Catching Up to Date...

After we left the Clinton Library in Little Rock we drove to Dickson, Tennessee and stayed the night. Next day we continued east to Crossville, Tennessee. This area of Tennessee is known as the plateau area. That night the wind came up and blew like crazy. It rained also so we kept indoors. We did go to the Waffle House nearby. We love the Waffle House! We got waffles for dinner and enjoyed every bite of the syrupy goodness. Can't do this often, though, as we'll grow too big around the middle!

We arrived in Knoxville, Tennessee on Wednesday, March 25th and just stayed, once again, at their local WalMart. We had planned to meet some friends for dinner that night. While we waited for the appointed hour, I got busy with some work on my cousin's photo album I'm preparing for her. It rained most of the day so it was good to just stay indoors.

At 6:00 our friends, John and Linda, arrived to drive us over to the restaurant they had selected for our dinner. We met John and Linda in 2006 while we were all touring Alaska that summer. They are a great couple and we really hit it off with them. We found ourselves camping at the same RV parks in different towns in Alaska by sheer coincidence. The live in a really big Airstream trailer while they are traveling. We have kept in contact via e-mail since that summer of 2006. When they learned we were coming thru Tennessee this year they asked us to stop off in their hometown of Knoxville.

John and Linda went back up to Alaska last summer and we were interested to learn about their trip. We went to a restaurant, by the Tennessee River in the heart of Knoxville, called Calhoun's. We all enjoyed a 1/2 rack of BBQ ribs, creamed spinach and corn pudding. You can't get much more southern than that! You get really good BBQ in the south. We spent about 3 hours with them and had a wonderful visit.

In Knoxville we saw the stadium where University of Tennessee football team play their games. It is one of the largest college stadiums in the country. John told us that during football season many, many houseboats pull up to dock there on the river. He said that they are all crammed in and go out across at least 5 deep. Folks just walk from one to the other to get to their own boat. That is a new way of doing your tailgate parties.

The next morning we left Knoxville and headed to the state of Virginia. We enjoyed scenery of green rolling hills along the way. We connected with I-81 from I-40 and drove toward our destination of Salem, Virginia.

We will be staying here in Salem, for a month. My cousins live here and we haven't seen them in 4 years. We've never had the opportunity to stay for a lengthy visit and so we are doing that now. My cousin, Gail, has recovered from recent breast cancer surgery and is now undergoing 6 weeks of radiation treatments. I'm glad we are here at this time in case she needs any help during this period of treatments.

We won't be doing a ton of sight-seeing while here in Salem since this is mainly for a family visiting time. But we will be doing some things, so I'll keep blogging about our experiences here in the Roanoke Valley.

Clinton Presidential Library and Museum

Monday morning we drove from our camping site at the WalMart in Little Rock, Arkansas to the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. It has been opened for about 4 years. The building is a very modern structure that cantilevers out over part of the Arkansas River. This dramatic glass building represents a "bridge to the 21st century."

There are 3 floors comprising the public spaces. The ground level is basically your security checkpoint, a ticket desk, and the presidential limousine President Clinton used during his 8 years in office.

The second floor has an orientation theater with a 12 minute film, narrated by President Clinton. It features details on his childhood years, education, and career in public service which culminates with his presidency. It was a very well done film and the theater was very comfortable. Also on this level, is a full-scale replica of the White House Cabinet Room that utilizes interactives to introduce visitors to the critical decisions made under this administration.

At this level there is also a detailed timeline with key events listed and videos are presented that introduce each of the 8 years. There are also alcove exhibits on either side of this level with copious documents, photographs, and memorabilia displayed. Of course, everything supports a positive opinion on everything during the Clinton administration....but that is the main purpose of all the presidential libraries and museums, so one cannot be critical of that fact.

The third level highlights more of Bill Clinton's biographical materials and mementos during his childhood years. There are also several exhibits showing "Life at the White House" through the splendor of state events and gifts. A complete table setting is displayed on this floor showing how things had been set up for a particular state dinner. Very beautiful and I have included a photo of that below.

The third level has a full-scale replica of Bill Clinton's Oval Office and I have included a photo of that as well. The Oval Office sure had a lot of knick-knacks and I'd hate to be the one having to dust all of that stuff everyday!

Our opinion: We felt it was well worth our time to visit this library and museum. We enjoy all of the presidential libraries very much, and I think we've now seen them all. For a president that had served 2 terms, however, it seemed like there should have been more to see. Even President Ford's museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan seemed to house more memorabilia....and he had a very short administration, although a long term of public service.
That being said, we still think that you can benefit from checking this library out if you are ever in the Little Rock area.

Full-scale replica of the Clinton Oval Office. Example of tabe setting for a state dinner.

Miscellaneous reports from the road....

