Happy Pumpkin Night; at -6 in Kelowna it should be the Santa Claus Parade!

We are just in from the Grand Ole Opry and we are going to do dishes—sounds like a comedy sketch from the Opry stage.

The Opry is so different from any performance I have ever seen. There is no intermission for 2 hours and then the show is over. Yawl just wander in and out whenever you feel the need. This show is also a live radio broadcast and so while the singers or groups are changing, the emcee reads the commercials. Each group is set to do 2 or 3 numbers and then they are gone. At the end of the show tonight a male singer proposed to his girlfriend who said, Yes.

We saw Chely Wright, John Conlee, The Whites, Steep Canyon Rangers, Jimmy Wayne, George Hamilton IV, Bill Anderson and Jeff Bates, the proposer.

Jimmy Wayne will make it big; seems to sing from the heart of life’s experiences. Heck, is he already big? Apparently Chely Wright is big or semi-big. So here is a chance to win a prize. What sticker did she have on the bumper of her SUV and someone gave her the bird, and so she wrote the song about the sticker on the bumper of her SUV? Why didn’t I think to write about something as thoughtful as she did—partial standing ovation. The Steep Canyon Rangers were also an excellent male group of singers and instrument players—mandolin, violin, banjo, guitar (x2—electric and acoustic). They did a wonderful acapella song—Stand Up.


Pats, I could feel you sitting beside me and you knew all the words. Anyone for a trip next fall in October—one week? We can do a river boat cruise; go see the Tennessee walking horse, the Opry at least twice, some wannebe clubs, some shopping, golf and it can all be done from Nashville.

Yes, Patti third time lucky Webb Pierce’s car and C&P, Kris K is correct as the writer of Take the Ribbon from your hair.

Cheers. Everyone was encourgaged to take pictures and many performers posed.

I took the night off.

Oct30 and you have had time to read all the copies I posted yesterday. I do not know what happened. Lots more pics but the computer is having problems. More later.

Today we did the Nashville tour and I wasn’t very enthusiastic at first until we were dropped off at the Ryman Auditorium. This is a very old church that was the home of the Grand Ole Opry until it moved to larger quarters. The new home is very near our campsite. The old one is a fantastic piece of interior architecture, old wooden pews for seats and the acoustics are said to be the second best in the states. The building has a soul that palpitates. I felt it everywhere I went. Fortunately for us, the busy season is over and the performances will be in the Ryman Auditorium. Cushions are sold to prevent cheek weariness from the old oak wooden pews. The only name I recognized was a gentleman whose name is something the fourth. Yaul can go to the Opry site and check out who is performing on Oct. 31. I understand the headliners do not commit to a performance too far in advance and so a full program is difficult to have ready.

Our next stop was just around the block at the Country Music Hall and Museum. There are 3 floors of interactive displays. The newest display is in honor of Ray Charles. There were pictures, costumes and of course sunglasses.

There are walls of gold and platinum records. Some you open the door and the song starts to play. There was a display of how a songwriter would write the lyrics on an ordinary piece of paper. One of the songs was “Take the ribbons from your hair” and you can win a prize if you know who wrote the lyrics.

There was a Bonneville (white) that had tooled leather interior; a miniature saddle as part of the console, silver dollars glued to the dash and else where in the interior, a silver rifle mounted on the trunk, pistols for door handles and of course a set of horns on the front grill. So whose car was that?

Our last stop was Legends a bar that has performers who are hopefuls and of course it has had many of the legends of the passed. There are many live performance bars in the area. One might try the world famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge. They are dark, dingy and smoke filled. There is a story that performers would sneak over from the Opry and have few and fall asleep. Women with a hat pin used to wake them up so they could get back to their show.

Come for a week. The Opry performs 3 times and then you can take in the live entertainment which costs your drinks and a donation to the performers. You feel that you are in good company even if the furniture is austere because the memorabilia is intriguing.

Cheers, yaul or yawl.

Oct 29; this is an old one, but I am not getting a view that I posted the 29th version and I hope this corrects it? Did the 29th publish with 5 pictures?

Oct27—no wi-fi

How will I describe the day to thee. In a word, WET! But that is not enough, it was also misty. Imagine, misty and no swamp!

Spartanburg is the name of the place; rolling hills but the mist does not allow us to get a real feel for topography. Passed a big Disney warehouse or manufacturing site on the way to the campsite.

We had lunch at the Plantation restaurant where we got tips on where to buy slaves. Just kidding, we got advice on where to see peanut plants. We tried but the crop had been harvested and by the time we re-located to our highway, the ginkgo trees that I was going to take a picture of were nowhere to be found. Sorry folks no quiz today!

