Today we took the backstage tour offered at the Gand Ole Opry and LOVED it. The hype video to start the tour was perfect for the kids who couldn’t recognize more than 3 country singers but could see the obvious emotions of all artists who got to play on the hallowed “circle”, a chunk of stage they saved from the original opry and built into the new stage at the new auditorium. The tour included all the dressing rooms the artist can choose from, the back stage, on stage, and in the audience. We were thoroughly entertained.
Back stage tour!$90k worth of guitars on the ceiling You can write to any member of the Opry and mail to the Opry address. Dolly is box 163.Dressing roomsEverything had to be re-done completely after this area was flooded in 2010 when someone opened the Cumberland River dam. oops.BackstageThe old Ryman Auditorium floor cut out and put in new auditorium. Standing on the hallowed circle. Artists say they won’t stand on it until they get invited to play.Mat’s 15 seconds of fameEmmy Lou found EmmyLou’s album. Everyone enjoyed this tour!This was a great stop on our road trip! I would recommend to anyone.Grand Ole Opry
After the tour we visited the near by Gaylord Opryland Resort Hotel which is quite a sight. There are water features everywhere, a big waterfall, even a river with boat rides available. Emerson loved the hotel and added it to her list of places “we definitely need to come back too!” We had a fun lunch at Fuse and headed home for a rest.
Gaylord Opryland ResortSo cool!
I would have spent the afternoon downtown just exploring, listening to music and people watching but I got outvoted. Good thing too because thunder storms rolled in by afternoon, it poured, and the news channels reported flooding in much of downtown. So a relaxing afternoon at the RV was a good call. Watching the kids enjoy the camper is great and a relief. Since we didn’t explore the sights this afternoon we were more adventurous with our dinner and ordered authentic southern food from the local Cock of the Walk restaurant and tried fried catfish, chicken, coleslaw and hushpuppies (my southern friends are used to seeing hushpuppies on the menu but not my NE girls!) When the rain stopped, the kids jumped in the pool for some night swimming. Summer memories! Stay tuned, the kids made some funny videos this afternoon!
Murphy’s morning post. Checking things out.If this isn’t the cutest ad ever!Good morning from NashvilleMy Dollywood souvenirRainy afternoon funCamper lifeSouthern takeoutStorm’s over
We spent the morning in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, aptly named, and could have easily spent the day. We woke the kids early, they were not excited after yesterday’s tiring day and late night, but this was our chance to see the park. I’m very glad we were up early because it became increasingly congested as the morning went on. We learned it’s the most visited national park in the country with over 12 million visitors each year and going up. We also learned it’s free to enter because “the land was purchased from private owners with the agreement that they and their heirs would be able to continue to visit the land without financial burden” according to the park ranger. They make it up elsewhere and this was the 1st place we’ve had to purchase the Jr. Ranger program book for a whole $2.50. (most national parks and sites have free booklets and activities to complete to earn a pin and so far the kids have earned/collected them from Glacier NP, Federal Hall in NYC, the Freedom Trail, Shenandoah NP and now GSMNP. Actually, only Emerson has Federal Hall because she filled out the whole booklet to earn it and Maddy didn’t, but when she realized she missed a pin opportunity she wanted to go back, lol).
We drove up to Clingman’s Visitor Center by 7:30am and walked the .5 mile to the lookout. It was paved and a gradual grade but it was still a workout. The lookout is atop Clingman’s Dome which is the highest peak in GSMNP at 6,643′ and the 2nd highest peak in eastern US. The morning temperature was low 60s up there and we were not dressed appropriately having been sweating since Virginia. It was a great structure that probably has amazing views of the Smoky Mountains but we wouldn’t know, it was too “smoky”. Mat and I laughed the whole way up because we were in a huge cloud and couldn’t see very far in front of you. The kids were good sports and enjoyed the foggy view from the lookout anyway. It was really beautiful in it’s own haunting and peaceful way. It was like someone had started painting the trees but hadn’t put the background in yet. Clingman’s Dome is the highest peak in the park in both Tennessee and North Carolina since the stateline goes right over it so we can check another state off on our road trip. Surprise, I wasn’t expecting to visit NC this trip. After our excursion in the very “smoky” mountains we waited in line to get into the Sugarlands Visitor Center (yup, a line to get in!) and enjoyed doing the Jr. Ranger program before heading back to the Ridge Outdoor Resort to pack up the RV and continue down the road. So many hikes and waterfalls to see in GSMNP, next time. Off to Nashville, TN in the afternoon.
