Monday, June 16

Lebanon Tennessee - just east of Nashville

We left Mechanicsville, VA at 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning.  Traffic was surprisingly heavy across I-64 to Charlottesville.  Traffic began to thin out as we crossed Afton Mountain and picked up I-81 at Stanton.  Most of the big truck traffic on I-81 was lighter than usual - probably because it being Sunday and Father's Day.  The Volvo ran great and waltzed up the mountain grades without slowing down and then automatically braked going downhill.  We were able to hold a steady 64 mph which is as fast as I like to travel.

We made our first stop after 350 miles a little after 4:00 p.m. at a nice little RV park in Blountville, TN called Rocky Top.  We had stopped here on previous trips so the hosts knew who we were and escorted us into a long pull-thru site.  I believe Oscar knew where we were and quickly found his smells and bathroom spot.  I was pretty stiff and tired from driving and hit the sack after dinner and a relaxing hot shower.

A Long Pull-Thru site at Rocky Top

We pulled out about 9:30 Monday morning and drove to just outside of Knoxville, TN and stopped at a Flying J where me met Charlie & Sandra and Ray & Linda.  Charlie is also towing with a big truck - actually bigger than ours since it has a larger sleeper and is still twin axles on the rear.  They carry a neat little Smart Car on the back of the truck that can be unloaded with a set of ramps Charlie carries.

Our pull-thru site at Country Side

Charlie & Sandra.  Note the Smart Car loaded behind the cab of the truck.

Ray & Linda's Cedar Creek at Country Side RV Park

We only had to drive 275 miles today before stopping for the night at Country Side RV park in Lebanon.  So far the weather has been great for driving with no rain or wind.  It is hot!  The outdoor thermometer on the Volvo was hovering right at 95 F most of the way.

We all got together for a dinner of fried chicken provided by Ray & Linda, squash from Charlie & Sandra and potatoes from Nancy & me.  Ray added a bottle of delicious blackberry wine brewed and bottled by Ruthie at Stage Coach RV park in Branson, MO.

We have crossed into the Central time zone and set our clocks back an hour.  Oscar doesn't understand time zone changes and couldn't understand why his dinner was an hour late.

We are leaving tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. (Central time) and will follow I-40 to West Memphis, AR.  Tomorrow's drive is only about 250 miles so it should go well.  I do get stiff and tired driving and prefer not to do over 6 hours a day behind the wheel.  Driving a 66 foot long rig weighing over 30,000 pounds is a little more stressful than a 4-wheeler.  Being rested and alert is important.

Beautiful green meadow and clear blue skies behind our RV at Country Side RV Park