Day 12 - Huntsville, AL - Conway, AR

We had a great stay at our Huntsville hotel, just across the interstate from the U.S. Space Center and Space Camp.  After getting up and going in record time for us (we were on vacation time remember) we drove around the Space Center.  Franklin will be at camp here in November, so he feels like he has a leg up on his classmates now!  Following that, we made a stop at the local REI as I needed/wanted a few items, grabbed some donuts (again...vacation), and headed back east to Scottsboro.

Everyone found at least a little something back at the Unclaimed Baggage Center and we considered it a success returning.  After a quick bite to eat, we were headed back west and beginning our final leg home.  We did make a very brief stop at Toyota Field in Madison, AL (really just a suburb of Huntsville) to see the home of the Trash Pandas baseball team.  Jason and Franklin had hoped to be able to get some photos of the stadium itself up close, but an afternoon game was just beginning so we weren't able to get up to the field.

The remainder of the day was spent cruising home.  I drove from Scottsboro to Memphis where we picked up some Commissary BBQ and Huey's for dinner (very yummy!).  Jason took the reins the rest of the way home and we arrived at about 10:30 pm.  My own bed and shower were quite lovely for sure.  And we even brought some cooler weather and storms to our friends in Arkansas today.

It was a fantastic trip, even with the COVID modifications we had to make.  And we were so grateful to have done it in Vansen!  Here's to more road trips to come!

Day 3 - Chattanooga, TN - Helen, GA

Because of our late night, we slept in a bit this morning and had a slow start.  Having throughly enjoyed Puckett's for dinner last night, we decided their breakfast menu looked equally as good (if not even more so).  Lots of mmms and yums could be heard in our room this morning for sure.  With full bellies, we soon headed out for the Coker Museum in Chattanooga's Historic Southside.  Inside this 13,000 square feet space is Corky Coker's personal collection of over 100 vintage cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and even 3 airplanes hanging overhead.  Lena and Jason were in car heaven for sure!

After a quick stop at Starbucks we headed east on I-75 and soon turned off in Cleveland, TN.  This suburb of Chattanooga is somewhat of a sprawling area.  Because of our late start, we hadn't eaten lunch yet so we ordered some early afternoon food from Aubrey's and soon parked Vansen in the shade at a local park to enjoy another great local meal.  We found another outfitter store (less local and more corporate to walk around to work off lunch...ha!) and then headed east.  We were soon driving along the Ocoee River alongside whitewater rafting company buses full of either dry or very wet customers.  We soon came upon a pullout along side a TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) generating station with a walkway bridge overlooking Hell Hole Rapids.  A group of kayakers was taking advantage of this fast moving water to dart in, out, spin around, and sometimes flip.  Soon a flotilla of rafters arrived from upstream and the familiar calls of the raft captains/river rats could see be heard.  Impressively none of the rafters fell out, although all got thoroughly soaked.  Once COVID passes, we'll for sure return here for some fun with the kids!

A bit further along the road we came to the Ocoee Whitewater Center which was the venue for the canoe slalom event during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.  The river was narrowed and boulders were cemented in place to create a somewhat natural environment for the event.  During the weekends, water is released at a higher rate at this area becomes more "rapidy," but while we visited today, it was more of a fast moving stream that allowed the kids a chance to burn off some energy, cool off, and have some fun on this warm summer day.  As our time here ended, Sylvia realized her watch was no longer on her wrist.  We scoured the riverbed and surprisingly Lena found it upside down, submerged, and partially under a rock.  Tears turned into a happy smile as Sylvia was reunited with her favorite watch.

After crossing into Georgia, we drove through McCaysville which was crawling with people.  I haven't seen that many people together since before the pandemic.  We still can't figure out why they were all there, but every restaurant was packed and folks were out enjoying themselves.  Arriving in Blairsville, we grabbed some light dinner and soon turned onto the Richard Russell Scenic Highway.  After a bit of beautiful countryside, we began ascending a mountain and finally reached a turnout with a vista overlooking Hog Pen Gap at about 3,500 ft.  The air today was very hazy (maybe from the wildfires out west) and the sunset provided a colorful backdrop.  On the east side of a the road, a thunderstorm had blown up with the top getting lit from the sun, which made for a powerful image over Vansen.  This is also where the Appalachian Trail cuts through the gap; we even saw a family coming off the trail with their backpacks and loading up for a drive to a hotel or home.  A short time later we arrived in Helen, GA for the night.  We'll get to walk around tomorrow to get a better sense of this "alpine" village.