We made it to campground by 3pm thanks to driving through a time zone. We set up camp, all 3 kids went to play in the pool, and I cleaned up, did laundry for the 1st and figured out our blog. I’ve been journaling but figured out how to add the pictures and share it. Now to find a not spotty network…
Mom’s awake even if kids aren’t.NP # 4 for the family, #2 for this trip.It’s like they want moms to stop and take pictures with the sign, they even built a stand for mom’s coffee.You don’t see this on the map everydayCold and tired (1 of them anyway)The wildlife we sawIs that you Mat?Psyched to be up early and trekking uphill in the fog.We like seeing the AT, it reminds us of home.Clingman’s LookoutHi guysA picture of the less foggy viewStill beautiful. See us on the ramp?Solso selfieIs this still considered a bear-proof trashcanBeautiful Park
Dollywood day and reunited with Crystal! Surprisingly, Camping World called very early with news… Crystal Betty’s fixed! Actually, they couldn’t re-create the problem and after thorough diagnostics couldn’t find anything wrong! They said RVs do that sometimes, act finicky and then work fine. Maybe this is a case of “turn it off and turn it back on” (a bunch of times) and it fixed itself. It was totally worth bringing in since Mat and I weren’t going to use the slide again for fear of it getting stuck out and therefore us getting stuck in one spot. And we learned how to manually crank slide in IF it were to happen again, something our camping world told us we couldn’t do with our one touch system (eye roll). So we have to give credit to the Knoxville Camping World, they saw our RV quickly and didn’t charge us a thing! Pretty typical Solso luck… maybe a few challenges but it all works out. Feeling very grateful for the resolution of this problem and happy for the extra 2 feet of space.
More importantly, Dollywood was a blast! Their on-site kennel was very sweet and clean, you drop off your dog and come back as often as you want during the day to walk your own pup. Murphy seemed to love Doggywood and didn’t mind going back after his walks. We were in the park for opening, with fast passes, and rode tons of BIG rollercoasters before lunch. At one point Emerson loudly screamed “I don’t want to do this” while we were paused at the top of a very large loop-de-loop, and Maddy sat out of the one that takes you straight up and drops you down, but otherwise they were happily trying the black diamonds (think ski slope ratings) to dad’s delight and all of the blue rated roller coasters! Our kids are old enough that we could spilt up for a bit so the kids did one of their favorites again while Mat and I tried the Wild Eagle – it was the smoothest roller coaster I’ve ever been on and super awesome from the front seat! Kids couldn’t be talked into it this trip.
More highlights of the day:
ALL the rides. The kids rode the Dragonflier rollercoaster 9 times! They would have gone a 10th time but their last ride was at 9:30 with fireworks starting over them, such a cool memory.
The Dolly exhibits: seeing her tour bus and her Chasing Rainbows museum (Emerson got the “Who was Dolly Parton?” book years ago and became an instant fan and Dolly’s popularity has since grown through the whole Solso house).
Getting in tons of rides before getting caught in the pouring afternoon rain! Emerson was giggling her head off as we ran through the park soaking wet.
Closing down the park with a fireworks and drone show – I’ve never seen anything like it, it was really cool.
Having so much fun that we kept putting off dinner until the fireworks show at 9:30!
Going home to our sweet Crystal Betty after a very fun (and tiring) day – 25,000 steps according to Maddy’s fit bit and 28,000 steps according to Emerson’s fit bit, that rivals any Disney day for us!
Dollywood theme was butterflies and Great Smoky Mtn (mining, logging, fire fighting, and old Americana feel… and a graveyard)Happy to be hereOur biggest Dolly fanNot very crowded!!Visiting Murphy at Doggywood, he’s ready to get out of the heat and go back to his air-conditioned digs.Dolly’s RV tour busDolly’s “coat of many colors” replicaDolly’s MuseumMaddy in front. Emmy right next to her on Dragonflier.First day we didn’t swim but we got wet! The thunder and lightning shut down rides for a couple hours in the afternoon so Mat was able to pick up CB and set her up at the campground.My peopleAfter the rainsEmmy and I rode that tall ride twice and now it’s touching the moon!Still not too old for her dad’s shoulders after 28k steps.My guys relaxing after a fun dayDay 5 verdict: a blast!
