Devil Went Down To Georgia

Greetings from Nashville Tennessee.

We got into Nashville a couple of days ago and are enjoying sunny skies, cool evenings, and wonderful days. We took a day to restock the RV and rest but spent yesterday exploring Nashville. Since I was country when “Country Wasn’t Cool” I’ve spent a lot of years hearing about Nashville. It hasn’t been disappointing that’s for sure. I’m sure there is a whole bunch of industry here beyond music but it is well buried. It’s music everywhere, a very, very, unique place.

Bernie in front of The Grand Ole Opry

Last night was the highlight when we took in the “Grand Ole Opry.” All I can say is WOW. No matter what your personal music preferences might be a visit to the Grand Ole Opry would be a great experience. For a country music fan it’s the experience of a lifetime. We were fortunate to get main floor seats, center, about half way back. They couldn’t have been better.

It was huge fun to see “Little Jimmy Dickens” performing at age 90. Yes he’s still going and he is 90. He told a whole string of jokes poking fun at his age and what he can and can’t do. You can imagine what they might have been. There were many more stars but Lee Greenwood, Clint Black, Connie Smith, and Gretchen Wilson, stood out for me.

One of those famous giant guitars

They closed the night out with Charlie Daniels and he shut it down with his biggest hit, “Devil Went Down To Georgia.” Charlie happened to be celebrating his 75th birthday yesterday and watching him play his “Fiddle” was just unbelievable. His band is great, the music is great, but to see that song performed live was huge.

I guess you can tell we really enjoyed it. :-)  I sure wish they would share their "secret" source for all that energy.  If I'm still here at 75 or 90 I'm absolutely certain I won't be moving like these folks are.

So today we’re headed downtown to explore. We’ll start with the Country Music Hall of Fame and see where it takes us.

Tomorrow it’s off to Memphis for a few days of Jazz and of course Elvis's Graceland.

Thanks for stopping by and please do leave a comment when you can.

Neal and Bernie

Hanging Out in Middlebury

It's almost time to leave Middlebury, likely tomorrow, but as excited as we are to get back on the road it's sort of sad to leave here.  The people are so nice, there is so much to see and do and exploring the countryside here is really fun.  The truck is ready to go, the 5r is all set, no more excuses we have to head for Nashville.  Hopefully by Thursday we'll be someplace near the Hoosier National Forest where we plan to stop for a day to explore and then it's on to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry.

Laying on the RainEx, I love that stuff.

A beautiful Halloween display in Shipshewana

We had a fabulous afternoon today at the RV Hall of Fame and Museum at Elkhart.  This is a "Must Do" for any serious RVr.  The RV display is so much fun to walk through.  I'll post a few pictures here just to entice you to visit.

The grounds are beautiful, pools and fountains all around.

Bernie standing beside her favourite coach.  It was a 1913 Earl, an absolutely beautiful coach.  The wood in there would put most modern coaches to shame but the amenities do leave a little to be desired.  The shower and comode were pretty good as long as you were in the woods and near a stream.

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The 1913 Earl, we loved this thing

Now this is a Motor Home, the seats were wooden chairs NOT bolted to the floor.

This rig was Mae West's private coach.  The studio had it custom made and hired a driver to transport her from home to the sets and back.  The interior is still beautiful.  It has a covered deck on the back where she apparently sat enjoying the breezes in her rocking chair.  It's a really special piece.

This one is one of two hand built coaches made by a fellow in Florida.  This one was created from a Cadillac and an Oldsmobile.  There is no plumbing on board but it's sweet travelling coach.  I loved it.

Just one of the beautiful cars in the collection.

I literally killed the battery in my camera at this place, taking about a hundred pictures.  I can't post them all but this gives you the idea.  Go see it if you can.

We're on the outskirts in Indianapolis tonight headed for Nashville over the next few days.

More later, thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment when you can.

Neal and Bernie

Greetings From Indiana

On The Road Again and lovin it.

Leaving the Arrowhead RV Park in Ile des Chene, MB.

On our way out of town we stopped for a “see ya later” breakfast with our boys and a couple of grandchildren. It was really nice and a great send off.

Rob, Brady, Bernie, Cole, Brooke, Neal. (OK Guys - now I’ve posted your pictures, HAPPY? :-) )

We got away on time on Sat the 15th for what will hopefully be a great winter of touring, meeting with our friends, and enjoying the warmth of S. Texas sunshine. 

The border crossing was a bit unusual this year. For some reason we came up for a “routine” search. The drug dog was all over our rig, which wasn’t unusual, but they pulled us in for a search which was unusual and a bit unnerving to say the least. If you know us, you know we have nothing to hide, but having a bunch of US Customs people all over our truck and trailer while we are told to wait inside was just plain scary. It took about 15 minutes. As we were being released I asked one of the inspectors if something had set off the dog or if we had done something wrong. He said “no we do routine inspections all day long.” It might be routine to them BUT to us it was anything but “routine.”

I’m writing this from Middlebury Indiana. We had a great trip to here, with nights at or near, Fargo, Minneapolis, Oregon IL, and Menonominee WI. We had a short visit with friends, Greg and Elaine, near Minneapolis, and now our friends at “The Outpost RV” are graciously allowing us to stay at their dealership for a few days while we’re here.

We have an appointment, to have a slide adjusted on our RV on Monday the 24th but we came down a few days early to tour around the area, to learn what we could about Amish culture, and to visit the RV Hall of Fame.

Yesterday we spent a few hours at the “Menno-Hof, Amish-Mennonite Visitors’ Center,” in Shipshewana, IN, www.mennohof.org which was worth the trip all by itself. They provide a fabulous audio visual history of the Amish, Mennonite, and Hutterite cultures dating back to 1525. It’s a huge place built like an Amish Barn, in other words all hand hewn timber, put together without nails. They built the barn part in two weekend but the rest of it took two years to finish.

A picture from the window of our car.

It was interesting learn why the Amish, Hutterite, and Mennonite communities choose to live the way they do and how it all has to do with their faith. When you learn some of their history and how they were persecuted over the centuries you begin to understand why they make the lifestyle choices they make. Bernie and I were surprised to learn that the Amish culture is actually growing very quickly because they have large families, which fully 60% of the children stay within, and that many that do leave return.

It’s fun to explore here, seeing horses and buggies everywhere, dodging the “horse dung” all over the roads :-), and seeing this unique way of life. It’s so different from our go, go go, N. American lifestyle. Being an “old farm boy” I was amazed to see a farm equipment dealer that sold only “horse drawn” equipment. To be here experiencing this, while at the same time being in the center of the “RV Manufacturing Universe,” is as good as it gets for this old guy.

A typiclal “hitching post.” This one was at the local food store but it’s common to see 20 or more of these rigs tied up at a store or other meeting place.

Today we have a tour arranged at the Winnebago/Sunnybrook RV factory. This is a BIG deal for me. Watching these rigs going down the assembly line from frame to finish is probably just a Neal thing but I’m excited and Bernie puts up with me. The Jayco factory is literally a couple of blocks from here so I may try to get a tour there next week after we do the RV Hall of Fame on Monday.

That’s about all I have for now, thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment when you can.

Neal and Bernie