May 18th - Camping on Walden Creek - Gatlinburg, Tennessee -
Sometimes, when we just pick a random RV park out of our ginormous RV encyclopedia, we end up in some of the craziest places, some we tough it out and stay, some we can't even fit in the entrance and then there's those that we flee from, as fast our big-little house can drive. Most of the time by reading the description and the amenities, we can get a pretty good idea of what is in store for us and considering we are always up for an adventure, well most of the time, we take them all in stride. The one we found for this week's vacation is definitely one of nicer ones. Not necessarily in the world of amenities, or at least the man made amenities that some parks have, such as pools and hot tubs and game rooms, but this one has some really awesome God made amenities. Down the hill from our site is Walden Creek, which has mallard ducks feeding off the creek bed and sleeping on the shores, while a momma duck sits on and snuggles with 11 eggs just steps from our front door. We've been bringing her breakfast in the mornings, since she doesn't seem to get too much time away from the eggs, except when the mallards try and attack her in order to increase the number of eggs she sits on. They also have a walking/biking trail just over the bridge that we will have to check out later this week, but as for now we are just enjoying sitting under the trees watching and listening to the wildlife around us.

Teeny tiny baby ducks

Getting a drink in the puddles

They're off and running

Teenage ducks

The scenic hiking trail to the waterfall

The views from one of the pull outs on the auto tour of the mountains

We stopped for lunch in town

The only bears we saw all day

May 19th - A Hike Through The Great Smoky Mountains
We didn't plan on taking a hike, in fact all we planned on doing today was to take a drive around town, have a late lunch somewhere scenic, hit the guitar store and see what happens next... ... well we hit the guitar store first, had lunch at the Old Mill right on the river and then took a beautiful drive into the Smoky Mountains, where we noticed a sign at the head of a trail, that claimed to lead to a 25 foot waterfall. The Smoky Mountain tour book claimed it was an easy 2 1/2 mile hike, which was a good thing, considering I was robed in flip flops instead of hiking boots, and Frank was wearing Birks, so we took a gamble and headed up the path.

Stairways made of roots

Bridges made from fallen trees

Log cabins from the 1800's dotted the auto tour

Enormous rocks and more waterfalls

In front of the waterfall

standing behind the waterfall

The book turned out to be right. It was a bit of an incline on the hike up, but very easy and very pretty. There were all sorts of places where the roots from beech trees, silverbells and maples made what appeared to be staircases up the trail, a few places where chestnut trees had fallen down over the waterways, which created short cuts on the trail and all sorts of small river crossings and little waterfalls leading up to Grotto Falls, where we stopped off to enjoy the views, and swapped picture taking with another couple behind the waterfall. It's amazing to listen to the power of water. Once we were behind the Grotto Falls, we could hardly hear each other speak, and it wasn't until we were a ways away that the forest was once again quiet. After our hike, we finished the auto tour loop, where we saw old log cabins built back in the 1800's and some of the largest rocks we've ever laid our eyes on. Two years ago, when we last visited this area, we came across a momma bear and her cubs playing in the forrest, unfortunately we didn't run across any bears this time, except for the salt and pepper shaker at the Old Mill restaurant.

Clingman's Dome

Western views

Eastern views

Northern views

May 21st - A Walk in the Clouds -
Today's hike started out in North Carolina and ended at the top of Clingman's Dome, which stands at 6643 feet and is the highest point in Tennessee. It might sound like an amazing feat, hiking across two states, but the truth of the matter is that the hike started out at around 4000 feet, however since the incline was about a 12% grade we did get a good workout and the views at the top were quite vast and spread for miles and miles in all directions. Once we made it to the bottom of the trail, we watched two little birds making a nest in the hollow of a rock, well actually we watched the male build the nest as the female told him what to do and where to put the nesting material. It was quite entertaining.

A nearby stream

A fun restaurant just up the road

Lunch with a view

Frank's new toolbox to celebrate the occasion

May 22nd - 1,461 Days of Living the Life -
Back in 2005, when we took the plunge and drove our wheeled house off into the sunset, we knew we had a 50-50 shot of having this lifestyle live up to all we expected it to be. We also had a sneaking suspicion, when we started this trek, that we might have too much fun out here to ever be able to return to the normal 8-5 Monday to Friday schedule, or in the world of pizzeria ownership the 9am-11pm shift with even fewer days off. That choice has paid off and the odds turned out to be much better than a mere 50-50. We celebrated our 4 years, including 1 leap year, of full-time RVing with appetizers and cocktails at No-Way Jose's on the banks of the Little Pigeon River, and toasted while saying no-way Jose will we ever return to the grind of working everyday.
I also have included a photo of Frank's new tool box, that we have literally scoured the country in search of. I was a little too embarrassed to take a before picture of this bay, as it was the only part of the motorhome that was not completely organized. I have to admit, when you live in a small space, it's the greatest thing to have a tidy, organized obsessed husband, who loves to clean I might add, especially on the days I don't.

