What a beautiful morning. The air was crisp and a warm scent of simmering fires clung to the soft breezes. We packed up and headed out at 8:07am. Our first destination was Mamoth Cave National Park. We initially plugged in the destination as just Mamoth Cave National Park. The route had us heading north up and around the park. It didn't seem right. So I checked the website for the park. A good thing. In bold red letters, it clearly stated to NOT rely on GPS. Instead, to use the physical address of the Visitors Center. We re-computed the route, which saved us an hour...until Siri had us going in the opposite direction. We ended up heading north on the Cumberland Beltway and could not turn around for 15 miles. This Fubar is all Siri's. Instead of saving an hour's time, we ended up only saving 30 minutes.

It was a beautiful drive into Mamoth Cave. Luckily, I was driving slow admiring the changing colors when a deer dashed out of the woods right in front of me. I was able to stop to let it pass.

We arrived at Mamoth Cave approximately 10:45am. Mamoth Cave is a little different than the Carlsbad Caverns. All tours are escorted. During high season, they highly recommend that vistors go online and schedule the tours they want to take. We signed up for an introductory tour that took us through the historic entrance down to the Rotunda with a duration of 1.25 hours. Our guide, Jim, was passionate and very protective of the Cave. The tour was very informative and made us wish we had more time to explore the caves.

After we exited the cavern, we went to the Mamoth Hotel for a bite to eat. Service was slow, but worth the wait. Barb and I shared a BLT with Fried Green tomatoes, which was VERY good. Bob had a hamburger and Walt had Tuna Salad in Avocado boats.

It was a little over an hour to our destination for the next two night. We will be staying at the Nashville North KOA. On the way, we stopped to get gas at a station not far from the KOA. A man came out of the store and noticed our plates that we were from California. He asked what part of California we were from. It turned out that he grew up in Citrus Heights, which is a town not far from us. We talked for bit about life back home and places to eat around Nashville. He recommended Demos, a local chain. It was our turn to cook, but going out was much more appealing.

We arrived at the KOA and got all set up. But something was missing....our gas cap. Luckily, the gas station was not far. Fubar for Bob. While Walt drove Bob back to get the gas cap, Barb and I worked on securing nights in Memphis TN and Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. We also worked on projected timeline for the remainder of our adventure. We may be home by Christmas...just kidding.

When the boys returned from retrieving the gas cap, they went swimming with drink in hand. Barb and I just had drinks in hand...maybe that is why we opted to dine some place close by. It was between Mexican food or a local favorite, Colorado Grill, which was only 11 minutes away. We played cards and savored a glass of wine..or two then headed for the Colorado Grill.

We picked a winner. The food was excellent and reasonably priced and we had a very entertaining waitress, Asia. Every sentence ended in "Cool Beans". We were called Honey Bunches, Darlin', Lovely, and Sugar. She had us smilin' and laughin'. Nice way to end an evening.

Tomorrow, we head into Nashville, Music City U.S.A