.
On Wednesday we drove to Johnston City, IL and stopped at the Arrowhead Lake city campground. A very nice campground for only $7/night!! On the way in we had a bar-b-que dinner in Benton, IL. Fair at best. Beans from a can, frozen french fries, etc.
On Thursday we continued on. Another 3 hour plus driving day. We stopped at a real bar-b-que place in Nashville; Jack's. Carol had the pork shoulder (pulled pork), and I had the brisket. Apples, green beans, cole slaw and baked beans for sides. Excellent!!
About 3:00 we got to our campground. Floating Mill Campground at the COE Center Hill Lake. We have a great site right on the lake. $12/night with water & electric. We're staying here until Saturday.
On Saturday we headed towards Knoxville,TN with no special destination in mind. We stopped by a TVA campground on Douglas Lake but it wasn't much so we continued north. Saw a Bar-b-que joint so we pulled in and bought a 1/2# of pulled pork and onion rings. Very good. I asked a guy in the joint, if there was any pplace we could get to the lake for a picnic. He directed me to a nearby access road. We parked right along side the lake. It was so nice, we decided to stay there overnight. This is Gophers type of campground; no leash required.
On Sunday we decided to drive to NC through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park rather then use the Interstate. The stretch of road from Sevierville,TN , the birthplace of Dolly Pardon (Dollyville), through Gatlinburg, is one solid tourist trap. Every conceivable hotel, restaurant, amusement attraction, etc., you could ever imagine is there. We have never seen anything quite like it before. In the late 1970's we took the children in the RV, from Cherokee, NC to Gatlinburg. It was a tourist trap then, but nothing like this. This was our second, and last, trip in this area.
On the other hand, once you get into the National Park, it's just beautiful. It was a cool & rainy day, but the drive was still enjoyable. Much better then the Interstate.
We had no particular destination in mind but wanted to cut Mondays drive to Charleston to about three hours. We wound up spending the night in the Walmart parking lot in Spartanburg, SC. Quite a contrast between the beautiful lakeside sites of the last few nights.
Had Walmart fried chicken for dinner.