Vincent lounging on the rocks

T.J smiles for the camera

"Would you scratch my belly?"

Mixing up lunch for the tigers

May 25th - A Very Memorable Memorial Day -
As we scratched off the 'one on one interaction with a tiger' item from the 'things to do before I get too old too remember my name and Frank forgets where the brake pedal on the motorhome is and can no longer drive' list, I noticed that there are only four items left from the original 42. On the outskirts of Missouri is the National Tiger Sanctuary, home to 8 rescued tigers, 11 house cats, 9 dogs and a puma. We spent most of the day here just watching all the tigers romp and play and roll in the grass just as a pint sized kitty cat would, however these cats toy's consisted of enormous tractor tires that they threw as though they were frisbees, 10 pound bowling balls that they crack open like jawbreakers and 50 gallon water barrels that were treated more like soccer balls while still full of water, which translates to roughly 400 pounds. Once we had our fill of watching these amazing creatures play, we were taken below the deck to feed them. First, we mixed up about 15 pounds of raw steak, cut into pieces and chicken with vitamin powder and then fed 6 of the tigers two steaks each and one of the tigers a bunch of chicken halves. Vincent, the biggest tiger of the bunch, likes to eat while standing on his back feet and jumping up for his food. There was a very secure cage between us and his 750 pound body, but when he hit the side of the cage, it sounded as though he might just come through it.

We are standing on a two foot ladder

Frank, eye level with a 750lb tiger

It was amazing being this close

His paws were about the size of my head

Licking his chops, wanting more steak

We used a chute to feed a few of them

What a tire looks like after spending an hour in a tiger's cage

Our view during lunch

As we made our way down the hallway of tigers, we could feel the concrete below our feet vibrate as they roared and when we stopped in front of them with the buckets of food they would start to talk to us. A few of them would play fight in between the cages and bat at each other without showing claws, while a couple of them, with full claws exposed, acted as though they would rather not have the bars between them and fight for real. Sort of like two territorial parrots we know and love. As we interacted with them, we quickly learned that each of them have their own personality and eating habits. Dee, one of the females, was a very dainty eater who actually seemed to savor her steak, while the others pretty much took one or two chomps and swallowed. The last tiger we fed is the newest resident of the sanctuary. She was housed, by some very mean people, in a very small cage surrounded by dozens of dogs. Her cage was never cleaned and she had been declawed on all four paws which makes standing and walking very difficult for her since the process of declawing any cat involves removing a foot bone. According to our tour guide when she first arrived, she would cower when people came near her and not let anyone touch her. Now, she walks over to the side of the cage for love and pets from her new caretakers and is very talkative, the sign of a happy tiger. Once all the tigers were fed, Frank and I went home, made lunch and had it out on the deck which overlooks most of the enclosures, which now held a bunch of sleeping tigers.

And the boys are off... ...

Mama and calves all around us

Oooops! Frank got his quad stuck

Steve and our 6 wheeler to the rescue!

June 2nd - 24 Hours of Fun -
The unthinkable is about to take place. Frank and I have to work a full three weeks in a row with only two days off each of those weeks. Not knowing how to deal with these unbearable working conditions, we went into panic mode. Who do we know that can help us turn 24 hours of freedom into a week's worth of fun???? (que up the super hero music here) No one other than our fun and fabulous friends in Cedar Rapids, Iowa... Steve and Sandy!!! (cheers and applause) Once we arrived, we spent lots of leisurely hours playing catch up with the adventures of each others lives, followed by a little wine, some great dinner and many many post dinner hours filled with lots of laughs.

Frank back in action

Us in the 6 wheeler followed by the boys

The next morning, we got together for breakfast and spent the rest of the day on quads and mules, 6 wheeled motorized mules, not the four legged type, enjoying Steve and Sandy's 60+ acres with views of the cows and calves along with beautiful green mountains that were quickly turned into our own personal roller-coasters. Frank and Chris, another mutual friend of ours, were the token speed demons on the quads and were instructed to try their darnedest to get the quads stuck in the mud. Steve, Sandy, Gavin, Steve and Sandy's darling 2 year old grandson, and I, all piled into the mule and were thoroughly entertainment just watching the crazy quad riders splash, crash and roll through the fairly muddy terrain with a few land mines that the cows left behind. I think the guys missed most of them. We should just add, to Frank and Chris' chagrin, that it was pretty handy having a mule, with a wench attached, right behind them to pull them out of their various predicaments and tumbles down the hills. And another note, I love and appreciate the fact that my husband is man enough to admit when he is stuck! Steve, I do apologize that he admitted this without any provocation from you... ... NOT! But we do thank you guys for all the fun, after all, if you can have fun in cow poop, or more importantly trying to avoid it, you can have anywhere. And trust me, we have had fun in a lots of grand places, including a beautiful farm in Iowa. Once the boys were throughly covered in mud and the rain began, we headed back to the house, did a few loads of laundry and headed out to Chicago where the race will be starting Friday.

