Day 20. Wow, I can’t believe we’ve been away from home for twenty days. We began our day in the little park just outside of Nashville and are resting for the night at a Flying J Travel Plaza just outside of Cincinnati. We’d pulled into a RV Park a few miles back and found they were full. Cheers to our first attempt at spending the night in a parking lot surrounded by trucks and one other RV.
We filled our day with a stop at Antique Archaeology, the store of one of Papa’s favorite shows, American Pickers. No, we didn’t see Mike or Frank (aka, The Bearded Charmer), but we did see a few items on sale that were purchased on the show. The store is housed in a magnificent old brick building that we spent a few hours walking through. It was once home to the Marathon Motor Works. As you walk along the hallways of the building, you can read about, as well as see, the tools they used to build these motor vehicles way back in the early 1900s. Picture after picture of hard-working men using machines powered with steam using ginormous belts to move them.
We also went in one store that had been destroyed last Christmas Day from a bombing. Pictures on the wall told their story, and there was also a bench that had survived a fire in 2015 and the bombing in 2020. Forty-one stores were destroyed in that bombing. We will never be able to understand why anyone would want to do that, will we?
We met a gal in one store whose husband grew up in Cortland, NY. She said they’d been up for Christmas in 2019 and was disappointed that there wasn’t any snow. We assured her we weren’t disappointed by that. 😉 They plan to come up again this Christmas and she said, “I’m praying for a lot of snow this time.” “Well, we are sorry, but we will be praying for your disappointment!” We told her. Lol
After visiting the Marathon Museum, we walked over to the Museum that showcased five of the vehicles. One of which, was won at a county fair by two brothers ages 12 & 15 in 1911 who each put in 50cents for a $1.00 raffle ticket. How would you like to win a car for a dollar raffle ticket? The story is a pretty amazing one. It’s a good argument for never throwing anything out. ;)
We left downtown Nashville and headed over to Cooter’s, which is a museum of all things, Dukes of Hazzard. This was a tv show Papa and Mimi used to watch back in the 1970’s and early 80’s. We saw case after case of items from the show. Dolls, lunchboxes, board games, poster after poster, plates, cups and more. Each case held items from the personal collections of the actors on the show. They even had a pair of the short shorts Daisy Duke wore.
In the backroom of the store we found matchbox cars that were replicas’s of the vehicles that were driven in some of our favorite television shows. Mimi always wanted to drive a Cobra11 Mustang like the ladies of Charlie’s Angels. She never owned one, nor did she ever drive one, but she held one in her hands on day twenty in Nashville, TN.
We enjoyed lunch in the parking lot before we drove out of Tennessee and into Kentucky. We found a gas station right next to a Culver’s, which has really tasty ice-cream and indulged in a mid-afternoon snack. Before we knew it, we were driving over the Ohio River and right into the state of Ohio. Cincinnati at rush hour was not fun, but we made it through with only one questionable moment of confusion caused by the GPS.
We weren’t paying attention to the time change and waited too long to call an RV Park before they closed for the day. There also seems to be far less on our route through Ohio than we found out west. Papa always likes to park this rig before dark, so it is Mimi’s task to find a nearby campground as we drive along. The APP RV Parky has been a tremendous help for that. However, tonight, that didn’t work out so well for us. After driving to one we’d found in the area, upon entry we learned they were full. Papa and Mimi spent their first night in the parking lot of a Flying J Travel Stop amongst many Truckers, and a few other Motorhomes.
At 9pm we thought we’d get a bite to eat at the Denny’s as a way to support them for allowing us to park there only to find they were closed. We, weren’t the only ones disappointed, there were a few Truckers expressing their displeasure, too. Denny’s, along with so many other businesses, lack enough help to be open 24/7 like they were. There are “Help Wanted” signs all across the Nation. Back out to the RV we went for a feast on leftovers.
Papa turned on the generator and Mimi pulled the shades down, hung up the front curtain, and then we called it a night. Hopefully, a good night with sleep. It’s very noisy and bright in this Flying J. Scratch that, no generator. It’s too loud.
Once we make it out of Ohio, it’s on to Pennsylvania and then back in New York! That means we are only a few hours away from H.O.M.E.
