Fran and Jeff’s Retirement Adventures

While in Michigan we met up with the Shinn’s and toured the Air Zoo and the Gilmore Car Museum. Below our some facts about each of these and some images of their amazing displays.

The Air Zoo, originally named the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, renamed in 1999, is dedicated to preserving and displaying historical and military artifacts and to serving as a research and educational facility for this country and abroad. In 2011 it expanded and now houses a Space Theme, WWII Aircraft and a restoration center. Below are some of the aircraft housed on display.

The Gilmore Car Museum houses one of Michigan’s largest collections of classic and vintage automobiles. The purpose of the museum is to tell the history of America through the automobile.

Onward to Iowa!

Due to the pandemic we started our 2020 travel season a month later than we planned to however this season was one of our best travel seasons. We traveled through 16 states in 5 months and had an awesome time. For nostalgic purposes below are a couple of images depicting what was going on at the time.

Below was the map of our 2020 travels.

Places had started to open as we exited Florida and headed into Northern Georgia just outside of Chattanooga TN. Keeping with our tradition of touring battlefields we rode around the Chickamauga Battlefield in Northern Georgia. The visitor’s center was closed due to the pandemic but we were able to piece together the battle and tour the various sites.

As a refresher, Chickamauga was an 1863 campaign fought for control of Chattanooga, known as the “Gateway to the Deep South”. The Confederates were victorious in September maintaining control. However in November renewed fighting broke out and the Union gained control of the city. At the time, there were those who saw this as the death-knell of the Confederacy. Below are some images from around the battlefield.

A beautiful state park in Tennessee, located across the eastern top of the rugged Cumberland Plateau, is Fall Creek Falls. It is known for cascades, gorges, waterfalls, streams and lush stands of virgin hardwood timber. It is one of the largest and most visited state parks in Tennessee. It has cabins and campsites along with lots of hiking trails. We took the trail that went 256 feet down to the base of the gorge. We did not quite make it all the way to the gorge as there was a lot of rock to climb on and around and I was afraid I would not be able to make it back up. Regardless it was beautiful and challenging. We then toured the park by following its driving loop around and stopping at many of the overlook areas. If you are in the area it is truly a beautiful park.

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We also visited a state park in Georgia called Cloudland Canyon State Park. It is on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. It is said to be one of the largest and most scenic parks in Georgia. It offers camping and a number of well marked hiking trails. We hiked a number of trails in this park including the Waterfall Trail which contained a 600 step staircase down to the base of the falls. The views of the canyon were spectacular! Again, if you are in the area, this park is well worth your time if you love the outdoors.

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Rock City is located on Lookout Mountain in Georgia near the Tennessee line. Rock City features a long, convoluted rock trail lined with gardens. It also has some unique and bizarre rock formations, e.g. Balanced Rock and Fat Man’s Squeeze. Located by Lover’s Leap is a place where you can see seven states. It was quite a unique place and made me wonder if parts of it could have been used in the Hobbit Movies. Here are a few images from our stroll.

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Another attraction located on Lookout Mountain was Ruby Falls. Ruby Falls is located deep within Lookout Mountain and contains many underground cave formations along with the tallest and deepest underground waterfall.

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From Tennessee we did some visiting along the way in Indiana and Michigan. Next up will be a little of the touring we did in Michigan in 2020.

Our last big travel stop was in Nashville.  Nashville, being the country music capital, had music and entertainment everywhere you went.  The campground we stayed at offered a shuttle to downtown which was a blessing as I do not think I would have been able to park the truck anywhere.  We also had some visitors while here.  Lorrie and Kim came for a couple of days.  Joyce and Lynn came and we got to spend a day with John and had dinner at Kaitlyn and Matt’s.  It is always great when company comes!

The first place we saw while downtown was the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  It is one of the world’s largest and most active popular music research center and the world’s largest repository of country music artifacts.

