Travels of Geo Nova

Culture Shock

Driving to the very end of the Natchez Trace Parkway dumps you out into everything that modern day suburbia has to offer. Nashville is a growing city of over 1 million people. Strip mall after strip mall with a more than generous smattering of traffic lights not to mention bumper-to-bumper stop and go traffic was almost more than we could bear. We made our way to our new home; Two Rivers Campground located just 3 miles from the Grand Old Opry. The stay in Nashville was designed to not only see Nashville but also afford us an airport so we could fly to New York. We went for Aunt Ellie’s 90^th birthday party and our niece Meg’s wedding shower.

The trip to NY was great and not to be missed but it paved the way for an incredibly busy week. Our first day was spent visiting Franklin Tennessee the site of a very bloody battle during the Civil War. Over 5000 Americans died in a 5-hour battle. We visited 3 homes that were very much involved in that horrible days activity. The stories were not the soldiers but the civilians impacted by that day’s horrible battle. We saw the blood stained floors of the confederate field hospital along with the bullet-riddled walls of a home on the front lines. The experience was bone chilling to say the least. The night before our flight to New York we went to downtown Nashville to hear a concert at historic Ryman Auditorium. This place just oozed with history. I was lucky enough to have seen the Grand Old Opry show here some 40+ years. The venue is now used for concerts since the Grand Old Opry Show has moved to its new location. No trip to Nashville would be complete without a trip to the Grand Old Opry. It was a fantastic show with 7 different performers including the Gatlin Brothers and Brad Paisley. The new venue was constructed in 1975 and incorporates some features from the Ryman. On our last day we visited the Hermitage the home of Andrew Jackson.

With the marvels of modern air transportation in just a few short hours we were on Long Island to celebrate Aunt Ellie’s 90^th birthday. This was a major family affair so most members of the family were there including Zach and Abe. The first time we had our immediate family together in two years. On Sunday Diana was able to take part in a bridal shower for our niece Mary.

Even though Nashville was fun it was great to put it in our rear view mirror and get back to a more settled rural environment. Mammoth Cave National Park is only about 100 miles north of Nashville. Fortunately it is very close to Bowling Green Kentucky where our friend Bonnie lives. Bonnie cooked us a phenomenal dinner of roast pork. We had a great evening of fellowship with Bonnie. The next day Bonnie showed us around the area.

Mammoth Cave is not surprisingly designated a world heritage site. The park covers 49 square miles above ground but below much more. The cave consists of at least 400 miles of passages that have been mapped. Who knows how many more miles are there to be discovered. The national park does a great job of designing tours to help show many of the varied aspects of the Cave. The park also proved to provide phenomenal bird watching. We were able to identify 3 new species on a bird walk. Then we did a wild flower walk. Following spring north has some great rewards.

Yesterday we continued our northern journey with one of the longer legs to Jackson Center Ohio where The Airstream factory is located. Jackson Center is a beautiful classic Midwestern town. Airstream provides trailer parking free for it’s service customers. There were a few issues that needed to be addressed and we wanted to make a few upgrades. Replacing the tires was high on our list, especially since we will be traveling to Newfoundland and Labrador next month. While at Airstream we had a fascinating factory tour. The technicians were so efficient we were done in one day. The next morning we got in a walk in a preserve to do some birding before hitching up the trailer. Just as we were pulling out of the Airstream Campground several Airstreamers who helped us participate in the Habitat For Humanity project during the Sarasota visit greeted us. What a small world and what a treat to catch up with them.

We then headed up to Maumee Bay State Park, just east of Toledo, a day earlier than planned. It was just a couple of hours north so we had a great day biking and hiking around the park. We did a 2-mile walk along a boardwalk and saw another 2 new birds for us. It is beautiful here. We have another day to explore the area before the birding festival starts. We have plans to attend field trips for 2 days.

We will be heading east soon. Diana has her first of several doctor appointments starting on May 14^th. We hope everyone is enjoying spring