NAC 2012 - Getting There

10:00 Wednesday, July 30, 2012

Take off!  So many things to prepare! Kim was able to get out of work, thanks to her fine coworkers, and we were able to get on the road earlier than expected. Puppies have known for a while that something was in the works, and today, their excitement level peaked.

Our goal today was to drive north of the FL state line to avoid high traffic times in Atlanta and Nashville tomorrow. We figured if we got within 2 hours of Atlanta we could try to start the next morning and be just after the morning rush. That would also allow us to hit Nashville around 3:00pm and beat the afternoon rush. So that was the plan.

The dogs surprised us upon entering the RV. Lexi, the less outgoing one, usually seeks refuge under the dinette table, and Missy, the navigator, likes to sit between us and is on the alert watching the action through the front window. Today, Lexi scooted to Missy's spot in the front, and Missy established herself under the table. Missy quickly figured out something was off, stepped over Lexi, sat on her, and encouraged her to take a back seat. Lexi caught the drift and all was well.

We occupied our time with the third installment of the Hunger Games series, The Mockingjay, Almost done! They go quickly, interesting stuff, not exactly cheery but interesting.

4:00 Arrival! first stop, Twin Oaks Campground in Elko, GA. Only 1/10 mi off the highway, EZ on, EZ off! More than just convenient, Dave did some research pre-trip, and this came highly recommended on the RV and camping sites. Even better, Dave joined a camping club called Passport America (and we highly recommend this to all the RVers) and we get 1/2 price on the site! this place has a pool, hot tub, dog walk and a fenced in run. Missy says, "Tennis ball!"

After experiencing the pool and dog walk area, we found very few Mosquitos, but a whole lot of gnats. No biggie. A lovely evening with a nice breeze, and way better than overnighting in a Walmart of Truck stop where we would need to run the generator to power the AC.

Day 2 of travel, 6/21/12

The girls were very good last night (much better than on a "trial" sleepover in the RV last week), only woke up a couple of times, ready for the next adventure. When we finally did wake up, they were calm, patiently waiting for Kim to tie up her shoes.

The park has a 1/4mi loop, just like a track! the girls took Kim for a 3/4mi training run--wheeee! With frequent sniffing stops, so many new scents since many campers seem to travel with their dogs.

Can't believe while writing all this, Kim forgot to feed the girls this am. 
She remembered around 10:00 while fixing herself a snack. Very wrong!!

Oops! The license plate is coming loose from the trailer as we are passing through Atlanta. It's really one of the only parts of the trailer we can see in the rear view mirror from the RV. It is dangling down a bit and possibly dragging a corner but the traffic is thick but moving so we are not stopping. The idea of effecting a roadside repair with a million trucks passing seems really stupid, plus how much could a new plate cost? We consult the map and find the next rest stop is 20 miles northwest of town and decide we will stop there, the plate will be there, or it won't. Finished Mockingjay, phew! got a little emotional toward the end. (Read; Kim is crying alot and I hate it when that happens) Now, on to something a little more lighthearted and fun...Tim Dorsey? Carl Hiaasen?

Seen on a license plate : BLESSD, like.

Around 10:40, we're past Atlanta- unscathed.
Rest stop just past exit 306, the plate is still there so we replace a bolt do a little dog walk and were off.

12:45 Into and out of TN/GA. Hwy 24 is a little schizophrenic near Chattanooga. Had us concerned for a moment that we were going the wrong way. Ah, there we go, back into TN and the Central time zone. Fun! An extra hour we weren't counting on this would help our plan for getting through Nashville. It had been a while since I passed through here and I forgot how mant times you have to exit right or exit left to continue on I-24. We were going good and almost through when we spot the sign stay left for I-24 while we are in the extreme right lane. Ugh. So we try to tuck in behing 18 wheeler guy but little car guy won't let us in. With RV and trailer were are about 55 feet so a bit of room is needed. With time running out Dave decides to gun it and we pass 18 wheeler guy and another car and cross 3 lanes of traffic to just make our left exit. You don't see too many RV'ers trying moves like that and for good reason.

2:45 Central time
crossing state line into KY. Puppies are sleeping, even over the rough roads.
After a little research, we decided on a campground just to the NW of the Land Between the Lakes National Rec. area in KY. It's a little east of Paducah which probably means absolutely nothing to you but we thought that was a fun name so had to work it in.Still a lot of daylight left to set up, catch a swim in the pool, take care of the pups. That leaves only a few hours left for tomorrow.

So the Nashville Atlanta plan worked like a charm, gotta love that.

4:00pm Central time
Fill up with gas and stop for the night at Cypress Lakes RV park in Calvert City, KY. We are in the pool and the cocktails by 5:00pm and thinking that this is a fine way to travel.

Day 3, Friday 6/22/12
Short drive to Carlyle. Departing Cypress Lake Campground. Some thoughts...bathrooms: seen better, pool bath reminds us of the beach baths on Dunedin causeway en route to Honeymoon Island. Kim has noticed she appreciates hand soap and paper towels at the bathroom sinks.
Met some nice folks, lots of full-timers there. Interesting  site. Gary Yamamoto's custom bait was adventurous and impressive. Huge advertisement wrap (will have to go to baits.com when we have a chance) on a trailer towing a double decker boat/car trailer. Watched him load up this am, a one man show with a power boat and a 4-Runner below. Hooked everything up and was out in less than an hour. He had done this before!

Decided on Janet Evanovitch, we're up to Explosive 18...amazing how many books can be written about a bumbling bounty hunter. Nice brain candy after the seriousness of Hunger Games.

Missy couldn't be any closer to Dave. Wish I could take a picture, but it would be too dark. She's practically in the footwell. Guess she didn't mind being in the hottest place in the cab, she decided to lie on the floor right above the transmission which gets pretty hot.

Seen on the back of a car being towed.. "Be patient, I'm pushing this big RV!" Think this would be fun on the back of the Flying Scot.

Road to CarlyleRte 127 from south-all kinds of farmland around. Apparently these folks specialize in corn, dabble in soybeans and try their hand at something that resembles corn but not quite. May have to stop and ask...

Walmart stop before campground, Carlyle is a small town with a crowded, but clean and fairly new Walmart. 1/2 hr in the store, and no "Walmartians" were spotted this must be a world record. We notice a white truck towing a Scot leaving the store parking lot. After a few minutes, we caught up at the sailing center, and said hey to Henry Picco!

Dropped the boat off with help from the lovely Harbormaster, Mary. Team Taylor right behind us, with Team Hobbs not too far behind. 

Notice another boat across from ours in the parking lot with a Masthead Enterprises top cover. Could it be? Team 4925? Jeff and Amy had been dealing with some deferred maintainence on their RV which delayed the departure. They got everything straightened out, and drove straight through. Hard Core.

We're in campsite spot Lucky #7, hope that works out for us! Sho'nuff, the Chalet and her inhabitants look settled in. By 2:00, we're getting settled in our spot.