Our last evening...The Moon over our lake.
Saying last minute goodbyes...
Our Daytona gal, Robin. We like her.
We check out the work that Judy and Julian are doing in their newly purchased Pelican Lake site...
Gotta love the pink topped cowgirl work boots. These guys are working really hard and the temps are in the high 80's. (Judy is much prettier than this photo shows...Julian looks about the same as shown here.)
Gotta say goodbye to my little buddy...Jordy. 
...Jordy 5 months ago...
You, Dear Reader may remember Jordy the precious little guy from a few months ago...
We make a last minute check on the car's summer home...
Ok. New tires. Check. Three new air conditioners. Check. Trip plan. Check. Three Westie pups. Check. Tequila. Check. Jeep. Check. Scooter. Check. Commodorable. Check.
Our crew watches patiently as all last minute loading is done...
Hooked up , and rolling....
We cruise 255 miles north up I 75 to our first stop on the Great American Tour... THE VILLAGES.
To those readers unfamiliar with THE VILLAGES, it boasts 3 distinct village squares, each featuring nightly live music, dancing, restaurants, shops and bars. Most noteworthy to your gear head Captain is the fact that almost ALL locals travel EVERYWHERE by golf cart. This is really cool!
Doing what we came here for, we sightsee...
The main veranda at the Sumpter Village Center...
...typical street scene...
...of course there is music and dancing...
...and a waterfront scene. Bars and restaurants here as well...
We looked at new and resale homes...like this one. There are legions of them...
We did not buy a new home. We already have one we need to sell in Maryland (the house we leased out to Tony). We have the Beast, our multi-wheeled mobile palace, in which we now reside. We have no more money. We do not buy a home here...yet.
After spending a few days familiarizing ourselves with THE VILLAGES, we return to northbound I 75 and on to stop #2 on this the Great American Tour (GAT).
And that stop is...(insert drumroll here)...Nashville, Tennessee, aka Music City USA.
Your ambitious Captain decides that this 650 mile leg of the GAT will be done non-stop (not counting any required breaks for the various calls of nature). Your brain dead Captain neglected to recall that during such a trip, he, unlike the rest of the clan, is not "free to move about the cabin" while en route.
Nonetheless he soldiers on...
...while his current co pilot Rocky scans the country side for renegade squirrels...
...before long, we are welcomed to the land of peaches and Southern Belles, Georgia.
Soon thereafter, the boys taking a rejuvenating walk in Tifton, GA...
...your basic refreshing stroll...
While...
...your Captain feeds the Beast (fifth from the left)...
Underway again...
...and there is a mess of Westies on Mom's lap. (All three pups are great passengers, thankfully)
Merrily we cruise deep into the rolling hills of scenic Georgia. Then all progress stops...
Long after witnessing this scene, we rolled into our last state for the day...Tennessee.
And, as they sometimes say, without further ado, we cruise onto Music Valley Road, 13 plus hours after departing from THE VILLAGES. A weary Captain backs sloppily into our assigned site, pops the tequila cork, mumbles something profound (he thinks) and promptly conks out...
The following morning we take a multi-hour bus tour of greater Nashville, see the homes of the stars, etc. Uncharacteristicly, your Captain enjoyed the tour and would recommend it.
...nighttime in Nashville...
...this local vehicle and bar is called the PEDAL PUB. In addition to paying for ones drinks, one is expected to continuously pedal in order to see the town. (I sincerely hope that this new form of insanity will not replace your Captain's favorite tequila dispensaries in the Naples area.)
...modern structures abound. This one is the AT&T building. (The locals call it the BATMAN BUILDING)
Next on the agenda was a thorough, though by no means complete, self-guided tour of the bars on Broadway...
...no bar hopping adventure should be undertaken prior to having ones future determined by an expert...
Of course, Nashville is the home of Country and Western music. This means that western footwear is "de rigeur" here...
...they didn't have these in her size...
So onward we trod...meeting...
Now among the absolutely most famous (or infamous) bars in Nashville is the venerable TOOTSIE'S. TOOTSIE'S shares its back alley with the original Grand Ole Opry, and so situated, has served thirsty stars like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, George Jones, and innumerable other legends on this street of broken hearts and dreams.
