That is a good question. As it turns out, Jasper, AL was a side trip to our summer gig at Mark Twain Landing in Monroe City, MO. WHAT? Yep, that’s right. After three weeks of working like crazy we have moved on. Due to reasons that we will not publish, March 15th was our last official day at Clear Creek Recreation Area in Jasper, AL. Monday March 18th we started our journey to Monroe City which is about 25 miles west of Hannibal, MO.
I received a call from Mark Twain Landing’s assistant manager Friday morning while I was waiting for repairs to be completed on our car. Carol and I called them back later that afternoon and wrapped up a deal for us to arrive around the last week in March. We planned our route and said ‘see ya later’ to our friends in Jasper. It was a bitter sweet departure since we had planned to spend the summer in Jasper. That just was not going to happen, God had other plans for us. We had completed our task in Jasper.
First stop on our 700 mile journey was Hampton Cove, AL southeast of Huntsville, to visit Carol’s uncle. We knew there was a strong storm system moving from west to east that would bring strong winds and heavy rain. We stopped for lunch at Backyard Burgers just north of Cullman, AL. While there we decided to press on towards Huntsville. The storm system hit I-65 just as we exited I-565 loop. We stopped under an overpass and waited it out. A few minutes later, we were back on the road. Huntsville, AL is the home to Redstone Arsenal. A Saturn-V rocket is on display at their visitor’s center just off I-565. As we were approaching Redstone Arsenal, a large lightning bolt stuck the top of that rocket. Wished we were able to capture that image on camera.
We set up camped in the Walmart parking lot then drove out to Carol’s uncle’s home. After a relaxed visit, we showed them our RV, then they took us to Gibson’s Bar-B-Que. Gibson’s is a local place that got it’s start in the 20’s in Morgan County, AL. They are a popular place in Huntsville. The food was delicious. Robert & Becky then drove us back to our RV. Thanks for the hospitality.
Tuesday 3/19
Keeping with our tradition of avoiding national chain restaurants while on the road, we stopped at Blue Plate Cafe in Huntsville for breakfast. As we entered, we were greeted by lots of smiling wait staff milling about. After we met our waitress, Margarita, I told Carol this is a happy place. Nothing was hurried. Noticing my western hat on the table, Margarita asked if we were from Texas. She had family in Texas and was excited when we said yes. The food was very good and is worth a trip back when we are back in Huntsville.
After a customary stop at Starbucks for drinks to go, we headed north on I-65 to Nashville, Tennessee. Our destination was Two Rivers Campground just down the road from the Grand Ole Opry House, east of downtown Nashville. One reason for picking this RV spot was because Camping World is next door. We were able to fill our propane tank for $1.99/gallon. Also, my nephew lives in Hermitage on the east side of Nashville. We enjoyed a catfish dinner at Caney Fork, then settled in for a restful night.
Wednesday 3/20
We had a light breakfast since we were meeting my nephew in Hermitage for lunch. We also had some paperwork to complete so we stayed busy doing that. Around noon we headed to El OK Corral. We are always leery of Mexican food places when we are on the road. This place was pretty good. Of course we were there after lunch so there was no crowd. My Shrimp Chimichanga was good as was Carol’s Fajita plate. We had a good visit with Ron and his youngest son Zachery. Hope to see them again net time we travel through Nashville.
Thursday 3/21
We wanted to visit the Pancake Pantry for breakfast but because this is such a popular place, the waiting line was out the door. We found Fido’s across the street. No wait at this place. Food was excellent and the place was filled with college kids and young adults who were tethered to their computers. You might call this place an upscale coffee shop. We shared our table with a couple of guys who looked like business type (college kids don’t wear suits). My Huevos Cubano was very good.
We came back to Two Rivers Campground, pulled in the slides on the motor home and headed north for Paducah, Kentucky. More on that in the next post. Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back.
Tales from the WagginMaster 
Yup, sometimes its just time to move on down the road. How great that there were friends and family to see along the way. BTW, Len’s son and family lives in Cullman. We are there a couple of times a year.
Best of luck with the new position.
Thanks Phyllis.
Well, we are looking forward to the next chapter on the road of life. We were talking about the two of you this afternoon. Small world out there, I have been keeping up with the Hitchitch Blog for several years and there is a couple that travel to Texas-Arizona way in the winter and to the Colorado way in the summer. In the spring and fall they stay at Mark Twain Campground . They have a daughter, son in law and two precious grandchildren, a little boy and girl .they like close to the campground. Their names are Ed and Marilyn Dray.they lived there in that area for many years. He gives tours at the campgrounds while they are there. They are fine people and have been fulltiming for several years. What a small world. I almost feel like they are family althought we have never met. They are also my Facebook friends. They are leaving to come there on March 31. I think that they are on hurry to get there so not sure what date they are planning on being there. I am sure that you all will meet them. Well hope that things will work out for you and Carol there. Take care and stay safe. Regards, Bob and Carol
Sometimes it seems to take a bit to find the right fit in the workkamping world. You guys had such a great experience with the llamas! Hopefully Mark Twain will be as much fun and as rewarding!