Hi friends.
This has been a week. We were having some issues with our electrical system and upgraded to make it better. We are happy to say now it’s working well and we shouldn’t encounter any issues that the previous owners of our van had. Unfortunately, in order to make this happen – we had spent a lot of time in RV repair shops and in parking lots in Knoxville trying to get this done. On the plus side, we got some other things accomplished. We went to a laundromat and washed our bedding and clothes and we got our first oil change of the trip.
This week wasn’t all bad though – we did do a few fun things that were memorable. We drove from Asheville to Gatlinburg where we spent our first night. To get there we drove through a section of Great Smoky Mountain National Park which was absolutely stunning. We ended up at a recreation center parking lot that overlooked the mountains and spent some time relaxing, finishing up our work day, and making dinner there.
We spent some time in Knoxville, but it was mainly to get the battery things figured out. In general, I’m not the biggest fan of Knoxville, but all of the issues we had might be clouding my judgement. To boost morale after having to spend another day waiting for parts to get in (we were inbetween Knoxville & Pigeon Forge for 4 days) we went back out to Gatlinburg and spent a night at a campsite.
We made burgers for dinner (curtesy of our one of our Harvest Host stays. He named this cow “Sandy Hamburger #2), made a campfire, and had s’mores. It was so relaxing and exactly what we needed after a stressful week.
When we left the Knoxville area, we decided to make a quick pit stop in Kingsport, Tennessee. We stopped here for one main reason, our dog.
We rescued Pepper Jack two years ago. All we know was where he was treated before the rescue put him on a bus and brought him up to Connecticut. We decided to go check out the place he was at and explore a little bit of the city to see where he spent his first few years. We also wanted to ensure he had a good memory from his hometown, not just sad or scary memories. I know dogs brains probably don’t work that way, but it was important to us.
The first stop was the animal hospital where he was treated, before we headed off the a nearby dog park. He played with some dogs for a while, but when they left we decided to play on this agility course with him. He was so happy running around and we had plenty of fun playing with him as well.
When we left Eastern TN, we decided to head to West Virginia to visit New River Gorge National Park. It’s the newest national park. We drove to the visitor’s center and made some breakfast before heading out on a few different smaller trails.
One was a quick overlook where you can see the river and the bridge. We then drove to another trail and did a few miles there. We ended up walking into the town of Fayetteville and stopped for lunch. It’s a beautiful small town with some cool places to eat and friendly people. There is a café and juice bar, set up in an old cathedral, appropriately named Cathedral Café. We got some lunch and headed back to the van. The walk back was a doozy. It’s super hilly and we ended up doing about 7 miles total – which was a great workout.
Now we are are in Erie, PA to start off this next week. The reason? It was going to be cooler at night and therefore easier for us to sleep. We will see what adventures will find us this next week.
Let’s Discuss! Comment Below:
- Pick one: Juice Bar or Coffee Bar?
- What’s your favorite season?
- Do you prefer being outside, or inside?
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