Home Again!

Monday we set off for North Carolina right after an early breakfast and finally returned to Concord and our favorite campground (because of how close it is to our daughter's home) at the NASCAR track by late afternoon.  The boys enjoyed watching several different DVD's as well as playing couple of games of Farkle while we traveled.

We arrived at Reilly's home in time for lots of hugs from Dad, Mom and brother and then a grilled burger and the trimmings.Then we went to the local pool to watch Jackson, Reilly's older brother, compete in the swim meet.

On Tuesday morning we were up good and early so as to be on the road before 8:00 a.m.  That was a long hard day of driving/riding and a bit more lonely for Jason but he managed to watch four full DVD movies as well as play some games with Carolyn to help pass the time.  By 6:30 p.m. we were backing into our son's driveway in Pennsylvania and getting set up for an extended stay at this our favorite campground because it is free.  Here we can have a full hook up and can be close to the family yet have our own four walls.

They were just getting ready to sit down for a supper of grilled chicken and veggies so we joined them.  Well we joined a much reduced family as Abbi is now working at Pine Valley Camp as a lifeguard and Rachel was attending Seneca Hills Camp for the week.  Noelle had a friend over for a sleepover.  Jason was able to join them when they sat down to watch the last Harry Potter DVD.

Wednesday we enjoyed a full day of fun with Noelle and Jason.  Following a quick orthodontist appointment, we went to the church and enjoyed listening to Noelle practice on the organ in preparation for her lesson later this week.  She showed us some of the things she has already learned and even gave Jason a chance to try doing some scales on it.

Then we were off the to fantastic game and toy store called Playthings Etc. where there are many items out to be touched and tried and a just a huge variety of neat things to see and consider.  Noelle had received a gift card from there for her birthday so was anxious to get something new to play with, which she did.

After hanging out for a bit at that store, we went to Fortune Star Buffet a favorite of Noelle's for a great lunch.  Jason even tried sushi for the first time.  Once we were filled with all that good food, we headed off to the local movie theater to see Maleficent, the newest Disney film.  It was a very intriguing twist on the the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.

Once returned home we enjoyed a trail mix snack while playing a game of Farkle.  Noelle ended up winning by a lot as at the end she threw a six of a kind which is worth 3000 points in what is a 10,000 point game. Great excitement for her!

While the kids fooled around on the piano and keyboard in the house, I created tacos out in the motorhome and then had them come over for supper.

They followed that with some time shooting baskets before Dan and Jen returned home from a long day of meetings and work at the church.

Thursday after Carolyn did a load of wash and then attended the senior exercise class at the church, we packed up all of Jason's clothes and other items, had some lunch and then set off for Michigan.  Actually we went to the rest stop on the Ohio Turnpike that is near to I 75, got a drink and waited for Dean to show up to pick Jason up along with his belongings.  He actually saw us getting out of the car as he drove by on the opposite side of the turnpike heading to the turn around point to be headed back toward Detroit so we didn't wait long.  After hugs they set off for home and we headed back to Pennsylvania with a stop at a Panera on the return trip.  We were back again before 10:00 p.m.

So now we are down to just the two of us again, back in our home that presently is in Butler.  We'll be busy now getting things ready for our flight to London and then cruise to Iceland and Norway which all begins next Friday.

Our Final Day

This being the very last day of our time here in Chattanooga, we let the boys sleep as long as they wanted - that meant 9:30 a.m. for Reilly.  Seeing as how they pretty much take over the front part of our home, that meant not a whole lot happened till he was up.  Once bedding was put away and the bed changed back to a sofa, we were all able to move around a bit more and work on getting breakfast on the table.  Once again the boys enjoyed M & M pancakes along with yogurt and bananas.

Then it was time to set off for the pool.  Carolyn enjoyed doing her water aerobics while they played for an hour and a half.  There weren't a whole lot of people at the pool since it is Sunday and many campers back up and leave in the morning hours.  That worked out well for us :-)

After we all took showers and cleaned up we enjoyed lunch together and just chatting about things we've done during the past week.

Then it was time for our last expedition, a trip to Raccoon Mountain to tour the Crystal Caves.  We couldn't believe how cool it was when we walked into the little gift shop to get our tickets especially after observing that the doors were open.  But once we started our tour we found out why.  The cave temperature is around 58 degrees and they keep the entrance open to the store.  The cool air of the cave provides fantastic air conditioning without paying for electricity.

At this particular cave, they major in offering opportunities to put on helmet, padding, etc and actually cave for several hours which includes lots of wiggling through small tunnels and doing everything by the lantern light on the helmet.  Several people were coming out when we were preparing to start looking a bit tired and quite muddy.  We were glad we'd only optioned for the "walking" tour!!!  There were several big rooms

with very high ceilings but then also corridors where we had to bend down a bit to get though.

Since they leave the doors open the cave isn't nearly as "live" as some we've seen but was certainly better than Ruby Falls Cavern as far as its offerings of stalagmites and stalagtites, columns, drapery, flow stone, and other such cave offerings.

At the end of the walk, they had a stalagmite we could touch that had been slit open so we could see what the inside looks like.  It is really quite beautiful.

The boys are pretty tired after our active week and really just wanted to "hang" for awhile after we returned and they enjoyed a dish of ice cream.  Then they headed off for a last visit to the pool while Carolyn worked on preparing dinner.

Following dinner the boys had a spray string fight out on the park lawn area

A couple of games of Skip Bo and a round of Farkle finished off our last evening.  We packed away some of our stuff in anticipation of an early morning start toward North Carolina and Reilly's home.  It was a great week!

Tennessee River Fun

Finally we got to sleep in - no jumping up and getting the RV ready to move to a service center!! Fantastic!!

