Campbellsville, KY

Yesterday we left Clinton, TN after the rain had stopped around 10;15 heading north on I-75 through the rolling tree covered hills (Mtns) driving under sunny skies. About 50 miles after entering KY we turned west on the Louie B Nunn freeway, about 30 miles later we started to have light intermittent rain showers. Nearing Columbia, KY where we turned north on KY55 it became a steady rain for the last 20 miles to Campbellsville. The rain stopped just as we arrived at Paul & Mary's and we enjoyed clear skies until it clouded up and started raining again around 5PM. After about an hour it quit the skies cleared and it started to get cold. It was 40 degree's under clear blue skies when I got up this morning . Oh where did the 65 degree mornings go that we left behind in Florida? It seems like we have had this cloud over our heads since last Sat. I sure hope it doesn't stay with us all the next few weeks as we continue on toward Hazen Bay.

Clinton, TN

This morning we left Fair Play, SC under sunny skies traveling north on Rt. 11 the same Rt. we were on yesterday. At Walhalla we turned onto Rt. 28 starting into the Appalachian Mountains. After winding a few miles we then headed north on Rt. 107 winding our way further into the mountains of SC & NC until we intersected US 441 a few miles south of Cherokee, NC. We continued to see many beautiful Bougainvillea bushes in full bloom and the higher we got the trees were just budding out. After stopping at the Smokey Mountain National Park visitor center we decided to go on as it was starting to rain. As we drove in rain we enjoyed seeing wisteria starting to bloom along the roadside. In spite of the rain the fog made for a very scenic drive over the mountains. Arriving at Gatlinburg, TN on the other side of Smokey Mtns. the the rain had stopped. It was on through Pigeon Forge, TN then a few miles north of Pigeon Forge we turned west on I-40 to Knoxville and then north on I-75 to Clinton TN where we stopped for the night at Fox Inn RV Park.

Fair Play, SC

The sever weather out of Miss. & Ark that was forecast to hit us in the early hours of this morning didn't materialize and the sun came out about 8;30. We drove north into the hill country on Hi way 11 to Oconee Station State Park. There we saw a stone block house or fort that was built in 1792 it was first a fort and then was a trading post & brickyard operated William Richards. Also on this site is brick house that built in 1805 by William Richards. From there we went to the Travelers Rest Inn just into Georgia but it was closed.
We then traveled east on hiway 123 to Clemson where we toured the Fort Hill Home of John C. Calhoun and Thomas G Clemson on the campus of Clemson University. This house was built 1825 and still is at its original site and has most of the furniture that the Calhouns and Clemsons had in it. It was added onto many times so is larger than the original house. We then went to the Hanover House owned by Clemson Univ. but no longer on the campus. This house was finished in 1716 by French Huguenot Paul de St. Julien in Berkely county. It is wooden house made from cypress wood and on a brick foundation. Being built of cypress it will never rot and deteriorate. It had been abandoned and was in the area where the lake bed would be when the Cooper Santee rivers were dammed for a hydro-electric plant in the 1940's. In 1941 Clemson college labeled and numbered each board as they dis assembled the house and reassembled it on the campus of Clemson. It was again moved in 1994 by house movers to its present location at the S Carolina Botanical Gardens.

Fair Play, SC

This morning we were awoken about 3 AM by the sound of thunder. It was still raining when we left Perry around 8 AM. At Macon we turned northeast on US 129 & US 441. In spite of the rain it was a beautiful drive through the rolling hills of the Oconee Nat. Forest. Leaving the forest we started seeing an occasional small dairy farm in the rolling tree covered hills. Before we reached Athens the rain stopped and we began to see light fog clouds drifting out of the trees in the valleys. It was really a beautiful site to see. The Azalea bushes along the route were in full bloom and completely covered with flowers. North of Athens we turned east on I-85 and are now at the Thousand Trails Carolina Landing RV Preserve just 4 miles into So. Carolina. It started raining shortly after we got set up and has rained all afternoon and evening. We are just to the south of the Smokey Mountains. I guess we must think we are made of sugar because we didn't venture out to explore the area this afternoon.

On our way to North Dakota

After a busy winter in Sebring we are on our way back to Hazen Bay with an estimated arrival about a month from now. This winter found us shopping for a different house which we moved into in late Jan. We now live in a regular house in a regular neighborhood. It is a change from resort 55 plus style setting that we had been used to. I think we will enjoy it as we are on a corner lot and the lots on either side are vacant and have not been cleared giving us a very private setting. We also have a place to park the motor home with it. It is within a mile of all the big box stores, grocery stores and the two malls. We attended three of our NKK Florida Sea Turtle monthly rallies. We also celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary which was probably the last blog I did. Driving through Florida every thing seems to be pretty much the same however it is really hard a lot of the time to see to far to the sides of the road due to the plants and trees along the hi-way. It did seem like in the Ocala area we saw several horse farms that appeared to be no longer in operation. Getting into Georgia we saw some corn growing that looked to be 6 to 10 inches tall. Didn't see much evidence of any peanuts or cotton planting yet. The guy here at Twin Oaks RV Park said it has been real wet so they haven't been able to get into the fields very much.