Econo Lodge Inn And Suites Parkside Townsend

... gardens, walkways, paddle wheelers, boat tour operators, house boat rentals and fancy dining. A vintage steam engine called the “Three Rivers Rambler” is also stationed there – it’s used during tourist season.

Blount Mansion – Located in the downtown sector, it briefly served as the capitol of Tennessee.

Market Square – A downtown street that’ ...

Update from Tuesday - the rain stopped during the night and we didn't float away. Wednesday was sunny and 70. We took the trolley tour of downtown Asheville. More on that tomorrow.

Today we took the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad ride. Weather was warm (70) and sunny and colors were at their peak. The pictures tell it all.

Train ride tips:
1. Take the PM ride. At least this time of year the fog is ...

... TN. Quite the mountainy town with cabin themed everything, Dixie Country, Dollywood, Graceland. Massive everything! Pancake houses galore (southern stylee).

We were all rather tired and hungry by this point and stopped to have dinner. Sumner made pasta for us and we sat down at our little Lola table to have a cute little dinner. We commemorated with a picture, chilled out a bit, scoped some things on the internet, and made back out to the open road. Now we're headed to Memphis...ish.

... surprising things Greg and I noticed while looking at a cemetery outside one of the original churches, was that, in this part of the country, people seemed to live much longer lives than was the norm in the 1800's. Many died in infancy, of course, but we saw that a majority of the headstones indicated years that calculated to 60, 70, or even 80 years of age! Guess those old mountain folks were made of tough stuff! It was a nice drive ...

... Not Museums, Buffet Restaurants, Music Shows and Auditoriums, and more go-kart tracks than we've ever seen, in all our travels combined! It turns out that most of the schools in Tennessee are closed this week for Fall Break, so a lot of the tourists were families, here for the amusement parks more than the National Park. Neither of us enjoys this carnival-atmosphere, so prevalent now in towns like Branson, Wisconsin Dells and ...

We leave the battlefield and drive to Chattanooga proper to the Terminal Brew Pub. It is fairly new but it in an old terminal station. I believe the waiter said the old Chattanooga hotel but I am not sure. I actually have a beer (a Belgium wheat) and the frufru sandwich (Chicken breast, pear, brie cheese). I also have the sweet potato cheesecake for dessert. It is very good. While we are dining the ...

... the kids just love. Bicycles, tubes for floating down the river. some areas have pretty good rapids parts are slower and relaxing. The bicycle trail starts right there accross the road and runs to the other end of town (5 miles). The Tuckaleechee Caverns are amazing and only cost about $12.00 per person for an almost 2 hour tour and it is open not not cramped like most. Many horseback riding stables. The best one is 1 mile from Lodge and ...

It has been many years since I've been in Cherokee and little has changed except for the Casino which is undergoing major expansion. We were nestled into a nice RV park with a brook flowing through it. Cherokee is close to many attractions and we enjoyed our stay there.

We found a spot somewhere on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. It was so beautiful we spent a few days here and did everything.

We did some white water rafting near our site and met a friend. She was a cat the lived there and loved sleeping in the tent. ha ha ha.... We named her Nantahala, 'Nanta' for short.

It was Beautiful....

... take to find ?) If physically attacked, fight back aggressively with any object available. Oh yes, who's going to win this one! We saw lots of blue/black butterflies but few birds. Saw one lone turkey which would have been lunch but we didn't have a gun. On the last stretch home, we heard a rustling in the undergrowth and saw a big black snake, about 2 inches in diameter and 3 feet long. We desperately tried to remember the advice regarding ...