Day 42 ~ Pigeon Forge, TN

John and I couldn't be happier with our accomodations here at Pigeon Forge.  We had a wonderful nights sleep, such a quiet RV Park!

We enjoyed our coffee on the patio this morning.  It's a little chilly in the morning, but it sure feels good to breath in that fresh mountain air first thing in the morning with a HOT cup of freshly ground coffee! 

We left late morning to check out some doggie day cares and then went to the Gatlinburg Visitors Center.  We purchased some publications on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We have a lot of exploring to do!  We then took a drive through Gatlinburg, it's absolutely overwhelming.....So much to see and do!  So glad we have 2 weeks here.

After a short drive to Gatlinburg, we decided to head back to camp and give the boys a good break.  Both Tanner and Frankie got to take an early afternoon swim in Wayden Creek.  Another couple with a yellow lab joined in on the doggie time with us.  Their yellow lab's name was Jake and he played so well with our boys.  It was a lot of fun to watch them play together.

Now that the boys were all pooped out we were able to go back into Pigeon Forge and check the area out.  Again, so much to see and do.  We ended up having a a small meal at TGI Friday's with a wonderful dessert to top it off!  We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.  We have decided to go to Cades Cove Tour in the Smoky Mountains.  Can't wait!! 

Day 41 ~ Nashville, Tennessee to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

We got up fairly early this morning, but we were in no big hurry to leave.  We decided to just take our time since Knoxville/Pigeon Forge area was only a 3-1/2 hour drive. 

We left 2 River's RV Park at 8:44am.  As we drove through Nashville on our way out of town, we felt we really did it right by extending our stay.  We were comfortable in knowing we saw most everything we wanted to see without over doing it.  We had plenty of rest times between doing the touristy things.

The drive to Knoxville/Pigeon Forge really was beautiful.  You can see the colors are just now starting to turn.  We hope that the two weeks we spend in Pigeon Forge will provide enough time to really see the fall colors change.  If not, who knows....we may extend again!

We got to Pigeon Forge and wow we were pleasantly surprised by "all" the things to do here.  We arrived at our campsite around 2:30pm (Eastern time).  Looks like we hit it big again with a beautiful campsite!  Very secluded and green!  A lot of grass for the dogs to play on with a beautiful creek passing through.  We decided to take them swimming right away!  The boys have really been good travelers and we felt we owed it to them to take care of their needs first so we walked just across a beautiful green field to the creek and "SPLASH"...Tanner was in first, then Frankie!  They loved it and so did we just watching them.

A nice evening for John, he watched football and I decorated the fifth wheel up for fall.  It's very relaxing here.  Since we are staying here so long, we decided to put up our lights and a few other things ie., bird feeder, chimes.  It's absolutely gorgeous here and we are looking forward to our new adventures here at Pigeon Forge, TN.



It's ONLY September and their colors are starting to change!!!  The locals said it was coming early this year!

Fall Is EVERYWHERE!!!

Our "Wonderful" RV Park

Time to Check In!!

John enjoying a beer and football!

Our New Home for the next 2 weeks!

Looking forward to a nice fall evening by a campfire!



Day 40 ~ Nashville, TN

Our last day in Nashville!  We are already making plans to come back in a couple of years.  We intentionally didn't do everything knowing we had to leave something to do for our next trip!  John and I both know we could easily stay here for 2 to 3 months.  The southern hospitality is so refreshing.

We had a fun day today.  We really enjoyed the sunny day, took some nice walks and remained close to the RV Park.  We had lunch at the Claim Jumper again.  We were going to go to the Loveless Cafe, but unfortunately our day went by way to fast and we wanted to stay close to camp.

Tanner and Frankie enjoyed some play time at the park and a lot of walks today.  We were able to go to the General Jackson Showboat.  Such a beautiful day spent relaxing around the area.  The weather could not be any better, we truly feel blessed to have had such a wonderful time in Nashville.

The 5th wheel got it's Spring Cleaning done today!  All bedding washed, including Tanner and Frankie's!!  Floors mopped, Bathrooms cleaned, Floors vacuumed and Cabinets all polished up!  Ready for our next adventure!!!

John and Tanner playing at the Park!





Fun at the park.

The General Jackson on the Cumberland River

 

What a beautiful day to check out the ShowBoat!!!



Day 39 ~ Nashville, TN

It was an AMAZING day today!  Once again we woke up to blue blue skies...So beautiful here.

John and I had extended our stay here in Nashville because there was so much to see and do, but one of the big reasons we wanted to stay was because of the Tennessee Flea Market here in Nashville.  Both John and I were absolutely blown away by all the vendors and so much STUFF!  By the end of the day we were exhausted! 

I learned a lot about these Flea Markets....If you see something you like, be sure to get it right then and there!  I saw 2 super cute wicker barrel stools and thought I would come back to get them.  I walked about 100 yards away from that booth and then decided to go back to get them, and wouldn't you know it, another lady was standing there buying them!  Argh!!!  I was so mad at myself.  But both John and I did score on some really cool items!  John bought an antique Fan for $15 and I got a super nice Quilt Rack for $15.  I also purchased some really nice "burlap" pillows made by a local artist here in Tennessee.  This place is crazy for Burlap!  Who would have thought!!!  We had an absolute blast and I really believe we didn't see the whole place.  It was the Largest Flea Market we have ever been to!