Note: I try my best to get my text a certain way and use paragraph indention and so forth. I also try to get any photos placed where I want them to be. Well, it all looks great while I'm typing and then sometimes when I click "Publish Post" the thing morphs into something different. Sorry for any inconvenience or lack of continuity....I'll keep trying!

Thursday, March 19:

We left Amarillo, Texas this morning and headed east toward Oklahoma. There was a stiff breeze blowing (anybody say tornado?) as we left the area. Typical for Amarillo and the wide open spaces of Texas. We drove out I-40 and before we got to the OK state line we saw a big billboard for the "Jesus Is Lord Truckstop, where never a swear word is spoken". That is nice but we didn't see it and we didn't need fuel yet anyway. We got into Oklahoma City in the mid-afternoon and got fuel at the Flying J. It was only $1.73 a gallon...yeehaw! We found a spot off to the far side of their parking lot and stayed for the night. There were about 3 other RV's doing the same.

Friday and Saturday, March 20 & 21:

We didn't travel too far on Friday and we got to the town of Checotah in Oklahoma. We arranged for a campsite for 2 nights at the Terra Starr RV Park. It was a great place right on Lake Eufaula. It is early in the season yet so the place was almost empty. After we checked in, a nice lady came and invited us to the clubhouse for some couple's anniversary party. That was nice of her. We did not take her up on the offer but it was so friendly of her anyway.

On Saturday it rained off and on all day so we just stayed indoors. I got a chance to catch up on all the laundry and do some work in my photo album project. There was a group tornado shelter situated directly behind our motorhome. That was either a comforting thought or an eerie one....depending on your point of view. There were lots of birds in the trees here just singing their little hearts out. I don't know my flora from my fauna so I was at a loss as to what type of birds they were. It was a pretty sound and it seemed they were announcing the arrival of spring.

Sunday, March 22:

Left Terra Starr park this morning and got back onto I-40 heading for Little Rock, Arkansas. Arkansas....Home of Tyson Chicken, WalMart and the Arkansas Razorbacks. As we drove along the highway the scenery was getting a lot greener than it had been in Texas and Oklahoma. The trees here are leafing out and really looking pretty.

Just before we got to Little Rock we passed a turn off to Toad Suck Park. Huh? I looked that up on the internet and it said that the local legend reports that Toad Suck was a popular spot for bargemen on the river to pull over and drink rum and moonshine. They are said to have sucked on bottles of rum until they swelled up like toads. There you go...Toad Suck!

Just outside Little Rock we located a WalMart for tonight. We got parked and went into the store and bought some groceries. Tomorrow morning we are driving over to the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library. We love historical places, especially all thing presidential. So, no matter our opinion of Clinton as a president or a man, we will not pass up an opportunity to see this library. The architecture is supposed to be wonderful. I'll take a couple of photos for a future posting.

The Big Texan Steak Ranch -- Amarillo, Texas

Would you like to eat a 72 oz. steak and get it for free? Well, pardner come on over to the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

We first found the Big Texan in 1989 on an RV trip through Amarillo. The steaks were fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We've come back 3 other times over the years and have never been disappointed. So when planning this journey we decided to stop once again and have some fun.



Last night we ate here and got the smallest Sirloin steaks on the menu, which were 8 oz. servings. We got 2 side dishes, rolls and a Strawberry Shortcake dessert we split. We did not plan to have the FREE 72 oz. steak because there is a little catch with that one. You have to eat the whole 72 oz. steak, a salad, a baked potato, 3 fried shrimp, and a dinner roll in under 1 hour in order to get it for free. If you cannot complete the deal....you pay $72.00 for that meal.



The Big Texan was established in 1960 by the Lee family and is still owned by them today. There is also a Western style motel with a Texas shaped pool, a huge gift shop, arcade, saloon, and a dining room to seat 500 hungry cowpokes. New to the menu since we'd been here last is grilled salmon for you non-beef eaters.



While we were eating, 5 young men made their attempt to eat the FREE meal. The staff brings them up to the front of the dining hall and they sit at an elevated table where all patrons can see them. There is a big countdown clock on the wall to let them know how much time is left. Only one of the guy's time was up while we were there and he did not make it. That is a heck of a lot of food, even for a very hungry person!






Here is a photo of Big Texan.

This is the amount of food that you must

consume within the hour.

These are the 4 remaining guys who

tried to eat the big meal. We do not know

if they made it or not. Our waitress told us

that very, very few people have ever been

able to get the job done.

We saw The Big Texan Steak Ranch

featured on the Travel Channel program

Man vs. Food recently.

Give the Big Texan a try the next time

you go to Amarillo. It is right off of Interstate 40 and you can't miss seeing the big cowboy sign or the giant cow by the building.

Enjoy !!