Arizona 2000
Ontario to Tennessee
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This page last updated on Jan 2, 2000
Dec 27th
Retrieved our Jayco trailer from storage on Monday Dec 27, 1999 with
plans to depart on the 28th. Checking www.weather.com shows snow is forecast
all the way to Kentucky so we delay our departure one more day.
There wasn't any snow at all until yesterday and then it starts just as we are getting ready to leave! This could be the 1996 Florida trip all over again when we left in a snow storm and almost didn't make it along the 401.
Dec 28th
the
chiropractors!! Sandy goes Mondays and Fridays, with an occasional
tune-up on Wednesday. Somehow she's going to survive a 4 month trip without
any visits (as it's US$75 a visit in USA). So we leave home at 5 pm and
head for the 401, but a last minute request to visit Murray McPhail for
that last tweak is hard to refuse.
The 401 to Windsor was clear of snow and OK. Arrived at the US border at 9:30 pm and there was NO LINE-UP - despite reports of 2 hour delays due to inspecting every vehicle for terrorist bombs. After a few routine questions we are asked to pull over as the Customs officer suspects we might have contraband onboard. An inspection of the trailer results in impounding our illegal goods - bag of Granny Smith apples!! Did you know they are banned in the US - I'm sure I didn't.
The first night of the RV trip ends in a Motel 6 in Toledo as the temperature is -5C. Watching the late news reveals I75 from Detroit to Toledo was a mess that morning with several fatalities due to the snow. Guess we got lucky delaying departure till 5 pm as we would have been there at totally the wrong time.
Dec 29th
You haven't seen Christmas lights until you've been to the Opryland
Hotel in Nashville. These pictures don't do them justice - you need to
be there to appreciate the scale of it all. Both outside and inside
the hotel is spectacular. The hotel is "inside out" - the rooms all face
into huge indoor atriums with gardens, restaurants, stores and even
a river with waterfalls and boat cruises!
and tomorrow it's off to Memphis and Graceland, home of Elvis Presley .....
Dec 30th
Checked out the Camping World store next to our RV park - they had some nice motorhomes in the front lot. The one we liked had ceramic floors, Corian counter tops, walk-in closets, laundry room, 27" TV etc, etc and the salesman said it was on Special right now - reduced from US$425,000 to 385 !!! Decided to stay with our present model ....
Explored downtown Nashville, around Broadway and Second (alleged to be the hotspot for nightlife, etc). Main sights there are the BellSouth Tower (looks like Batman, doesn't it?), the Rymal Auditorium (which is the original Grand Ole Opry until they built a new one at the Opryland Hotel), Planet Hollywood, the NASCAR Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, and lots of old bars where unknowns perform trying to get 'the big break'.
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Expect to hit the downtown pubs tonight in case Alan Jackson shows up ....
Dec 31
Had a great night out with Mary Jo and Rayburn Smith from the next RV. They are from Birmingham, Alabama and are close friends of Bobby Allison, and lots of the NASCAR old-time racers.
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Jan 1, 2000
Well, the computer's still working - so much for Y2K. Happy New Year to our reader(s).
We're off on the road to Memphis and Texas today ...
Later the same day
Arrived
in Memphis too late to tour Graceland before closing time so checked into
the KOA right beside Graceland. You won't believe this but the campground
was on Lonely Street, and, yes, it was down at the end, and,
yes, it was at Heartbreak Hotel !!! This is a brand
new hotel that they just built after demolishing the Shoney's - does that
mean it went from Heartburn Hotel to Heartbreak Hotel?
Took an evening drive to Beale Street - the home of the Blues (and now the blacks). We had heard lot's of bad things about Memphis, crime, etc. They are all true. This is definitely a town I wouldn't visit again. The McDonalds lock all their doors when it gets dark and will only serve from the drive through. There are 3 or 4 police cars parked on every corner around Beale Street to protect the tourists. The rest of the place is absolutely deserted. It was scary.
Jan 2
Went to Graceland to visit Elvis's home. Worth the visit, although the home is not spectacular, the memories are.
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Did three states today. Left Memphis, Tennessee and drove across Arkansas (stopping for dinner in Hope which has the dubious distinction of being President Clinton's hometown), and parked for the night in the KOA at Mount Pleasant, Texas - about 120 miles from Dallas on I30. Plan to leave early tomorrow and get to Carlsbad, New Mexico.