Completo. Fini. Finished.

We're back in our permanent RV site in Hickory.

The THIS amazing journey is finished...more to follow. Sorry girls, we ARE gypsies while we can.

Mixed feelings. So many wonderful memories but great to be back and: see the girls; visit the cemetery to report in to the Master Sergeant and Mom; and, of course for Robin, stop at the world renown Icey Freeze LINK.

Amazing Journey recap:

• 4+ months and 7500 miles. 
• Nary a bad experience anywhere
• No hinky feelings in Mexico - NEVER worried about safety. 
• So nice to go in a Mexican campground and not be given a huge list of rules like in the US (all of which are commons sense courtesy).
• Not a single rude person anywhere
• Mexicans graciously helped us whenever they saw we were lost, confused, etc. Classic was when we were in the center of a small city with TINY roads and a policeman pulled up next to us and said "Amigo! You are lost!" He then turned on his light bar and escorted us to the highway with a huge smile.
• No vehicle issues with exception of a 2" minor hole in the back where I backed into something in an RV park. So minor we may not fix it.
• Generator is in shop but that is normal fair wear and tear.
• Beautiful scenery everywhere.

Thanks to faithful and loyal readers of this blog. Your comments and back-channel emails gave me inspiration to carry on blogging.

Now to plan the next amazing journey.

Asheville

Spent 2 nice days in Asheville at the Bear Creek RV Park LINK.

Got to see grandson Eli and his dad and Ronnie on a trip to Sliding Rock LINK

Wish there was a Marine barber near here.

Great dinner at Bouchon: LINK  So much like our Belgique Gourmande. Visited with my great nephew Lee and his bride Mary. 

The party is almost over. Heading to Hickory in the AM. Bitter sweet. Great memories of a 5 month, 7,000 mile, 2 country road trip but anxious to see family. 

Stay tuned for my grand finale post. 

No more states

That's it. No more states to see on this trip. Not home yet though as we're in Asheville with Dinkus, Ronnie and grandson Eli until Monday.

Good trip of 289 miles in 5.25 hours on I-40.

Rick and Bonnie gave Robin something for the trip since they heard she liked Krispy Kreme's. These from a local Nashville shop.

Nashville: last day

Last day in Nashville. Mostly being spent at the campground while the mobile rv tech replaces the starter on the generator so we can use the AC on the road. Naturally, the starter is in the back and inaccessible unless you drop the generator. And, you can't be sure if this is the problem. It is worn and seems sketchy. Hope so.

We're lucky to catch this guy. RV Techs have a hard time finishing a job because campground guests keep coming up and asking them to work on their rig next. Happens everywhere we have been. That is a great business to start because the alternative is expensive dealers who take weeks, if not months, to do a job. Really. If you are spending a lot of time in your RV, how do you do that?

Generator Update.

Toast. It's in the back of the car. All 270 pounds of it. Seems the rotor/stator are wobbling bad. An Onan dealer will have to assess and decide if it is cost effective to repair or to buy a new one at about $3700. Since it was down there is no reason to pay labor to remount it since it will have to be dropped anyway, thus why it is in the car until we find a generator shop in Hickory.

The campground is pretty good. It is the Nashville I-24 Campound in Smyrna, TN LINK. $34/day.

Asheville tomorrow.

Grand Old Opry

W O W! We just got home from the Grand Old Opry. WHAT A SHOW!! For $50 each we had awesome seats for this lineup.

They were all good but the last guy, Chris Janson, brought the house to its feet. What an ending. What an entertainer. His most recent song "Buy Me a Boat" VIDEO is great and his stage presence is amazing.  I also really enjoyed Buegrass (and Gospel) artist Rhonda Vincent LINK

Video Janson made going to the Opry tonight. VIDEO


Dump of the pictures with Janson the first set.

Oh, the generator is being repaired...I hope

Robin Got Carded :-) (Nashville)

Seriously. Robin got carded at Legends Steakhouse. And he was serious. He wasn't going to serve her. I can understand, after all, she is young and beautiful!

We are visiting Rick and Bonnie Lockhart. I go waaaay back with them. Rick and I met working in the same office in the Pentagon. We traveled a LOT in Europe and later here in the US. We stayed close over the years by email but this was the first time we've seen each other since 2008. What a great reunion! They are great hosts too.

We had a great meal at Legends and fun catching up. Today (Tue) we toured Nashville. Main area was the Grand Old Opry Hotel. LINK. Why tour a hotel? Because it is HUUUUGE with various massive, beautiful indoor gardens. We took several hours and didn't see it all.

Then we went to downtown Nashville and the Wildhorse Saloon LINK. Great dinner, conversation, and music.

Afterwards we drove through Music Row WIKI including Studio B. You'd almost miss it driving by.he famous Studio B. Music Row is in the middle of a nice neighborhood and

Oh and we have tickets to the Grand Ole Opry tomorrow night!