Greenfield Village (Henry Ford)

We arrived at Harbortown RV Resort yesterday (Wednesday) in Monroe, Michigan and it's starting to fill up quickly for the 4th of July Weekend.  Today we headed towards Dearborn to check out Greenfield Village.  This is a huge "complex" with a Museum, IMAX, Factory Tour and the Village which is what we opted to explore.  The village had working farms and the houses belonging to the Wright brothers, Robert Frost, Thomas Edison and others that were transported to the Village by Henry Ford in addition to many more structures (including a windmill and a building that was a jewelry store in England).  We bought a pass for $10 and it was good for any of the transportation that included a ride in a Model T, a carousel (yup, Ed and I took a ride on it), a horse drawn Omnibus Shuttle, and a train ride that encircled the Village.

:

Here's a link to some more pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Pawpurrs/GreenfieldVillageHenryFordDearbornMI?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKO_4JOqt5fMUQ&feat=directlink

Shipshewana - Amish Country

We had said our "good-byes and see you in August" to Karen and Art when we left Cave Country RV Resort in Kentucky on Monday.  We checked into Shipshewana South Campground on Monday and got up bright and early on Tuesday to head to the Shipshewana Flea Market which is HUGE!!!  We arrived there a little after 8am and the parking lot was already filling up.  We walked up and down the rows of booths and there were hundreds (maybe a thousand!) of them.  By 11:30 we were both limping around after all the walking and we had found some neat things to buy...you know "we just had to have it" type stuff.  We came back to the RV and got the dogs and then headed out on the Heritage Trail to check out the different quilt gardens that took us through Middlebury, Bristol, Elkhart...where my camera battery started flashing.  Unfortunately, I had never put my battery back in the bag after the Mammoth Cave tours (you can NOT carry any type of bag on the tour...not even a phone case!!!) but it was 4:30 and we were hungry and getting tired so we headed back to the RV.  Tomorrow morning we plan on checking out some more quilt gardens and some shops before we hook up the car and head to Monroe, Michigan...our next stop.

Here's a link to some more pictures: 

https://picasaweb.google.com/Pawpurrs/ShipsewanaQuiltGardens?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKX3roqFtf7etwE&feat=directlink

Mammoth Caves in Kentucky

Wow!  We went on the Historic Tour at the Mammoth Caves and it was quite an experience. 

This was an awesome tour, 2 hrs. and 2 miles led and narrated by a park ranger. Throughout the tour you learn the history of the caves, from 4,000 years ago when the first woodland Indians explored the caves to when slaves mined for gunpowder during the War of 1812.  At the beginning of this tour we passed through great big rooms, but then once you make a tour at the "devil's coffin" rock it begins to get smaller! We squeezed through Fat man's misery and then Tall man's misery.  Total stairs: 440, including 155 at Mammoth Dome. Elevation change: 300’.   More pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/Pawpurrs/MammothCaves?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOrtoer5oJ-zEw&feat=directlink

A Night at the Grand Ol' Opry

Friday we went to the Grand Ol' Opry and it was great.  A few of the performers were the old timers that we've never heard of ... there was blue grass and country.  Little Jimmy Dickens, Bucky Covington from American Idol, and Crystal Gayle were the ones we were familiar with.  Some more pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/Pawpurrs/GrandOlOpryNashville?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCI7jkqnWjrqROA&feat=directlink

Elvis Sighting!

Today we did the trial run to the Grand Ol' Opry; good thing because it was at the mall that got flooded last year when the river rose and all the big stores are under major renovation and the parking lot is one big construction zone.  We then found a great restaurant for lunch and stopped at Camping World before heading back to the KOA. 

Ed and I went to see Elvis and it was quite a good show.  Ed still thinks it was the real Elvis and wanted his picture taken with him.  I think "Elvis" was a little surprised when we asked to get a picture with him and Ed went to stand next to him while I took the picture.

Around Nashville

Yesterday the four of us headed to downtown Nashville and it started raining minutes after we hit the streets.  After buying a couple of umbrellas and rain ponchos to carry around for the next downpour, we had a good time browsing in the windows of the stores and restaurants and ended up eating at Joe's Crab Shack.  We made it to the car and headed back to the campground right before another downpour hit.  Why can't New Bern get some of this rain?! 
Pictures of downtown Nashville:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Pawpurrs/DowntownNashville?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPCCvIuQ3_3ybA&feat=directlink

For dinner we went to the Cock of the Walk Restaurant right next to the KOA and the guys had their catfish dinners on tin plates.  The big rocker there was a great photo op.

Tonight we went to Nashville Night Life Dinner Theater and enjoyed some good country music and comedy.

Nashville

Well, we arrived at the Nashville KOA at 1:30 pm and Karen & Art arrived around 4pm.  It's hot and all the rain that I've been asking for in New Bern looks like it's going to show up here in Nashville this week.  We went to ANOTHER Bass Pro Shop here and if one more shows up along the way I'm sure the novelty will wear off, for ME.  We did realize that we were an hour ahead since somewhere along the way we went through a time zone change.

Nashville Bound

We left New Bern on Saturday (6/18) after packing the car with stuff we will need for a month on the road. We picked up our RV that we left in storage in Kodak, TN and checked into Dumplin Valley Farm & RV Park (full hook-up and wi-fi and beautiful farmland). We went to Bass Pro Shop, the flea market, and the Knife Shop in Sevierville before hitting the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the RV and then sat and relaxed in the pavilion at the campground. Another camper finally showed up so we were no longer the only ones there...Todd, a physical education teacher from Leland, NC (Wilmington area). He was heading to the Grand Canyon on his motorcycle and very chatty. Before dark, two other rigs pulled in so we no longer had the "farm" to ourselves. I figured out why TN was so lush and green...it rains (with pretty loud thunder) a LOT.

We'll be meeting Karen and Art in Nashville today - Monday, 6/20.