July 13, 2014 Time to slow down

Sunday July 13, 2014

It feels so good to be free... I think... What's that noise?  I want back in, lemme in!

 

 

Woke up and decided to walk early while it was only warm and muggy instead of waiting till it is hot and muggy.  The Tom Sawyer RV Park has a few distinct areas.  Ours is right on the Mississippi River, but no trees.  There is another section on the water with some trees.  Then there is another section back from the water but totally shaded.  There is an old tree house showing the high water mark from the flood in 2011.  This park was totally under water by probably 15-20 feet!  Park benches line the banks for people to enjoy the river, and there is a lookout post you can climb and observe.  And for the first time on our trip, we were going to slow down.

 When I got back to Hannah, Spouse was sitting at the picnic table with Rudy - who was NOT on a leash.  He was just sitting there.  Spouse said he went under the trailer but he did not wander.  He came up to me and I was not real keen on this idea.  He heard a noise and ran back to Hannah's step.  This is good... Then our neighbors came out and started breaking their camp.  Rudy trotted over and Spouse followed.  When Spouse clapped his hands, Rudy ran back to Hannah.  I opened the door and he ran inside.  Guess he isn't in too much of a hurry to venture on his own... this time...

 We hung around to watch some of the river activity, a tug here, a barge there.  There is quite a current and logs are bobbing their way down towards New Orleans and the gulf of Mexico.  The stories this river could tell...  This is part of what is known as the Circle Loop where one can boat from Florida north, then across the Canadian locks, through the Great Lakes, then down the rivers to the Mississippi River into the gulf back to the original starting point.  With all the debris in the water, I envision there is lots of boat damage!

 

We readied Hannah and hit I40 east, passing through Memphis on our way to Clarksville where our friends Paul and Merillee reside.  Spouse went to high school with Paul.  Paul is the only childhood friend with whom Spouse has stayed connected.  We had only 6 people at our wedding and P and M were 2 of them.   We were visiting with P and M when their daughter  Lauren decided to be born 26 years ago.  Needless to say we have kidded Merrillee ever since about abandoning her visitors.

 We stopped for fuel in Jackson, and Spouse has lamented that ever since... in other words, he OVERPAID for diesel!  Good thing it was only a half of tank otherwise he would be suicidal! 

We passed over the Tennessee River.  When we had our boat, we wanted to explore the waterway systems (known as the Tennessee Tom) from Kentucky Lake down to the Gulf of Mexico.  But we sold the boat before we could bring that idea to fruition.

We got off the interstate on to a small highway, 48 heading north through the tiny town of Dickson and beyond.  It was nice to be off the main highway.  Cute cottages, then large homes on sprawling grounds, then woods choked with kudzu are all part of the scenery.

 We got to Paul and Merrillee's around 3 and put Hannah in their driveway under a tree.  Since we were able to hook up the electric so it was strong enough to run the air conditioner, we decided we would  sleep in Hannah with our polydactl furball.  Although we were all invited in for our visit, we know Rudy would not like their cat and dog so it would be easier in Hannah.

 We ate, drank and visited on the back patio.  Their daughter Lauren was there with her new boyfriend. 

With the fireflies serenading us, it felt quite Disney-ish!  Merrillee mentioned how dry it had been here... it hadn't rained in 9 days!  Hah!