Awake: 5:40am Temp 50 sleep 6+03 sunny overnight @ Goodlettsville, TN.
En route to Saint John Vianney Catholic Church in Gallatin (15 miles) @ 7:55am, G.W. calls; “we are home, come visit us” he says. “That is good news & we will" Kathy tells him.
The priest @ St. John’s Vianney church was very enthusiastic; obviously their beautiful church was newly built & he wishes to pay down the mortgage ASAP, so has offered to donate 10% of his personal salary to show his seriousness in asking the parishioners to participate in this challenge.
We leave the Nashville Country RV Park in Goodlettsville @ 11:23am; same time we left the Tom Sawyer Park in West Memphis. I-40 continues to be smooth & a cornering headwind continues to not be in our favor. When Kathy was talking with G.W. earlier this morning, she mentioned that we’ll be camping in an RV Park near Kingston & arriving mid-afternoon. About an hr west of our destination, G.W. calls: he wants to know the name of the campground we will park in; after Kathy reveals that info, he tells her: “that is only 5 min from where we live. We’ll meet you there.”
We arrive @ the Soaring Eagle RV Park in Lenoir, TN @ 3:12pm.
Today’s travel: 167 miles 3+49 time 26 gal used 6.4 mpg 54.9 avg speed
As we are checking in @ the RV office, G.W., his wife, Miyako & their daughter, Manami drive up to greet us. This is only the 2nd time in parking @ 223 campgrounds around the states that someone has met us while parking @ the campsite. The 1st thoughtful individual that did that was my buddy Ray in Washington State on April, 24, 2004. I believe it was the Eagle’s Nest. It must be the eagle powers that make it happen.
We show G.W. & his family how we enlarge our home by extending the slides & then we hang out for over an hr catching up on one another’s lives since seeing them in Anchorage in the late 90’s. Daughter Manami hints that one of her favorite Asian restaurants, just down the road would be a perfect place to have an early dinner & her parents agree. Both K & I like Asian food so it’s a done deal. And the food was indeed good and plentiful.
Back to our campground to get our Suzuki; we follow them to their gentleman’s farm in the mountains about 5 min away. Wow! What a beautiful & scenic area & and another mansion for touring. How do they find these places; I remember G.W. telling me about buying this farm in Tennessee but I had no idea of its beauty & the eloquent home to go along with it. Their 13 acres fit in perfectly with the (3) horses & (2) dogs. I didn’t count the number of rooms this 7,200+ sq ft mansion has but, without a doubt, there are plenty of rooms for overnight visitors. This home tour lasted longer than Helen’s & she had plenty of details to elaborate on. It was after mid-night when we finally realized: we should let these people get some sleep; actually it was a mutual thing, we just had a lot to talk about. Before we leave, Miyako invites us for a special lunch @ their home tomorrow & we accept.
Lights out: 1:05am
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