4/9/2019 Defeated Creek Park Tennesse

We had about a 4 hour drive today. Also we changed time zones so we gained an hour. We hit the road around 8:00 am. It was a very pretty drive thru north Georgia and then Tennessee.  We took Highway 111 north of Chattanooga all the way to I-40.  I was surprised at the steep grades we went thru, several 8% and 9% grades. There was one climb where we had rock ledges on both sides of the road with small waterfall's coming down. I couldn't get any pictures because the pull outs were not big enough for a truck and trailer, also I didn't want to start back up from a dead stop. We stopped and ate a light lunch and still made it to our campground by 12:30.  Defeated Creek is a very nice COE Park that we have stayed in before. We have stayed in the same site at least 3 times in the past. We are about 40 miles east of Nashville. We plan on just chilling till Friday. It looks as if we are going to have great weather. 

April 8, 2019 A Day of Rest

When Susan got up this morning she couldn't hardly walk. Her bursitis had flared up probably from all the walking and sitting in the metal chairs the last two days. We decided to just stay at the trailer and rest up. Mackenna"s team won both of their games today. They flew back home about five o'clock. Susan took some pain medication and slept most of the day. I needed to find a wheel for my trailer spare tire. That turned out to be a 4 hour affair as nobody had what I needed. Finally found one and they got me fixed up. I just chilled around the rest of the day watching the weather. We were lucky and all the bad weather missed us. Tomorrow we head to just east of Nashville TN.

Maggie and I cooked breakfast

Now we are cooking supper

April 6-7 Long Days of Volleyball

We got up early Saturday morning. We left the park about 5:30 am. The gates to the park are locked from 10:00 pm till 7:00 am. They have a small parking lot  outside the gate for people that need to be  out between those hours. Just sheer luck we were very close , about a two minute walk for us. It turned out to be an easy drive to the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. I had purchased my parking spot ahead of time in the Blue Lot for the three day event. I still wanted to get there early as it isn't easy to park my long truck in the little parking spots. It turned out that we were close the first day to the court we were playing on. Our games started at 8 and we finished about 2;30 the first day. We won the first pool we were in. We headed home and got back to our trailer 4:30 pm. Maggie was glad to see us. We were both very tired so we just had left overs for supper . Early to bed for these old folks. We got a pretty good thunderstorm around 2:00 am which woke us up for a little bit .  Up early aging Sunday morning and headed out in the rain. Luckily the rain was over when we got downtown. This morning we had a long walk to the courts we were playing on. The Georgia Center is a huge complex and pretty nice. We didn"t play our best today but and ended in a three way tie in our pool. it went to tie breaker rules which can be complex for me. The team we beat got 1st and we had to play a challenge game which we lost 25-23. Tomorrow we don"t play till 11:00. we headed back to the trailer and made it back home about 5:00 pm , both of us tired.  This campground is called Victoria Campground (COE Park). Its nice and big . It was spring break here and the park was full when we got here. This evening when Maggie and I took a walk it was pretty empty. They do have some nice waterfront sites. I don't think I would come here again as it is in a urban setting. The park is surrounded by subdivisions. It worked for what we needed here. One more day of volleyball and then we can chill for the rest of our travels.

6:20 am the morning

Kingwood Revolution 15 Elite

Susan Mackenna Mike

Mackenna Kristi

One of several waterfront sites

empty park now

April 5 2019 We made it to Atlanta

We got up today in no hurry. It didn"t take long to get ready to leave as we were already hooked up. We encountered no mechanical issues on the drive. We did have to take a detour because I-20 got closed down . We headed north northeast thru Alabama and into Georgia. It was a pretty drive but our gps misled us a couple of times. We still arrived at Victoria Campground around 3:15 pm. We got unhooked and set up. We just relaxed the rest of the evening. We have to get up about 5 in the morning to head to Mackenna"s volleyball Tournament.

Our campsite

Happy Hour

April 4,2019 A Long Day but Trailer Repaired

We got up early this morning and headed to the repair shop. It was only 2..4 miles and we made it. We left there and headed  to get breakfast. Found a truck stop  and had a pretty good breakfast. The rest of the day we went to a couple of stores and hung out at the park. We had hoped to put our chairs out and build a fire by the lake but the rain put a stop to that notion. Our trailer was ready about 3:00 , we picked it up and went back to the park. It drizzles and rained all evening. We leave in the morning hoping for better travels, Somewhere along the way I need to find a new wheel as the one that had the problem was bent and they didn't have one.  Even though we really didn't get to enjoy it Twitlley Branch Campground is a nice COE Park.  So far Mississippi is a pretty state to travel thru in the spring. We will be just north east of Atlanta Ga tomorrow. We will have 3 days of volleyball tournament with Mackenna"s team.

Napping in the truck at the park

Bolts sheared off

eating breakfast

Back at camp with trailer

April 3,2019 A nice drive in the Natchez Trace and then a downward spiral

It was about 38 this morning. I had to put on the furnace to warm up the trailer. We only had about a 4 hour drive so we didn't get in any hurry. We headed out and got on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It was a really nice drive, The speed limit is 50 mph. We hardly saw any cars. We got on I-20 in Jackson Ms and headed east. We stopped later to fill up the truck and eat lunch. About a mile later down the road we had a blowout on a trailer tire. I never felt it but a car signaled that I had a problem so I pulled over. Usually I would change my own tire but because of my back I called Good Sam, It took awhile but they finally got someone there. We finally got back on the road. That one call paid for my Good Sam. It s nice to have and luckily we had cell service. We were only 30 miles from our next stop. As we got to the campground office a guy pulled in behind us and said a tire was abour to come off of trailer. Sure enough  on another tire all the lug nuts and bolts were gone but two, I limped to our site with a wobbly tire. I couldn't break the two nuts to take tire off so I went to town and found a shop. The said if I get it there in the morning they could fix it.  Im hoping to limp the 2.5 miles to the shop.  Not a great day but it could have been worse.

Twitlley Branch Campground

Natchez Trace

Bad Tire

April 2, 2019 On the Road Again Finially

We got on the road today doing a spring trip. We had already cancelled the last 3 weeks because of my back issues.  I'm finally doing better but getting everything loaded yesterday made me a little sore this morning. We left about 7:30 heading east. It was a nice day and an easy drive. There was one stretch on I-10 before the state line that was pretty rough and bounced everything around in the trailer.  We drove about six hours and stopped at Natchez State Park for the night. We were able to get a pull-thru and I didn't even unhook the truck. Susan straightened up inside and Maggie and I took a little walk. We are in campground B, its small but nice, perfect for an overnight stop. There were several spots open when we got here but by nightfall it was full. One pleasant surprise was at Mississippi State Parks 65 and older are half price so it only cost  $15.00.  Wish Texas would do that.  I cooked a little supper on my Lil Smokey and we just chilled the rest of the evening.

Ready to roll

Stopped for potty break and had a sandwich

Maggie was ready to take a break

Natchez State Park 

cooking a little supper