March 29-30, 2019 - Nashville, TN - Two Rivers Campground - Hop On/Hop Off in Downtown Nashville; March 31-April 1, 2019 - Paducah, KY; April 2, 2019 - Salem, MO - Visiting Friends

March 29-30, 2019 - Nashville,TN - Two Rivers Canoground - Hop On/Hop Off in Downtown Nashville

We left Douglas Headwater Campground shortly before 9am this morning to make a 211 mile drive to Nashville.  

We originally chose Nashville as a quick stop as we make our way back to Oswego.  However, after our successful hop on, hop off bus tours of New Orleans and Savannah, and our discovery that Nashville has one too - we will be staying two days.  We love the tours as we are able to see so many things without having to maneuver our dually through these busy cities.  

We arrived at Two Rivers Campground near 12:30 (Central Standard Time) - yes, we are getting closer to Oswego, still home to us.  It can be confusing when you are traveling and passing into and out of states with the many time changes.....

Approaching our campground and the beautiful flag next door at Camping World.

While we were waiting to check in we noticed they actually sell tickets for the Hop On/Hop Off and they will pick us up right here.  Great!  Soon a cashier was free and they had us checked in quickly.  By the time we backed in to a site, it didn't take us long to set up the minimal amount of things for two days here.  We had not eaten lunch yet so I made a romaine lettuce salad for me (bacon bits, cheese, grapes, almonds and avocado - anything I could find to throw in it that sounded good, and it was good!)  Dean ate the last of the chicken salad and most of the remaining marcaroni/cheese.  The frig is almost cleaned out.

After lunch we headed back up to the office to buy our tickets for tomorrow and Dean wanted to look around in the "store".  We also asked for directions to the nearest grocery store, which happened to be a Kroger's.  

There seem to be a lot of Kroger Grocery Stores in this part of the country.  We loved the store and the lady who checked us out was so nice.  She gave us a complimentary discount even though we didn't have one of their cards - saving us about $3.50.  I bought stuff to make a pizza while we are in Paducah - our next stop.  I will make another cauliflower crust and this time, we will have a meat lover's pizza.   (Note:  I found out later, from our friend David, that our Dillon grocery card will work at Kroger's - well, now I know!)

We returned to the campground and just relaxed for the rest of the evening.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow around noon so we are praying that it holds off until later in the day.  


March 30, 2019 - Hop On, Hop Off Bus - Downtown Nashville

We were at the campground office about 10 minutes early in order to catch the 9:00 bus.  I came prepared for rain, but the most we ever had were a few sprinkles.  We were very grateful for that.  Our bus driver was Jack and we really enjoyed listening to his stories about various places we passed along the way.  

It was an hour ride from Two Rivers Campground to Downtown, which included two stops:  the Opryland Hotel and the Wyndom Hotel/Condominiums.  There was a huge cheerleader event taking place at the Opryland Hotel - they had four traffic officers directing traffic and cars were EVERYWHERE!  It was a nightmare.  The parking was so backed up, some cars just let the occupants out with mom or dad, and walked while the driver determined where and how they would get parked while waiting on all those ahead of them.  It made us so glad we chose to take the bus.  The bus driver told us the parking fee at the hotel is $39 a day.  Wow!

We arrived downtown, making our first stop at Station 1 just a few minutes after 10.  With the traffic situation I'm surprised we weren't later than that.  We picked up a few more passengers at the main station and continued to add a few each time we made a stop.  

I was surprised how many people were already in the downtown area so early, but it was minimal compared to the numbers we seen at the end of the day.  Soon we were heading out to our first stop.  We stayed on the bus the entire tour so we could decide if there was any place we would like to stop after lunch.

Items to see at Stop 1 included Hard Rock Cafe & Gift Shop, George Jones Museum, Wild Horse Saloon, Cumberland River, West Riverfront Park, Ghost Ballet, and Nissan Stadium.  You couldn't miss Hard Rock as it was across the street, Nissan Stadium was to our right and it loomed over the Cumberland River.  I would have enjoyed the Riverfront Park and the Stadium if the weather had been nicer....it looked as if it could rain at any minute and the wind was chilly this morning.

Stop 2 - The Country Music Hall of Fame, Music City Walk of Fame, Music City Center.  We visited the Hall of Fame last time we stopped here four years ago.  We thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommed it to country music enthusiasts.  

Stop 3 - Johnny Cash Museum, Goo Goo Cluster Shop, and The Nashville Symphony.  In the past I would have gladly tried a goo goo cluster, but I figured it had way more sugar than I wanted.  Here's a little history about the Goo Goo Cluster.

The Nashville Symphony (here & below)

Stop 4 - Ryman Auditorium & Chet Atkins Statute - if we had more than one day here, I would have chosen to tour the Ryman Auditorium.  It has an interesting history.  

Stop 5 Legislative Plaza - Tennessee State Capitol & Military Museum  -  This is another stop I would have chosen to tour if time allowed.  I told Dean we could easily spend a week here with all there is to see and do in the area.  

