South East US – RV Travels in Europe and North America

January 18, 2014 Granville TN

This morning we began moving north so Ron can be in Elizabethtown Kentucky for work on January 20. Ton discovered a cool concert in Granville we could go to. We told the navigator to send us on backroads only. About halfway to Granville we came across Lynchburg Tennessee which for you whiskey drinkers is the home of Jack Daniels. We swung in and took a tour of the facility. Interestingly the biggest selling whiskey in the US is in a dry county and can only sell limited addition bottles, and only give 1oz of tastes to each customer. We opted for the free no taste tour as $10 seemed a bit much for 1oz of Jack Daniels.

Ton posing with a life size cut out of Jack Daniels.

Tonight we attended the Sutton Ole Time Music Hour in Granville Tennessee. Granville is a little village on the Cumberland River, it is far off the beaten path and was slowly dying after the best farm land was covered by a dam in the 1960’s. However, the town did not die. While it is still small it has revived itself through tourism. The lake on the dam generates visitors at a couple of marinas near town. They also converted the old general store in town into a museum and visitors center. On Saturdays they host a bluegrass music concert. An old southern tradition is the live weekly concert broadcast. This is how the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville got its start. The Sutton Ole Time Music Hour is broadcast every Saturday on 15 radio stations and on the web. Everything is live including the commercials. We enjoyed the experience tremendously. Ton really enjoys bluegrass music and the music was excellent. The live experience was very interesting and enjoyable. So far one of the highlights of the trip.

A poster for the Sutton Ole Time Radio Hour.

January 17, 2014 Huntsville AL

Thursday was taken up with taking care of a maintenance item on Leuk Seua (Baby Tiger in Thai) and a long days driving. Pretty boring drive without much interesting to see. Once we arrived in Huntsville we decided to spend the next day exploring the area.

On Friday we decided to go to Muscle Shores, and Tuscumbia Alabama. Enroute we passed General Joe Wheelers home. He is one of my favorite soldiers as he is the only person to serve as a General in both the Confederate and US Armies. He was a boy general in the Confederate Army reaching Lt. General. Then during the Spanish-American War he was commissioned as a Major General of volunteers in the US Army. He is famous during one battle during the Spanish-American War for shouting at his soldiers to “Come on Boys, we’ve got those damn Yankees on the run!”

Ton at the famous water pump where Helen Keller spoke her first words.

In Tuscumbia we visited Helen Kellers childhood home and birthplace. We saw the famous water pump that Helen Keller said her first word at “water”. In Muscle Shoals we went to the Alabama music hall of fame. Muscle Shoals during the 60’s and 70’s was a center for recording of rock and R&B music. Artists as diverse as the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Buffet, and the Commodores recorded at the Fame Recording Studio in Muscle Shores. When the Stones recorded here (Brown Sugar was recorded in Muscle Shores) they had to sneak into town, not because they were famous, but because they did not have a work permit. If you see Muscle Shoals you would never believe that at one time it was a source of some of the great music produced in the US. Unfortunately it has seen better times. The museum has just recently reopened after being closed for nearly a year due to lack of visitors. Hopefully, they will manage to keep it open as the story of Muscle Shoals is a great cultural story in the US.

Muscle Shoals is a small town in Alabama that had an outsized influence on popular music in the US.

January 15, 2015 Gulfport MS

We moved west to Gulfport to complete our tour of the Redneck Riviera. US 90 was billed as a scenic highway, but unless you enjoy miles of strip malls it is not very scenic. Biloxi was interesting because you can still see the impact of Hurricane Katrina, even though there is considerable construction of high rises there are still large areas without anything on it. Building high rises on a stretch of cost that has been wiped out by 2 Class 5 Hurricanes does seem to be tempting fate.

The beautiful white sand beaches along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

The coast here does have the most beautiful white sand beaches. They really are quite incredible.

January 14, 2014 Destin FL

Today was an easy day. We started out by walking down to the old lighthouse in Pensacola.

The beach was incredibly white and we had it to ourselves. After a quick stop at the Naval Exchange (Department Store for our non-military friends) we headed east. We stopped at Naval Oaks National Seashore. It is a small park. We learned that it was one of the first nationally controlled forests as it was a source for the wood for the early naval ships of the United States including the famous frigate USS Constitution. This wood is nearly 30% denser than other wood which made our early men of war very strong.

On the beach at Naval Oaks National Seashore.

After arriving in Destin we decided to treat ourselves to a nice seafood dinner. Ton had a great grouper, and Ron had lobster and etoufee, we really enjoyed the meal.

January 13, 2014 Pensacola FL

Today we drove down to the Redneck Riviera as the Florida Panhandle is referred to. The plan is to write about the sites and scenes we see on the road, but frankly so far South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama are a little underwhelming. Pine forests and farms, the only break in the monotony are some small towns with nice old houses.

Today we ran into another monsoon on the last couple of hours of the trip. Any chance of going out to see anything was lost as it was raining cats and dogs. When we arrived at Pensacola we visited the Naval Aviation Museum. If you are an aviation buff and are in the area do not miss the museum. It is very well done with a great collection of aircraft from all eras. The museum is free and staffed by volunteers who are often former aviators. We met a very interesting gentleman who was trained by the Luftwaffe when he was young to fly the ME-262 jet. It was fascinating to listen to his story and how he came to be a volunteer in Pensacola Florida.

January 10, 2014 Asheville NC

We ended up spending another day in Asheville to plan some changes in our itinerary. Ron received a request to work a week in Kentucky so we needed to figure out what we are going to do next week. The current plan now is to head to the south east and explore Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and the pan handle of Florida, before heading up to Kentucky. So tomorrow we will be heading south.

One of the many craft breweries in Asheville.

The day was not a total waste. Asheville is reputed to be the beer capital of the US with the most breweries per capita. To put things in perspective there are 12 breweries in Asheville compared to over 60 in Portland. We visited 4 of the breweries. They were all good, but none of them knocked our socks off.

Still trying to figure out the Tiger. We are very happy with the handling and the ability to manuever in the city. We were able to park downtown in a standard parking spot. There are a few things that Ron is still trying to figure out. At this point all of the major systems are working well, there are small things that are not working, but this could be an operator problem as much as a vehicle problem.