We tried to get all of the transactional RV-related business taken care of for a trip to the Canadian Maritimes but things just didn't work out so we thought a trip to Atlanta and Chattanooga might be possible. We had plans to spend some time with friends camping in Smoky Mountain Nat. Park. We took off for Atlanta to visit Stone Mountain for the Yellow Daisy festival and to stoc
k up on provisions for the trip. Of course, this was right after the gasoline crunch post-Katrina. Thanks to Sonny Purdue- Gov. of GA, gas taxes were off and supplies still plentiful for the trip to Atlanta and beyond. We stayed at Stone Mt. Park where it was hot and muggy but cooler in the evenings. Shopping is always fun in Atlanta for us on anyday. Whole Foods Market and a visit to the Dekalb International Market is always included.Atlanta Favorites:
Chattanooga and Smoky Mt. Nat Park
We staged our arrival to the Smoky Mt. park with a few days in Chattanooga. The Aquarium was really wonderful with one building dedicated to freshwater and the other for saltwater. It was a great way to escape the heat. What would a visit be without going to Lookout Mountain and Rock City? We did it all.
.. then it was off to the Smokies.
Terra Nostra
Our search for dinner one evening led us across the river to Terra Nostra, a tapas restaurant serving international cuisine dishes from Spain, Italy, France, North & South America, Asia, and the Caribbean with either indoor or outdoor seating. Our selections were quite good including Smoked Gouda Ravioli with Ratatouille, Crab Springroll, Andouille Crawfish Ravioli
with three Sauces, Mussels in a Saffron Cream Sauce, Several wines were tasted including Dyed in the Wool, Cline Viogner, Casa Lapostole Sav. BL., Navarro Correa Chard. A fine and fun experience!Townsend
We arrived at our new home in Townsend where we found out that or friends couldn't make it for the weekend.
Too bad, since Townsend was going to be having their Old Timer's Weekend bash this very weekend. No problems for us since we like Blugrass just fine. Stella loved the river that ran by the RV park and pranced through the water with glee. The leash was a real drag for her and she spent time arguing with it on her truns through the water. Strange she 
doesn't do this when she's home for some reason. 
The cooler weather held beautifully as we drove through the park several times and through Dollywood and those touristy areas. Go figure why they built that place and all that stuff in Gatlinburg.
Maryville TN We found a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Maryville in 
Brown's Creek Shopping Center. El Jimador has the typical menu of very fresh and tasty Mex fare served in a very unique setting. The salsa was great and a good sign for more goodness to come. Each table or booth is painted with Mexican themes and colors. Niches have colorful "frescoes" hand-painted to match the theme of the table and seating. The owner said that they have been in Maryville for 3 years and we are sure they will continue to draw a crowd. We also found out that El Jimador is the name for the worker who cuts the blue agave plants for making tequilla.
There is also a great little Wine & Spirits shop in the same area a few doors down. They met our needs and were able to impress with their great selections and reasonable prices on wines we really like these days. It was a real find in this semi-wilderness area for wines... Lots of beer and fine whiskey is easy to get I heard.
Homeward bound Before we knew it it was time to get on the road for home. Here's where the weather turned on us and rain stayed with us until we got back to Atlanta. We drove to Commerce to tour The Pottery for baskets and such and included a trip through the outlet malls close by. Tired and weary we drove back to the RV Park and collapsed. The next day we made another trip to Whole Foods to stock up the home larders with goodies and then we left for the road to Dunellon.
Our weary traveler----
Stella turned out to be a good RV dog. Herding us around the RV and keeping us aware of her needs was a hard job and she took it very seriously. We arrived home and were sure that she kissed the ground when she came down the last step and smelled the driveway.