Lots of cotton still on the plants and much of the soil is strawberry red.

Along our entire route, we came across a vine that was so proliferate that it would cover every limb and trunk of a tree. It grew on deciduous and coniferous trees; power poles, support wires for poles, the ground. It is said to have come from Japan. Can you guess?

Don’t tell anyone; not a single soul. I took some sand from Myrtle Beach. Zip those lips!

Can you hear it? Rain, rain, rain; tomorrow is supposed to be a better day. It is not cold.

Cheers.

October 29/we are in Nashville.

Trying to get out of Pigeon Forge was incredibly slow both of our lanes were jammed—going home from the weekend, going to church, going to the next stop or going shopping. We all left at the same time.

Tennessee is beautiful at this time of year. It is at the peak of its colour change. Lots of mountains in our location and rolling hills coming at you one after the other. People on the road are very courteous as they let the slow mh in more often than not.

There won’t be a grand ole opry performance until Tuesday evening and so we might stick around and catch the show. I do not recognize the names of any of the performers but then I only know big time names like Dolly Parton and she is history. I tried to order tickets over the phone but they asked how many children and I put in zero and I was told that the number had to be at least one. I hung up at that point.

By the by, Dolly Parton and Dollywood are correct C&P.

I did not realize there were two opry houses—one for the large crowds of the summer and then a smaller one in downtown Nashville for the off season months.

We were on interstates mostly. We did come off and managed to find the route that had us slither up a mountain and then down the other side; more pretzel work!

Today is very warm; could have worn shorts. Bright blue sky until the sun went down.

Jefferson’s house is in the vicinity, but the war theme does not shine so brightly here. We will probably do a tour tomorrow, shop a little and then head to a night out at the opry.

So what town was south of Pigeon Forge and there was a revolutionary gun with the same name only the phrase burg was not part of the gun’s name.

That’s it country and western fans. I am riding off into the sunset. We had the benefit of two time changes today--east to west and coming off daylight saving time. We are going to have to be in the corral sooner as it will get darker earlier.

Cheers

October 29/we are in Nashville. Pictures are from yesterday. Prize for the person who can tell how high the mh is above sea level. Tunnels were a little challenging.

Trying to get out of Pigeon Forge was incredibly slow both of our lanes were jammed—going home from the weekend, going to church, going to the next stop or going shopping. We all left at the same time.

Tennessee is beautiful at this time of year. It is at the peak of its colour change. Lots of mountains in our location and rolling hills coming at you one after the other. People on the road are very courteous as they let the slow mh in more often than not.

There won’t be a grand ole opry performance until Tuesday evening and so we might stick around and catch the show. I do not recognize the names of any of the performers but then I only know big time names like Dolly Parton and she is history. I tried to order tickets over the phone but they asked how many children and I put in zero and I was told that the number had to be at least one. I hung up at that point.

By the by, Dolly Parton and Dollywood are correct C&P.

I did not realize there were two opry houses—one for the large crowds of the summer and then a smaller one in downtown Nashville for the off season months.

We were on interstates mostly. We did come off and managed to find the route that had us slither up a mountain and then down the other side; more pretzel work!

Today is very warm; could have worn shorts. Bright blue sky until the sun went down.

Jefferson’s house is in the vicinity, but the war theme does not shine so brightly here. We will probably do a tour tomorrow, shop a little and then head to a night out at the opry.

So what town was south of Pigeon Forge and there was a revolutionary gun with the same name only the phrase burg was not part of the gun’s name.

That’s it country and western fans. I am riding off into the sunset. We had the benefit of two time changes today--east to west and coming off daylight saving time. We are going to have to be in the corral sooner as it will get darker earlier.

Cheers

sorry no pics; weak signal; keeps booting me out

Oct28; my L L Bean watch is still ticken and tearing pages off calendars

We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway today and I feel like a pretzel! We also drove through Great Smokey Mountain Park. That made me feel like a smoked pretzel. We climbed to 6 000 feet in the ol mh. Wonderful vistas as we climbed as there were lots of pullouts and one could stop anywhere along the way as long as one could get all tires off the road.. Now that we are away from the shore we are back to talking colours. Lots of orange and burnt orange. The east faces were considerably warmer than the west faces.

The were not many rigs on the road. I saw maybe 3 mh and there are no commercial vehicles allowed. I think that we will get the mh articulated for its next mountain adventure.

We saw a beautiful elk with a huge rack and his family. This was in a wide open field as we bottomed out and not at a high altitude amongst the trees. Sort of like, “Stan, go let the elk out for their 4:00 pm feeding in the tourist field.”

