09/12/2023 - Day 89 Heading Home

It’s Tuesday and we’re heading to SC, our home base and the end of this Adventure.  It’s a bittersweet time, especially since this is our first trip out since 2020. 

Here’s a few stats for this trip: We’ve been gone since 06/16; or 89 days 

We’ve driven:  9,811 miles, averaging 11.1 mph, at a cost of $3,187. 

We’ve traveled to/through 16 states:

SC - start NC - drive through 

TN - Dollywood, Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mountains 

KY -Churchill downs, KY Horse Park

IN - toured Grand Design RV factory, ate some awesome Amish food  

MI* -Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Mackinaw Island, Mackinac BridgeWI - drive across 

MN * - finally visited Clonia & Dan ; went to a meat raffle

ND* - Theodore Roosevelt National ParkMT - Billings Airport to get our babies

WY - Cody, Yellowstone National Park, Beartooth Highway, Chief Joseph Highway 

CO - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, drove the Million Dollar Highway, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods

UT - Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse State Park, Petroglyphs

NM -Route 66, Music Highway 

TX - Route 66, Cadillac Ranch

OK- Route 66, Oklahoma City National Memorial 

AR - 🥴

TN - Grand Ole RV Park

NC - layover 

SC- Home 

We visited our last 3 states! Mr Charley and I can both say we’ve been to all 50 States! Of course, not all by RV, since we’ve both cruised to Hawaii, but how many people can say they’ve been to all 50 states!  We’ve visited over 40 National Parks! 
  “The Great Adventure”, back in 2015 - my first time out West  “Maiden Voyage” back in 2016 - Atlantic North East trip in my Class C  “The Grand Adventure” back in 2017 - Drive to Alaska  “The Greater Adventure” back in 2019 - Pacific North West  And now, “The Greatest Adventure - last 3 of 50”
I am beyond blessed and so thankful Mr Charley has allowed me to ride along. We both know how fortunate we are to be able to do this. Our next “adventure” planned is wintering in TX, since we’ve been wintering in FL for the last 8 years or so. But, who knows what the Lord has planned., and of course, Mr Charley has that “gift” (of changing his mind). So now, I’ll be couch surfing for awhile. Here’s our last sunrise in NC, thankful I got to see another one. 


Have a good one everybody. 

 

 










Have a good one everybody. 








 

09/11/2023 - Day 88 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Monday and we’re heading to NC, our last stop before heading home to our babies in SC. 

And it’s 9/11……and I remember where I was, how scared I was, and how proud I was to be an American! So, as we travel towards NC today, I pray we don’t forget what happened back on 9/11/2001. 
 
 
 
And I pray that God will continue to bless and protect our beautiful country. 




Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/10/2023 - Day 87 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Sunday  and we’re to TN at the Grand Ole RV Park. 

It’s our last day here, so laundry is done. I got through another book, and the girls are ready to go home. 
Mr C is rested up and has started putting his stuff up. This has been a shorter trip than usual, but we accomplished what we set out to do, hit our last 3 states. With the added bonus of some of our babies joining us in Yellowstone.  
 

I’m gathering up the stats, but I think we hit  about 15 states, traveled nearly 10,000 miles and visited about 10 National Parks and Monuments. We’re blessed to be able to do this, as this is our first trip out since the 2020 chaos. 
Tonight is dinner out at Red Lobster and we head out early in the morning to Hendersonville, NC for 1 night, then home to SC on Tuesday. 
Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/09/2023 - Day 86 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Saturday and we’re in TN! 
 I never thought seeing green Kudzu growing would be so welcoming. After seeing so much desert grasses and mountains, seeing green grass growing is such a blessing to my “southern” heart. 

We made a quick run to “the local Walmart” to get the girls more treats and a few other things to get us back home. 
The weather is beautiful! Sunny, gentle breeze blowing, and it’s college football day. I’m not the biggest football fan (previous life turned me off), but I’ll give Mr Charley credit, he explains things to me with quiet patience. So now I enjoy watching Clemson play.  And I was REALLY happy with the final score after they got creamed last week! Mr C grilled pork chops and we just took a day to relax and unwind. 
Tomorrow is getting ready to get ready day. (Laundry). So, I’ll just soak up a little more fresh air, sunshine and get through another book. 
Have a good one everybody. 









 

09/08/2023 - Day 85 Goodlettsville, TN Grand Ole RV Park

It’s Friday and we’re heading to TN and the Grand Ole RV Park. This is one of the best places we love to stay. 

