Arrived in Asheville, NC!

 Hello Family and Friends!            

(If you have had trouble commenting....try now - I changed things up)

I stayed overnight in Knoxville and then headed East. I arrived at my sister's home in Asheville, NC. So happy to see her! I have a few stories for you.

As you know I am often staying at Cracker Barrel Restaurants overnight in their parking lots for free. I showed up at the one in Memphis awhile back. Well....I walked up to the hostess station and told the young girl that I didn't see any signs that I usually see, ones that say you can stay overnight. She said it would not be a good idea to stay over. She thought I was asking to stay INSIDE the restaurant to sleep!! I quickly clarified that I was in a CAMPER VAN and it was the PARKING LOT I was interested in, not pitching a tent and roasting s'mores inside. Ha ha. She asked her manager about me parking outside in the back and it was fine. 

I have learned about semi-truck etiquette on the road. I quickly found out that it is a courtesy to the truck driver to move into the fast lane for a minute so they can pass in the slow lane, (so they don't have to go around you). Every time you do this, you move behind them in the slow lane. Then, they move ahead and tap their brakes two or three times and that is their "thank you". Very nice.

And..... gas prices! I filled my tank with diesel fuel at $3.44 a gallon and regular gas is $2.88!!!! So nice.

When you don't have access to a bathtub, this can be a real treat. (This was FABULOUS!) My friend Michele offered up her amazing tub.

Flapjack's Pancake Cabin..... for chicken and waffles.

This little girl waved at me when I arrived at this restaurant and we had a lot of conversations. She asked if she could have my key chain with the stuffed penguin on it. I told her it means a lot to me and that my grandson gave it to me. She said it was okay if I kept it. I thanked her. 

Here is a quaint, charming way to find the bathrooms.

This is Brittney. She is SO nice. I had to find something at Home Depot and she was right there at the door, helping me. She even offered to walk me over the the right aisle!! OMG. I don't see this in California.

Outside each Cracker Barrel, there are rocking chairs. I asked this lady if I could sit with her. She said I could. She said she wasn't the social type and I told her that was fine. I sat quietly for five seconds and then she told me her whole life story for the next 20 minutes...at least until my food order was ready. I excused myself and she wished me a "Good Evenin' and God Bless". Such a sweet lady.

Here I am as June Carter Cash playing next to Johnny. Marshall Grant, the stand up bass guy, was not available for the photo.  "We got married in a fever......" "We're goin' to Jackson"... :-)

Nashville, TN was great and I went to the Patsy Cline Museum and checked out the Johnny Cash Museum.

Patsy!!! I had to work my way through the thousands of tourists in Nashville to get to her museum!

When Steve was a teen and with us in the U.K., he said he'd go anywhere with us as long as it didn't end in "EE-UM", as in museum. HA HA. All of these museum trips are a comical nod to him and his disdain for roaming about in these places.

Her mother made her costumes!!!

The Parthenon in Nashville. 

https://www.nashville.gov/departments/parks/parthenon

This is the view as I approached Ashville. BEAUTIFUL.