The Ryman Auditorium was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-1974.  The auditorium was originally the Union Gospel Tabernacle when it was built in 1892.  Today it is used for live performances.

Stopped by the Johnny Cash Museum to see the memorabilia.  Next door to the museum is Johnny Cash’s Kitchen and Saloon where we stopped to hear the Cash Kings do a great imitation of one of Johnny’s famous songs – A Boy Named Sue.

It was surprising to find a full scale replica of the Parthenon in Nashville.  It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.  Nashville’s nickname is the ‘Athens of the South’.  In 1990 a recreation of Athena was added to the east room of the main hall.  On the same grounds was also a monument to the 19th Amendment – giving women the right to vote!

The Hermitage was the hole of President Andrew Jackson.  He obtained the plantation in 1804 and is his and his families final resting place (he died in 1845).  He first lived in a log cabin while the main house was completed in 1821.

Belle Meade Plantation was developed by Virginian John Harding in the early 1800s.  He boarded horses for neighbors such as Andrew Jackson and bred and raced thoroughbreds.  A couple of generations later, Selene Harding married William Hicks Jackson and both decided to focus all their efforts on breeding.  Belle Meade had many successful thoroughbred studs, including Bonnie Scotland and Enquirer, whose bloodlines still dominate modern horse racing.  Many triple crown winners can trace their bloodline back to Bonnie Scotland including Secretariat, Affirmed, and American Pharoah.

The Nashville King (John Beardsley) is an Elvis imitator who has been doing his show for the last 20 years.  He takes you through a tribute to the King through the years 1953-1977.  His show was high energy and he does an excellent imitation.  Definitely worth seeing.

Observed our first television filming by attending TBN’s filming of the Huckabee Show.

Here’s some pictures from downtown Nashville.

Saved the best for last.  We got to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry.  It was their Pink night and we were able to see 7 different entertainers.  Craig Morgan, Travis Tritt, Anita Chochran, Joe Diffie, Sara Evans, Oak Ridge Boys, and Luke Bryant.  Below are some pictures followed by a few videos.

Craig Morgan

Travis Tritt

Anita Cochran

Joe Diffie

Sara Evans

Oak Ridge Boys

Luke Bryant

This concluded our travel season in 2019!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing to head east, we next stopped outside of Memphis, TN in West Memphis, AK (just on the other side of the Mississippi).  We stayed in a really nice campground (Tom Sawyer) and were located a stones throw from the river.  Never realized how busy the barge traffic on the river is!

Crossing the bridge into Memphis, we had to stop for dinner on Beale St.  Really great barbecue at BB Kings along with some great entertainment!

You cannot visit Memphis without visiting Graceland!  We toured the home as well as the newer entertainment complex.  The house took you back to the 70s with some of the decorations as well as the kitchen appliances.  It was nice to see not only the house but all the memorabilia in the entertainment complex as well.

Shiloh battlefield is prevserved much like Gettysburg in PA.  Just a few facts about the battle of Shiloh:

1. Began April 6, 1862 when confederates under Johnston attached federal soldiers under Grant.
2.  Battle begins on Fraley Field.
3.  The federals got their butts handed to them on the first day and were forced back to Pittsburg Landing.
4. Johnston was killed and replaced by Beauregard.
5. On the second day, having been reinforced overnight, Grant overpowered the confederates and the confederate army left the field.
6. Battlefield was quite woodsy.
7. Was known as bloodiest battle to this point with 23,000 casualties.

Next up – Nashville, TN

Made a couple of stops in Arkansas as we were heading back to Florida for the winter.  First up was a stop near Fort Smith, Arkansas.

The original Fort Smith was established in late 1817.  It’s purpose was to maintain order between the local Osage Indians and a band of Cherokee who migrated west.  The original fort was abandoned in 1824 for a fort further west.  A second fort was built in the same area in 1838 due to increased tensions with Indians following the Indian Removal Act of 1830.  In 1875, the fort became the first US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas with the appointment of Isaac C Parker as the first federal district judge.