It’s clean, safe, friendly AND they serve dinner and have live music on the back porch! 
Our drive from AR was long, but we’ve learned to take our time, pull over as needed and I always have snacks in the cab, and sandwich makings at the ready in the camper. If we stop at a rest area or “turnout”, that doesn’t have a nice picnic area, we just get our chairs out and set up our own! Here’s a few pics along the way: (I love to watch a beautiful sunrise!)     That’s the best part of the drive, since we leave so early. Arkansas is not my favorite place, it’s just a stopover, so leaving is always a good thing. Here’s some pics along the way:   We drove past Hurricane Millls (Loretta Lynn), Memphis (Elvis Presley), and it’s Patsy Cline’s birthday! So this portion of I40 (Memphis to Nashville) is called “Music Highway” (but it doesn’t “sing”  like the other. 
We safely landed at the campground and they were nice enough to let us check in early. The girls were happy to have some green grass to waller in and the weather was nice enough to sit outside for awhile. Dinner tonight is pulled pork, baked beans and potato salad. And, live music! 

Have a good one everybody. 





 

09/07/2023 - Day 84 Little Rock,AR Downtown Riverside RV Park

It’s Thursday and we’re heading to Little Rock, AR., for one night only as we head to TN. 

The ride here was long, but thankfully uneventful. Here’s a few pics of the ride here:       I love the “NO TOLERANCE” part LOL! 
      “DONT IMPEDE! LOL! The only good part of our stay here is we’re on the river.    Here’s the bridge lit up: 
Saw this and loved it:

Have a good one everybody. 


 

09/06/2023 - Day 83 Hinton, OK Territory Route 66 RV Park

It’s Wednesday and we’re in Hinton, OK! 

Today we’re going to see the memorial site of the Oklahoma City bombing.  I’ve cut and pasted below from the website. I knew I couldn’t describe it in my own words. But I am going to insert my pics, so bear with me. 

Outdoor Symbolic Memorial

The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial stands on the now-sacred ground where the events of April 19, 1995, unfolded. What was once the footprint of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Fifth Street, the Athenian Building and Oklahoma Water Resources Board are now the Field of Empty Chairs, Reflecting Pool and Rescuers’ Orchard. 

 

SYMBOLIC ELEMENTS:  GATES OF TIME:  These monumental twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 AM – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The 9:01 Gate represents the innocence before the attack. The 9:03 Gate symbolizes the moment healing began.  

 

 

REFLECTIVE POOL:

The pool occupies what was once N.W. Fifth Street. Here, a shallow depth of gently flowing water helps soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts. The placid surface creates the reflection of someone changed forever by their visit to the Memorial.  
 FIELD OF EMPTY CHAIRS: The 168 Chairs represent those killed on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows, each representing a floor of the Federal Building where the field is now located. Each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children. 

 
 SURVIVOR WALL:On the east end of the Memorial stands the only remaining walls from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. These walls remind us of those who survived the attack – many with serious injuries. Today, more than 600 names are inscribed on salvaged pieces of granite from the Federal Building lobby. 

 

THE SURVIVOR TREE: 

The Survivor Tree is an American elm tree in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, it survived the bomb’s blast and witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks on American Soil.Before the bombing, the tree was important because it provided the only shade in the downtown parking lot. People would arrive early to work just to be able to park under the shade of the tree’s branches. On April 19, 1995, the tree was almost chopped down in order to recover pieces of evidence that hung from its branches after a 4,000 pound bomb that killed 168 and injured hundreds exploded just yards away.
RESCUERS ORCHARD: Like the people who rushed in to help, this army of nut- and flower-bearing trees surrounds and protects the Survivor Tree. An inscription encircling the Survivor Tree facing the orchard reads: To the courageous and caring who responded from near and far, we offer our eternal gratitude, as a thank you to the thousands of rescuers and volunteers who helped.CHILDRENS AREA:In the aftermath of the blast, children from around the country and the world sent in their own expressions of encouragement and love. That care is immortalized today in a wall of tiles – each hand-painted by children and sent to Oklahoma City in 1995. In addition, buckets of chalk and chalkboards built into the ground of the Children’s Area give children a place where they can continue to share their feelings – an important component of the healing process.
THE FENCE:The first Fence was installed to protect the site of the Federal Building. Almost immediately, people began to leave tokens of love and hope on the Fence. Tens of thousands of those items have been collected and preserved in our archives. Today, part of the original Fence gives people the opportunity to leave tokens of remembrance and hope. Across the street is a very old church with its own memorial: 

 

Needless to say it was a very moving experience and I’m thankful Mr Charley brought me here. May God Bless America! 


Have a good one everybody.