Saturday afternoon’s drive from North Carolina to Nashville was a tough one for me. It was one of those experiences where I felt like the trip was never going to end. Dizziness from the erratic and weather-stricken roads of Blue Ridge Parkway was catching up to me especially on the last leg of the drive as we approached Nashville. My body felt like it was locking up from lack of physical exercise for the last few days. Luckily Maia was able to nap for some of it which gave us all a break 🙂
About an hour out from Nashville, we found a much needed stop in Rockwood called Ozone Falls. It was a short hike to the top of the falls, and the view over the edge up top made my knees shake and the pit of my stomach to drop.
We did find a safe place for Maia to splash around in the water. It’s amazing what a little fresh air and movement can do for the mind, body and soul.
After our refreshing break, we rolled up to our campsite for the night, the last of dusk’s light was upon us so we were eager to get to our site # and post up. Erinn helped Adam navigate with the map that was left out for us (technically “after hours”). This was our first time staying in an RV park so we learned a lot! Looking around at the camping veterans with their fancy equipment (e.g. lanterns, special tools), we took careful note of things to order from Amazon in the next few days.
We were fortunate enough to have a beautiful lakefront view of Percy Priest Lake…too bad night had already fallen and we had to wait until morning to enjoy it. Want to amuse a toddler in the dark? Strap a headlamp to her dome and watch her explore with pure joy. It gave us all a good laugh after a long day of travel. I fell asleep with Maia around 9:30pm.
Erinn and Maia must be really deep sleepers, because blinding flashes of light & crashing thunder woke up Adam & I several times between the hours of 3 and 6am. In the morning, Adam took Maia for a rainy day stroll to the playground complete with rain boots and coat, while Erinn & I took our time waking up then organizing the kitchen area a bit. Before we knew it, we were on the road again – this time earlier – in order to catch some lunch and get to our next site before nightfall.
On our way out of the Nashville area, we stopped by Moe’s BBQ. I was hoping this would be local Tennessee style BBQ, but later found out that it was a chain in the south. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my fried catfish; Adam felt indifferent about his pulled pork and sausage. I vowed to do more research next time.
Next stop…Tupelo!
The Welshs Voyage West! 