Weekend in Tennessee

Monday, April 20 - Winston-Salem, NC

We had a great weekend on Tennessee! We arrived at "The Dell" RV resort at about 12:30PM, and, after being led to our lots, settled in, then we all headed out to do some sightseeing. Little did we know that this was the first of two "Rod Runner" weekends in Eastern Tennessee. The traffic was horrendous! It took us about one hour to cover the two-mile trek down US 441 through Pigeon Forge! We did get to see quite a number of "vintage" automobiles, some beautifully restored, some in the process of being restored. We also got to see a few "home-made" vehicles, which were quite interesting, to say the least.

Once we made it through the traffic tie-up, we stopped in to the Gatlinburg Visitor's Center to get information on what to see and do in the area. We decided to take a short (11 mile) scenic loop, which would take us up into the Smokies, where we could see actual homes which date back into the late 1700s/early 1800s. See the web album for these photos.

The weather on Sunday was not very cooperative (rain most of the day). We started out by attending Mass at a local Catholic Church in Pigeon Forge, TN (the home of Dolly Parton). After Mass, we picked up the Burch's and Desmet's back at the resort, and headed down the road for breakfast before starting the days touring of the area. We breakfasted at the "Apple Barn", a noted restaurant, where they served us a basket of apple muffins and apple fritters, with a couple of dishes of apple butter - delicious! Immediately after breakfast, we again headed out into the traffic, which had subsided quite a bit since Saturday afternoon. This time we had decided to take a longer scenic route in the hopes of seeing some wild life along the way! However, all we managed to see was a couple of wild turkeys and a few Canadian Geese. It was a very scenic trip, though, and we all enjoyed the scenery despite the constant drizzle.

Upon returning to the resort, the girls decided to go shopping at the local "outlet mall", such as it was, while the guys stayed back to "nap"! Later on, we all got together at the Burch's coach for a wonderful, delicious dinner.

This morning, K and I packed up and left Tennessee, headed for Winston-Salem, NC, to visit an RV dealer in the area, whom we met in Perry, GA last month at the FMCA convention (www.billplemmonsrv.com). We arrived in Winston-Salem at about 2:45PM, met with the dealer and went over a few items, then we parked the coach and headed down into Winston-Salem to do some scouting of the area. We were not able to get any photographs in W-S, so don't look for any. Dinner back at the coach. Tomorrow morning we will head east to Virginia Beach, where we will visit with the LaFond's. On Wednesday morning we will begin the 13-hour trip north to MA. Don't know when we will arrive in Beverly - will either be late on Wednesday, or during the day on Thursday.

That's all for this entry. Be sure to check the web album.

Here's the link to today's web album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/WeekendInTennessee?feat=directlink