Eureka Springs to Tulsa OKLAHOMA.

Track. Dust can't kill me. Woody Guthrie.

" I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loop, not matter what colour, what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself, and in your work. And the songs that I sing are made up for the most part by all sorts of folks just about like you." Woody Guthrie.

Day 62.

We had a leisurely morning and then walked around the homestead from the 1930s and the lookout of the river. We then left and drove further north towards Eureka Springs. It is a great spot, quite liberal and descirbed as 'an island of democratic blue in a sea of republican red'. We enjoyed the tasting rooms selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars before going down to the historic town centre for lunch.

We walked about the hippy shops and chatted to a busker and generally soaked up the vibe.

We felt compelled to stay and used the extra time in the afternoon at Wanderlust RV Park to tackle the waste tank cleaning...Mmmm, before having a dip in the pool. The internet was again frustrating slow so we made a rough plan of action for the following day including another departure to make some progress before the boys woke up.






 Day 63.

By 7.30am we had driven 2hrs to the border of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and notfar from Kansas.  We had breakfasts and showers in the car park of the Cherokee Visitors Centre. We crossed into Oklahoma onto Route 66 and detoured for our first road side attraction - the worlds largest totem pole. Nothing to write home about really but free and a break from the road.

Then we had a slightly stressful arrival into Tulsa as Sol was ready for his feed slightly before becs had finished driving but after some lunch for all we all recovered and made our way into the Woody Guthrie Centre. It was opened last month and a really fantastic interactive experience. It had elements throughout Woodys life and information about him, his writings and paintings as well as music. He was a colourful charector with politics and insights before his time. He married 3 times before sadly dying from the hereditary Huntingtons disease. He influenced Bob Dylan, Pete Seegar and Billy Bragg to name but a few.

 We drove on along route 66 to the interpretive centre at Chandler and whilst we were in there the sky turned black and the lady told us if we were in an Rv park downtown to head to the high school gymnasium in the event of a tornado. Pete and becs both decided a night in a motel would be in order! The next hour was a roller coaster as we drove towards Oklahoma City, headlong into the storm, trying to find a motel or hotel. Eventually we ended up in the Brickwork area of downtown OKC. Pete had felt a bit apprehensive driving as the storm was approaching fast and becs quickly felt nervous too after going into a hotel to find it totally rammed full. The recent tornado last week affected part of the city and killed 24 people and caused much damage so all the rooms were either booked out to the displaced families or to people who were staying to see the tornado-relief concert next door hosted by Oklahoma's Blake Shelton.

Luckily, there was one room free in the Marriott Courtyard down the road (right next to the concert) and we got a massive discount and to park the Rv right outside. In all the chaos around the rain and concert we also fell on our feet as our room service got forgotten and they ended up giving it to us for free. We were able to watch TV and listen to the concert in luxury!

Cabot ARKANSAS to Buffalo River.

Track. Down to the river to pray-Alison Krauss.
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin" William Shakespeare.

Day 60.

Left at 5am and before the boys were awake we had arrived in Cabot Arkansas, just outside Little Rock.

We had a waffle house breakfast and showered in the car park of a supermarket after Pete and Dylan had topped up on groceries, At 10am we arrived at Jim and Honey-Sues house, a couple that we met in LA.

We were so grateful to sit on sofas and been cooked for and to use the washing machine etc. Dylan really enjoyed an intense dose of televison,  and Solomon lots of cuddles.

We went to get some strawberries from the pick ur own but it was closed so decided to get some wine. We had to cross the county line as the county we were in was a dry one. We passed countless churches as now in the thick of the Bible Belt but alas the liquor stores were also closed. We had a lovley evening chatting before sleeping inthe RV on their front driveway.

 Day 61.

Woke up later than expected feeling really well rested. Jim cooked us breakfast and then we said our goodbyes. There were tornado warnings on the television but the area at risk is unavoidable as so vast so we were advised to carry on and just check on the reports.

We had a good run up to Buffalo River National Park and watched a great film on the area in the vistors centre before moving into our spot for the night in the 12 dollar campsite. We went down to the river at Tyler Bend and swam in the slow flowing pools.

Pete spotted a creature on the cliff face which later caused much controversy amongst the rangers as it looked like a beaver (or indeed a baby bear!) but turned out to be a ground-hog or woodchuck. We had a nice bonfire and were visited by risky the racoon and about 5 other friends.

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Chatanooga TENNESSEE to Nashville

Track. Kenny Rogers - The Gambler.
" Country music isnt a guitar, it isn't a banjo, it isnt a melody, it isnt a lyric, its a feeling." Waylon Jennings.

Day 57.

