We took a vacation trip -- plus a homeschool convention -- during the last twelve days of May. The trip started with a three day stop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to help at the very large North Carolina Home Educators Conference. We parked our 5th Wheel at the Marshall Baptist Church, where our good friend John Homes is the pastor.
Before we left Winston-Salem we rode our bikes on the paved Salem Creek Trail to Salem Lake. This was a nice trail from the historic Old Salem Village to Salem Lake. Then we headed west over the Smokey Mountains to spend several days near Kristy and Brian in the Chattanooga area. We camped for four days at the beautiful Harrison Bay State Park that is about six miles from Kristy and Brian's house.On Tuesday night the whole Walker Clan came out to our campsite for Root Beer Floats and an old fashioned campfire. Here's our campsite -- and Brian's parents. It is always a treat for me to spend time with Brian's dad -- my great friend of over 30 years. We had a wonderful night!
Here is our campsite as it looked just before we pulled out. We first camped at this campground 40 years ago when Kristy was not quite two years old. I can assure you it was much more enjoyable now with our comfortable 30 foot trailer that has all the comforts of home.
Before leaving the Chattanooga area we had the opportunity to ride the great Tennessee Riverpark bicycle and walking trail. This trail is fantastic! Ultimately it will be a 22 mile trail, but we rode almost seven miles from a few miles south of the Chickamauga Dam to downtown Chattanooga. Of course, we had to ride back to where we parked our truck. We did enjoy a cup of coffee at Rembrandts, which is Kristy and Brian favorite coffee haunt.
From Chattanooga we headed north to Nashville for three days at the Nashville KOA. This delightful RV park is just a mile north of the large Opryland area that features the historic Grand Ole Opry. Kristy and Connie are pictured here in one of the atrium areas of the huge
Here is our campsite as it looked just before we pulled out. We first camped at this campground 40 years ago when Kristy was not quite two years old. I can assure you it was much more enjoyable now with our comfortable 30 foot trailer that has all the comforts of home.
Before leaving the Chattanooga area we had the opportunity to ride the great Tennessee Riverpark bicycle and walking trail. This trail is fantastic! Ultimately it will be a 22 mile trail, but we rode almost seven miles from a few miles south of the Chickamauga Dam to downtown Chattanooga. Of course, we had to ride back to where we parked our truck. We did enjoy a cup of coffee at Rembrandts, which is Kristy and Brian favorite coffee haunt.
From Chattanooga we headed north to Nashville for three days at the Nashville KOA. This delightful RV park is just a mile north of the large Opryland area that features the historic Grand Ole Opry. Kristy and Connie are pictured here in one of the atrium areas of the huge Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Resort. We toured the sprawling facility and wandered through the shops. Plus we had coffee!
On Saturday night we attended the Grand Ole Opry show at the impressive and grand auditorium where the Opry now resides. The show was good family fun and enjoyable. Many of the performers were the old timers. We especially enjoyed the Riders in the Sky, who pattern their style after the old "smooth" harmony western group known as the Sons of the Pioneers. Their rendition of the song Tumbling Tumbleweeds was outstanding!
The evening ended with a historic appearance by Comedian Steve Martin playing the banjo. We were clueless that he was on the program, although most (all?) of the sold-out crowd was very well aware of his scheduled appearance. He was good! No, he didn't tell jokes, just played the banjo to a standing ovation. It was a fun experience.
On Saturday night we attended the Grand Ole Opry show at the impressive and grand auditorium where the Opry now resides. The show was good family fun and enjoyable. Many of the performers were the old timers. We especially enjoyed the Riders in the Sky, who pattern their style after the old "smooth" harmony western group known as the Sons of the Pioneers. Their rendition of the song Tumbling Tumbleweeds was outstanding!
The evening ended with a historic appearance by Comedian Steve Martin playing the banjo. We were clueless that he was on the program, although most (all?) of the sold-out crowd was very well aware of his scheduled appearance. He was good! No, he didn't tell jokes, just played the banjo to a standing ovation. It was a fun experience.