Tennessee State Capitol

Military Museum

Stop 6 Musicians Hall of Fame - We didn't get off the bus so I can't tell you too much about this stop.  Possibly it will be an adventure for another day.

top 7 Farmer's Market - It was a huge area with all kinds of goods brought in both fresh, cooked, and crafts of all kinds.  We did not go in, but you could see the activity and some of the areas where folks had their items for sale.  At this point, I believed I could have enjoyed something at every stop on the tour.

Stop 8 Marathon Motor Works - home to Antique Archaeology (The American Pickers).  Dean and I have been here several times.  

Stop 9 Centennial Park - One of the prettiest parks I've ever seen.  It's amazing!  If you have the chace: Go!  Go!  Go!  It will be worth it, especially late March, early April as the flowers and bushes are really beginning to, or are in bloom.  It was a beautiful park, with families, couples, young people either playing games, enjoying picnics, walking, or just lounging around the area.  This is also where The Parthenon is located.  This entire area was gorgeous!

Add caption

Beautiful park

The Capitol Buildig from afar.

Stop 10  Vanderbilt University - Start of the Natchez Trace, West End Methodist Church - each of these have their own wonderful stories.  You'll need to take the tour as I can't tell you everything!

Stop 11 - Hot Chicken - Nashville is known for their "hot chicken".  If you want to know where the name came from - visit Nashville!  Hattie B's is the most famous.  On the last tour we took of the day, there was a couple who wanted to get off there.  The driver told him he would stop, but he wanted them to know they would be standing in line for a long time, but they still wanted off.  As we approached the traffic signal where we had to stop, we could all see the line that was well over a half block or more long.  It was much longer than our first trip around.  I hope they enjoyed their chicken though.

Stop 12  - Belmont Mansion - The house has over 36 rooms and 19,000 sq. ft.  Another stop where I'd like to visit and tour one day.

Stop 13 - Bobby's Idle Hour - Music Row, RCA Studio B where many famous musicians recorded, including Elvis Presley.  

Stop 14 - The Gulch - Station Inn is a music venue, Biscuit Love (a restaurant serving breakfast from 7am-3pm) and Two Old Hippies.

Stop 15 - Union Station - Frist Art Center, Hume-Fogg High School and the Customs House.

After making our way around Nashville (about 1.5 hour trip), we got off at Stop 1, because by now we were hungry.  I asked a couple of people (one at the campground and our bus driver) what were some of the best places to eat in downtown.  Both of them said Jack's, so that is where we headed next.  It was just a few blocks away and the crowds had thickened since we left here.  There was a line at Jack's but honestly it wasn't too long until they took our orders.  They cut your meat selection for you, and then you go through a buffet of sorts, where they provide you with helpings of your choice.  I chose brisket, green beans and fried apples.  Dean chose ribs, cole slaw and fried apples.  We both thought our meals were pretty good.  I probably should have gone with pork shoulder as it might have been more tender than the brisket.  You just never know how brisket is going to be.  Dean's ribs were very good he said.  We chose to set upstairs since it was so crowded with people coming in.  We both had leftovers, so I carried them in my handbag (at the bottom) with paper towels wrapped around them, hoping they would not spill.  (By the way, they traveled quite well.)

In the short time we were eating our lunch, I am sure the crowds had more than doubled in size.  It's crazy downtown.  Last night there was a Zac Brown concert, today they had another big event occurring, and in two weeks they will be holding the NFL Draft here.  There is a large event almost every day, and sometimes two or more.  Since spring breaks are still occurring, I'm sure that contributed to the crowds today as well.  The other thing that amazed me were the number of Batchlorette Parties going on.  It was absolutely crazy.  It was alright to see, especially from a bus, but crowds are not our thing!  The driver said they often refer to Nashville as Nashvegas now.  

Many restaurants had patio areas as this one above.

Look at the traffic, see the buses or pedal bars to the right and left - they were everywhere.

Parking lot full of cars - many large buildings downtown

Interesting building downtown

As we passed by this buiding with the sign about Hats and Boots our driver told us, many women buy boots when they come to town, put them on and toss the shoes they brought with them.  Later on in the evening, you see them walking down Broadway carrying their boots and barefooted because they have no socks and they have worn blisters on their feet.  True?  We can't say, we didn't stay that late to check it out. 

The building above and the one below are restaurants with some famous singers names on them.  Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton were all near each other.  Dean asked the driver why they would build restaurants and have the hassle.  From what he told us, they give their name and get a % of the profits.  Easy money, I guess!

Three story restaurant (Kid Rock's)

We returned to the Trolley stand to find we had missed our ride back to the campground by just 10 minutes, so we decided to ride the trolley again.  We had a different driver and it was interesting that even though the information was pretty much the same, each person has their own spin on how they present it.  This time around we got off at the Marathon Motor Works (home of Antique Archaeology).  Dean enjoys watching their show and he enjoys visiting here.  We were really surprised at the number of new shops in the building from when we were here just three years ago.  Dean loved looking at all of the machinery on display in the hallway as we walked through the building. While we didn't find anything we needed, it was a really fun place to look around.