After our fantastic day at the Flea Market, we picked the dogs up and then went back to camp to get things packed for our journey to the Smoky Mountains.  We leave on Sunday....Kind of bitter sweet.  Sad to leave Nashville, but excited to continue our journey onto new territory!



A GREAT day at the Flea Market in Nashville, TN



Furniture like the piece above was being sold for $120.00!!  The prices were amazing!



Checking out "stuff"



Day 38 ~ Nashville

We truly weren't exactly sure what we were going to do today.  We took the dogs to day care and started visiting with one of the girls there and she suggested we go into Franklin, Kentucky and see some of the historic buildings there and also check out the Antique Mall. 

Well, sure enough we jumped into the truck and next thing you know, we were en route to Franklin, Kentucky.  It was only a 40 minute drive.  The Historic Downtown area was beautiful!  We so enjoyed the drive there and the buildings in town were gorgeous.  A ton of antique stores!  So many things to see!  After our shopping adventures in the antique stores, we stopped at a Frosty Freeze to grab a milkshake and some fries.  Mmmmm Mmmmm Good!  John had a Banana Malt, and of course I had just a regular Chocolate Milkshake.  This particular establishment had been there since 1956!  We knew it was good because of the line-up  of people at the window!

It was a beautiful afternoon to just stroll around and sip on a milkshake.  The temperature was a wonderful 75 degrees!  It just couldn't get any better than this!

On our way back we stopped at Lowe's to pick up a couple of items for the fifth wheel and then picked up the boys. 

We had homemade chicken casserole tonight and then relaxed outside and visited with our neighbors here at the RV Park.  Super Day!!!  We are really looking forward to the Flea Market at the Nashville, TN Fairgrounds tomorrow!!!  Stay Tuned!

Off We Go!!!

What kind of Treasures are we going to find???

Franklin, Kentucky...Historic Downtown District

Enjoying our day in Franklin, Kentucky

Beautiful Blue Skies....



Our First BIG Antique Mall




Stopped for a Banana Malt at the Frosty Freeze!!!  est. 1956



Day ~ 37 Nashville, TN

A much needed "Rest" Day was in store for us today!  We spent this wonderful sunny day just hanging around the RV Park.  It's so nice here!!  It will be a sad day when we depart from this area.  The people have been so kind and the park is so very nice.

We did some cleaning around the 5th wheel, getting things all organized and ready for our big travel day on Sunday to Pigeon Forge.  The dogs were content hanging out outside while the groundskeepers were mowing the lawns and weedeating. 

We went to the park again to run the boys a bit and to just take in the scenery.  We made our grocery list and decided to pick up a few more groceries.

Beautiful Fall weather is settling in and we are loving it.  Temperatures are dropping at night which makes it much more comfortable for all of us.

Tanner was "super" happy and relaxed that we stayed at the RV all day!



Just chilling out and waiting for my coffee!!!



Getting ready to take the dogs to the park

John just taking it easy!

Day 36 ~ Nashville, TN

It ceases to amaze me as to how much goes on here in Nashville, TN!  John and I are so glad we extended our stay.  So much to see and do, but not even close to seeing it all!  We had an exciting day today.  We woke up to blue skies and cooler temperatures.  It doesn't seem humid today at all.  It's like it turned from summer to fall over night!

We took the boy's to doggie day care this morning then off we went to Lebanon, TN to do some more antiquing.  We were so disappointed by the prices here.  We wonder if they even make any sales?  Regardless of the prices we really enjoyed the stores and loved the historic buildings.

We decided to have a late lunch at the Claim Jumpers.  Wow!  I highly recommend the Southwest Chicken Egg Roll.  Our waitress recommended it and boy was it a fantastic choice!  After a nice quiet lunch, we walked over to the Grand Ole' Opry to be prepared for tonight's show.  We are so excited!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Opry Mills, just milling around (clever huh!).  We picked up the boys and got back to our fifth wheel so we had time to relax before we got ready for the show.

A fantastic evening it was!  The show's entertainers were:  Lorrie Morgan, Riders In The Sky, Jimmy Wayne, Bill Anderson, Kellie Pickler and of course Dierks Bentley.  It was a fantastic and very entertaining show.  The house was packed!  Super Acoustics in the Theatre!  We had fantastic seats and were even able to get up close and personal with Dierks Bentley.  We have enjoyed Kellie Pickler since she was on American Idol and seeing her in person makes you really appreciate her even more.  She can really belt out those songs!  She surprised the audience with her shaved head.  I kind of laughed because I had seen her on Ellen the day before.  She's got a huge heart and soul and it certainly shows on stage.

Off We go!!!



First STOP, General Store....Awesome stuff!!!

Great Stuff!

My Kinda Store!!!



It was for sure another fabulous day in Nashville, TN!