It almost felt like a weekend having a normal lie-in and casual breakfast. A really lovely place with our own private playpark again and bathhouse. We did the usual dumping and loading and then were on our way to Chatanooga, as in chatanooga choo choo.

A brief note about the actual driving.....it has certainly altered since we crossed west to east, all cocky about how easy it was. Now we are finding Solomon only sleeps for 30 mins at a time and then time is spent jiggling and cooing and holding up as he only really likes the standing position at the moment. The moments where pete and becs get to sit and relax and chat in the front are now diminished, and more frequent are the shouts of "how much longer" or "I can't complete this level" or "I needa wee!" or "pull in somewhere we need to swap"!. Hence the early am driving. Then we have peace and tranquility, despite feeling knackered. Usual road trips would involve the driver getting a pat on the back at the end of each long stint, but we are finding the 'back-shift' the harder deal! 

This particular day we detoured off the Interstate to visit Barnsley Gardens. Thought it would be a nice place for a break and it was but we lowered the tone somewhat as it was a very exclusive golf resort designed by Jim Fazio.  We utilised their facilites, swanky playpark and sol had a fresh nappy in the very nice restrooms and then we left before we were asked to!

Chatanooga lies just into Tenessee and was a really great spot. We parked up by the Aquarium and river and then got on board one of the free electric trolleys that do the down town loop to see the 'choo choo' the oldest railway line in the states.

It was from Cincinnatini 1880 to Chatanooga and opened the first major link in transportation from the north to the south. After causing some disruption in the giftshop we had some more commotion as Dylan fell off the train and sustained a really bad baddy. It was soon forgotten when we stuck a couple of quarters in a small train roundabout.

Later we had a great pizza in Mellow Mushroom which also happened to have 1 dollar wine night on. Dylan swam in the stream in his pants on the walk back to the rv and we slept at the lovely Raccon Mountain park. We had a reasonable internet connection so watched the second film of the trip 'Glory' about the American CivilWar.



Day 58.

 Chatanooga is steeped in civil war history so we decided to soak some of this up by driving to the top of Lookout Mountain where a particularly bloody battle had occurred. It was amazing to us that the whole 4yr campaign had started over the abolishion of slavery and that the Confederate and Unionist armies had lost 1 million able bodied men in combination.

There was a fantastic painting comissioned at the time on display and a lovely park with cannons and views across the city and beyond. We then went to Camping World to sort out some chemicals for the sewage system and get the oil changed. Late afternoon we set off for Nashville.

We arrived in Two Rivers RV park just as the party was getting started with a free BBQ and keg of beer, topped off by a live Country Music performance by Duke Mitchell who played until late. Memorial weekend was being celebrated and we saw all the veterans getting their American flags. Dylan had a good dance and was rewarded with a personalised dedication. A total bonus of an evening.

 Day 59 (25th May)  

We parked in the city centre and boarded a trolley bus tour around Nashville. Notable stops along the way were; Honky-tonk row, where all country performers must cut their teeth, Music row, including RCA Victor where Roy Orbison, Elvis, Dolly Parton, Jonny Cash and many others had all recorded records, the Parthenon, Centennial and Bicentennial Parks and The Ryman.

We hit a f9w bars (to use the restrooms!) hung out with some batchelorette parties and had lunch in Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville before visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame.

 There were some amazing exhibits including Elvis' s gold plated car with 40 layers of diamond encrusted paint.

It's what we're going toget for the vans next respray. Got back to a parking ticket and a tricky exit from the car park but were soon on the 'music highway' to Memphis.

We spent the night at Tom Saywers Mississippi park. It had been under 4 ft of water 3 days previously and was literally right on the banks of the fast flowing river. We enjoyed the look out from the treehouse.

Savannah GEORGIA to Indian Springs

Track. 'Georgia on my mind'. Ray Charles.
"Its funny, when you're a child you think that time will never go by, but when you hit about 20, time passes like you're on the fast train to Memphis. I guess life justs slips up on everybody. It sure did on me." Fanny Flagg - Fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe.


Day 55

 We were up at 4 and soon underway on the 4.5 hour drive to Savannah,  Georgia. We arrived just before 9 and had breakfast in the car park of the visitors centre. Pete and Dylan sorted out a 90 minute narrated tour on a trolley car round historical Savannah which proved to be an amazing place. Although known for the opening scenes of Forest Gump where he is sitting on the bench, it proved itself to be so much more. Designed as a series of leafy squares all merging together it had a real old world charm to it. Lots of period architecture and streets lined with oaks draped with Spanish moss. It had been an important place during the civil war so lots of this history was relayed to us.  It felt different to the rest of the states, a little like New Orleans had. It was another spot that a serious night out on the town seemed like a option. Dylan and Sol were game but we were feeling a little tired.