Poured 6 buckets worth last night and today was blue skies and sunshine into the Blue Ridge Mountains. We also have touched on thAppalachianan Range, too. The Great Smokey Mountains were smokey.

Before we entered our epic journey up the steep faces of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we stopped at an info place and I saw these neat banks made of oak and they had a glass front with different designs. The creator of these lived in Fletcher which just happened to be on our way to do the climb. Mr. Hubbert gave directions to his house and my excellent navigator got us their. This gentleman has been making these banks for 20 years. He uses old post box fronts that he buys from the US postal system. He has a stash, but there are no more. The carpentry is excellent and you pay according to the age of the front piece—mine is from 1902. I will take a picture and let you see it.

A young boy stepped from the car and said to the rest of his family, “That is bootiful.” He was talking about the view from the overlook.

This pretzel is going to try reconnect so I can blog this to you all.

Cheers

Oct 26

We have been at the beach for a few days--that is Myrtle Beach SC. I thought I could not connect, but here I am--yakety, yak!

Went to a garage sale today; bought a few cds. Later in the day we sat at the beach and read our books. Last night we took in the Carolina Opry. Two hours of song, music, dance and comedy. The two comedians did a reprise of the Laurel and Hardy's Who's on First? The last two numbers were very patriotic and dedicated to all veterans and current warriors. There was also a religious number in each half.

We are heading north west tomorrow. Not too far north; we will try to be close to the Interstate 40 right across to Nevada. We don't want to give up the warmth and maybe we can find a abit of route 66.

We are heading for the Blue Ridge Mtns and guess who has a place in Kentucky near Pigeon Forge? Name the star and the place this star has built--two chances to win.

Soybeans was the second crop; quite big here.

Stay tuned.

Booooo to all you goblins out there. Hallowe'en is huge on the east coast.

Cheers

Yes, C&P. Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Oct22—Outer Beaches, NC

What a great place. In the summer this place would be crawling with visitors—sun hogs, surfers of all persuasions, fisher people with their rod rigs, kiters, ordinary people, too, repeaters (met a couple who have been doing it for 27 years) and of course first timers.

Great lighthouses—two black and whites. Sand is golden and the dunes are pretty shifty. Pretty narrow in some places. The newer houses are built in two or three levels to catch the view over the dunes. Many have a viewing tower above them so the crashing waves and shore life is not missed.

We have had some rain. It is raining now. Today was grey, but I was still wearing shorts and short sleeves.

The kites are in Technicolor. There was a snorkler, an octopus, a few fish, a rainbow thing and many more as there was a kite competition at the Wright Bros. memorial.

Had a great seafood dinner at the Lone Cedar. It is owned by a senator. When the senator and his wife travel, they buy fish serving services—a platter and 8 or so plates.
This collection of fish china is on the walls throughout the restaurant. There was even a gift store and the interior of the restaurant was decorated with funky hallowe’en treats. One of the fish services was for sale in the gift store—8 plates and a platter for $3 000.

Tomorrow we do two ferries and then we will be back on the mainland—inner banks—headed toward Myrtle Beach.

Is it like the Magdeleins? Yes, and no. There is no rock here; both have sand but more sand dunes here. It is more commercialized here as access is easy. One way in and one way out—Route 12. Warmer and more humid here. There is something about the Magdeleins that haunts you after your visit.

Cheers.

October20; humid and then, thankfully, windy.

We soared today. We drove through Kitty Hawk and stopped at a memorial to flight. We climbed the hill that these two famous brothers climbed when they attempted to defeat gravity. Eventually they went from gliding to flying. So, to win a prize, name the brothers who made Kitty Hawk famous. Kill Devil Hills is the famous bump that was used to launch the gliders.

We are in North Carolina looking for Cape Hatteras. It is along this strip of sand that there is a black and white striped light house and a swirl black and white light house. I hope to capture them tomorrow.

This afternoon was so warm and humid that I had to put shorts and short sleeves on. Now that the sun is down, the wind is very blustery.

Took the mh through a tunnel under the James River this morning—lots of room; no kissing this crossing.

Heard of the outer banks of North Carolina? Well, we are on them. Lots of sand and sand dunes around us. This is just a narrow spit of sand which we take down to a free ferry and then carry on to catch a pay ferry back to the mainland.

Fishing is huge down here. People were trying to catch spots and a puppy something because it was up to 17 inches. Check out the wheeled fishing buddies.

Marg wants you to know that we passed through Nags Head.

Cheers

Yes, to cotton from C&P.

I thought you might like to see some of the houses of Annapolis and the bridge that I could kiss every oncoming driver if I wanted to--boy, the lanes were skin eee.

Looking at my bean watch that tells the date, today is the 19th .