We left Luray, VA and made it to Pigeon Forge, TN. 385 miles breaking our self-imposed rule to stick to 300 miles or less a day but we want to get to Dollywood! The drive was uneventful, yay, except for passing numerous accidents in Knoxville. Kids are loving the down time the drive provides and find it more comfortable each day. Maddy was worried about getting carsick and sharing small spaces and she has recently admitted she’s not only enjoying the rides, she loves her shared loft space! Phew. No one wants to be stuck with a grumpy, moody 12 year old.
I was able to make a few more calls on the way and setup a shop visit for Crystal tomorrow while we have Dollywood plans and Murphy has Doggywood accommodations. Timing seems perfect and the shop agreed to get her in the very next day to accommodate our drive thru. Best case scenario, it’s a quick fix. Worst case, it might take longer to fix and we continue on our way without it. Worth a shot. So we spent the night in a pet friendly hotel along the very entertaining Pigeon Forge Parkway. While we could have dropped off Crystal in the morning (which would have avoided packing overnight bags) it would mean not being at Dollywood when the park opened and we have priorities.
Even though this was an ideal stop for Crystal, Mat and I both had a little separation anxiety without her. I think we’re bonding. And maybe a little scarred from past Camping World experiences and worried that they’ll lose her, or find more wrong, or spend too long looking at her and we don’t get her back tomorrow as planned… Wish us luck.
Foggy morningFound Dolly!Don’t see an upside down building everyday.
Today we drove into Shenandoah National Park for a beautiful morning hike. It’s the kids’ 3rd national park ever and the 1st of the trip. We loved the Skyline Drive through the national park and even saw some deer. Despite the news reporting massive crowds at all the parks we were alone most of the day! We picked an awesome 2 mile hike from the guide book (that was more of a walk really) to the summit of the park’s highest peak, Hawksbill Mountain at 4,050 feet. It was beautiful views from the top! Maddy was excited to say she hiked a 4,000 footer even though we drove most of the way up, lol.
Then it started warming up so we went back to the waterslides! We all did the 3 waterslides many, many times. It was a blast. But it was 3 stories of stairs every time so I’m pretty sure I got more of a workout at the campground than on our hike! Luckily, the pools and slides close at 2pm for cleaning so we could drag the kids away to see more of this beautiful area.
We spent the afternoon in the Luray Caverns and absolutely loved it! I was amazed, Mat was surprised by how big and remarkable it was, Emerson thought it looked like Disney, and Maddy, who had been saying for months she wasn’t looking forward to being so far under the earth, quickly found herself enjoying it. It was a cool 60 degrees which was an added bonus! If you’re in the area it’s definitely worth the stop.
And to finish off a great day? Back to the pool. We got one more swim in before the rain and thunder started which was fun to watch from our camping chairs under our awning. We’re going to be sad to leave Jellystone Park. The kids have rated this the “Best campground” yet and today the “best day” yet… it’s the 2nd campground and 3rd day, lol.
Our 1st NP of the trip. 3rd for the kidsUpper Hawksbill TrailGreat 2 mile hikeMy NH kids are used to looking for trail markers…there’s no getting lost here!Highest point in Shenandoah National ParkFor reporting forest fires. Emmy wondering why he has no shirt onLuray Caverns Luray, VASo massive!Dream Lake. What looks like stalagmites is only the reflection of stalactites in a couple inches of water!Dream Lake again – this was absolutely incredible to see.CavernousDad faceSolso’s undergroundThe kid who didn’t want to go this far below the earth is loving it.120 years to go and it’ll connect! My goobersFunny Map My RunLast night at Jellystone ParkBye YogiMurphy trying to stay awake while Maddy finishes the Jr. Ranger bookShenandoah NP and the Skyline Drive
We had a great morning and then packed up to go and one of the slides didn’t want to come in. On day 2. They say the one thing you need to pack for your RV is a sense of humor but really? Day 2. This might be funny down the road (pun intended) but today not so much. We did close it in so we were able to hit the road as planned. Off to Luray, Virginia and Jellystone Park. On the way I was able to make some calls and have a mobile tech meet us later that evening at the new campground. He was very nice but not sure it was all that helpful, he thinks it’s the battery but didn’t want to fix anything on site because it’s under warranty and he didn’t want it voided. But the living room slide out is a ‘nice to have’ not a ‘have to have’ so we will vacation on! It’s definitely hard to squash the annoyed and disappointed feeling that my new and expensive toy isn’t working the way I want. And the problem solver in me wants to do whatever I can to fix it but since it’s a luxury item I don’t want to sacrifice precious vacationing and reroute us to a shop for who knows how long. The realistic side of me needs to acknowledge that this fix will most likely take more time than we have. We aren’t in any one location for more than 1 or 2 days until we’re out west in a couple weeks. And the competitive side of me isn’t going to let the negative feelings win…so the rest of the day will be fun and even if we don’t fix the one slide this trip we’re going to have fun darn it (insert Clark Griswald quotes here). Really the biggest inconvenience is for Murphy…we have a very long dog and the narrow space means he can’t turn around anymore, he has to back under the table and do a 3 point turn to change directions or back himself up. If you thought Murph moves slow going forward you should see him back up. Poor guy.
