Week 1 (October 1st – 7th ) Donalsonville, GA; Biloxi, Natchez & Vicksburg, MS, Mountainview, AR
Jackie Sosville and I set off on a month-long adventure today, October 1. We drove from Manatee County, Florida, to her mother’s home outside of Donalsonville, Georgia, on the shore of Lake Seminole.
Since we didn’t find any weather damage at Jackie’s mother’s place (which is for sale), we decided to continue our travels today, October 2. I had thought to go to Mobile next, about a 4-hour drive from here; but Ann, Jackie’s sister, recommended that we go a little farther down the gulf coast. Jackie and members of her family have an app on their phones called Life 360 which allows them to track where they are. As we were driving west on I-10, we received a call from Jackie’s sister, Barbara, who was tracking our movement. She suggested that we would enjoy stopping to see Bellingrath Gardens and Home, just south of Mobile. So, we went there.
They have an extensive outdoor garden with many different varieties of plants. We saw a very pretty rose garden before we came to a greenhouse where we found the Bird of Paradise plant pictured below.
Mr. Bellingrath owned the Coca Cola bottling plant in Mobile. It was the 10th plant in the country. He originally bought this property to use as a fishing camp. It is located on the Fowl River – so named for the many birds that are seen there.
Mrs. Bellingrath said that she’d like to plant a garden on the property and so the fish camp blossomed into something much more. Eventually, they replaced the fish camp with a beautiful home.
They were a very prominent couple in Mobile society, and they loved to entertain. Pictured below is their formal dining room.
When they weren’t entertaining, they ate in the summer dining room which was on a screened porch. (It is now glassed in to protect the furnishings)
Because it does get cold sometimes in the winter in Mobile, they had a third dining room which they called the cozy dining room or winter dining room.
Before passing away, Mr. Bellingrath established a foundation to keep the house and gardens open to the public. I am certain that the gardens would have been absolutely breathtaking had the thousands of camelia bushes been in bloom. One of the board members of the foundation donated a large collection of porcelain which is housed in a separate building next to the home. The porcelain flowers below are representative of what we would have seen.
After touring the Gardens and Home, we continued to Biloxi, Mississippi where I had made a reservation at a Days Inn by Wyndham. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we were shown three different rooms that we considered uninhabitable. We declined to stay there and headed to US 90 to see if we could find another place to stay. We were detoured before we got to US 90, aka Beach Drive, and kept seeing signs saying, “Welcome Cruisers”. Long story short, about two hours later we checked into the Beau Rivage for two nights where we found out who the “cruisers” were. Thousands of classic cars converge on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for an entire week of rock ‘n’ roll, sock hops, swap meets, and headline entertainment all along the Gulf Coast. Car enthusiasts parade their antique, classic, hot rods & custom vehicles up & down Highway 90 with entertainment provided at designated stops in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, D’Iberville, Gautier, Gulfport, Long Beach, Ocean Springs, Pass Christian, & Pascagoula. Since its inception in 1996, Cruisin’ the Coast has grown from 374 cars to over 8,000 annually. One of the cars is in the picture below.
We did a lot of walking on our second day in Biloxi, Monday, October 3 — starting with walking just under a mile to the Tourist Information Center. We spoke to a nice lady who suggested that we go to a local seafood restaurant near our hotel for supper. We spent some time in the Beau Rivage Casino – no luck- then we went next door to the Hard Rock Casino – even worse luck!
We came back to the Beau and went to the pool deck for a while. Even though it was warm out, the hot tub (the largest one Jackie or I had ever seen) soothed our aches and pains.
Then we walked to McElroys for an early seafood dinner. This restaurant was destroyed by hurricane Katrina. When they rebuilt, they made sure it would not be flooded again.
We got a table out on the “porch” (at the far left of the picture). Jackie had blackened Mahi Mahi and I ordered popcorn shrimp. (See below).
Before we finished our meals, we were graced by a beautiful sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.
