Nashville .... not so much !

NASHVILLE


Leaving Memphis – More Calamities!

Did I mention that we stayed in a lovely, very quiet RV park on the edge of the Mississippi River? Okay, then did I mention the name of it was Tom Sawyer RV Park? That’s really a laugh, as Mark Twain (Sam Clemens) lived in Hannibal, Missouri, and I doubt that his book’s character would have had much to do with the Memphis area!

Never mind that. We settled in quiet night of t.v. and munching. No traffic noise, no airplanes overhead. And then, out of nowhere, came the roar of a dozen deep-throated car engines. It began about 8:00 p.m. and continued until close to midnight. Little did we know that there was an auto race track less than a mile from the RV park. It was on the other side of a large stand of trees on the other side of the levee. It sounded like it was two feet away! ARGH!!!

Time to Hit the Road Again

Just about the time you think you’ve worked out all of the bugs in getting Shamu ready for the road, something else happens. Yesterday, Rick had to fix some sort of wire thingy connecting the car to the RV. Then, this morning, I really screwed up when pulling in one of the slide-outs. We had been leaning a little to one side while parked in Memphis, and I didn’t notice that the bathroom door had swung open while I was pulling in the bedroom side slide. I heard a kind of crunching noise, but didn’t see anything from where I was standing. So, I continued, until I heard a really big crunch. I stopped, stepped into the bathroom, and saw that the door jamb and door were hanging loose from the wall. The open door had caught on a kitchen cupboard knob, and the force of the motor that pulls in the pop-outs had forced the door jam out, nails and all!

Now, my first thought was how was I going to tell Rick that I broke the RV! Maybe I could fix it, and he would never have to know. He was outside hooking up the car, so I threw my hip into the door jam, pushed and pounded it back into place. I had to confess my goof, however, because the accident left a gash in the wood bathroom door. Plus, the door was out of whack and wouldn’t close properly. He took the news better than I thought he would….

When leaving Memphis, I thought I had pushed the right sequence of buttons to pull up the jacks, but, alas, I messed that up, too. Thankfully, the RV has an alarm light that lets the driver know before putting the beast into gear.

Then, while we were on the highway heading towards Nashville, we head a flapping noise. It was a bit windy, and the last time we hit wind, the canopy that covers one of the pop-outs had become partially “unfurled.” This time, however, Rick discovered that the door that covers the gas tank was opening and closing in the wind. Worse, the entire lock mechanism was simply gone! Good grief! Did it fly off into some poor driver’s windshield? We’ll never know. Rick used his ever-ready duct tape to close the door, and we still don’t have a replacement lock and will have to order one from the manufacturer.

When we arrived in camp, he discovered that the wires on the Honda CRV (our towed car) were crossed, so that when we turned right, it blinked left! We tested the wiring configuration before leaving home and still can’t figure out what happened. 

Fun & games in Nashville !  

Of course, Rick had to make another trip to Camping World and some other stores looking for parts. Then, more time for him to make the necessary repairs.

No complaints about the campground in Nashville. Little did we know that we were staying in the area that had recently been flooded. The clerk at the counter said that the area had been under more than 6 feet of water. The Grand Old Opry was down the street. It had reopened the day before we arrived. The mall surrounding the Opry, all of the souvenir shops, the restaurants, and the magnificent Gaylord Opryland Hotel were all still closed because of the damage caused by the wall of water that washed through the entire valley.

So, there was little left to do in Nashville. Because I’m not really a country music fan, we decided to skip touring the Country Music Hall of Fame. Instead, we drove around Nashville in search of something else to do and wound up running shopping errands. Wish we had stayed another day so we could have toured a couple of the plantations.

At least we got a good night’s rest. Off to Kentucky tomorrow.