Goodbye gray gravel, Hello green trees!

After almost two weeks, parked on that large gray gravel parking lot of a campground at Tiffin, we were finally able to leave! It thundered, lightening & rained all the day & night before, but on the day we chose to leave, the sun came out, bright and shining!

We had decided rather than dash straight to Atlanta GA, our next "big stop", we would get a much needed "green fix" and just go to a nearby forest. Just an hour away, is the William Bankhead National Forest. It has two large (50+ campsites each) campgrounds and one beautiful, large lake - Lewis Smith Lake. It was great being able to "sleep in" and take our time pulling out, then getting to the campsite, checking in, setting up and still be there in time for me to make lunch!
Now that's camping!

From this...














To this...



























...on the road in Alabama, Marie

Two Homes, Two Different Stories...

Staying in a tiny town in the north east section of Alabama, there's not a lot to see...so you look for anything, within a day's drive. We found two homes that we thought were worth checking out. The first was one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Rosenbaum's in Florence AL in 1940. It was a Usonian style home.

The day we decided to visit, we were the only ones, so we ended up getting a private tour! Our host was very knowledgeable and shared some wonderful stories with us along with some very interesting architectural insights that Wright had. Along with all the common knowledge we all have about Wright's designs, he showed us some little things on how Wright worked in merging the outdoors with the indoors, even to using copper screening so that it blended with the wood and the light coming through the windows. How the screens were on the inside so there were no "handles" on the outside to break the flow of the design. And on & on. A trip worth making, and a tour much enjoyed.



































The second home we visited used to belong to the family of Helen Keller, in Tuscumbia. Helen was born in 1880, healthy. At 19 months, she contracted scarlet fever that left her deaf & blind. When she was 7, the Keller's brought in a teacher, Anne Sullivan, and the "rest is history" as they say. Helen graduated 'cum laude' from Radcliffe College, spoke 5 languages, wrote 14 books and dedicated her life to improving the conditions of blind and deaf-blind around the world. A poem she wrote sums it up...

They took away what should have been my eyes, (But I remembered Milton's Paradise). They took away what should have been by ears, (Beethoven came and wiped away my tears). They took away what should have been my tongue, (But I had talked with God when I was young). He would not let them take away my soul..Possessing that, I still possess the whole.

The home is located on a 640 acre tract, built in 1820 by David and Mary Keller, grandparents of Helen. The simple, white clapboard home is designed in typical Southern architecture. Having survived untouched through the ravages of the Civil War, Ivy Green is maintained to the smallest detail in its original state. They are very fortunate to have many of the original belongings of the Keller family including her complete library of Braille books and her original Braille typewriter. It was a very moving and beautiful experience being there.










































A couple of side trips that turned out to be worth taking and fun!

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...kicking back in Alabama, Marie

Only in Alabama!

'Bama boys take their huntin' seriously! Their land is blessed with acres of forests and lakes filled with everything from wild turkeys to bass. But it seems, one of the "prized" catches are the ones that will "climb trees" for their escape . For this, you need a special dog, one not just trained in helping you hunt for them, but one that it's in his blood-line to sniff them out, even when they climb that tree, and then keep them there, barking & baying, while his master comes to catch/hunt his prey.

This special dog is called a "coon dog", and is revered here. So much so, they have their own cemetery - the only one in the US! It was established in 1937 when a mourning hunter, Key Underwood, wanted to lay his coon dog to rest, and honor him for all the years of faithful service and friendship they had shared. Soon after, other hunters joined Key in burying their coon dogs there as well. Thus, the Coon Dog Cemetery in Tuscumbia started filling, with more that 250 dogs now. All types of head stones can be found, from high-end granite not unlike at a "human cemetery" to a plain rock or stick or grill. Each as individual as the hunter themselves, I'm sure. It's quite a site, I can tell you!

They have standards and requirements by which a dog will be allowed in. To quote:

"We have stipulations on this thing," says Larry Sanderson, Vice President of the Coon Dog Graveyard. "A dog can't run no deer, possum -- nothing like that. He's got to be a straight coon dog, and he's got to be full hound. Couldn't be a mixed up breed dog, a house dog."

They must meet these requirements:

The owner must claim their pet is an authentic coon dog.

A witness must declare the deceased is a coon dog.

A member of the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard, Inc. must be allowed to view the coonhound and declare it as such.

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...kicking back in Alabama, Marie

Always nice to see how things are made...

Red Bay is a tiny little town in the north-west corner of Alabama, that if you sneeze, you've missed it. I don't know it's population (they don't list it on it's sign) but I would guess that 2/3 of the town folk work for Tiffin Motorhomes, as 1200 do. We jokingly call it "Tiffin Town", and some of the locals have shared with us, that they do too! We came here for a couple of reasons, one being that this is where our RV was made, and ever since we first started looking at Tiffin's, we thought it would be fun to come and tour the manufacturing plant. The company is family owned and run, Bob Tiffin, being at the helm, makes it a practice to constantly invite all his customers to "come on down and take a tour!" After we bought ours, and had an opportunity to meet Bob, he pressed upon us, once again to "please come and see us!" So, we put it on our list of places we wanted to visit. That was the first reason.

