Almost there

 Our traveling is starting to wind down and we'll be home before you know it.  We did fit in some activities the last few days as the weather was beautiful on Wed & Thurs.  

We did a 20 mile bike ride on Wed afternoon.  Rode the back roads for most of it but did a little bike trail that took us by Two Rivers Park.  There was a skateboard, rollerblade, & BMX area at the park with lots of users from various ages.  

Stopped and watched them for awhile.  Most were quite serious and was impressed with behavior - watching out for each other, no profane language.  Many were pretty talented.

Wed evening we went to Kenny & the Krooners performance.  Do 50's & 60's music.  Very good!

On Thurs, the weather was such that we got out for a 2 1/2 hour paddle before lunch.  Put in at Hendersonville where the Cumberland River is dammed to form a lake.  (Same place we had tried to put in the other day but the white caps kept us away.  Calm this day!)

3 attached long barges being pushed by the unseen tug boat.

 Nearing the dam.

Really nice paddle and at least we didn't have to face currents or white caps!

Today it rained almost all day.  Finally fit packing the trailer & car in when there was a brief respite.

Tomorrow we start our trip home, stopping for brief visits in Lexington, KY, Beltsville, MD and Pine Grove, PA.  Estimated arrival at home is Thurs, April 4th.  Boy this winter went fast!

Bahhh!! Snow flurries!!

Monday was a cold rainy day so we walked around the Grand Old Opry Hotel.  Beautiful common areas with gardens, restaurants, & stores.  This area had all been flooded a couple of years ago.   

 Area around Delta River Walk in the hotel.  They have a boat that actually does rides on this "river".

Felt like we were outside taking a walk!

 Yesterday morning this is what we woke up to...snow on the tops of cold surfaces!  YUC!

The last couple of days have been cold and flurries could be seen in the air every once in a while.

Yesterday afternoon we went to a free concert here at the resort - Joanne Cash (Johnny Cash's younger sister).  She did an hour of gospel music using recorded music as her background.  Entertaining.  Liked her stories about growing up in the Cash family on a cotton farm in Arkansas.

Another ride

Yesterday it was supposed to be rainy.  It didn't rain and warmed up to the upper 50's so we went for another bike ride leaving right from the resort.  We took less traveled roads and roads marked as "share the road" and were able to ride to the Music City Greenway Trail.  Rode in the opposite direction this time so we were riding away from Nashville.  Lots of hills - glad my new bike has lots of low gearing!

Bike/pedestrian bridge across the Stone River.

Easter bunny on one of the rural roads - made from a round hay bale.  Saw it the other day but didn't have my camera.  Glad I brought it along this time!

Today it is supposed to rain too - we'll see!

BRRR

It was cold here this morning - 32!  Took awhile for it to warm up.  Did it ever reach the 40"s?  We did some errands in the morning and then went for a brisk ride this afternoon.  The wind was mild and it was sunny so it wasn't too bad, though I wished I had my earmuffs when we first started.  Did get a nice 20 mile ride in - right around this area.
Yesterday morning I participated in a water aerobics class at the pool.  Nice work-out.  After lunch we tried to do a kayak paddle but it was so windy we never got our kayaks into the water.  Went back to resort, went to the ice cream social and then played some BINGO in activities center.  In the evening, we went to an hour's performance of Highway 101.  Very good.
Weather doesn't look too promising for the next few days.  :(

White trees

This is the "white tree" we see from our back deck.

Like the looks of it better than what I'm seeing of "white trees" back home!

New Bike

Yes, I bought a new bike today.  Just couldn't wait until I got home.  It is a Raleigh Alysa - a "fitness bike".  Nice and light weight.

 Isn't it beautiful?

We did a 22 mile bike ride on one of their "Green Trails" that takes you right to downtown Nashville.

 A pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River.

 The LB Stadium that the Titans play in.

 Looking toward downtown Nashville - bike trail took us into the city.

 Another pedestrian bridge taking us into city.

 Barge pushing down the river.

One of the statues.

My ride went well.  Bike was smooth - even handled the hills nicely. (I like it better than the one that was stolen and I loved that bike).  

I was feeling better too because I started taking some iron supplements again.  Just couldn't shake the fatigue (reminded me of a few years ago when I had an iron problem).  Seem to be back to normal again.  Could have kept riding!

Bruce struggled with his ride today but he had too many sweets before we left and I think he had blood sugar issues.

Cumberland River

After we found that my bike was gone yesterday, we decided to go for a paddle on the Cumberland River.  Chance of rain but it never came.  