On this particular day, the servers at TOOTSIE'S had the distinct privilege to serve copious portions of golden tequila to none other than your crooning Captain. The band that evening was really terrific, and featured music that your Captain knew all the words to. The lead guitarist was the lead guitar for country star Dierks Bentley. Your Captain was seated right beside the stage. The front man and lead singer was a great entertainer, and kept the crowd engaged...
Then out of the blue, the lead singer asked your Captain if he'd like to come up on stage and join him in singing David Allen Coe's popular party tune YOU NEVER EVEN CALLED ME BY MY NAME. Shy guy that he is, your crooning Captain jumped up on the stage and belted out the tune to a totally surprised and then uproariously appreciative audience (comprised largely of over served wastrels who could barely see nor hear.).
Jane (from Baltimore) one of your Captain's fans...(she thought the Captain was a Southwest Airline pilot...don't even ask how THAT bit of misinformation originated. Hint: It came from the band leader)
...one of the many Southwest jets that your Captain has not piloted...yet
This was the highlight of our stay in Nashville, and if there is any justice in this cold cruel universe, a lucrative singing contract should be arriving momentarily for the Captain's signature.
Heading back to the RV Park we ran into...
...Ben and Laura, friends from Pelican Lake who we had no idea would be in Nashville. (After all, we were nearly 900 miles away from our common ground).
The following day we departed Nashville for Stop #3 on the GAT. (Great American Tour for those with limited recall skills.)
Stop #3 is Lynchburg, birthplace of your illustrious Captain. Here we will once again visit the family.
As mentioned in the summer of 2013, driving across Tennessee is spectacular. Beautiful mountains, valleys and rivers. Great highway...I 40..
But in a few hours we are greeted by...
...from here we will cross one more mountain range (the Blue Ridge) and coast once again into Lynchburg.
In Lynchburg, we'll stay aboard the Beast in Dad's driveway...
...Pop Mawyer's home...
Factoid: All of Virginia virtually reeks with things and places of historic significance. Directly across the road from the home shown above is...
...this place. This is called Poplar Forest (or Little Monticello by some). It was built by Thomas Jefferson and used as his summer getaway from the "bustle" of Charlottesville which, in his day, was much larger than the agrarian village of Lynchburg.
...gratuitous likeness of ole TJ...
The next morning we awoke in Lynchburg determined to visit the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, 19 miles from Dad's home.
Warren, Dad's older brother was aboard one of the first troop carrying HIGGINS BOATS to land on Omaha Beach on the early morning of June 6, 1944. He was with his friends, now known to history as the Bedford Boys.
Warren was among these men that morning...
These young men were 30 strong and were of Company A, 116th Infantry Battalion. Additional boys from Lynchburg were with them as they waded ashore amid a nearly impenetrable hail of 30 and 50 caliber machine gun fire. Uncle Warren was almost immediately cut down in the surf, riddled with German bullets, and thought to be dead, but drug up on the beach by one of his Bedford friends (who died later that morning). Of the 30 Bedford Boys who stormed that shore on D-Day morning, 19 died within minutes. Others died in later fighting. By war's end, only six Bedford Boys came home alive. In other words, 80% of Bedford's fighting age population had been wiped out! Inasmuch as the total population of the village was only about 3200 men, women and children, Bedford sacrificed more on a per capita basis than any other part of the United States. Ergo, the D-Day Memorial is in Bedford, Virginia.
Uncle Warren, who fought with these boys, survived after months and months of surgery and rehabilitation in multiple French hospitals. It was necessary to remove most of his stomach and lower intestional tract, due to the damage the bullets to his abdomen had inflicted. Remarkably, he seemed never to be bitter about the damage done to his body, but rather he displayed a wonderful, dry sense of humor for the remainder of his long life. (He did express repeatedly his gratitude to the soldier who drug him up to the beach and out of the rising waters.)
Factoid: Those who have had such extensive removal of their digestive tract necessarily eat many, but very small meals each day.
Factoid: Teenage boys eat many, often large meals each day.