So onto the delights… We found the “world’s biggest apple” along the way in Winchester, VA, home of the world’s largest cold apple storage (according to Roadtrippers app and the town signs). Bonus, we found a medium apple too! The funny part was the kids thought we were looking for the world’s largest real/edible apple which seems much more difficult to pin on an app and for some reason were disappointed with the concrete apple that we did find, lol.
The highlight of the day was Jellystone Park. It has 3 big pools, water slides, gaga pits, outdoor movie theater, jumping pillow things… so much fun! We all loved it. Mat and I thought we’d be introducing the kids to Yogi Bear and his friend BooBoo Bear but they had a whole song about them from Camp Huckins! Another camp win for us. So while today had it’s ups and downs I’ll remember it as the day Emerson woke up not liking waterslides and went to bed loving waterslides! That’s what this is all about, new experiences and finding the fun.
I don’t often make the effort to have my morning coffee outside at home but it’s definitely a camping perk!PA to VA today. No complaints from these two.“World’s largest apple” Winchester, VAA bonus medium apple. No kids in sight, they weren’t impressed“Mat, open your mouth”He found his travel spotMade it to Jellystone Park Luray, VAKids approveWaterslides!!!!Ice cream for dinnerVA is humid!Murph keeping an eye on our mobile tech. 1st attempt to fix slide.Happy camper
and it was. Day 1 was a success. Easy drive according to Mat. Charming and campy campground. PA is humid! Setup was easy leaving plenty of time to sweat through a game of mini golf, swim, grill burgers, play cards (our girls learned BS, thanks Camp Huckins! but mom or dad won every game), and the highlight of the night that makes all the planning worth it … catching fireflies with the girls in the beautiful twinkling woods. We realized it’s been a long time since we’ve seen them in masses in NH or ME.
Made it to Delaware Water Gap/ Poconos KOA East Stroudsburg, PAGorgeous view, LOL1st Sasquatch sighting of the tripCatching firefliesTired and happy
Monday, July 12th, we finally hit the road. Our amazing neighbors made us an awesome homemade breakfast for the perfect send off (Thanks Pam, Jean and Bob!) Everyone has their entertainment ready. Turns out the table is a great place to sit and journal and during the drive is a good time to do it. First destination: Delaware Water Gap/Poconos KOA, 287 miles. See you in 7 weeks Derry!
We are not plumbers, electricians, car mechanics, mobile mechanics…there is so much to learn just for daily operation (think Robin William’s RV movie) much less how things work for maintenance and repairs. It’s sooo intimidating. We are constantly learning and figuring things out, trying to fix things that we can and crossing our fingers that nothing major goes wrong requiring shop work because RVs are sitting in shops for 6+ months waiting for repairs, with the popularity of RV-ing during covid no one can keep up. This is a major adjustment from our usual mode of vacationing: pack a bag, give it to airport attendant, play on phone and watch movies until flight takes me where I want to be, open hotel door. Done.
Just getting the RV was an uncomfortable amount of decisions! Motor home or trailer? (We chose motor home since our purpose is truly this one epic roadtrip). Class A or class C? (we chose class C for the smaller more manageable size. Even I was comfortable driving it!) Gas or Diesel? Slideouts or no slideouts? Extra long so we get bunk beds or do the kids share a bed for the summer? (that was a big one and yet to be determined if we made the right choice).
The ONLY thing we’re comfortable with is knowing that our greatest adventures have started when we left our comfort zone behind. Mat’s NOLS trip and my Outward Bound trip, moving across the world for study abroad not knowing anyone, venturing to remote parts of Africa with our kids…
This seems like a great place to note that while every word I write is drenched in privilege we wake up everyday very grateful for each opportunity. While everything about “RV-ing” has been intimidating and anxiety inducing at times, at the end of the day we love our problems. This emotional rollercoaster and budget busting vacation is just that, vacation. (You’re thinking beach and a book would be so much easier and more relaxing, right? But we love adventure, seeing new places, finding things we didn’t know were out there. Glad I found my person who likes the same. Also glad he prefers to do the driving!)
