Family Fun, Clinton Library, and Home to Texas

After our wonderful caravan, which ended in Abingdon, VA, we drove to nearby Kingsport, TN to visit our son, Mark, his wife Christy, and our six-year-old grandson, Ethan for a few days. We shared evening meals at our campground, Warrior’s Path State Park, and enjoyed watching Ethan roast hotdogs and marshmallows. He stayed with us in the Airstream our last night. He is doing a great job with his two-wheeler, and it was fun being with him for his soccer game. We used one afternoon to take him to visit our friends, Jim and Charlotte, in Jonesboro. Ethan was quite fascinated with Jim’s model train, which takes up half of his basement. It continues to be a work in progress.

We departed Kingsport and headed south through North Carolina—a longer scenic route than taking Interstate through Knoxville. As we approached Chattanooga, we wondered about our decision. By 5:30 p.m. the entire sky was black, and our weather station was bellowing ominous tornado threats. We elected to stay in a Super Wal-Mart so that we could at least get inside the building in case of an emergency. It poured rain the entire night, and the lightning spread across the entire horizon. The endless flashes reminded us of a presidential press conference. The next day we drove east toward Memphis on beautiful TN State Route 64, one of our favorite drives with many steep hills and winding roads. The trees were beginning to turn a rich orange and red. We encountered an unimaginable photo-op that made us make an immediate U-turn. What we observed was a small caravan of mule-drawn “RVs.” Did you ever see a truck camper pulled by a team of mules? As Gloria reached out, one driver handed her his business card with his website, www.twomulesandawagon.com/awagon.com/. Check it out for more details about John McComsey’s travels and photos of his wagon and mules, Jack and Mack. He and his fellow wagoners were near Lawrenceburg, TN when we spotted them; they make about 20 miles per day. They seemed thrilled that we took many photos of their caravan. They have traveled as far as Phoenix, AZ, and then back to Tennessee.

It was cloudy when we arrived at the Navy support facility in Millington, located just north of Memphis. What a thrill to find a wonderful military famcamp with concrete pads and patios for only $20 per night. The park was perfect, so we decided to stay five nights to relax and just do nothing after months of touring. We had lots of rain, but we didn’t care. We only went to the Commissary and BX. The rest of the time we relaxed, read, played cards and dominoes, and took lots of naps as the rain pelted our aluminum trailer relentlessly.

We marveled at the vast white cotton fields near Memphis. This was once one of the richest cotton growing areas in America. Then it was on to Little Rock, where we toured the Bill Clinton Library and Museum located on the bank of the Arkansas River. The Clintons selected a run-down section of town for their edifice, and it has done much to revitalize that area. The parking lot was full including four-wheelers in RV spaces; we had to enlist the help of a friendly security officer to help us park. Next to the Library is a gigantic old elevator bridge, which will soon be operative again. Adjacent to the library is a lovely scenic park visualized and developed by our former President. While this gigantic library is impressive, the architecture is a bit too modern to suit our taste. Inside there are many interesting stories, videos, photos, and international gifts to the Clintons. Bill’s famous Mustang has a home there. There are references to Monica, but she did not rate a large section even though she was a major distraction to the Clinton legacy. In other words, “Nice try but no cigar.” Many accomplishments are highlighted, including the fact that Clinton inherited a $290 billion deficit in 1992 and he left a $236 billion surplus for W eight years later. Just look where we are now. With delusions of grandeur, Jerry took a break by sitting in Bill's presidential chair. The photo to the left shows dresses worn by several 20th Century First Ladies.

We stayed at a Flying J Service Center for our final night before getting to Hillsboro. What a wonderful feeling it was as we entered the North Texas Airstream Community, we breathed a huge sigh of relief—home sweet home!