Crossville, TN

On Tuesday 6/2/09 after getting set up in the Bean Pot RV campground we drove back to Crossville to have supper with my sister. While we were there she received a call that one of our cousins in Chattanooga had passed away. Wednesday we plan to drive over to Chattanooga to visit her family, and we will attend the memorial service once we know when it is scheduled.

On Wednesday 6/3/09 we went to Chattanooga to visit my cousin's family and on our way down we stopped in Pikeville to have lunch. The food was country style and pretty good.

On Thursday we went to visit the Sgt. Alvin C. York State Park in Pall Mall, TN. Sgt. York was the Quaker who fought in WWI and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. After returning the State of Tennessee he was given the land that is now the park. After he and his wife died the land was returned to the State by the family for the state park. One of Sgt. York's son's is a ranger at the park. I was able to met him. He is approximately 77 and still works each day. The picture shows Dianne and I standing on Sgt. York's Front porch.

On Friday 6/5/09 in the morning we visited the Military Museum in Crossville. It was very interesting, and if you are ever in the area you should take advantage of the opportunity to see it.

On Friday afternoon we returned to Chattanooga for our cousin's memorial service, then returned home. On the way back we stopped at a B-B-Q place, and the food was excellent.

On Saturday 6/6/09 we had my sister Linda Belle and her husband Ken over for lunch (Hamburgers) and then we went to the dirt track race in Crossville. They were ok, but there were not many different classes, and the operation was not run very efficiently. It took to long to get things going at the beginning, and between races they were slow getting the drivers to the track. I really liked the little minis that are four cylinder cars and sound like a swarm of bees going around.

On Sunday 6/7/09 we went to church with my sister and Ken. We really enjoyed their young preacher. After church we returned to our campground to have lunch, and then we departed at around 1:30 PM for our trip to VA. On Sunday night we stopped in Wyethville, VA at Deer Trail Park and Campground and then continued to Greenwood, VA on Monday morning 6/8/09.

Next post from Greenwood, VA!

Smyrna TN - Activities

My Blog was off the air for a while so I have not been able to post. This should catch us up to the point were we left Nashville, TN and moved to Crossville, TN.

We left our camera in the camper so we were not able to get any pictures for these events.

On Saturday 23 May we spent time with our son and grandchildren. We went to the Hands on Childrens Science Museum in Murfreesboro, TN then to a local park in Smyrna that had fountains of water in several shapes and sizes that the children were able to play in. They really seemed to enjoy it. After this we returned to our RV for hotdogs and sausages.

On Sunday 24 May we returned to Murfreessboro, TN to visit Fortress Rosecrans which is the largest earthen fort ever built. The Union Army built the fort after the Battle of Stones River December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863. The fort consisted of around 200 acres and protected vital segments of the railroad and a multitude of warehouses that held supplies for the coming campaign. Through most of 1863 the Fortress Rosecrans served as a critical forward supply base for the Union Army during their campaign to seize and control the vital rail junction town of Chattanooga, TN. The fort was never attacked by the Confederates, and housed approximately 50,000 men and supplies to support them for 90 days.

On Tuesday 26 May we toured the Nissan Plant in Smyrna, TN. If you ever have the opportunity we highly recommend this tour. It was truly amazing. They make the Nissan Frontier, Tundra, Pathfinder, Altima Sedan and Coupe. Also at this factory they stamp out the parts that are used to produce the Nissan vehicles in Mississippi, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. They also stamp out all replacement parts for all dealerships in North America. It was really neat to watch the process and see the engine and transmission lower into the frame, and then a little farther down the line to watch the body lowered to form the Frontier, Tundra, and Pathfinder. The Altima is a unibody construction so the motor is moved into the body from underneath as it travels down the assembly line. They also have a robotic cart that travels down a magnetic strip in the floor to deliver parts along the assembly line.

Wednesday 27 May we went to Franklin to view the Battleground where the Battle of Franklin, TN occured on November 30, 1864. This was a pivital battle and was called the bloodiest hours of the American Civil War. It was also called the Gettysburg of the West, one of the few night battles, and one of the smallest as it was only 2 miles long and 1 and 1/2 miles wide. The main battle started around 4:00 PM and would down around 9:00 PM. The Union Army consisted of 22,000 infantry, and 13,500 calvary. The Confederate Army of Tennessee consisted of 20,085 infantry, and 5,000 calvary. The most savage fighting occured around the Carter House and there are still about 1,000 bullet holes in the main house and the outbuildings in spite of the restoration efforts. When the battle was over the North had lost about 2,500 men to death, wounding, or capture. The South lost 7,000 men to death, wounding, or capture. In essence the Army of Tennessee died at the Battle of Franklin, and was unable to stop Shermans march on Atlanta as planned.

Thursday 28 May we drove to Nashville and walked around downtown, then went to lunch. We can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the food was pretty good.

On Friday 29 May we took a drive around the area and went Southeast to Tulahoma, TN, back to the Northeast to Sparta, TN, and then west to return to Smyrna. In Sparta we had lunch at the Sparta Cafe. The food was excellant. If you are ever in Sparta we highly recommend the Sparta Cafe.

Saturday 30 May we went to see a movie titled "UP" with our son and his family, and then out to eat at the Calypso restaurant. The movie was really cute and the grandchildren enjoyed it very much. The food was pretty good also.

Sunday 31 May we went to Church at what used to be First Baptist of Smyrna, but is now Life Point. Then we drove over to Franklin for lunch at Dotson's Restaurant and to attend the local play at "The Boiler Room at the Factory House" titled "A Sunday in the Park with George". It was ok, but not anything really impressive.

On Monday 1 June we left Smyrna and drove over to Crossville to visit my sister and her husband. Before we left Smyrna as I was preparing the RV to depart I noticed a small trickle of fluid coming out of the left rear wheel. When we arrived in Crossville we stopped at Wal-Mart to gas up the motorhome, and I noticed quite a bit more of fluid so we called our maintenance contract company and discovered the nearest authorized Workhorse facility was in Knoxville. On our way there we noticed the Boat N RV facility at mile marker 338 on I-40 so we stopped there in hopes that they could make the repairs without us having to travel to Knoxville. They were not able to get to us then, but we were able to stay in their campground for a nominal fee. Once we got set up we un-hooked the car and drove back to exit 317 on I-40 to visit my sister.
The RV repair facility was able to start on our coach first thing Tuesday morning, so once we turned it in we drove back to Crossville to visit with my sister again. They were having a Senior fellowship at their church that morning which we attended with them. Needless to say the food was fantastic. After lunch we contacted the repair facility and discovered they were finished with our coach, and just waiting for the warranty company to send them the information for payment. So we returned to the facility and picked up our RV and drove back to exit 322 on I-40 to the Bean-Pot Campground.