April break 2020: Emerson has a week off of school, Crystal Betty is de-winterized and tuned up JUST in time (Camping World is living up to their reputation of being unreliable), we have a week long trip down the East coast planned out, and Madelyn decides she doesn’t want to miss a week of school and lacrosse (her school has a different vacation schedule than Emmy’s) and prefers if we “work out the kinks” without her, LOL, so we’re off on our first adventure to learn what we don’t know yet about RV-ing.
Every mile Mat drove our nerves lessened and confidence increased. We wanted to test out towing Peggy so why not tow from NH to NJ for the first leg of the trip and hit what feels like every major New England city. Our stops this week were fantastic: we visited dear friends that we hadn’t seen in YEARS, and we toured historic places on our bucket list. Visiting friends and new places after a year and a half of quarantine made it even more wonderful. We successfully made it to NJ to see the Gearys, Virginia to the McKenna’s incredible farm and home, Monticello to visit Thomas Jefferson’s home, Mount Vernon to visit George Washington’s home, then onto NC to visit the Fieldings and Donovans which was LONG over due. Our trip home included a stop near Philadelphia to visit Erin, who always travels to see us, and once again, we didn’t make it to her. Why you ask? Read on
Our trip home included a day of bad weather with our first “high wind advisory”. After researching what that meant (50-60 mi/hr winds) I made Emerson drive in Peggy with me worried that she’d bounce around too much in the RV. Mat was confident if we went slow the wind would be manageable until we started crossing bridges along the coast with signs that posted something like “high winds: no empty tractor trailers and travel trailers on bridge”… for newbies like us it should have spelled out that that included mostly empty motor homes as well! After Emerson and I crossed the second of 2 scary bridge and witnessed a huge truck blow into the Jersey barrier in front of us we called Mat and told him to pull over and NOT cross the next bridge. His response, “Thank God, I was about to make the same call after almost dying on the last bridge.” He said that crossing the Francis Scott Key bridge in the high wind was the most scared he’s been in his adult life. Instead of braving the campground in 50 mi/hr winds (tents cannot withstand 20-30 mi/hr winds) worrying about a tree falling on us, we made the call and found a pet friendly hotel right where we were and parked Crystal in the parking lot with no trees in sight! What we learned from this single experience: RV-ing has limits and we have a much better appreciation of that, safely returning home is our ultimate goal so if that means hotels instead of campgrounds some nights then we can be flexible, and Mat has new found confidence in RV handling – after almost blowing off a bridge everything else seems easier!
Other lessons from the trip:
If you leave ceiling vent open on rainy nights you wake up wet (we did that in NJ).
If you don’t latch fridge for travel the door will fly open and food flies out on first big turn (we did that in VA)
We’re not too proud to admit that we’re newbies and ask the campground for a flatter spot when we can’t level RV after dozens of attempts. I happily accepted the eye roll and snort on our behalf along with a paved, flat spot that we successfully set up on (in SC).
Campgrounds come in a wide variety. We stayed in a beautiful state park with wooded secluded spots (NC), and in a campground that could be categorized as a parking lot behind townhouses (SC).
Murphy, our 13 year old Basset, loves camping! With the assist of a dog ramp to get in and out of the RV (thanks Covinos!)
And most importantly, we learned that camping is far more fun than the driving so we want to go home and re-book our entire summer trip to include less driving everyday (try to keep it under 300 miles a day – a tip we heard from the Gifford family that we fully agree with after our “practice run”). We’d rather take longer to get places if it means rolling into the campground early to mid afternoon to relax and enjoy ourselves vs rolling in at the end of a long stressful day of driving to setup hangry, eat, sleep and pack up in the morning to do it again.
So that’s what we did, we went home and re-booked our trip. We cut out the big parks that we would be happy to fly out to for extended visits like the Grand Canyon and Zion and choose to focus on the smaller parks that we wouldn’t necessarily fly back to like Hot Springs National Park, AR and Guadalupe Mt National Park, TX. We’re no longer beelining to the big parks but planning to enjoy the journey more. Roadside attractions here we come!
Solso Family Adventures 