Factoid: As a teenager, your industrious Captain worked for Uncle Warren finishing concrete. The uncle's need for many small meals coincided perfectly with your young Captain's ravenous appetite. They were the perfect team. (Uncle Warren had a single child, Ruby, who seemed disinclined to finish concrete).
Your reverent Captain had never visited this WWII memorial and now was the time.
...I can easily image the wounded soldier as Uncle Warren...
The Entrance...
Omaha Beach...
The Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc...(unnatural and wide-spread heroism climbing the sheer cliffs)
You cannot see it here, but your Captain is nearly overcome with emotion. These feeble photos cannot do this monument to Courage and Sacrifice justice.
Whew! That was tough to write, and I find myself wishing I could see Uncle Warren's expression if he could view this beautiful tribute to him and his friends from Bedford. (Knowing Warren, I suspect he would say that he could not speak about the realism of the vignettes shown here because he was shot so quickly he "didn't see a damn thing until looking up at that ugly male nurse in St Lo a few painful days later." He really WAS a character...
All too soon it was time to depart and head back to Maryland to prepare the pool at the house for our tenant. That plus there were lots of other more trivial matters which needed some attention before our starting the next leg of our GAT.
...The troops waiting for departure...
...the rolling hills of the Piedmont section of Virginia...
...if you turn left here, you will go directly up Afton Mountain, the real Walton Mountain of television fame...good night, John Boy...
...the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel...the bay is calm today...
The tunnels are only a few feet wide, or so it seems...
In an hour or so we are greeted by...
...welcome to Maryland...state motto, "We Are Broke Despite Taxing You Into Poverty"
...we arrive at the ISLAND RESORT CAMPGROUND...
...and are assigned a great, private lakefront site...
Within a day, your Captain receives a contract to pilot a Tiara Yacht from Annapolis, MD, to Greenwich, CT...
...passing a barge early in the morning on the Middle Chesapeake Bay...
Weather is getting worse. This lighthouse is on the Delaware Bay...
...of course we overtake the obligatory "ghost ship" during a time warp...
As darkness and fog overtake us we approach Atlantic City in torrential rain...
Fueled up, Jimmy the crew is anxious to make a modest deposit at the Golden Nugget Casino where we have docked the Tiara Yacht. (Your cautious Captain, on the other hand does not gamble except when he eats Mexican food of dubious origin. Usually this is accompanied by mescal or some other south of the border elixir.)
The evening passes. Captain Jimmy returns to the boat, where your Captain sits reading, and declares triumphantly that he has indeed, won some of their money. Kudos to Jimmy. Now go to sleep. Morning comes earlier to those nursing a hangover.
Just after sunrise, leaving Atlantic City...
After a few hours running along the New Jersey Coast, we enter New York Harbor...
...and transit under the Verranzano Narrows Bridge...
...soon we come upon a majestic sight...
...Lady Liberty herself...She and what she represents are beautiful...
...further into the Harbor, we encounter...
...lower Manhatten, and proceed up the East River...
...the East River...
...where you can see the Empire State Building...
Factoid: Your Captain, when in his corporate suit had his office there...among other places.
After passing through the washing machine action of the Harlem and East Rivers arguing over right of way (the local ancient seamen call this area Hell's Gate), we proceed under the famous Whitestone Bridge and cruise into Long Island Sound...
...one of many Long Island Sound lighthouses...
A few hours later, the vessel is safely in her new berth in Greenwich, CT, and Captain and crew are in a rented Buick, driving back to Maryland.
...where the Captain and Cimmodorable decide on a reunion dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in west Ocean City...
...our Ruth's Chris friends, l to r, Lindsey, Kelly, Leslie, The Captain, Heather and Michelle. We've known these ladies for ages and love being with them. We always eat at the bar. (Some have visited us at our house, as well)
And so ends the month of May. We've driven about 1,750 miles since leaving Pelican Lake, and made three primary stops, plus side trips.
Relative to May, we expect June to be really quiet for us and the boys...
We'll see...
Great journey and love the pictures. Ya'll have a safe trip. Love your security team! Jody
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