A Slight Change in Plans

We woke up to gray clouds and some drizzle. Not a good day for hiking, so we went to plan B. We started out with breakfast at cozy Cracker Barrel on the way to the Giant Flea Market near Hwy 40. We meandered through the junk there only finding a torque wrench that was suggested having on hand at the seminars during our RV-Dreams rally. It was $35 and we thought about it, but moved on. Gary picked up some tiny batteries that might fit in our pedometer. It might be interesting to see how far we walk some days.

Around 12:30 we came home and we played with our $5 rosebush from Lowe’s, which ended up costing near $20 after we got a pot, dirt and the little impatiens. Gary had designed the trellis back in Florida and placed it near some ground-planted roses next to our site. There are stones around our sites here, so it was impossible to stick it in the ground. We made it work, and here is a photo of the finished product. I worked on the computer for a few hours researching jobs and Gary washed the Jeep.

For dinner we decided to go see Dixie Stampede. We made reservations citing our Dollywood employment and arranged to pick up our tickets at the gate. The pre-show entertainment started at 7:15 which was a musical show with three great string players: banjo, bass and guitar/fiddle/mandolin. We enjoyed the music while sipping on a non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri in a boot-shaped cup and a little popcorn. Then we were ‘herded’ into the main arena to our seats and table settings. The audience is divided into the North and South. We were in the Yankee section, which rankled Gary a little bit, but I got my Yankee spirit out of mothballs and hooted and hollered with the best of them. (we still lost). No photos were allowed during the show, but here’s a shot of us courtesy of our waitress.

The show was great with competitive games like racing piglets, lumberjacks, a live herd of buffalo and horse riding stunts. There was a lot of audience participation in the arena, too, from little kids to grown men playing a game of horseshoes with toilet seats. (the North won that one). A lot of food, too: a whole roasted chicken, potato slice, corn, soup, biscuits, something unidentifiable (I think it was ham based) and an apple turnover for dessert. The best part – doggie bags! Gary and I both brought home our chickens for dinner tonight after work.

So we’re slowly getting ready for work which will end around 9:30 tonight. Gary is nearly always in the sausage pit, but I never know where I’ll be until I get there. And tomorrow is going to be hot and sunny, so we will definitely plan a trip to Cades Cove. Really looking forward to that (as long as there are no bears).