Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 August 2010

Up early and contact the owner of the rental who gives me the go ahead to repair the cooling system of the Luvshack.

Bloody hot last night with only the fan so I get in contact with Rickys Mobile RV repairs. Rick tell me that he will be around at 4pm so off we go on the trolley bus shuttle to Dollywood. Similar to the Wonderland or Movie Worlds with the exception that they are softy over here so with the first six dots of rain all rides are shut down until an expected storm is to appear. Getting close to the appointment with the RV Doctor so we return to the park.

Ricky a bloody nice bloke get on the roof and finds a couple of wires which have rubbed through on the compressor and in 15 minutes all fixed and the Luvshack is cooling down.

After this we are recommended to the Golden Corral for dinner an $11 buffet of seafood and big thick rare sirloin steaks as well as all the other goodies.

Now Scottie let me tell you that you would be proud of your parents being very thrifty as your old Gsrden Centre customers. On arrival at the campground you scavage through all the advertising material (Tourist) and look for the COUPONS, found one for the Golden Corral which gave us $2.66 of our meal. BARGAIN

Having filled the food receptacles we return to the campground and get some rest for the big adventure tomorrow.

I had got talking to old mate the shuttle driver and asked him about bears. He tipped me into a secret road where he guaranteed bear sightings.

First things first and I kept the motor running on the getaway car whilst petal investigated a shop called Little Dollies Needlecraft and Quilts. Had to fill the Luvshacks tanks twice while I waited and lo and behold she comes out of another shop proudly displaying a T Shirt that she like with a bear on the front for me.

Bit like Bali, they did'nt have one in my size, King Kong Aus or Small American (both the same size) so you wait and we will print you one. She did and they did. $7.99

Got one herself $6,99 so we could dress in the compulsory RV couples similar dress code.

Its time now to go to the secret location 24 miles away in the Smokey Mountains, but it seems that someone had leaked the location and there were a lot of people there. On arrival it is a 10 mile single lane one way loop road. As I talked to the ranger asking whether the Luvshack would be Okay, I here a message blurt on the two way radio "350, 100 feet behind us." I naively ask what a 350 is and he said,"Bear of course."

With location in head and map in hand we take off at the 10 mph limit and before we reach the location we find a number of people on the side of the road. Turns out there are a mother and two cubs in a tree 200 yards from the road. Whatch them and some stupid animals (humans and parents) who have moved into the middle of a clearing about 100 yards from the bears.

After half an hour we keep on motoring and when about three quarters around the loop the car in front stops in the middle of the road, the woman jumps out of the passenger seat and points to a bush about five feet off the road and about fifteen feet away and mouthes the word BEAR to us. We cant see it but all of a sudden Humphrey sticks his head of the bushes and says, 'Suprise' He then walks calmly in front of us and into the forest on the other side of the road. Petal has now nearly had an accident from excitement and the Luvshack was rockin and rollin.

No more sightings but what we did see was wonderful including deer with velvet on there horns.

Time stands still for no-one and a quick return to base, shower and its time to go to Dollys Dixie Stampede. Although I have never been to the Stockman Spectacukar at the GOld Coast. Dinner and show around an arean with the two side of the arena either supporting the North or the South. We were supporting them Dixie Southerners.

Now how DID I find myself standing in the middle of the arena, in front of 1000 people. Why was I throwing toilet seats around a metal pole in front of these screaming Yankee maniacs.

There are five tiers around the arena with one waitress servicing a number of people on the one tier. When we seated our waitress, Marie asked if I was Freddy Wheelbarrow or something similar. When I said No, who is he she replied he was a famous, wait for it, cage fighter in America. "Don't you know who he is?" I said if he hasn't been to Australia no I don't? She was impressed and then asked what sort of shoes was I wearing,and I showed her my new special shoes, fine size 13 New Balance straight from Chattanooga.

Ok we are having dinner and watching the trick riding etc. Bye the way the meal was once again quite sumptuous. A plate in front of you and no eating utensils, It is explained via loud speaker that we must eat with our fingers as the settler did. Bowl of cream soup with fresh cooked bun, fukk barbeque chicken, full slice of loin of hickory smoke pork. baked potato. cob of corn and apple turnover. Into it up to the armpits whils Lib did her best with hers. Anyway during the meal they had representatives from the audience represent there side in competitions in the arena, children had live chicken herding, husbands and wives had horse races on a broom stick horse etc.

We are onto the apple turnover when Marie comes up and says come with me. Up I get and she takes me around backstage where I introduced to one of the participants in the show and a representative from the show and we are told that we are in a horseshoe throwing competition. He then explains that when we enter into the areana we are to crouch low like two sharpshooting gunmen. Ok So thats how I ended in the middle of the arena. Whichever representative wins, wins a victory flag for there side of the arena, in other words the Southerners for me.
It is then explained that we were now using horseshoes but had three throws with US toilet seats instead. Winner is the one with the closest to the peg. Long to short I came away with a win and a Dolly Dixie Medal.

On presentation of the medal central arena I was asked if I came from Orstralia and who I was with and when I mentioned the Petal the spotlight was put on her in the crowd, much to her delight. THe commentator asked what it was like to have her husband throw toilet seats in front of 1000 people.

At this stage as the crowd had been egged on during the night audience participation was immense and I was high fived, hand shook and Big Johnned as I returned to my seat.

As we left at the completion of the show someone called out,Big John you have left something behind and we found it was our commemerative photo.
Well this tipped Lib over the edge and couldn't believe the Big Johns as we left. Bloody cacked myself.
Can now add, Performed on stage at the Dixie Stampede for Dolly on the resume. Think Willy Nelson might have his nose out of joint.

Nust off to bed now. Sleeping with the medal as it is so precious to me being from Dolly.

Night y'all