Hampton Inn Martin, Tn

... heavy things down low. The main road we wanted to use was closed due to fallen boulders so a detour was eventually found. PS it's rained since we left I think.<br><br>The route we ended up taking was one of the more miraculously breathtaking ones that I've seen. We followed Rt. 19 to 441, which runs alongside a river with waterfalls and rapids. Mountains are always going to be a faraway beauty to me I believe. Growing up in flat-as-can-be Delaware, appreciating altitude comes easy ...

... we had for a show called "Country Tonite". . It was pretty good, with a cast of 17 people who sang and danced their way through classic and modern country music, gospel and patriotic tunes. A couple of VERY good voices, and some pretty good voices, but an entertaining evening, to be sure!<br><br>Looks like the second night in a row that we don't really need a furnace, heater, or electric blanket - this is a GREAT sign of things to come!<br>

We left Crittenden Kentucky this morning at 9 AM, traveling south on I-75 and picking up I-40 in Tennessee. It was pretty much a standard travel day for us, covering about 250 miles total, with a half hour or so lunch stop around Noon time. We stopped at a very busy Tennessee Welcome Center (that's where we made our sandwiches and ate lunch) to pick up brochures so we could make good use of our one day in the Smoky Mountains ...

... I decide I want to watch that.<br><br>We try and head to Calhoun's for dinner, passing yet another car that has slid off the road, but it is mobbed. That is expected for the night before a game. I figure anything near the University will be packed so we eventually head over to the south side of the river. Of course that was after we drove through the revived old town area. I am glad to ...

... 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 ...

Yesterday was a pretty relaxed day of driving, minus the extreme sticky southern heat. This stuff the horribly disgusting!!!!! We only made a few stops, one was to get our normal beer and glass, we tried to get one at a few places in Nashville but we struck out a lot. So we stopped in Knoxville and we finally got one. After that our mission was complete. We got back on the road and headed to our destination Pigeon Forge, home of ...

... but it is not. PEASE STOP!!!! It is not okay. The action of putting pythons in the everglades is like hurting innocent ...

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.<br><br>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.<br><br>It was Beautiful....

... great programs to lift the level of literacy and I meet a consultant who is going to send me ideas for their reward system. Same as what we do but different ideas. One student had gotten to be Queen of the day and wore a crown and sash. She was so funny as she went around doing the royal wave. We got to go to Channel 5, it was tops. Saw the team read the news, and the control room. It was so fast and cross overs. We were toured by the local ...

... who have just built a $80 million dollar college which puts all schools in WA to shame. For example at Ensworth, class size is restricted to 15 so that each class can sit around an oak oval table for every lesson where the teacher acts a encourager. Can you imagine that? The school size is restricted to 500 and EVERY student must do 4 hours of circuit traing per week on banks of the latest gym equipment you will ever see. The machines are linked to computers so that kids ...