First Trip

September 05, 2022

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to my blog, thanks for being here. In this blog I am on my first big trip in my unfinished van I am converting. I left MS traveling North to Watertown NY via The Natchez Trace that I am following to the end in TN, first time I have ever traveled to the end going northbound. Check that off the ole bucket list!

I jumped off the Trace in Alabama to go to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia AL. The walls are lined with Alabamian inductees. The first induction was held in 1985 and occurs every other year. The first 4 inductees in 1985 were Rick Hall (owner of the famous Fame Studios), Buddy Killian, Nat "King" Cole and Hank Williams Sr.

If you are ever in the area close to the Hall of Fame stop in for a visit. It's well worth your time. I left the Hall of Fame and went down the street a bit to eat lunch at Two Fat Sisters restaurant. The food was good, and the glass of sweet tea was huge! I didn't leave hungry from that place! In fact I was stuffed and miserable!

I then traveled to Muscle Shoals AL to see the famous Fame Recording Studios. I didn't stop in but you can do a tour if you like. I traveled on to Sheffield AL to the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios museum but it was closed. If you have never heard of the Fame Recording Studios and the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios then it's worth doing some research to learn of their history about them and the Swappers. Plenty of documentaries on YouTube about it. The music that came from those two places are still just as popular today as they were back in the day. Amazing stuff! Anyway I'm back on the Trace heading North.

Once I get off the Trace in Tennessee it's time to find a place to pull over for the night. I decided to stay in a Walmart parking lot somewhere in TN. Next door that night they had a fireworks show. I watched the spectacular fireworks exhibit. Perfect ending to a so far perfect trip. Me and my van on the road. I slept really good, didn't hear a thing. Those sound machines really work..

I will say that I have been nervous on this leg of the trip. The uncertainty of the places I have never been to before. The unplanned part of not knowing where I will sleep at night. My first night sleeping in my van in an unfamiliar place. Part of that stems from my childhood insecurities of not being able to walk into a place I have never been in before by myself as a teenager and young adult. As a grown adult and the help of the Lord those insecurities are behind me for the most part. Sometimes in certain situations they try to creep back in. I have to fight through them. Thankfully those times are few and far between these days. But when they do try to creep in I force myself to face them by getting out of my comfort zone. This van life is forcing me to face some insecurities being out here in unfamiliar territory alone traveling a different journey in my life. For part of my security my sister follows me on google maps. She knows exactly where I am at, even when I don't! I have no sense of direction whatsoever! I stay in a constant state of lost looking for google maps to rescue me and I have a Garmin also just in case for backup.

I didn't do any more sightseeing along the way to NY, I was in a hurry to go see my grandkids. I did stop at a rest area somewhere in NY along the Chautauqua Lake. It was interesting to read the history of the lake and stretch my legs a bit.

I also saw a gigantic something on a 18 wheeler, I didn't know what it was.

I learned later it was a blade for a wind turbine. That thing was massive.

More driving, this van is so comfortable to drive so I didn't mind the miles. I finally arrived to see my grandkids. We have a week's worth of adventures planned while I am with them.

First we go to Clayton NY 1000 Islands located on the St Lawrence River. We took a glass bottom boat sightseeing tour to Rock Island Lighthouse. It was a beautiful day making memories with the grandkids.

Our next trip was also a boat tour. We went to Boldt Castle on Heart Island. What a beautiful place! George C. Bolt started the construction in 1900. Six Stories with 120 rooms, this place is gigantic, extravagant, and absolutely gorgeous. No expense was spared building this castle with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian Gardens, a drawbridge, alster tower ( kid's playhouse), and a dove cove. Four years later his wife passed away and he stopped the construction because he was building it for her. For 73 years the castle was left to the mercy of the wind, rain, snow, and ice and of course sadly vandals.

In 1977 the property was acquired by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority. Since 1977 the castle has gone through and is still going through rehabilitation and improvement of all of its structures. They have a gift shop, the proceeds from this shop and the tours are used to restore the castle. We spent the whole day at the castle exploring all the rooms, you can even see the rooms that are not finished. It's absolutely a must-see place if you are in this area.

We went to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton. This museum has over 300 unique boats and artifacts. It has a working skiff livery. You can walk along the platform to watch them working on the boats. How neat is that!