Its

We queued for an hour to get into Mrs Wilkes' Boarding House for lunch to experience true southern cuisine. The Lonely Planet suggests that you shouldnt leave Georgia without eating here. When we got inside there was just 4 large tables where you join other diners and fill the places of those who have just left. The food is laid out on the tables. There were approximately 25 differently dishes ranging from sweet potato, chicken, beef stew, flavoured rice etc. Amazing.

We all then walked off our feast through the leafy streets before getting a trolley car back to the rv. We stayed in Skidaway Island State Park which was lovely. Dylan and Sol enjoyed themselves chilling out before bed.

Day 56.

Left the state rv park early, although it took some soul searching to get out of bed at 4.30. We set off towards another state park called Indian Springs and had an inspired  lucky detour at a tiny town called Juliette, best known for hosting the film "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe".

A lovely spot and we could hardly believe our luck as we sat in the whistlestop cafe with some local workmen and ate fried green tomatoes as a train whistled past. The only things missing were idgy and ruth. Talked to an old lady for ages in the local shop before heading off to the state park.

Pete was pleased to hear that the park hosted a spring famed for its sulphur odour (pete's nemesis) as well as healing properties apparently. Becs has drunk some- we are yet to see!  On a little walk down by the creek we spotted a chipmunk, or squirrel without a tail according to becs.

She did then see a beaver heading into the water so the earlier mistake was forgiven! We swam in the warm lake before completing the nature trail loop seeing some enormous oak trees and then moving on to our campsite and weathering a pretty monumental rainstorm overnight.

Cocoa Beach to Siesta Key

Track 'Home' Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." Jac Cousteau.

Day 52

The plan for the day was a somewhat last minute decision to head to Kennedy Space Centre to soak up some of what NASA has achieved in space exploration over the last 40 years. Our space exploration however only lasted 40 mins as we found that it had been made into an Musement park and every school field trip from Florida was in attendance. We also disocovered that Dylan and Sol were too young to see a lot of the attractions. After a manic 10 mins in the angry birds experience where we were nearly demolished by the hoards of bussling kids, we called it a day and headed to customer services to see if we could get a refund. A really lovely lady there agreed we would better off getting our 150 dollars back and gave us a refund despite the loss of our tickets and receipt!

We happily left for Cocoa Beach the home of Kelly Slater. After doing some shopping at Ron Jons (worlds biggest surf shop) we had a lovely afternoon on the beach, cooling off occasionally in the warm crystal clear water. We drove just about 30 mins to a county park to spend the night.

  Day 53

Awoke to a vast array of sand fly bites from the previous night so decided to ease the itching by heading straight to the beach. We were the only people on the beach for miles surprisingly, although it was still before 9. After all taking a quick dip we set off for the west coast of Florida and arrived at Myakka State Park afternoon.

 It was a fantastic park with lots to do and we went for a walk through the forest and up the canopy walk and lookout tower. We drove out to the lake in the evening to try to see if there was any internet signal and watched the aligators floating around as the sunset.

Day 54.

 

We went out on a Gentle Ben style airboat for a guided tour of the lake. The wildlife was incredible. We saw some pretty large aligators very close tothe boat, wild boars on the shore and lots of birds including ospreys diving for fish. Incredible. Later on after a cold drink in the cafe we went out on another tour in a wagon through some of the off the beaten track parts of the park. The driver/ narrator had a voice that would make a menu seem interesting. We listened to him tell tales of what life was like here 100yrs ago on the farmsteads when the prairie still existed in florida. We had a really good lunch in the cafe and a bit of a shop before heading on tover Scherer state park near Sarasota.

It was amazing how quickly the glitz of the east coast disappeared and the country clubs were soon replaced by fields of orange trees and laborers huts.

When we arrived on the west coast it was so hot that the only thing for it was to go straight to the nearest beach so it was the lovely Nokomis Beach where we spent the next few hours. We made the decision that as this is the last coastline that we would see for a while that we d spend the next morning at Siesta Key, voted the best beach in the US.

 Day 54.

Dumping was overseen by the rangers as they had a back-up! Talk about airing your dirty laundry in public. Becs stayed in the air con breastfeeding, one of the perks, whilst pete fussed about with buckets and gloves! After checking out of the state park we took a leisurely 30mins drive to Siesta Key to see what all the fuss is about.

 It WAS lovely, fine pure white sand and perfect clear blue water. We all spent a while in the water snorkling,  Dylan is turning part fish the amount of time he is spending in water these days!

We dragged ourselves away mid afternoon and set off to Lake Panasofkee where we would spend the night before one of our early starts to get some mileage under our belts before the kids wake up. We again noted a very different Florida to that seen around the coast with lots of agriculture and small drive through towns. The KOA campsite was perfect for our needs and our early getaway.