Frank and Cody feeding the geese breakfast

Driving through the Lincoln Tunnel

Times Square

The Naked Guitar Cowboy

June 15th - Under the Ocean and Through a Tunnel, to New York City We Go -
Taking our lives into our own hands, we decided to forego public transportation and drive ourselves into New York City. We drove into Manhattan, parked on 42nd street, had lunch on Broadway, which consisted of New York style pizza of course and then walked to the Empire State Building, where we took the elevator to the 86th floor and enjoyed the views from all directions since it was a sunny and fairly clear day. After our walk through the bustling city, we continued our adventures of driving... ...

The Empire State Building from inside the city

Walking along 42nd Street

Atop the Empire State building

A view of the Statue of Liberty

Central Park

and took the Long Island Expressway, which should really be called the Long Island parking lot that travels about 20 miles an hour, up into Long Island Sound and visited Holly, a friend of mine since the beginning of time, her husband Jon and little Anna, who will make her grand entrance into the world in about 2 months, for dinner and a tour of beautiful Port Washington. Aside from a little bit of traffic and some insanely priced tolls to drive through the tunnels and over the various bridges, driving in The Big Apple wasn't half as bad, or scary, as we expected and are more than willing to do it again in the future.

Our seats outside the suite

The view of the game

Inside the party room

Frank and I with the mascot

June 16th - The Other Side of Hospitality - Manchester, New Hampshire -
Frank and I weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves this evening. Usually we are the ones that are the hospitality hosts, running around making sure everyone is having fun, keeping the buffet line full of food, the coolers stocked, making sure the tables are clean and no party crashers enter the VIP area. This evening our friends Gary and Kathy, whom we are visiting here in New Hampshire, invited us to be guests of the Coca-Cola suite at a Double A League baseball game and see what it's like to be the entertainees, along with themselves and a few other friends, instead of the entertainers. This evening's event couldn't have come at a better time since over the last month or so we have been trying to get to a baseball game, which up until this evening was something we hadn't yet done. When we were in Chicago the Cubs were out of town and while we were in New York we busied ourselves with other things and never got out to either stadium. Even though the Fisher Cats didn't win, we had a great time and got our baseball fix.

The brave patient on the operating table

Scott, the master guitar surgeon

Frank outside the shop with the new set-up

All set up and ready to play on the porch

July 17th - Frank's Guitar Gets a New Sound System - Ashland, New Hampshire -
Over the last few months, Frank has wanted to put a pick-up in his acoustical guitar. This would allow him to plug into an amp, or other sound system, when he so chooses, and have the sound of his music carry that much further. We have been doing a bit of research and talking to a few guitar shops to see what the best type for his guitar would be. Being a little nervous of having a total stranger drill two holes into his pride and joy, we decided to wait until the right, knowledgeable, experienced person came along.

Cody enjoying the music across the yard

Bradley sings along with the music

Well, lucky lucky us! We found just the man at a little guitar shop just a few miles away from our current home which is Gilmanton New Hampshire where we will spend the rest of the weekend with friends. We spent this morning at the Vintage Fret Shop, watching the very successful operation on Frank's Collings guitar. To top it all off, they also had the exact amp that Frank has wanted to make the sound system complete, so now he is all set to start his traveling guitar business 'A Man, His Bird and a Guitar' Call now to book your event. :-)

Kareem Abdul-Ja-whiteboy

The wind up

HIKE!

