Retired and Trippin

Our departure from Branson was delayed due to cold temperatures. It was sunny and 34 when we finally left at 9:30. Our route home was the quickest and most direct, 65 north, I-44 west, 13 north, 7 northwest, and I-49 north to the Kansas City area. We stopped once for gas and to use the facilities. Chris and I arrived home at 1:15 having traveled 220 miles. Our high temperature today was 44. No photos were taken today. It was a great trip and, as always we enjoyed traveling with Carl and Marge. Our total trip mileage was 1,840. We traveled through Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas. Since we've been traveling, and to be responsible citizens during this Coronavirus pandemic, we will limit contact with other people for two weeks, as much as that is possible. After all, we do have to buy groceries and other necessities. Hopefully we won't develop any symptoms of the Coronavirus during that time.

Chris tells me this is the first day of Spring. We left our hotel in Batesville, MS at 8:00. It was raining lightly and 70 degrees. We traveled 278 west, 316 west, 61 north and 49 northwest. Highway 49 crossed the Mississippi River from Mississippi into Helena - West Helena, Arkansas. In the Helena - West Helena area we stopped for gas and found that the gas station offered some tasty looking fried chicken. It was still early, around 9:30 but Carl and I could not resist. Carl scored a couple chicken legs and I scored some chicken livers. LARRAPIN good! Our tourist stop for the day was west of Helena - West Helena along Hwy 49 at the Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park. It is located in a headwater swamp and marks the base line for surveys of the Louisiana Purchase started November 10, 1815. We continued northwest on 49 to Brinkley, AR where we caught I-40 westbound. At Conway, AR we exited the interstate and tried to score lunch only to find out that sit d...

Today was Chris' birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY Remus! I won't say how old she is. This morning I went out to the car and found it covered in a fine coat of yellow dust (pollen?). At 8:45 we departed our hotel in Jasper, Alabama. It was cloudy and 70 degrees. The top went down on Poonie and it stayed down all day. Our route was 5 north, 278 west, 241 north, 237 north, 51 west, 43 south, and 8 west to Dismals Canyon. It is privately owned but it is also designated as a national landmark. We walked a mile and a half in the canyon, which had a creek running through it. It was beautiful and definitely worth the visit. I did slip and fall on a downslope that was muddy and covered in wet leaves. What a klutz! Leaving Dismals Canyon we took 8 east and 43 north to Russellville, Alabama where we stopped for lunch at the Rancho Viejo Mexican Restaurant. They offered up some good chow with excellent service. After lunch we continued north on 43, 72 west and Woodm...

Our travels today started at 8:10 when we departed our hotel in Gadsden, AL. It was cloudy and 57 degrees. Our route took us south to Cheaha State Park located south of Oxford, AL. The park is the highest point in Alabama and as we approached we drove through some thick fog. It was still foggy when we arrived. Due to the fog we decided to visit High Falls located south of the park. The road to the parking area was gravel and mud, which was a bit gnarly for Carl and Marge on their motorcycle but Carl handled it like a beast. We found two waterfalls on a somewhat difficult but short hike over rocky terrain that included a creek crossing. Chris by the lower waterfall the upper waterfall By this time the fog was gone so we returned to Cheaha State Park and visited Pulpit Rock. Another short hike took us to the scenic overlook. Chris on Pulpit Rock We were now famished so we enjoyed lunch at the Vista Cliffside Restaurant in Cheaha State Park. There was a great view fro...

It was raining hard when we woke up this morning and for awhile thereafter. It must have made for good sleeping because Chris and I both overslept. Because of the rain and our sleeping late we didn't depart our hotel in Sweetwater until 9:30. It was cloudy and 52 degrees. First on our agenda today was the Lost Sea Adventure ( https://thelostsea.com ), a few miles down the road. Upon arrival, however, we found a note on the door saying they were closed until April 1st. The Lost Sea is an underground lake so, basically, it is indoors. This is the first closure we've encountered due to the Coronavirus. Second on our agenda was Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, TN. We did a little checking and found it was closed also. So we were off for DeSoto State Park near Fort Payne, Alabama. I was using Google Maps to guide us to DeSoto State Park and I'm not sure of the route we took but I had it set to avoid Interstate highways and toll roads. That was probably a mistake because it took fo...

Another cloudy day! It was 45 degrees when we departed our Nashville hotel at 8:40. Our route was I-40 east, Hwy 70 east, 56 south, 287 east and 284 to Rock Island State Park (Tennessee). Great Falls, Twin Falls and some smaller falls on the Caney Fork River were beautiful. We enjoyed walking around viewing them all. Great Falls Twin Falls more waterfalls below Great Falls and above Twin Falls A bunch of rural back roads took us east and south from Rock Island State Park to Fall Creek Falls State Park. Before checking out the waterfalls we enjoyed a surprisingly good lunch at the park snack bar. We split a bacon cheeseburger and a salad. Fall Creek Falls is said to be the highest waterfall (a 256 feet drop) in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Fall Creek Falls Also in Fall Creek Falls State Park was Piney Creek Falls, with a drop of only 75 feet. Carl & Marge with Piney Creek Falls in the background From Fall Creek Falls S...

Today we slept in, enjoyed our hotel's complimentary breakfast, and lollygagged around until 11:00, when our shuttle bus transported us from our hotel to downtown Nashville. It was cloudy and 45 degrees. Our first stop downtown was the Ryman Auditorium. Before leaving on this trip we obtained self-guided tour tickets. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic all shows at the Grand Ole Opry and at Ryman Auditorium were canceled so this is the best we could do. It was well worth the price of admission. Outside the Ryman Auditorium is a statue of Thomas Ryman, the namesake of this building. The sculptor was the late Steve Shields, who was married to my cousin, Karen (Schechter) Shields. Steve definitely had some skills! Chris and Marge by the statue of Thomas Ryman To see all the Ryman photos taken today click on this link:  Ryman Auditorium It was 1:00 by the time we left the Ryman so we were hungry and ready for lunch. Carl had read about the famous Nashville Hot (spicy) ...