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| Atrium at Grand Ol Oprey Hotel |
30 July 2007
Trip Report #7
Hi Everyone,
Home again after 6 weeks on the road. Had a great time. Home is in good shape.
On the way home from Du Quoin, Illinois and the Holiday Rambler Rally, we spent three days
in Nashville with the Horton's. We visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, very good, the old Ryman Auditorium
(home of the Grand Ole Opry for many year, but no longer) and Andrew Jackson's Plantation, Hermitage. Attached
is a photo of Marie and I visiting with Minnie Pearl and Grandpa Jones in the vestibule of the Ryman Auditorium. They
wouldn't let us in the main auditorium without paying for a tour, $18 a person, too much. Hermitage and the Country Music
Hall of Fame were both well worth the visit and price of the tours.
We also had lunch and toured the Grand Ole Opry Hotel. It is quite a place with three big atriums
and lots of restaurants. You have to pay a parking fee of $12, but the restaurant validated the parking ticket so not
so bad. Attached is a photo of the inside of one of the Atriums.
We are going to get the Air Conditioning fixed in the motor home before heading out again. I
have an appointment on Monday, the A/C is still under warranty so I hope they will replace it. It has blown three sets
of starting capacitors so far. If it is fixed by Aug 13, we are going to Boone, North Carolina to visit with the Horton's
for a week in the cool North Carolina Mountains. In Sept we go to the Georgia State Rally, Sept. 3-8 and
a family campout somewhere close. October 1-13, it is the Civil War Caravan with USNA Alumni and Oct. 17-21 Watts Bar,
Tennessee with the USNA group. Other than those activities we will sit on our hands at home tending the roses.
Roberts the Roamers
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18 July 2007
Roberts #5
Hi Everyone,
It is a little on the warm side here in Du Quoin, Illinois where we are parked for the Holiday
Rambler Rally. We are in the state fair grounds, which are very nice, 1,400 acres of grass, lakes and trees. We
have 50 amps, good water and can dump gray water, so life is nice. Unfortunately, our front A/C decided to quite working,
the rear one keeps up pretty well, so not so bad. Hope they will be able to repair it here. There are Holiday
Rambler factory technicians available for this kind of repair.
Before arriving here we camped in a Johnson City's city park. It was very nice and
the price was right for $7/ day. From Johnson City we toured Paducah, Kentucky and went to see the new Harry Potter
movie in Carbondale, Illinois. Paducah is interesting, it was founded by Lt. Clark of Lewis and Clark fame around
1820. We went to see the Quilt Museum and eat lunch in the restored old downtown area. These statues
were located outside the Quilt Museum. Lewis  and Clark and friends. The first evening of entertainment here at the Rally was Roy Clark. I was really looking
forward to his performance and sadly he is way over the hill and should be at home with his wife of 50 years.  He said he was on pain medication for recent back surgery, and he acted somewhat drugged or drunk.
The old magic was gone. He was only featured in about one third of the songs. Other than that, this a good rally. We
are seeing lots of old friends, not many from Georgia. All the buildings are air conditioned so we can get out of the
heat. I am playing cribbage and enjoying the seminars. We plan to be home in about a week after spending three days in Nashville, TN  with the Horton's.
Roberts the Roamers
16 July 2007
Roberts #5
Hi Everyone,
We are near Normal, Illinois in the heartland of America, camped next to corn fields and soy
beans. The corn is 8 feet tall and you can watch it grow during the day. Weather is good, nice and cool today
but it has been in the high 80's and low 90's for the past few days. We are here getting the Honda repaired and
enjoying this nice country campground. The tail pipe broke off one of the mufflers on the Honda. Sounds sorta
cool, but really should be repaired, so Midas is our man in Normal  . They had to order parts yesterday with repairs expected to be complete today. We had a fine time in New Glarus, Wisconsin. Went to the local meat market and loaded
up on Brats, had lunch at Baumgartners Restaurant on the town square in Monroe. Marie had a Braunschweiger sandwich,
and I of course had a Limburger cheese sandwich. No smell, it was fresh. Also bought some cheese and lots of mustard
from Baumgartners. Monroe is aslo home to the Swiss Colony food people and they have an outlet store. So more
cheese, summer sausage and of course petit fours. Next day we visited Mt. Herod and the Mustard Museum. Bought
some more mustard. Then we toured Little Norway, a nice little place in the country settled by Norwegian immigrants
and later opened to the public with lots of Norwegian stuff.
This building was constructed in Norway for the 1893 World Fair in Chicago. It was moved to Little Norway in 1935,
its third move. You can see the numbers on the timbers inside the building.
Bonnie is enjoying all the new smells. We have had great places to walk her. She got into
skunk cabbage on the edge of a corn field here and she had to take a bath. Still smells a little.
Tomorrow we go to a town near Carbondale, Illinois, so Marie can see the new Harry Potter
movie on Saturday. I ordered tickets from Fandango, so we can be sure to get in.
Roberts the Roamers
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