A cut throat game of Wizard

June 20th - Creative Corn-Hole - Gilmanton, New Hampshire -
Hooray! The sun is finally out again. Considering that we have had two straight days of rain, we are more than excited that today's very nice and sunny weather was reason to celebrate. Well, that and the fact that it's Gary's birthday, so the guys started out the festivities with a Corn-hole face off. What started out as a serious game, with a bit of a competitive edge, soon turned into a comical competition to see who could not only score more points, but have the most creative throw in order to score those points. These moves included the "Kareem overhand shot" which looked quite impressive coming from Matt who stands 6' 5" flat footed. The 'off the foot toss' which Dave actually scored the most points with and Frank's 'under the leg throw' that had all of us laughing. After the game of Cornell ended, Dave bar-b-qued all sorts of exotic meats and once dinner was done, we played the now word renowned, fabulous game that Frank and Suzy have introduced to all our cross country friends, game of Wizard

The world's largest fresh water whirlpool

Class 6 rapids leading into the whirlpool

A close-up of the whirlpool

The whirlpool's vortex

June 22 - Niagara Falls, New York -
Let me just start by saying WOW! The views we saw today are some of the most stunning we have seen to date. We arrived in town last night and hit the Visitor's Center today to see just how to plan our day, since there is soooo much to do here. We decided on a bus tour of the city that left the driving and navigating to someone else. The tour started out at the Whirlpool State Park where we viewed the world's largest fresh water whirlpool and a river of class 6 rapids from the mountain side above. Next, we climbed to the top of Prospect Observation Point to take in some more views, followed by a trip on the infamous Maid of the Mist boat that takes you under, around and beside the falls

American and Bridal Veil Falls from the observation tower

Horseshoe Falls and The Maid of the Mist heading into it

A self portrait of us and all three falls

Goat Island that sits between two falls

Teeny tiny people below

Rainbow Bridge

On the boat wearing our oh so sexy oversized raincoats

A neighbor boat passes Horseshoe Falls

Getting soaked from the spray of the falls

A view of American Falls from the water

Atop Prospect Observation Point we could see all the falls, views of Canada and got a sense of just how enormous the falls are by comparing them to the very tiny people walking below. Once we boarded the boat the views got even better. Seeing these monstrosities from below was amazing and a bit wet. They do supply you with the obligatory free touristy raincoat, but these turn out to be fairly useless since the power of the wind turns your raincoat into Marilyn Monroe's skirt and once the boat gets close to the falls, the wind is now mixed with enough water the dampen everything whether it's covered by the raincoat or not. However, since it was a beautiful 80 degree day the water was refreshing and we dried quite quickly.

The observation tower and falls

Rocky shoreline below Horseshoe

This row of photos is from the waterproof disposable camera

Into the waterfall we go...

... by now we are a wee bit wet

Frank stops to pose in front of Canada

Soaked again! And no, Frank's nose isn't that big, it's just a water drop on the camera lens

Our playground for the afternoon

So many staircases, so much time

I had to laugh at the no smoking sign. Not too sure a cigarette would stay lit for long up here.

Cave of the Winds - Laughing All the Way -
Imagine the mixture between a beautiful sunny day and 2500 lbs of rushing water tumbling all around you. Surrounding the flowing waters are beautiful plants, flowers and bushes so green, you can't believe the colors are real. This afternoon's adventure was a blast! We walked up and down all the different staircases that led to different platforms,including the very top called Hurricane Deck. Here, we physically stood underneath the waterfall and let it soak us while laughing hysterically. We also brought along a disposable waterproof camera so the good one didn't get demolished by the water, which are just below.

The views below us

The views above

However, it's a good thing they did have us all wear bright yellow raincoats, since there were times the visibility was quite low due to the amount of water in front of us and they served their purpose by keeping our backpacks dry and the free shoes they give you, to help you stick to the stairs and not fall below deck, are really comfy and will make great lake shoes for future outings and will make us laugh each time we see them.

Frank reaching into the waterfall

Another sexy outfit provided for us

A self portrait under the raging fall

Frank, are you in there???

Driving through Customs and into Canada

At the water before the falls

Such an amazing view

Where we were earlier today

Parrottrek Goes International - Ontario, Canada -
Yaaahooo! After today's tour of Niagara's U.S. side, and hearing that the views are even better on the Canadian side, we grabbed our passports, jumped into the Jeep and headed out to see if this was true. And boy was it ever! Going through Customs was quite easy and once we found our way to the backside of Horseshoe Falls, we caught a glimpse of an enormous rainbow. The closer and closer we got, the brighter and longer it got. We stood at the top of the walkway for a long time just taking it all in and then found a restaurant overlooking the falls and stared at them and the rainbow that much longer. After dinner we walked another mile or so along the tree lined walkway and strolled through the downtown touristy areas and got some cookies and cream soft serve ice cream. Yum! As we walked back to the car, we stopped off at each alcove to shoot another angle of the falls and said goodbye to our neighbors of the North and back to our own country. Today was another fabulous day living outside the box of average life.

Table Rock restaurant, where we dinned

Frank poses with Nikola Tesla

Below Rainbow Bridge

The walkway along the falls and river

The view from the restaurant

The ruins of Honeymoon Bridge

America across the river

We were sad to find it closed for the day