Day 10 - Hot Springs, Arkansas

We spent all day on the road ... not much to say about that! Arriving at the Hot Springs National Park KOA about 5ish, we proceded to our site and after a lot of maneuvering, unhooking the car in a sharp turn, we finally got in. Lots of campgrounds are simply not designed for a 40+ foot RV. Having set up, we drove down town to scope out the place. Stopped by the Visitor's Center, caught the movie, walked the main drag, then drove about town to get a feel for the place. We capped off the day with pork chops and salad in the RV. Tomorow is another day!

Day 9 - Nashville

Our last day in Nashville was spent RELAXIN'. I stopped in Camping World and checked out all of the stuff ... drove over to Kroger's and topped off the groceries. The rest of the day we watched some TV ... Trip hit the pool ... and that was it! Oh yeh ... we cooked a couple of steaks and coupled with a nice salad, ended a perfect day.

Day 8 - Nashville

Early this morning we were awakened by thunder and lightning and a pitchfork and hammerhandles rain that I wish for League City.

Off to Music City after breakfast ... first stop is the Visitor's Center and then a stroll to the Ryman Auditorium (the old Opry House). Fond memories flood back from the days when Donna and I were stationed at Sewart AFB in Smyna and we actually WENT to the Grand Ole Opry. You sat on wooden benches and watched the entertainers troop across the stage. They warmed up their instruments on the side of the stage while the main act performed on center stage. Our walking tour took us by the various shops, restaurants and honky tonks on Broadway Street. One fascinating place was the Hatch Show Print shop. It was full of very interesting woodblock prints, mostly used as advertisements for a variety of products and shows throughout America. It is one of the oldest show poster print shops in the United States. Trip bought a print of an exclamation mark (you have to see it to get it - it's a visual thing). We drove to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon, a replica of the one in Athens, hence the term -- Nashville, the Athens of the South. It was really something ... built in the 1800's to celebrate the Nashville Centennial. It houses Nashville's art museum and Athena Parthenos, at 42 feet it is the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western world. Having filled our heads with culture, we filled our stomachs at the Big River Grill and Brewing Works.

I am trying to add pictures ... please bear with me ... I'm old and very slow to figure it out!

Day 7 - Nashville

We rose early, like 7ish, and fixed a nice breakfast (sausage, eggs and toast w/fruit) and hit the road. We picked up the Natchez Trace at Jackson ... nice road ... two lanes ... 50 mph limit ... no shoulders ... lots of scenery ... a few wildlife (one live racoon, lots of road kill and crows, and a large dead snake that we ran over. We decided to by-pass Shiloh; I think we were "battlefielded out". How many monuments can you see and read!


Anyway, here we are in Nashville! Got here after 6pm; but switching off with Trip every two hours made the drive very easy. Checked into the Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Park ... nice ... WiFi ... cable ... pull throughs ... close to the action. We had a nice pork chop dinner w/salad here in the rig. The perfect end to a perfect day! As I type this, we are enjoying coffee with homemade oatmeal macadamia nut/cranberry cookies (thanks to Donna!)


The plan is to stay here two nights then head for Hot Springs.

Day 6 - Vicksburg

This morning we headed south to Natchez hoping to see some antebellum plantations ... didn't work out. All had tours other than Sunday. We did stop at the Winson Ruins, a 21,ooo acre plantation that was abandoned after the Civil War. Not much to see for the time spent off the main roads to find it. Other plantations were all closed so we pressed on the Natchez. Beautiful city of very lovely homes ... went to Longwood and Stanton Hall ... both were open and you could tour them for a $12 fee each ... we passed. They would not even let us LOOK at Longview unless you paid! Check them out on the web ... www.stantonhall.com and www.natchezpilgrimage.com. We did stop at the historic Jefferson College, first institute of higher learning in Mississippi.It was very impressive ... interesting and informative. You can check them out at: www.mdah.state.ms.us.

We did the driving tour of historic spots in Natchez and came away wishing we had stayed there and drove up to Vicksburg to visit the battlefield. There was SO much to do in Natchez.

Tomorrow we jump on the Natchez Trace (we drove part of it today while headed to Natchez) and head north. We should be stopping somewhere north of Tupelo, MS.

Hopefully, we have solved the problem with our Brake Buddy. The fuze was fried.

Dinner was brats w/onions and salad and we spent the evening watching TV.

Day 5 - Vicksburg

We arose to a beautiful Saturday morning and noted a substantial increase in our camping companions ... probably due to the Miss Mississippi Pagent starting this weekend. After an egg, sausage, melon and toast breakfast in the RV, we lit out for the Vicksburg National Military Park. We were just in time for the firing of the cannon demonstration -- very noisy and very impressive. An excellant movie followed which described the events that let to and during the whole campaign. You can't fathom the heartache and peril associated with the eventual siege of the city. The park is very large and composed mostly of monuments to the units involved. There is an terrific 16 mile driving tour of the park with telephonic narration. They have restored a resurrected Union gun boat, the Cairo, which is on display with an accompanying museum of naval artifacts from the period.

We met with an old friend, Jan Lee, who graciously treated us to a terrific dinner at Jacques, a very nice local restaurant.

We plan to drive by car down to Natchez early tomorrow to check out some of the restored antebellum mansions and homes in the area.