While in the Fort Smith area we also decided to try our hands at panning for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park.  No luck here, just a few small pieces of volcanic minerals found.

The final thing we saw while in the area was Cherokee National Museum.  Aside from a museum they also have a village there that takes you back to how the Cherokee lived in the late 1800s.

After Fort Smith we stopped in Hot Springs for a couple of days.  Hot springs is known for their Bath Houses and their role during prohibition.  We did some hiking here, though we did not find the source of the springs for the bath houses but we enjoyed the mountain view.  Below are couple pictures of the site we stayed at.  It was quite the challenge to back into the spot and especially if we pushed too far back, we would have gone down the side of the mountain.

Next up – Memphis, TN

 

 

During the month of September we were able to do some visiting with Jeff’s family.  In Tulsa we saw his brother Tim and his wife Pat and in OKC we visited with his daughter Colleen.  It was really nice to break up our travels and simply visit with family though we did get a little sightseeing in while there.

While in Tulsa we visited Woolaroc.  Woolaroc was established in 1925 as the ranch retreat of oilman, Frank Phillips.  Today it is a museum and wildlife preserve aimed at preserving the history of the West.

We tried our hands at betting on horse racing.  Not very successful but it was fun trying.

While in OKC we spent a lot of time with Colleen.  Got to see her house and were able to do a few things to help her out.  We also managed to do a little sightseeing.

One of the places we went was the National Cowboy Museum.  The paintings and sculptures in this museum were beautiful and helped in making our decision in 2020 to travel further west.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum was a very moving site to see.  The memorial grounds with their reflecting pool are located on the grounds of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building which was destroyed in the 1995 bombing.  It is sad to look at the chairs representing each of the victims of the bombing and most especially the chairs for the children who were killed in the daycare center.  The museum takes you through the day of the bombing as well as the following days as the community came together to search for survivors and assist the firemen, police and volunteers.  It starts with you listening to the recording of the waterworks case going on that recorded the blast.  Even knowing what was coming, it was really devastating to actually hear.

Next up Arkansas.

 

We spent almost two weeks in Branson.  We took in a number of shows as well as visited places in the surrounding area.  During our time, we rented a pontoon boat and tried a little fishing.  Needless to say we did not have any success but had a good time cruising in Lake Taneycomo.

We drove to Springfield one day to see the Fantastic Caverns.  The cavern was discovered in 1862 and was not explored until 1867.  The Springfield Women’s Athletic Club of the time explored the cavern and carved their names into the rock.  Back in the early 1900s, the cavern was used for Ku Klux Klan meetings as well as a Speakeasy during prohibition.  Today, you take a tram ride through the cavern.  The tram rides along a path left behind by an ancient underground river.

Rented a golf cart and took a few mile ride through the scenery at Arnold Palmer’s Top of the Rock Resort.

We attended a number of shows.  During the 60s show, Jeff was brought on stage to dance to the Batman song!  The rest of the pictures below are what you could record as most did not let you take pictures or record the shows.

Below are some pictures of our leisurely ride on Lake Taneycomo.  No luck fishing but we picked up a passenger for a bit.

Next up Tulsa, OK.

 

 

We decided to take a vacation from our retirement RV travels and spent a week in Oahu.  It was breathtaking!  We downloaded a driving app called Gypsy Guide which took us on a driving tour to all the tourist as well as out of the way places on the island.  Took us 3 days to do and there was only one place we could not go because the road was closed.  We highly recommend the app.  Below are some of the amazing places we visited!

Byodo-In Temple:  This is a smaller replica of the buddhist temple in Uji, Japan.  It is not an active temple but is in a peaceful gorgeous location at the back of a cemetery.  Was able to get Jeff to ring the bell as well as remove his shoes to enter the temple.