We left Biloxi on Tuesday, October 4, heading to Natchez, Mississippi. We were only on the road for about 2 1/2 hours but what a pleasant drive it was – avoiding Interstate Highways and taking only US Highways all the way. Again, we went to the tourist information center as our first stop.
The lady there, advised that we hurry to get some lunch because most places stopped serving at 2:00 and it was almost 1:00. So, we went to a B & B that had been recommended both for their lunch and their rooms. We thought that their advertisement said that they had a water view, but they did not. So, we had lunch at the Ellan Guest House on Franklin Street and then we headed to the Grand Hotel which was just across the street from the Mississippi River. (Remember, you can click on any picture to enlarge it.)
It had been suggested that we take a Hop-On Hop-Off tour of the city the next morning, but we wanted to get to our next destination sooner than that would allow. Jackie took a picture of the sunset over the Mississippi River.
We arrived in Vicksburg, Mississippi, about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 5, and were able to check-in to our motel early. We went to the Vicksburg National Military Park on Clay Street that afternoon.
We first watched a 20-minute film in their Visitors Center which recounts the siege and defense of Vicksburg during the Civil War in 1863. Vicksburg National Cemetery is located by the USS Cairo which was sunk in the war. It is the second largest national cemetery containing 116 acres which are inside the National Military Park. The cemetery holds the remains of 17,000 Civil War Union solders, a number which is unmatched by any other national cemetery. The military park is so large that most people participate in the driving tour through the park. A volunteer in the visitor’s center helped me download the NPS (National Parks) app on my phone which we were able to use to hear a narration of particular points of interest throughout the park. There are over 1,340 monuments to both Confederate and Union soldiers that participated in this battle which began in May and ended with the surrender of the southern delegation on July 4th, 1863. This was a major turning point in the war. Unfortunately, since I was listening to the narration on my phone, I failed to take any pictures. We spent the entire afternoon here.
The Vicksburg Visitors Center had given us a map that showed two scenic drives through and around Vicksburg, so the next morning, Thursday, October 6, we started on one nearby our motel. These two routes took us through a myriad of old homes and historic buildings all over downtown Vicksburg. There is a Coca Cola Museum in Vicksburg. Even though we didn’t visit there, we learned that it is on the site of the very first Coca Cola bottling company in the world. They were bottling Coke in 1894. We stopped to shop at a Flea Market down by the Levee just before noon and picked up a couple of small items. We asked for a recommendation for lunch and they were happy to recommend Rusty’s Riverfront Grill which was only a couple of blocks away. After lunch we went to the Water View Casino.
When I saw a slot machine entitled Road Trip, I thought that I had to play it (since we’re on a month-long road trip) and it turned out to be lucky for me – breaking even for my afternoon’s play and making back some of the money I lost in Biloxi.
We left Vicksburg, Friday, October 7, taking the I-20 bridge over the Mississippi into Louisiana. In the picture below, you can see the I-20 bridge on the left and a train bridge, the darker one, on the right. You might also notice that there is a train on the bridge and a barge under it. In the center of the train bridge is a flag which indicates the state line between Mississippi and Louisiana.
We went less than 20 miles on I-20 W before turning north and continuing on US and State Highways out of Louisiana into Arkansas. Jackie’s brother, Michael, had called and invited us to spend the night with him and his wife, Violet, in Mountainview, Arkansas, as it is just a few hours from Branson, Missouri, where we have a reservation at a timeshare for next week. Along the way to Michael’s, we stopped for a picnic lunch and walked down to see the river.
Michael met us about 40 miles away from his place and led us the rest of the way. He and Violet took us into JoJo’s Fishing Warf for a fried catfish dinner and then through the town square where there were numerous groups listening to “pickin” music. It was just a little too cool for us to get out of the car and “sit a spell.” This ended our first week of travel.
Week 2 – October 8th – October 14 – Kimberling City, Missouri (outside of Branson) and Nebraska City, NE
This week was mostly spent near Branson, Missouri, where I swapped my timeshare for a week’s stay. While still at home, I had received an e-mail about discount show tickets to which I replied that I might be interested. They called me and I bought tickets to four different shows in Branson. A couple of phone calls later, I discovered that I needed to go into Branson the day of our arrival and then back in on Sunday to watch a 90-minute presentation about joining a travel club.