Day 4 - Vicksburg

Dawn broke on a very beautiful morning and after a light breakfast we left the comforts of the French Quarter RV Resort. An easy ride to I-10 and I-55 got us to Jackson, Mississippi followed by a right turn on I-20 to Vicksburg just 45 miles to the west.

The first order of business after checking into the Ameristar RV Park was to find a dentist, yes, a dentist and this is at two o'clock on a Friday afternoon. Luckily, the park receptionist led me to her doctor, Paul Ballard (Ballard Dental Group) who saw me at three. They had the necessary dental tech in-house to repair my broken "flipper" ( a temporary retainer type device which is the precursor to a crown over a healing implant). I had been in contact with an old friend of Sewart AFB, TN times .... Donna and I had been exchanging Christmas cards with her over the fifty-five years; but, had not seen one another for a whole host of reasons. Jan met me as I walked out of the dental cubicle and into the reception area. She had apparently told the story to the receptionist and the whole staff had gathered to get our reaction. After a very long hug, we chatted and made plans for dinnner tomorrow evening. She, like me, had not changed a bit!

I arrived at the rig and found Trip off on a run. He returned, took a quick dip in the pool and we drove downtown to look it over and prepare for our Saturday adventures. Of course, the devil made us stop at the Cracker Barrel to replenish our vitals.

Ameristar RV Park is adjacent to the Ameristar Casino --- how convenient! Nice park with 65 TV channels, pool, WiFi, nice level pull throughs and a reasonable fee.

Day 3 - New Orleans

After all of the fooood from yesterday, we dried out this morning with sausage and eggs in the RV before heading out to the National World War II Museum. It was absolutely wonderful! If you come to NO, don't miss it. We viewed the big screen movie as a prelude to the museum itself - called "Beyond All Boundries" and narrated by Tom Hanks ... it is a must see film! Before hitting the museum itself we stopped at the Cochon Butcher for lunch --- yes, we are pigging out again. This time it was on a tasty North Carolina pulled pork sandwich with very spicy potato salad. Tonight we plan to hit the Acme Oyster House for -- you guessed it -- oysters! It sounds like we are doing a lot of eating; but, we ARE doing a lot of other stuff in between, like naps, reading, walking, resting, looking at stuff, etc.



As an aside, at breakfast yesterday, when I asked for some pancake syrup for my grits, the affable, older, black server loudly announced "Have Mercy!" Apparently, the folks in New Orleans DON'T eat their grits that way. She would have fainted if she saw me put butter, salt and lots of pepper on them!









Well, we are getting ready to move in the morning ... next stop is the RV park at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg. Hopefully, we may win enough at the casino to cover our trip ... or not!

Day 2 - New Orleans

Busy day today ... breakfast at The Old Coffee Pot -- Eggs Jonathan (like benedict but better!) -- poached eggs over ham and muffins smothered in hollandaise sauce (spicy!) with fried shrimp, grits and home made wheat toast. We checked out the Louisiana State Museum which is a must see followed by a special Katrina and Beyond exhibit which was superb! Our subsequent thirst was sated at the nearby Cafe' du Monde with cafe' au laite and yummy beignets (French donuts - actually I think they tasted like funnel cakes - thick ones - covered in powdered suger). After resting ... by the pool ... reading (Trip) we lit out for the best po' boys in town at the Parkway Bakery and Tavern ----- fried shrimp with a side order of fries smothered in gravy. The highlight of the night was a marvelous jazz presentation at the Snug Harbor ... Delfeayo Marsalis, brother of Branford, leader of the Tonight Show Band, led the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, a happy group of a dozen cool cats! The high point was his personal rendition of "I'm Confessin That I Love You" from my old dancin days! We left the show in a drenching rain headed for our car; but, it was worth it!

Day 1 - New Orleans

We left the storage area about 9:30 in light sprinkles -- it had not rained in League City to amount to anything in months! Fueling up at the Pilot/Flying J (diesel @3.91) in Orange, Trip jumped into the driver's seat and we pressed on. Note: He has the proper class B license. It started seriously raining approaching the Texas border. It rained, hard at times, most of the way but stopped as we arrived at the French Quarter RV Resort. This site is right down town ... very very nice! Annenities include: cable, internet, hot tub and pool and really great security and it is right off the interstate. After setting up we headed out to scope out the town and drove through the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, Garden District, Warehouse District, and surrounding area. Returning about dark, we settled in for the night with sandwiches and an evening of television.

Gene and Trip's RV Trip

Gene and two of his grandsons (Trip Galleher and Danny Jackson) went on an RV trip in the summer of 2010 motoring from League City, Texas to San Antonio, Big Bend National Park, Fort Davis, Fredericksburg and Austin. The plan was to repeat a trip this summer; but, due to scheduling conflicts, Danny could not attend. Our odyssey starts in New Orleans ... hits some jazz clubs and of course some eateries for which NO is well known. The World War II Museum is a must as well. We will then proceed to Vicksburg, antebellum plantations and the Civil War Battlefields then jump on the Natchez Trace heading for Shiloh, Tennessee -- you guessed it ... the battlefield! The next stop is Hot Springs, Arkansas and when we are sick of the sights or each other, head back to League City.