We said goodbye to the coast of Texas and started to make our way to North Carolina for our App State grads. We will take about two weeks to make our way slowly back.
Still traveling about 3 hours max each day, our first night was a quick stop over in Vinton, TX. The next day we traveled 3 more hours and stopped for 2 nights at Sun Outdoors in Ponchatoula, LA.
Our spot was a nice size, very clean and right on a small pond.
The weather was beautiful making it easy for us to enjoy the amenities.
We even tried our hand at pickle ball. It was a lot of fun and a good workout. We will definitely play again.
Three more hours headed east dropped us in Toomsuba, Mississippi.
Our site at the KOA was a bit more rustic than where we had just been,but we enjoyed the shade of the trees.
The pool was a cool 78, but we were grateful to enjoy a few hours of sun and water therapy.
We ventured into town to check things out.
No surprise we found a local brewery to grab a refreshing beverage.
We continued traveling north and found ourselves near Birmingham, Alabama for two nights. We knew we would not be at the RV much, so we chose a location close to the city in the parking lot of the recreation complex.
Addie was super excited to be back in Bojangles country.
We explored downtown Birmingham. First checking out the well known Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where in 1963 hundreds of African Americans teenagers marched from here to City Hall.
Then later the same year the KKK bombed the church killing 4 teenage girls.
We toured the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument.
Birmingham was at the heart of the racially-segregated South.
So much history to take in here and try to make sense of.
It was a heavy and moving experience, that prompted lots of conversation.
Birmingham has limitless mineral resources. In 1904, the 56 ft tall Vulcan Man made of iron, won the Grand Prize in the mineral category at the World’s Fair.
He now sits high on the hill overlooking the city.
After a full day of exploring, we were ready for a refreshment. It was cool that Brock’s Gap Brewery was in the same parking lot as our RV.
Forging east, our travels took us to Chattanooga, TN. We had an oversized site at Chester Frost State Park right on the Chickamauga Lake for 3 nights.
It was a great place to relax and enjoy the water view.
Definitely not as warm as we have been use to.
Ashley and Addie tried their hands at decoupage with oyster shells.
We enjoyed beautiful sunrise views from our site.
As well as magnificent sunset views.
We ventured into town and found the stunning pedestrian walking bridge.
We stood on the bank of the Tennessee River and looked up at the Walnut Street Bridge.
We made our way up to the bridge and took in the sights.
From all sides.
We walked all around town and finally got thirsty and hungry.
Back at the campground, it was time to just chill.
Another 3 hour trek got us a little further into Tennessee. We spent a few nights in Sevierville (Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Dolly Wood) at the Sun Outdoors RV Park.
After a travel day, there is nothing better than cuddle time!
We drove around and took in the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains.
This was our second time in this area, but last time we did not have our National Park passbook yet, so we made sure to get it stamped this time.
With the weather not cooperating for a hike, we decided to visit the Historic Arts & Crafts Community, where we found some beautiful local art.
Travel days mean we are typically on the road over lunch time and we eat a packed lunch. This was a momentous day because it was finally nice enough for us to comfortably eat outside at the rest stop.
Our last stop in Tennessee before North Carolina put us within an hour of Boone for 3 nights. We settled into a small, new campground in Roan with 6 sites. We had the place pretty much to ourselves except for one other camper.
No need for the white noise, just open the window and listen.
Located so close to Mountain City, we could not pass up an opportunity to eat at one of our favorite places, La Cucina Italian Kitchen. The kids came over from Boone to join us, Yeah!
We love this quaint little restaurant, where we have to bring our own wine and drink it from a coffee cup because the county is dry.
Many of our birthday and special occasion meals have been enjoyed here.
After a great meal the girls came back to the RV for some family time.
Mak stayed for a sleepover.
We enjoyed some relaxed time just hanging out and played around with finishing our pottery that we started when she was with us in Texas.
The next day we leave for North Carolina where we will spend the next two weeks.
We are enjoying your travels so
Much! Come to Atlanta and visit the MLK center, Scarlett O’Hara museum and the Carter museum. I would love to take Addie to the capital. Let us know! Sending love!
Love this one. Looks like lots of really great relaxing campgrounds. Also, love the ones for the end with a picture of all of you together.