 Bruce

Marilyn  

Doesn't look like much current but if you didn't paddle you went backwards.

It would have been nice to have another vehicle so that you only had to go one direction.  We went against the current to start and paddled 1 1/4 hours.  Took us 15 min. to get back.  When we turned around to paddle back we chuckled about how "far" we got - not!

Boo Hoo!

Went to load bikes on the car this morning and "Oh no!  My bike is missing!  Did you move it Bruce?" He did not.  Someone stole it off the back porch of our ground floor unit last night.  They had to climb up over the railing and lift it out.  Bruce's was still there though.  We reported the loss and then looked around the resort thinking someone may have been trying to be funny and hid it in the bushes.  No, we didn't find it.  Were hoping that maybe someone would find it in their room this morning after an evening of revelry (the basketball tournament is in Nashville and lots of BB fans at the resort) and wonder how it got there.  So far, no sign of it.  We looked at used bikes at a used bike store but I didn't see any to my liking.  Would like to find a temporary solution so I can get a bike from Bike Works in Johnstown, if need be.  Not much luck of the Irish here today - guess I should have put on my green St Patrick's Day T-shirt.  Wasn't in the mood.

Beautiful day

What a beautiful day.  We got another paddle in around the lake and then spent time this afternoon packing up (we head out tomorrow morning for Nashville, TN).  We did take time to enjoy the day though.  This is Bruce's favorite place - next year we may book here for 3 weeks.

Bike doctor

The other day I knocked Bruce's bike over when we were getting ready to load the bikes on the car.  We thought that he just had a cracked mirror but when we got to the start of our ride ,  he was having some big time mechanical problems.  It seems his derailleur got bent.  We loaded the bikes back on the car and made a visit to the local bike shop.  They put a "new - used" derailleur on and we completed our ride.  This afternoon, after it finally warmed up we went on another ride but he was having bike problems again.  Went back to the bike shop and they put another used derailleur on (an insert had come out of the previous one).  We finished our ride.

The bike shop doesn't always use a bike stand for repairs.  Bruce thought it was interesting that they hung the bike with straps from the ceiling.

Temps warmed up nicely so that by the time we rode we had pealed off outer layers.

 More and more trees starting to blossom out.

Forsythia in bloom

Yesterday was rainy & gloomy so it was nice to have a sunny day again.

Spring is springing

It is fun watching spring arrive in Georgia.  The trees are starting to blossom.  Daffodils are blooming and weather is warming.

We have taken a couple more bikes rides on the same route we took the other day.  Legs are taking longer to recover - not used to the hills!

 One of my favorite houses on the ride.

 Cows all facing the sun.

 Fields are starting to green up.

We also did a paddle in the lake right out our door.  Takes about 2 3/4 hours to paddle perimeter of lake because of all the coves.

This is where we are staying - bottom left.

Expect to get another paddle in this afternoon.  Most of our peddles & paddles have been in the afternoon after it warms up a bit.

Atlanta Aquarium

Another cold day today - also very, very windy.  Yesterday when we heard what today's forecast was going to be, we made plans to go to the Aquarium today.  We had heard good things about it and they were all true - it was an impressive place!

 Bruce looking overhead as some fish swim by.

What do you see overhead in the tunnel Bruce?

 You can see how big this young whale shark is in proportion to people in this picture.

 Beluga Whales.

 Penguins

Dragon Fish

One of the highlights of the aquarium was the dolphin show.  I think I was born 30 years too late.  Swimming with and training the dolphins would have been better than synchronized swimming!

More pictures

I had trouble uploading pictures yesterday.  Thought I would add them today.  Pictures were from our bike ride yesterday.

 Scenery was a little different than what we saw in FL.  Lot of farm land here and more hills!

 Bruce's vest came off halfway through our ride.

Bike club has a route marked out on the pavement.  Only ran into a problem when the road had been repaved but we knew enough about the ride that we realized we had gotten off track and figured out how to get back to route.  (Bruce missed the arrows a couple of times - good thing he had me along!)

Today we thought we might do a paddle on the lake right outside our door but there was a wind advisory in effect and a rain prediction.  Rain came in later in the afternoon but it was a warmer day.  We spent a nice quiet day inside.

Brrr to beautiful!

This morning it was cold outside - the water dripping off the water fountain by our room was frozen and I miss wearing my sandals.  By lunch time, the weather was in the low 50's so we dressed in layers and went for a bike ride.  We had to take top layers off before too long.  It ended up being a beautiful day.

 We even saw daffodils in bloom!