We left Arkansas on Saturday, October 8, and checked in to the “The Shores at Table Rock Lake at Kimberling Inn” in Kimberling City, Missouri, a few hours later.
After getting settled in our condo, we drove into Branson through West Branson to pick up our show tickets. I had paid $200 for 8 show tickets which I felt was a very good price (especially since two are dinner shows). When they saw that Jackie was to be my guest at the presentation, they refunded us another $50 which we picked up after bringing them proof that we had both attended the presentation.
We started the “dreaded” 90-minute presentation by Excursions Travel Club at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 9. Our presenter, Jerry, kept it going pretty quickly while giving us a lot of information and throwing in a few jokes. The time went quickly, and I made my story as to why I couldn’t buy in very convincing even when they came down on the price three times. We were out of there by 11:00 as promised. It really did sound like it could be a good deal for those who like to travel a lot and they also offered to get you out of up to four timeshares if you desired to do that. From here we went to downtown Branson to Branson Landing. This is several blocks along the riverfront with many restaurants, bars and shops with a big Bass Pro Shop at the south end. We were tempted to eat at Paula Dean’s but decided not to when they said that we’d have to stand in line for 30 minutes. We ate at the next eatery called the Black Oak Grill. Then, we walked off our lunches by window shopping in all of the other places up and down the landing with the exception of the Bass Pro Shop. We did go into a couple of the shops where we were tempted to buy some small things.
One of my disappointments on this trip has been the lack of Wi-Fi in several of the places that we have stayed – even though they advertised that they had Wi-Fi. Even the timeshare that we are in now only has Wi-Fi in the main building. So, we killed two birds with one stone by taking our first week’s laundry up to the main building so that while we were waiting on clean, dry clothes, we could get the messages that we had not been able to receive for several days.
On Monday, October 10, we drove to nearby Dogwood Canyon without reservations – which is something that I do not recommend. Dogwood Canyon was developed by Johnny Morris who is the owner of Bass Pro Shop. We paid $22 each for general admission but there were absolutely no tours of any kind available – they had all been sold out through on-line ticket purchases. The 2-hour tram tour that we were hoping to take was sold out for the rest of the week.
The first suggested stop on the walking tour was at the Dogwood Canyon Mill, Canyon Grill, Indian Cliff Falls, Nature & Conservation Center, and a Treehouse built by the Tree House Masters television show.
Next was a covered bridge called Long Pine Crossing
Then, we came to the Hope Wilderness Chapel. Completed in 2002, this church is a replica of the churches in the 1800s. It is available for weddings, vow renewals, meetings and special services. Rick and I visited it in 2014. See pictures below of me on this trip and Rick in 2014.
This chapel is about half a mile down the walking/biking trail. And, through the glass doors behind the pulpit, there is a lovely waterfall.
A signature stop in the canyon is Thunder Falls. This 60’ waterfall was enhanced to show what the area looked like thousands of years ago. This is one mile down the trail.
We continued walking on the trail for another .3 miles to the Chuckwagon Site. This area has been provided for groups to use and is where we decided that it was time to turn around and return, the way we came, to the parking lot.
We drove back to our condo and rested in the afternoon before going to the Grand Jubilee Musical Review at 7:30 in Branson. The show consisted of several acts singing mostly country songs with a little gospel and patriotic songs mixed in. The Emcee, Mike Patrick, often worked with comedian Jim Dandy throughout the show. But both also displayed some amazing musical talent as well.
The quartet “New South” did a great job and included a bass from Crawfordville, Florida (near Tallahassee).
The band that accompanied them was called the Rhinestone Mafia and they were very good as well.
We thoroughly enjoyed this show which lasted two hours.
We slept in on Tuesday, October 11, and drove to the shore of Table Rock Lake to board the Showboat Branson Belle mid-afternoon.
It had become a little cool, windy and rainy. As we were boarding, a staff member gave each person a $10 bill without explanation. We found out later that they do this when they feel it is too windy to take the boat away from the dock. Jackie didn’t have to worry about get seasick!
