The Ray Adventures: Leaving Duluth, St. Clair, Mi. Grafton, Oh.,Kentucky, Chattanooga, Tn & Bremen, G.

Time is flying by, before we know it we'll be back in Texas.

Tuesday, Oct. 1, we left Duluth for St. Clair, Michigan, we zipped through Wisconsin, the UP and down to St. Clair, about 740 miles in 3 days. St. Clair is on the right side of the "thumb" of Michigan on the St. Clair River, the border of Canada. Our water pump has been "testing" us since we left Washington, it finally gave up the ghost. Fortunately we were able to pick up a new pump near Jeff and Suzanne's place.

Saturday, Oct. 5th., Gary and Jeff put the water pump in, yea! We have water again. Jeff and Suzanne treated us to a concert at the historic Fox Theater in Detroit, it opened in 1928, the interior is a mix of Burmese, Chinese and Persian motifs. The theater operated continuously until the 60's. The aging building then sat empty for 20 years before the Illich family (Little Caeser's) restored it at a cost of 12 million dollars. It is truly amazing! Downtown Detroit has been under renovations as well, The sports venues, lofts, funky restaurants, theaters and stores have brought life to the city but just a couple blocks away are the empty buildings and blight. So sad. We saw Sara Barelles, a pop, rock and soul singer at the Fox, none of us had even heard of her before. She has an amazing voice.

Sunday.,Oct. 6th, we drove in to Marine City (on the St. Clair River)for lunch, Suzanne and I did a little shopping and walked along the riverfront. A beautiful day. We then spent the rest of the day playing several games of Mexican Train.

Monday, Oct. 7, we headed off to Grafton Ohio to visit Rockport friends Dick and Fran.

Tuesday, Oct. 8th, Dick, Fran, Gary and I drove down to Canton to the Football Hall of Fame. Peggy and Jeff from Akron (also Rockport friends and Fran's sis) joined us for lunch at BJ's then all 6 of us went to the Hall of Fame. Since our last visit 4 years ago they have gone through a 200 million dollar renovation, In one exhibit (in the bust room) you could ask Michael Strahan questions on a screen with the hologram of Michael. Also new is the Black College HOF and a diorama of 100 years of football and an enlarged stadium.

Wednesday, Oct 9th, we left Dick and Fran's for Atlanta. The Ark Encounter, a Christian religious attraction near Williamstown, Ky. The centerpiece is the representation of Noah's Ark, based on the Genesis Flood narrative. It is 510 feet long, 85 ft wide and 51 feet tall. The 3 decks of the pairs of animals, vessels for food and water, dioramas of Noah and his family, indoor garden,carpentry and black smithing rooms. Outside is a zoo, petting zoo, restaurants, ziplines and the ever present gift shops. We spent the first night on the road at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Georgetown, Ky.(295 miles)

Thursday, Oct.,10th. We got the last available RV site in the Chattanooga area. Between the 3 day weekend, fall break for students in the area plus many snowbirds heading south, there aren't any places open. We stayed at Holiday RV park close to Chattanooga located on a Civil War Battlefield, preceding the Chickamauga Battle in 1863.

Friday, Oct. 11th, no place to stay so we're spending the next 2 nights in Cabela's parking lot (next to a Costco) just over the Georgia/Tennessee border. Much better than Wal-Mart. After lunch we drove to the nearby Chickamauga National Military Park. The fall of 1863 proved to be victorious for the Confederates but a huge loss of lives for both sides including President Lincoln's brother-in-law who, strangely enough fought for the south. The self guided driving tour takes you to the 8 locations of the battle. Memorials mark what regiments fought there, the leaders and the losses. The 765 monuments are of various sizes, 25 years after the battles veterans from both sides established the land as the first military park. To mark where the soldiers fought they placed stone and iron monuments.

Saturday, Oct. 12th, a gray and gloomy day, we dressed warmly for our trip to downtown Chattanooga, we'd heard their aquarium was good. As we walked toward the aquarium so did most of Chattanooga, we kept thinking "do we really want to do this with the crowds?" After waiting in line to buy tickets we saw the price, between the crowds and price (no discounts for senior or military) we jumped out of line. A car and boat show was happening down by the river, it too was pricey. We decided to get a cup of coffee to warm up, we stopped at Downtown Dough, they sell eggless raw cookie dough to eat, yuk! But, they owner gave us several suggestions of places to see. We walked the Walnut Street Pedestrian bridge across the Tennessee River just in time to see a boat parade of classic Chris Craft boats, then walked through the Art District to a Sculpture Garden overlooking the river. We had lunch at Confusions Brew Pub. Included with your entree was a trip to the brunch bar - fruit, salads and desserts. MMM. Yum! You can't go to Chattanoga with out seeing the Chattanooga Choo Choo made famous by the Andrews Sisters in 1941. We had happy hour in Cabela's parking lot with out neighbors Bill and Joanne from Jacksonville, Florida, they also could not find a place to stay. They are also retired military and have been traveling for 10 years. Chattanooga, a new favorite city, scenic, historic and very funky.

Sunday, Oct. 13th We left Cabela's about 10:30 for Jellystone RV park near Bremean, Ga, yes - we found a place to stay for our last 2 nights in Georgia, only 125 miles from Chattanooga. Along the way our GPS (Miss Sally) basically died. Gary was able to purchase a new one then she came to life! The price of Garmin's have dropped, our new one cost about half of the one we bought in 2014. The good news now we have two, one for the car and one for the coach.

That's it for now, enjoy the pic's, TTFN,

Gary and Pam