Now may be the time to admit that we can't remember the exact sequence of our trip in the last few weeks. We went through the plantation of President Taylor and the Berkeley. If you don't know, Berkeley was the scene of the first Thanksgiving (See picture of archway and water in background). I know, you thought it was in Jamestown but just recently they have certified that it happened where we stood at Berkeley. Lincoln met there twice with his general McClellan during the Civil War. Robert E. Lee's wife Martha was given shelter there during the war. Here is a little trivia: did you know that Robert E. Lee was married to Martha Custis, General Washington's great granddaughter? Thats enough history for now.
We thoroughly enjoyed the plantations and stories we heard. John and I are so full of historical facts that Stan said we should be giving the tours. We left all that history(Mount Vernon, Monticello, Monpellier, Monroe's Ashland-Highland, John Marshall House, Jackson's Hermitage, Historical Harrisburg and etc.) and traveled on to Nashville and went to the Grand Ole Opry. What friendly people (not like Washington). Our RV park, the KOA, gave us $10 off each night because they are still repairing all the flood damage that happened in May. We saw the Opry the Memorial Auditorium since they aren't back in their regular threatre yet. It looked like they'll be all repaired in about a month or two. What nice people there! Guess what? They actually speak to you and don't just grunt.
As I write this we're in the Tiffin park in Red Bay, AL. We're here with about 200 other rigs. All waiting for our turn for service work in the 48 bays. We got all our work done but I damaged our carpet trying to clean some spots and we're waiting until Monday when they will replace it then we'll head out again toward Tupelo and Memphis this time. The best part of Red Bay is the people. They have a big waiting room that is furnished like a living room and our Anthony would have a ball there! You know, Mr. Pride & Joy! We took the factory tour with "Red" their 85-year old tour guide. Red is an interesting fellow and is probably the best person for the tours. He recounted how in 1931 he harvest cotton on the site of the factory and how Bob Tiffin turn his gin workers into factory workers building their first RV's. And of course, when touring we got to see and touch the new Breeze. It is nice, but a little to tight in the bedroom for us. However, John & I fell in love with the new 34' foot Allegro Red. It is the roomiest and most well laid out floor plan of the shorter Tiffin motorhomes. Also, though an entry level rear engine diesel (aka RED) on a Freightliner chassis they appear to have already upgraded it to at least a Phaeton level or better in the 34' model that we saw on the finish line. It was not in their current brochure. They do have it in their website now.
At the Allegro Club, Jimmy and Cynthia have been gone. They went to the FMCA rally in Oregon and are scouting out a rally site in the Northwest for a 2011 Tiffin rally. We ordered a new Tiffin outdoor mat for our RV while there. Tiffin has a great RV store on site and of course John had to spend time their spending money on foolish things, deodorizer, T-Shirts, Wheel Liners, filter wrench and etc.
We went to Florence yesterday and found out that the University of Northern Alabama is there. What a beautiful school and city. The school looks like buildings in Washington DC. The city is clean and has a modernized its downtown that appears to be very active. It was 96 degrees, so we did not get out and walk around that afternoon until getting to Wally World to restock. Which reminds me, John drove 15 miles to purchase beer at a package store since Red Bay is in a dry county. We learned that in the revolution hills, they still might still make moonhine. We can believe it after making a trip to Coon Dog Cementary. A coon dog must be the most valuable possession as the 300 plus graves we observed, the majority of them had fresh flowers on them
When we leave Memphis and Little Rock we will up date the blog.
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