We walked through the gift shop area into the show room/dining room where we were greeted by a server named Amber who seated us at a table for two (table 1 on row L which was the last row of the main floor).
She took our drink orders as we were seated; brought our salads almost immediately; followed by our dinner which included both roast beef and roast chicken along with a vegetable and mashed potatoes. After a short period of time to eat, they announced that we would have about 20 minutes before the show started in case anyone wanted to go outside to take pictures and Amber told us that she would serve our desert just before the show started. All the food was good, and the service was terrific.
The show consisted of a musical/dance group with a house band and an Emcee/magician. The dinner cruise was schedule to begin at 4 p.m. and we were walking off the ship at 6 p.m.
We got up early, Wednesday morning, October 12, and were greeted with some unfriendly skies.
I had made on-line reservations for a museum tour and golf-cart nature trail ride at Top of the Rock Ozark Heritage Preserve which was also developed by Johnny Morris like Dogwood Canyon. By the time we got there (about a 30-minute drive) it was raining and lightning, but they said that they expected the weather to clear up quickly and suggested that we start with the museum first – which we did. In our walk through the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum, we saw skeletons or recreations of extinct animals that had lived in this area such as the Short-Faced Cave Bear, Hell Pig, Terror Bird, and Bear Dog along with thousands of arrow heads and other artifacts from every Indian tribe that lived in the Ozarks (which encompass 4 states.) By the time we finished at the museum the rain had stopped and we were able to catch a shuttle to the Welcome Center where we got our electric golf cart and started down the 2.5-mile Lost Canyon Cave & Nature Trail.
This trail includes at least 5 waterfalls and several caves – largest of which has a bar and a waterfall inside it.
The golf cart we were in had a retractable roof which we had to stop and close before driving around this hair pin curve.
They have also constructed a lookout called the Eagles Nest because it is so high up from which you can see Table Rock Lake.
They also have a couple of covered bridges that were built by Amish craftsmen.
Near the end of our trail ride, we crossed over the horseshoe bridge and waterfall.
There is a sign along the trail that advises you to watch out for animals. We saw a couple of squirrels and numerous birds around the many bird houses that are hung nearby; but the biggest surprise was the groundhog (much larger than a squirrel) that we saw just before we returned the cart to the Welcome Center. As we drove by, he ran into a hole in the base of that tree.
In the evening, we attended the WhoDunnIt Mystery Dinner Theatre.
We were served our barbeque pulled pork, chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans before the show started.
The five cast members shown above were eventually joined by four members of the audience who were suspects in the murder. In the play, we were told that it was one of the ladies’ birthday and during intermission, we were served white birthday cake for dessert.
Thursday, October 13, 2022, would have been Rick’s and my 50th wedding anniversary. Even though he’s been gone for five years, I still celebrate it by traveling somewhere. In 2017, I joined Ken and Jackie Sosville on the Bradenton Yacht Club’s Power Fleet Cruise to the Tampa Yacht Club; in 2018, I flew out to Denver to spend the long weekend with my brother, Bill and his wife, Mary; in 2019 Dad and I went to Tennessee and in 2020 we went to North Carolina; then last year, 2021, we took a day trip over to Ormond Beach and met Rick’s brother, Edward, and my niece, Melissa, for a dinner at Mario’s Restaurant a long-time favorite for Hoffmeister family special events.
This afternoon, Jackie and I went to the Clay Cooper Theatre in Branson to see a show called #1 Hits of the 60’s (which also included #1 hits from the 50’s and 70’s).
Afterward, we went to a nearby Longhorn Steak House for a steak dinner and a glass of wine.
Friday, October 14, was the first of two days of driving to reach Plainview, Nebraska for a visit with my niece, Christina and her husband Wim along with their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Elodie. We left Kimberling City just after 9 a.m. and stopped for the night at the Nebraska City, Nebraska. We were in Missouri most of the day and then spent a few minutes in Iowa before getting into Nebraska. Tomorrow, we will drive another few hours to get to Plainview.