We had to wait a little while for the next trolley.  This was our third driver and he was a HOOT!  He had the whole bus wound up.  Tony came to Nashville as a musician a few years ago and is still looking for the big break.  I sure hope he makes it.  He was a lot of fun.

Back at Stop #1, we still had a little over an hour for the final trolly to take us back to the campground so we stepped into a cafe right next door.  We ordered chicken nachoes and water, and enjoyed people watching until it was time to board our bus back to the campground. We've been to many, many places but we've never seen so many people in one place - literally up and down Broadway Street as far as you could see, both along the street and upstairs of many restaurant/bars.  I was glad Jack's was a quiet place in relation to the "Honky Tonks".  It's not our thing.  We enjoy having a conversation without having to yell at each other.  

We could easily spend a week or two in this area.  Besides Nashville, there are many other things to do in the area. 



March 31-April 1, 2019 - Duck Creek RV Park - Paducah, KY

We left Nashville at 10:20 and made it to our next stop at 1:00.   We were thankful for a short drive today compared to the last few moves. 

The Ohio and Mississippi Rivers were flooded, but they had dropped recently.  We learned later that one of the roads leading to the Ohio was closed for a short time.  As we neared the bridge we could see there was alot of debris right at the edge of the road and a crew was pushing it off the roadside toward the ditches.  Evidently water had been over this road.

There are many barges lined up waiting to take their loads up the river.

Water is still near the road - you can see where they were pushing the debris off the road to the shoulder

Ohio River

More barges waiting (above and below)

The barges were backed up and there were many waiting along the banks for the chance to move again.

Water outside the banks of the Mississippi River.

Mississippi River

For the most part we just stayed in for the day and evening.  It was 46 when we arrived and it was even colder in the evening.  We had to turn our mattress pad on again.  We are really ready for some spring temperatures.

The next morning we had our breakfast and I worked some more on cropping pictures and choosing the ones I wanted to include in the Nashville post, before we decided to get out and take a look at the Ohio River that runs right by the old downtown area.  From the water levels we saw on our way in yesterday we are sure they probably had some high water levels here too.

As we arrived in the downtown area we immediately noticed the gates were in place all along the flood wall.  

We love the flood walls in downtown Paducah with painted pictures of this city's history.  You can see one of the flood gates at the end of the street in this photo.

Another floodgate closed.

We did find one spot at the far end where we were able to get a peek at the river.  The water level was up but it was not near the flood gates.  (Later we talked to someone at a store we stopped at.  She told us it had flooded about 2 weeks ago, and they were keeping the gates up as they were expecting more high water from the flooding up north.)

We found a spot we could see the river from - it was high but not flooding.

The park we are staying at is nice enough, but it is $35 a night.  I found a Passport America park not too far from here, so we decided to drive there to see if it would work for us in the future, as we often take this route back to Oswego.  Tween the Lakes RV Park and Campground is nothing fancy.  It's fairly new, with concrete pads.  We believe it would work fine for us at the price of $15 for just a night or two.  I think we'll give it a try next time we are in this area.

Once we returned to Bentley, I made a meat lover's pizza and even though I messed up the crust a bit, it was still pretty good.  


April 2, 2019 - Salem, MO - Visiting Friends
We left Paducah, KY at 9:00am and arrived at our friends David and Donna Williams at 1:45pm.  

Another fairly long drive for us, but we are looking forward to spending time with these friends.  We first met them at a Heartland RV Rally in Oklahoma a few years ago.  We spent some time with them at another Rally in Branson while they were full-timing.  You might remember when we sold our house, I mentioned we both closed on houses the same day in 2017...they bought their house the same day we sold ours.   It had been a while since we had seen them, almost a year.  In the meantime their RV caught fire and totally burned last fall while they were packing to attend a rally.   They had taken some things to the RV and went back inside to get some more items.  When they returned it was on fire.  They never determined for sure what caused the fire but for now it has ended their RV travel.  


Donna fixed us a wonderful dinner, and on top of that she made a delicious coconut cream pie - one of our favorites.  Afterwards we went out to walk around their property.  They have a beautiful home and a nice piece of property.  Donna wanted some chickens, so David built her the cutest chicken house for them.  There was a small building already on the property and they have converted it to Donna's "She-Shed".  It is so cute!

After our walk, we visited for a bit before we retired for the night.  

The next morning Donna made a wonderful breakfast casserole that was absolutely delicious, along with a fruit bowl.  David had a french press and he made us a cup of coffee with.  It was very good.  

After visiting a while longer, we took a few pictures before we pulled in our slides to make the last leg of our journey back to Oswego.

David and Donna

Their dogs Baxter and Bailey wishing they were outside with us!  Bit of a reflection..sorry!

Thanks again David and Donna for your hospitality.  We enjoyed it and the wonderful meals you provided.  


We returned to Oswego for several days, and now we are in Branson, MO for follow-up visits with Dean's doctors from his surgeries last summer.