The second reason, was for some "work" to be done. We had attended a rally in February and had the opportunity to see the new Tiffins, and Jack took a liking to the new, free-standing dining-style, vs our booth-style seating. Being as tall as he is, ours is rather uncomfortable for him. We had talked to an outfit in Florida about a redesign, but they never followed up on it, so we decided to have it done "at the source", in Red Bay. After all who better than the people who designed her in the first place, right? Additionally, we had a couple of little things that needed fixing (a couple of the blinds, tv antenna, mirror). Then, as everyone said it would, we had our first "oops". We discovered that we are a bit wider than we realized, and tried to park in a spot that had trees on both sides of it - making it about a couple of inches to skinny...just enough to put a nice scrunch on our shade awning. Luckily it didn't do any body damage and we had already talked about getting a new one, so, for an "oops" it probably was one of the least costly ones we could do.

We arrived at the Tiffin "Campground", which in fact is a very large gravel parking lot with hookups, to find out that this is their very busy season as all the "snowbirds" are heading back home and pass through here first to get what ever they need done. Luckily, they took us on anyway, as long as we didn't mind waiting a week or more for all of it to be completed. Time, we have!

While we waited, we took the tour! Wow, what a tour it was too! Two hours, and nothing held back. We walked into every area, could see and ask any question. After the tour, we could stay behind and walk around all we wanted, no security! They do the painting in a separate facility across town (remember, that's only about 3 miles!) and were told how to get there, to "just check in with security, and they will point you in the right direction". We did, and he gave us goggles and ear plugs and showed us where the door was and told us to "watch our step and enjoy." He didn't come with us, we were on our own! We wandered around, asking questions, peeking in doors, watching the process, it was fun! As "Californians" we couldn't get over the openess! We would never have allowed that for fear "of being sued!" When we were picking out our new buffet table top material, we asked the young man helping us "doesn't it slow you guys down having customers wander in and out of your service area all day, asking questions, watching, etc?" He said "yea, but that's the way Bob wants it, so, that's they way we do it here". Pretty unique, I'd say.

Everything here is made by hand, no "automation" going on here! All the way down to the chassis! Even the painting, all hand painted, they don't use decals, every design is hand taped out, then painted, layer after layer. Amazing. It gave me a new respect for the product I can say.




































































If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...kicking back in Alabama, Marie

Graceland...the last home of my "first love"

We all remember our "first love"...mine was when I was 9 years old. We were living in Guam at the time, it was the mid 1950's and my Mom was listening to a song on the radio and the singer had this wonderful velvet voice, she was practically swooning. He was singing "Love Me Tender" and his name was Elvis Presley. Every time he came on the radio she would turn the volume up and sigh. My older brother and I would buy 45 RPM records, and Mom asked us to buy his. When I saw his picture, together with his voice, I was "in love". All my "pretend play" involved being married to Elvis, no one could top him.

When he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, we were all glued to the TV set. It only sealed my love deeper, just like his movies did. Nothing he ever did lessened my love. Now, I'm not one of "those screaming, idol collecting, swooning fans", I just think he was one of the most talented singers of my time, who just happened to also be the most handsome and seemed to be a genuinely nice person.

All that said, coming anywhere near Memphis, you know we HAD to make a trip to Graceland! We set aside a whole day "just to see all of Graceland and all it's various exhibits"...and I'm glad we did!

I didn't really know what to expect, other than a big house with those "famous gates". So when we got there, we found out there were several "tour choices" - just the house, the house AND the cars, planes and other exhibits, or the VIP tour. I decided that the one including the cars etc was the right one for us. They give you a headset, then board you on a mini coach and take you across the street to the house. From there you pretty much stay as a group, but you are at your own speed as you listen to your headset and walk the path it leads you adding the "extra information" you want and/or stopping it so you can take longer to look and/or read & take pictures of things.

The house isn't all that fancy, really. Pretty much an upper-class 1970's two-story with a basement home. I'd had the privilege of seeing (and partying in) his Palm Springs home many years ago, and although much smaller, it was similar. They don't let you go upstairs to the bedrooms (darn!). Just outside, in the backyard is the Meditation Garden, and that is where he and his parents and Grandmother are buried. He also put a headstone for his twin brother there. It's really moving.The display of his cars was quite nice and seeing the two planes was unexpected and interesting. What was really the "wow factor" to me was seeing all the silver & gold records and all the other awards he'd received over the years. Walls & walls of them! Even rows of awards thanking him for his various philanthropy. They also displayed some of his costumes and how his "style" affected other artists.