Church of Latter Day Saints:

Diamond Head:  Spent a couple of hours and hiked to the top of Diamond Head.  Suggest doing this early in the day.  Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone whose ridgeline shape resembles the shape of a tuna’s dorsal fin.  It has some truly spectacular views from the top as well as on your way up.

Dole Plantation:  Originally operated as a fruit stand in 1950 is now open to the public as the ‘Pineapple Experience’.  We took their Pineapple Express Train Tour and completed with a pineapple whip.  This quickly became our favorite refreshing treat on Oahu.  (The best tasting one was at the bottom of Diamond Head.)

Halona Blowhole:  One of Hawaii’s natural wonders.  Created thousands of years ago when molten lava tubes were formed from volcanic eruptions.  Where the blowhole is are breathtaking scenic views and steep sea cliffs.  A must-see!

Hanauma Bay: Known for an abundance of marine life, it is a snorkeling experience like no other.  Regretfully to say we were not prepared to go snorkeling and because of the delicate balance on the reef, only so many people are allowed in at one time.  We did walk along the ridge above and again saw some amazing views!

Downtown Honolulu and Waikiki Beach:

Makapu’u Lighthouse:  This lighthouse sits on the eastern most point of Oahu and was built in 1909.  It is about a 2 mile hike from the parking lot to the top where you can see the lighthouse.  There is also a parking lot further up where you can pull off and are already at the top.  They say this is a great whale watching spot in the winter.  We made the hike one morning and were rewarded with beautiful views.

Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau: A heiau is an ancient Hawaiian temple or sacred place.  This particular Heiau is supposedly the point from which the volcano goddess Pele leaped from Oahu to Molokai.  It is the largest Heiau on the island and overlooks Waimea Bay.

Pearl Harbor:  Spent a good portion of a day at Pearl Harbor.  At the time we were there the USS Arizona Memorial had not re-opened but we made the best of the day by exploring all other places open to the public.

The USS Bowfin Submarine:

Memorial Park:

Boat Ride around Harbor:

USS Missouri:

Hangar and Tower:

Punchbowl Crater: An extinct volcanic tuff cone and home to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Just a side road off the beaten path aka Laniloa:

Banzai Pipeline:  The waves were not coming in very high when we came through.

Sunset:

Luau:  Our last night in town we attended a Luau!

A closing Luau video and then it is on to Branson, MO:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While in Rock Island we visited the Arsenal located on Arsenal Island.  The Island is on the Mississippi River between Davenport, IA and Rock Island, IL.  It was originally established as a government site in 1816 when Fort Armstrong was built.  It is now the largest government owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the USA.  It has manufactured military equipment and ordnance since the 1880s.  A prison camp was built on the premises during the Civil War which housed Confederate prisoners.  That camp was destroyed after the war.

There is a museum built in 1905 which contains the second largest collection of small arms weapons in the US Army.  There is also a National Cemetery as well as a Confederate Cemetery on the island.  To gain access to the museum as well as the cemeteries you will need to obtain a military visitors badge at the gate to the island.  The badge is good for one year of visitation.

The two cemeteries:

The Arsenal Museum:

While on Rock Island we went down to the end where Lock 15 resides and we watched as a double length barge came through the lock on the Mississippi.  It was one that was too long for the lock and so it had to separate once it came into the lock before it could close and then the water could go down.  If you have a few minutes watch the video below, it was interesting to see the process including the swinging bridge to Davenport (sorry for the occasional finger in the shot).

From Rock Island we headed to St. Louis.  We did not do too much while there as we took a week to take a vacation from RVing and headed to Hawaii.  Though the day we were leaving, our phones went off with a warning on emergency flooding.  Unbeknownst to us, there was a creek running along the edge of the camp we were in.  Last picture is of the flooding after it had started to recede.  We were lucky as we were on higher ground then most so the water only go to the bottom of our rig.

St Louis:

Next up our Hawaii travel.