Charleston SC Tea Plantation

Later on (after Drayton Hall) we took another tour of the ONLY American Tea Garden in the USA and their processing plant. We found out the difference between black, oolong, and green tea. (Black tea is our preference.) What are going to do with all this knowledge?!
Tomorrow we are headed for Myrtle Beach...about 75 miles north. Until then.....

Charleston SC

Here we are at Drayton Hall, a plantation of the late 1700's, which had approximately 50 slaves owned by the Drayton family. This was 'once' a beautiful mansion and has a most interesting history!! We took a 1 hour tour and learned all about this place. The tree that Wil and Max are standing by, we were told, is approximately 350 years old..... and the pond behind them houses 5 baby alligators. Thank goodness I didn't know this while we were enjoying the scenery!!

Savannah GA

We spent most of the afternoon Friday, May 29, touring downtown Savannah, which is an old city with much history. Since we were close to the waterfront, Judy wanted to eat 'by the water' so we went to Spanky's for lunch. A well spent day!
Tomorrow we'll be in South Carolina.

Hardeeville SC

Today we visited Fort Pulaski National Monument located east of Savannah GA. Built for defense during the American Revolution then later used by the Confederates in defense of the Yankees, it has quite a history of war. See http://www.nps.gov/fopu/ for more detailed information. We were enlightened by the events of early history.
We believe Mother Nature was trying to tell us something today in her most convincing way. The temp was 90 and the humidity 90%. YUK! Boy do us Californians have it good! We are soooo spoiled!!

Florida again

We left Winter Haven, after visiting Mark and his family, and headed north to Orlando. Judy's nephew, Doug, and his family live just north of this big city, and the picture was taken in their backyard. The time with them was way too brief, but we got true southern hospitality. (Doug stands a good 6'6". It's obvious - everyone looks up to him!) Next stop is South Carolina. See you there.

Florida

We enjoyed 3 "hot and humid" days in Winter Haven with Wil's oldest son, Mark, and his wife and step-son. One of those days was spent touring Bok Tower Gardens. This is located in Lake Wales, Florida, and is claimed to be the highest peak in the state (2400 ft) surrounded by beautiful gardens. A real treat for all of us! During our visit with Mark, we experienced stormy weather every night and often times included thunder. Not Max's favorite thing. Needless to say, he was a rather frantic camper. But that's Florida for you!! It was hard to say goodbye to them.

Marietta GA

We've been with Judy's brother, Jon, and his wife, Charlotte, since Sunday and enjoying a wonderful visit with them. The weather has been great...cool and clear! Tomorrow we leave for Florida to visit Wil's son and wife. It will probably rain on us for the next four days as the forecast predicts. No problem! Max is thoroughly enjoying all the attention and is getting plenty of it. Will talk to you again soon.

Tullahoma TN

We've spent the past 4 days in Tullahoma, Tennessee with Wil's two sisters, Edrie and Lola, and Edrie's son and his family. The picture of the five of us (left to right - Lola, me, Wil, Kent, Edrie) enjoyed a fundraiser breakfast at Appleby's sponsored by the Lion's Club, of which Kent is a member and graciously extended an invitation us all. Also, while in Tullahoma we took in a tour at the Jack Daniel's distillery. Since Moore County, where this is located, happens to be a 'dry' county, they didn't offer samples to the public.....but we had all the lemonade we wanted. We still enjoyed the tour very much! A piece of trivia....Jack Daniels became a businessman at the tender age of 13! We'll be leaving Tennessee tomorrow and our next stop is Georgia. See you later.

Nashville and Grand Ole Ory

Yesterday was about the best we've had so far! During the day we took the Nashville City Walk Tour and learned a lot of interesting history - some dating back to as much as 200 years. This city definitely lives up to its name - Music City - and is sooooo friendly.
Last night was something else!!! We went to the Grand Ole Opry and thoroughly enjoyed that. One of the several performers who impressed us was a new up and coming talent, Jimmy Wayne, whose picture we've included on the blog. He'll be touring with Brad Paisley this summer.
All in all, a great day.
We leave this morning, May 13, for Tullahoma to spend a couple of days with Wil's sisters.
Until next time.....

Nashville TN

After arriving and setting up our campsite we drove to and toured the Opryland Hotel. This has got be the greatest hotel in the USA. There are 3 very lush atriums inside the hotel with waterfalls and streams everywhere. The grounds are so beautiful with many "out in the open" restaurants. Tomorrow we have tickets to the Grand Ole Opry show. More later. Check out this website.

www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-opryland/

Oklahoma - thru Arkansas - to Tennessee

After visiting with Wil's relatives this past weekend, we are now in Jackson, TN., spending tonight at Walmart. Tomorrow we will be in Nashville and will add more to this blog.
'Tis the season for rain in the mid-west and we've driven thru our share. Overall it's been great so far.
By the way, Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers!

Oklahoma City Memorial

Today we spent all afternoon touring the memorial. A very heartwarming experience and so glad we did this. Everyone should have an opportunity to come here and see what terrorism can do to innocent people. Truly devastating!!!
Tonight we are camping at the Firelake Casino in Shawnee, Ok.....free camping with hookups and $10.00 (compliments of the house) to gamble with. Not a bad deal, huh?
I even managed to get Wil behind a slot machine. Sorry I didn't get a picture of that!

Amarillo TX

Landed in Amarillo TX today and boondocking at the Texas Visitors Center. Last night we stayed in Ruidoso NM which is the home of the richest quarter horse race in America. The daytime was hot, but the nights are cool. Todays drive was excellent. Great scenery and weather. Tomorrow we will be somewhere in OK. More later next time with pictures.

Willcox AZ

We are in Willcox AZ and will leave for Portales NM. Yesterday was hot and windy and the dash air was not working. We did run the generator so we would have air. Will add more later.

Campout at Guajome

We will be camped out with a group of friends and Square Daners until Sunday afternoon, then leave fo Yuma AZ for Sunday night. Monday evening we plan on being in Willcox AZ and hopefully we will have internet service for our next blog.