Bristol & Bluff City, Tennessee

Today we spent most of our time driving the 300 miles to above cities. It always seems less tiring when we drive under 400 miles in a day. On our way here, we drove over some mountains, the first time we'd seen any since Texas. I think they were the Blue Ridge Mountains and could have been part of the Appalachia Mtns - I couldn't tell from the map. The Virginia countryside is beautiful with rolling hills, lots of green open fields, horses, cattle. The mtns are thick with all kinds of trees. The area where we are now is similar but seems more open - there are sweeping valleys and hills and the hiways are wide and gently curved. Last night in Virginia was cold; we woke up and put the heat on. It felt like Fall and the tree leaves are just beginning to turn color. It seems warmer here - got to about 80 today and has cooled down a lot tonite, but not chilly - more like summer weather. We stopped at the Welcome Center on the border entering TN. I think it was new; it was built to look like a frontier home; the siding was stonework, windows had shutters, inside was real homey, plus it was huge and there were hundreds of brochures on things to do.
We have heard so much about the Ridgewood BBQ here in Bluff City over the years from Gail and Randy that we felt as tho we were going to an event:). It was packed with people but we got seated right away. Very good, very authentic, lots of locals. It was off the beaten path so we would never have known it was there if we didn't have inside info!
We spent the rest of the evening stopping at the store for some supplies, then doing laundry. Most of the laundry rooms in these RV parks are clean and well maintained. Even tho we have a washer/dryer in the RV, it is extremely slow so I just use it for towels.
We are in the Lake View RV Park near Boone Lake - it is very nice and very clean. They rent boats at the lake during the summer and also have a pool and small cafe on site.
I think we'll go in to Bristol tomorrow and see what the town is like. We'll get an idea of where Randy used to hang out in his youth - there is also a lot of new development in the area, just like everywhere else. - Joyce