The boys were able to wake up when they were ready to do so and not a minute earlier which was what they've been wanting all week.  It did mean it took us awhile to get going but that was ok.  We all just enjoyed a more leisurely pace :-) Besides, we could finally start the day with M & M pancakes specially made for Jason and Reilly.  Hmmm good!

Then we were off to do more on the waterfront in Chattanooga.  We chuckled because we parked in the same parking structure we've used twice before this week and actually ended up in the same space as the last time.  Our first goal was to get tickets for a boat trip down the river but oh my, it was Saturday and the line was out the door.  Quite a change after seeing so few people down there earlier this week.  But there was still space for the 1:00 cruise so we purchased them and then checked out the River Walk which actually extends for several miles along the riverfront.  We never got past the waterfall stairway where Carolyn and Jason slipped off their shoes and had fun going up and down in the cool water.  Lots of families were doing the same thing.  It really is a beautiful spot.

Afterwards we walked over to the Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurant which specializes in burgers built to your choice (with an amazingly long list of free toppings) and shakes (the list is 3 columns long of flavors!) The 50's style decor just adds to the fun of the place along with the terrific food.

On the way to the boat dock, we walked through the mall area around the aquarium buildings just enjoying all the scenery and art fair booths lining the area. This section of Chattanooga is really neat - and definitely a place that draws lots of people looking for a good time.  There are trees and gardens, pools and fountains and interesting waterfalls.  And lots of shady spots to sit and just enjoy the views.

The "cruise" we chose was on the hydrofoil run by the aquarium.  It provides a 2 hour tour several miles down into the "grand canyon" of the Tennessee River which is how they refer to the section of the river with mountain on both sides.  A naturalist on board provided a running commentary on the wildlife of the area as well as covering some of the history and physical traits of the area.  The boat itself could go over 50 miles an hour and took advantage of that fact to give us a fun ride with several sudden stops that sent spray flying into to the air on either side of us.  It also is capable of doing a 360 degree turn simply pivoting around so we got a demonstration of that too with the captain causing it to happen with a small hand held tool.

After the cruise, we returned to our car again past all the neat offerings on the mall and passing a couple of unique things including this brick bench at a bus stop and the pizza guy the boys are by.  The restaurant itself had awnings that looked like bottle caps off of a Coca Cola bottle and in fact had that name on the top of each.

At the parking garage is this bike "rack" where you can "rent" a bike for an hour or more to ride around the area.  Other pickup and return spots are all over the area.  Kind of a neat way to get around this beautiful waterfront area

The boys enjoyed some more time at the pool when we returned but not for long as dark clouds came in followed by heavy wind, thunder and lightning and a hard rainstorm.  That just encouraged us to return to the RV for supper and several games of Skip Bo and Farkle before calling it an evening.

An Almost Ordinary Day

Friday morning we woke early again and raced around to get dressed, eat a quick breakfast and get everything buttoned up so we could once again go to Lee Smith, the RV repair place and get the sick alternator taken care of.  We settled into our seats, Ken turned on the engine to bring up the jacks and bring in the slides and half way through the process the alternator suddenly started working!!!!!!  Unbelievable!!
But we'll take it!!  So he shut down and we reversed the process setting everything back up in place and everyone simply relaxed for a bit.

Ken then took the boys to the pool to play while I tried to catch up on the blogs I've been writing so that they could actually start then going up at the end of each day as originally planned.  I actually completed the ones for Wednesday and Thursday except for a few minor things before lunch.

We had lunch here in the motorhome -- a first since we set off on this trip.  And then we drove to the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum for a short train trip.

After much fussing by the rail personnel we were able to get on and take the ride but first they had to bring a new engine.  Guess they caught our "breakdown disease". :-)

It wasn't an especially long trip but it did take us along Missionary Ridge, an area that was heavily used in Civil War battles, and also has been used for several movies.  We went by the area where the Great Locomotive Chase took place during the Civil War and the movie about it was filmed.

Half way though the trip we arrived at a working turntable.  The engine separated from our passenger cars, drove on to the turntable and then was turned around for the trip back going on a track right next to our cars so it could pass them by and back up to attach to the front.  The whole process was well narrated so we could have some understanding of what all had to take place. It was fascinating to see how it worked to be in the exact balance point such that the tracks were perfectly aligned vertically before being turned. A giant 6 foot diameter bearing makes it all possible.  Knowing our son-in-law, Jason's father, creates this kind of part for companies all over the world made it extra interesting for us.  Jason could truly see how important such an part is.

We also had an opportunity to check out the repair building where they work on old cars and engines bringing them back to life for their museum of cars that is at the beginning of the line.  Most of the ones they are working on are at least 100 years old so they have machining to create parts that no longer exist.

Our ride back provided a bit of a breeze through the open windows but we most certainly were glad to get back in the car, get the air conditioning going strong and head back to the campground.

This heat is overwhelming all of us including Reilly who lives in North Carolina so supposedly is use to it. :-)

Carolyn and the boys played a game of Monopoly Millionaire in the nice cool coach while the rest of the clothes went through the washer and dryer.

Then Ken took the boys to the pool again for an afternoon swim while Carolyn finished off the two blogs she'd been working on and got started on this one so it could go up tonight.  Meanwhile she got some tacos meat cooking for supper that could be enjoyed in the motorhome.    We were actually beginning to get into a "regular" routine and enjoying life as it was suppose to be all week.

As soon as the boys returned and got out of their wet suits, we enjoyed tacos together.

Then after cleaning up we all went to the grocery store together to pick up a few food items to get us through our remaining time together.  The boys helped carry the bags in and put things away.  Then everyone enjoyed a little quiet time: Ken reading, the boys playing with their IPhones, and Carolyn finishing up the blogs so they could be posted.