Week 3 (October 15th – 21st ) Plainview, NE; Osceola, Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri
Jackie had a cold and didn’t want to expose Christina and her family, so we stopped in Norfolk, NE and got a room at the Lodge for Saturday, October 15 and Sunday the 16th.
Jackie stayed there while I went another 30 miles and stayed with Christina, Wim and Elodie.
On Sunday, October 16, we were going to drive into Norfolk to go to a pumpkin patch, but that didn’t work out and it really was too cold and windy for Elodie who is 1 ½ years old. Instead, we spent the time visiting and enjoying one another’s company. Christina, Elodie and Wim are in the picture below.
I left Christina and Wim’s about 4:30 Sunday afternoon and returned to stay the night at the Lodge in Norfolk. We left Monday, October 17. I wanted to avoid driving around Omaha again, so I changed our route to St. Louis to travel on I-80 and we spent the night in Osceola, Iowa, at the Lakeside Casino. (Rick and I attended Osceola Elementary School in Ormond Beach.) It was a nice hotel and reasonably priced. After eating an early supper, we spent a little time in the casino where Jackie doubled her money.
We arrived in St. Louis on Tuesday, October 18, and checked in to the Drury Inn and Suites. Rick and I discovered this family-owned chain when we crossed the country in 2014. Included in the price of your room is not only a hot breakfast but also, three free drinks and a light supper in the evening. We will stay here for 4 nights.
On, Wednesday, October 19, we drove to the Saint Louis Arch and rode up the tram inside to a height of 630 feet.
From the top of the Arch, you can see the Mississippi River in one direction
and the Busch Stadium and old St. Louis Courthouse in the other.
(You can click on any picture to enlarge it)
We rode up in a small 4 or 5-person capsule with two others where (in most seats) you couldn’t sit up straight without bumping your head.
Jackie put on some motion sickness medication as we started up. You can see from the picture below that she made it up to the top OK.
On Thursday, October 20, we drove to Grant’s Farm, a historic farm built by Ulysses S. Grant in 1848. It has also served as a residence of various members of the Busch family. They have over 900 animals at the farm including some of the Busch Clydesdale horses. They also give free samples of beer to those who wish to partake and are of age. But, when we got there, we found that it was closed because of a special Fall festival event going on tonight. So, we spent a good portion of our day at the St. Louis Zoo. This zoo is one of just a few to which there is no entrance fee, but there is a $15 charge for parking. In the parking lot there were statues of many animals, including this elephant. Of course, we saw live elephants in the zoo as well.
It was chilly when we started, but soon the temperature was very pleasant for walking from exhibit to exhibit. One of the most impressive animals we saw was this big grizzly bear.
When Jackie and I were traveling with our husbands, her husband, Ken, used to say about every third day, it was time for him to just sit on the porch. So, that’s what we did on this third day in St. Louis, Friday, October 21. We spent some time hot tub which was inside on the ground floor level while we were doing our laundry and then reorganized our suitcases to begin our final week of vacation tomorrow.
Week 4 (October 22rd – October 29th)
Louisville, KY; Santa Claus, IN; Gatlinburg, TN; Valdosta, GA
Today, Saturday, October 22, was a travel day. We left St. Louis; drove through Indiana; to Louisville, Kentucky, where we checked into a Drury Inn and Suites. After my Facebook post yesterday that we were going to come this way, our Youth Minister, Ryan Akers, replied “Say hello to Santa Claus.” Ryan and his family moved to Florida from Santa Claus, so I couldn’t resist taking a small detour off the Interstate to see this charming town.
Jackie and I spent a few minutes browsing in the Christmas Shop before we went next door to have lunch. Then we continued about another hour to Louisville.
I booked a tram tour for Sunday, October 23, at the Louisville Mega Cavern. Even though we enjoyed the tour, it was not the cavern that we expected. The Mega Cavern is a former limestone mine in Louisville, Kentucky.
The cave stretches under parts of the Watterson Expressway and the Louisville Zoo. Due to its support structures (one of which is shown below), it is classified as a building and is the largest building in Kentucky.