Humid today and overcast sky. Off we ventured forth to a plantation that has been in the Hill family for over 200 years. The first floor consisted of the entry, bigger than most master bedrooms, a bedroom and the living room and dining room. We did not enter the upper two floors as the Hills still live there. The kitchen was in a separate building. The staff entered the house without using the front door. There was a huge porticoed verandah at the back of the house which faced the James River. This was the transportation route before roads.

Enroute to the plantation, Shirley Plantation, we stopped in the middle of nowhere and had lunch at a very nice spot that was busy for its location. We met Bob, the local cat with the cut off tail—Bob.

Off to see old Williamsburg was our next adventure. I left my camera in the car and so no pictures of this quaint old town made up of red brick. The old homes and businesses are full of tourist stores.

We had dinner at an Angus Steak house. The red meat was good but there was no atmosphere and the building felt austere.

I am sitting outside writing this and it is 9:15 and it is just a little cooler than it was during the day and still humid.

There are critters moving around in the dark on the ground and in the trees. I haven’t seen them but I hear them. There are also acorns dropping off the oaks and something pooped orange-beige stuff on my hand.

Off to Cape Hatteras tomorrow.

The questions for today are to name the crops depicted in two different pictures. That is two chances to win a prize.

Cheers

October18—It is raining, it’s pouring and Marg is snoring

We went to Arlington Cemetery as a tribute to all those who fought and especially to say thank you to those who made the supreme sacrifice. The rows and rows of white headstones creates a somber mood. JFK’s burial site is a large display but very subdued. His grave beside Jackie’s and their two infant children is warmed by the eternal flame and faces a half wall in which some of his famous sayings are engraved. We looked for Robert Kennedy’s grave site but did not find it. There is a simple white cross on it as per one of his last wishes in his will.

I went to see Audie Murphy’s grave site. He became a movie star after leaving the service where he earned dozens of medals and citations. This grave site is near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which has been modified to add an unknown soldier from other wars. There is a guard who walks 21 steps and then turns and repeats that routine. This is done 24/7; rain or shine.

The last part of our tour of Arlinton was to visit Arlington House which sits atop a knoll on what used to be Robert E. Lee’s property and Arlington was his house. The view is toward the Mall. A powerful man who disagreed with Lee’s decision to surrender, decided Lee’s property was the best solution as a site for burying the many dead soldiers and started the burials before Lee had returned from the war.

Union Station will be 100 years old next year. It is a wonderful piece of decorative architecture. There are many cement life size guardians around the interior. The ceiling reminded me of a behive pattern. We had a late lunch there and did not have enough time to browse the shops as per our usual modus operandi when it comes to shopping.

Terry did manage to find some Godiva chocolate—extra dark and Marg came up with a pair of card making books.

I was pleased to learn that Ford’s Theatre is still operating. Mr. Lincoln would be glad to know that the scene of his death was still breathing life through dramatic performances.

Off to Annapolis tomorrow and the Carolinas. We are going to see if we can go down Cape Hatteras which is a long narrow strip of sandy areas. Will it be like the Magdeleine Islands off PEI but owned by Quebec. Stay tuned!

Cheers.

WWII monument
On the right, Lincoln's view of Washington's obelisk


Hello out there--Capitol building

We took a day off and lazed around our luxurious mh. Washington DC will see us one more time and this visit will include Arlington National Cemetary and Union Station.

When we leave Thursday we are going to Annapolis to pick up a few sailors.

The Smithsonian Museum is six buildings, many on the Mall but there are a few within Washington. We are sad that time will not allow a visit to any of them. red brick castle and clock says4:00; called The Castle.

I will add a few pictures and say goodnight.

Cheers

The black dog was a schnauser. Here is your next question: Which picture is the front of the White House?


October15

Everything is so huge and this makes it difficult to bring individual items into perspective. George Washington’s obelisk certainly can be seen from everywhere one goes on the Mall. It is so tall at 500 + feet. Lincoln’s memorial is very calming. The WWII memorial has a wreath for each participating nation and state. The Korean War memorial has a unit of men moving through a field. The Vietnam War memorial is a long walkway backed by black granite with all the names of those sacrificed engraved. The only memorials that do not have water associated with it are the Washington and Vietnam memorials.

We walked the Mall which is the open space between the Capitol building and Lincoln sitting in his chair. The Mall is grass with various walkways and one led to the subway station that delivered us.

From the Mall we went in search of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The back of the White House is visible from the mall. We strolled by the White House but nary an invite to tea from Laura or George. The official White House helicopter flew over a few times—Laura on her way to grocery shop; George off to get a new pair of shoes to put in his mouth.

Cheers