They have several restaurants, with some of his "favorite foods", of course. Additionally, many different gift shops to make sure you find all the souvenir items you didn't know you needed until today! All in all, a full day of "loving him tenderly"...one last time.

























































































If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...on the road in Tennessee, Marie

Memphis Tennessee - "Home of the Blues"

You can't love music, especially Jazz, Blues and Rock & Roll, and not want to go to Memphis where "it all began!" Legends like Al Green, BB King, Jerry Lee Lewis and of course the king himself, Elvis, all came out of Memphis. Downtown Beale Street is known for being where "the birth of the blues" and all R&B was played, and still is. So, that's where we went just as soon as we got ourselves settled in at "Tom Sawyer's RV Park" (don't 'cha just love the name?)

We were told that they were having a "Street Fair" that day, so when we got there around 11:30am we expected to see a huge crowd of people, nope. The street was blocked off, but found a parking spot just around the corner, a few vendors were just starting to set up in the park, but there really wasn't any people or music or "anything" happening! We did find a band playing in the park so sat and listened to them for awhile, they were good, then started on up the street. When we got to BB King's Club there was a host out front who said live music would be playing around noon. I trotted up to him and told him we had heard there would be a street fair today, and he said, "oh yea, it starts at noon." "Noon? Wow, ours in CA usually start early in the morning around 9am." He asked what time did they end and I told him around 4pm, that's when he shook his head and said, theirs doesn't end until midnight! "Oh my! I see you all like to party, that's why it starts late and ends late!" In actuality, I think they don't start early on Sundays because of church, that's very important around here.

Anyway, the "other thing" Memphis is known for is Bar-B-Que!! UmmMmm! We had heard about one restaurant named the Blues City Cafe. It had been featured on the Travel Channel & on the Food Network's Bobby Flay Show, so I was ready to give it a try!

We were greeted by their host, who looked to be about 75 yrs, a very thin black man with dreads kept up in a multi-colored cap. I leaned in and said in a low voice, "rumor has it, you all have the best BBQ in all of Memphis, is that true?" He said "yes ma'am, and cat fish too!" Everyone was right! It was outstanding, you just touched it with your fork and it fell off the bone, so juicy and tender and full of flavor. Hardly any "sauce" on it, and I didn't dare ask for any in case it would be taken as an insult, but in truth, it really didn't need any. I guess that's what REAL BBQ is supposed to be like.

So, when we left, he asked me if they had "passed the test" and I told him "absolutely! No lying going on here!" He said "Of course not, he's taste-tested every item!" I asked him if I would stay as slim as him if I did the same, he just twinkled his eyes at me as smiled and said "no promises." ;-)

Beale Street still has it's many night clubs, and they have added some "museums & tours" around the area on everything from Gibson Guitars to Rock & Roll. There was one we went to that was interesting and that was the "Pink Palace". It was the home of Clarence Saunders, founder of Piggly Wiggly, the first self-service grocery store. It was "pink" due to the color of the Georgia granite that he had shipped in to build it with. Unfortunately, due to a lost New York Stock Exchange battle, he went bankrupt and never moved into his home. He ended up giving it to the city on the condition that they use it for a museum. Kind of sad, really. Beautiful museum now though.














































































If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...kicking back in Tennessee, Marie

New Orleans Part 2: Music, Music, Music!

Jack and I both love music, and live music is the best! So, when people said to us "you ARE staying for the Festival, aren't you?" We decided we should, if we could. When the small FQ RV Park we were staying in actually had an available space for us, we took it as a good omen and booked it. And we're glad we did!

French Quarter Festival celebrated it's 29th year as the largest free music festival in the South. A record 22 music stages throughout the French Quarter presented the best in New Orleans music, representing every genre from traditional and contemporary jazz to R & B and New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, classical, cabaret, opera, Cajun Zydeco, Latin World, International, as well as a musical stage for children. They had over 800 local musicians, over 250 hours of free music and over 500,000 festival goers. Of course, throughout all these areas were food & beverage vendors (very good & very reasonable too) to keep everyone healthy. Did I say this was big? You bet! And FUN!!

We mostly like Cajun/Zydeco and traditional Jazz. The first two days were from 11-6 with only 5 stages having 5 groups at each stage. The weekend they expanded to their full hours of 11-9 with the 22 stages and varying the number of groups playing at each stage. All in all, we managed to listen to about 20 groups that we actually stayed and enjoyed (not counting the ones we stopped, listened to and said "not our taste" & moved on). Of course, the street performers were out in full force and of course, people watching was at an all time high in entertainment!

Here's just a few pictures of our many favorites, all the rest are in my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band














Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys















Charmaine Neville
















































The Festival ended our two week visit to New Orleans and we left the following morning. It felt kind of like one does right after you finished your Thanksgiving dinner, it was wonderful, but your to full to eat any more, and you have to back off from the table and just go rest. That's what we did when we drove to Natchez. It poured down rain (just like when we arrived in NOLA) for two days which gave us just the down time we needed before we began our "next adventure" - the Natchez Trace...

...on the road, Marie