The cavern is used for business, storage, recycling, and tourism, with offerings including tram-guided tours, zipline tours, a ropes course, an annual holiday lights display which they were preparing to display in November and December. (We got a sneak preview of some of it.)
They plan to have around 6,000 lights in this year’s display. When we left there, we drove through Historic Old Louisville marveling at some of the old churches and houses before returning to our hotel.
On Monday, October 24, we left Louisville heading to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Jackie’s daughter, René, and her husband, Tommy, are vacationing this week in Pigeon Forge. We stopped by their RV resort for a short visit before continuing to Gatlinburg.
Tuesday, October 25, was our day to explore Gatlinburg. We were staying at the south end of the Parkway. We walked about halfway up the strip before moving to the other side of the street and walking back. After resting for a short time, we took the free trolley almost all the way down the strip to go for an early dinner at the Smokey Mountain Trout House where Jackie had dined on other trips to the area.
When we finished our meal, we waited to catch the free trolley back to our hotel (about a mile away). When the trolley came to our stop, the driver didn’t even open the door. She just shook her head and mouthed the word “full”. We ended up walking almost all the way from one end of the strip to the other. The meal was good and the walk wasn’t nearly as hard as our earlier walk in the heat of the day. Because we did so much walking on Tuesday, we decided to drive on Wednesday, October 26. The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is conveniently located minutes from downtown Gatlinburg. To access Roaring Fork, turn off the main parkway at traffic light #8 and follow Historic Nature Trail Road to the Cherokee Orchard entrance to the national park. Along the way, we saw some turkeys.
Just beyond the Rainbow Falls trailhead you have the option of taking the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. This 5.5-mile-long, one-way, loop road is a narrow, winding trail that offers a spectacular view of mountain streams, forests, log cabins, and a historic mill! There were a lot of cars parked at the trailheads to Rainbow Falls and Grotto Falls which are two highly recommended falls to see.
Before entering the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, we stopped at the Noah “Bud” Ogle self-guiding nature trail which is a walking tour of an authentic mountain farmstead
and surrounding hardwood forest.
We also found a couple other trails that came off this one. But unfortunately, they were closed. Click on the picture to read the Notice of Bear Activity.
Along this trail we found a streamside tub mill
and the Ogle’s handcrafted wooden flume plumbing system.
Just a few minutes after we returned to our hotel, Jackie got a call from her daughter saying they were in town and inviting us to join them for the rest of the afternoon.
Since Thursday, October 27, was our last full day in the area, we decided to make it a shopping day and to spend it in nearby Pigeon Forge. We joined René and Tommy in their RV for breakfast, then set out on our own to do some shopping. We met back with them mid-afternoon at a complex called the Island. Jackie’s daughter is seated between the two of us.
After some window shopping in the complex, the four of us had an early supper at Paula Dean’s Restaurant. Then, while Tommy sat digesting his meal, we three gals did some more shopping before Jackie and I said goodbye and returned to Gatlinburg.
On Friday, October 28, we started driving early by taking the Parkway from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to Cherokee, North Carolina (about 35 miles south). We continued south on a couple of US Highways and got onto I-75 around Macon, Georgia. Saturday, October 29, we found ourselves heading to Inverness, Florida, to see another one of Jackie’s relatives for a short visit before heading back to Manatee County. This ended our more than 4,700-mile adventure.
I took Sunday, October 30, as a day of rest (in between laundry and a trip to the grocery to refill my empty refrigerator.)
While on vacation, I got a call from Dad’s memory center staff saying they needed my signature on some forms for Medicare to cover some testing of Dad. I arranged to sign them first thing, Monday, October 31. I drove to Sun City Center, signed the papers, and then went to visit Dad. He continues to do well. In the evening, I passed out candy for Halloween while JP and Kellie and Emma went to a friend’s for a hayride. Below is a picture of JP and Kellie dressed for a Halloween party.
Happy Halloween
Our journey has been inspired by Joy and Steve Fredrick. You can see more of their story at