We love and miss you,
Papa and Mimi ❤️
We filled our day with a stop at Antique Archaeology, the store of one of Papa’s favorite shows, American Pickers. No, we didn’t see Mike or Frank (aka, The Bearded Charmer), but we did see a few items on sale that were purchased on the show. The store is housed in a magnificent old brick building that we spent a few hours walking through. It was once home to the Marathon Motor Works. As you walk along the hallways of the building, you can read about, as well as see, the tools they used to build these motor vehicles way back in the early 1900s. Picture after picture of hard-working men using machines powered with steam using ginormous belts to move them.
We also went in one store that had been destroyed last Christmas Day from a bombing. Pictures on the wall told their story, and there was also a bench that had survived a fire in 2015 and the bombing in 2020. Forty-one stores were destroyed in that bombing. We will never be able to understand why anyone would want to do that, will we?
We met a gal in one store whose husband grew up in Cortland, NY. She said they’d been up for Christmas in 2019 and was disappointed that there wasn’t any snow. We assured her we weren’t disappointed by that. 😉 They plan to come up again this Christmas and she said, “I’m praying for a lot of snow this time.” “Well, we are sorry, but we will be praying for your disappointment!” We told her. Lol
After visiting the Marathon Museum, we walked over to the Museum that showcased five of the vehicles. One of which, was won at a county fair by two brothers ages 12 & 15 in 1911 who each put in 50cents for a $1.00 raffle ticket. How would you like to win a car for a dollar raffle ticket? The story is a pretty amazing one. It’s a good argument for never throwing anything out. ;)
We left downtown Nashville and headed over to Cooter’s, which is a museum of all things, Dukes of Hazzard. This was a tv show Papa and Mimi used to watch back in the 1970’s and early 80’s. We saw case after case of items from the show. Dolls, lunchboxes, board games, poster after poster, plates, cups and more. Each case held items from the personal collections of the actors on the show. They even had a pair of the short shorts Daisy Duke wore.
In the backroom of the store we found matchbox cars that were replicas’s of the vehicles that were driven in some of our favorite television shows. Mimi always wanted to drive a Cobra11 Mustang like the ladies of Charlie’s Angels. She never owned one, nor did she ever drive one, but she held one in her hands on day twenty in Nashville, TN.
We enjoyed lunch in the parking lot before we drove out of Tennessee and into Kentucky. We found a gas station right next to a Culver’s, which has really tasty ice-cream and indulged in a mid-afternoon snack. Before we knew it, we were driving over the Ohio River and right into the state of Ohio. Cincinnati at rush hour was not fun, but we made it through with only one questionable moment of confusion caused by the GPS.
We weren’t paying attention to the time change and waited too long to call an RV Park before they closed for the day. There also seems to be far less on our route through Ohio than we found out west. Papa always likes to park this rig before dark, so it is Mimi’s task to find a nearby campground as we drive along. The APP RV Parky has been a tremendous help for that. However, tonight, that didn’t work out so well for us. After driving to one we’d found in the area, upon entry we learned they were full. Papa and Mimi spent their first night in the parking lot of a Flying J Travel Stop amongst many Truckers, and a few other Motorhomes.
At 9pm we thought we’d get a bite to eat at the Denny’s as a way to support them for allowing us to park there only to find they were closed. We, weren’t the only ones disappointed, there were a few Truckers expressing their displeasure, too. Denny’s, along with so many other businesses, lack enough help to be open 24/7 like they were. There are “Help Wanted” signs all across the Nation. Back out to the RV we went for a feast on leftovers.
Papa turned on the generator and Mimi pulled the shades down, hung up the front curtain, and then we called it a night. Hopefully, a good night with sleep. It’s very noisy and bright in this Flying J. Scratch that, no generator. It’s too loud.
Once we make it out of Ohio, it’s on to Pennsylvania and then back in New York! That means we are only a few hours away from H.O.M.E.
We love and miss you,
Papa and Mimi ❤️
 Papa was excited to step into this store!  For whatever reason, the camera on my phone was being ornery and would not work. But, here is the wheel of the motorcycle.     We can’t drive past a stadium at not have a photo. Nissan Stadium, home of the Titans  |
|
RSS Feed