Do I hear them out there again? Yes they are!
Welcome to the small community of Norris, Tennessee, home of today's match at the Norris Disc Golf Course. This is a free-to-play nine hole course situated within the woods in the heart of the small, hillside, yet somewhat self-contained city. This is a short but technical course, and although any shot trackers you use won't be the most accurate, the signage to guide you around is some of the best you'll find in the country. Our players will be playing the short tees for the first six holes, and the short baskets for the final three. How did our players fare?
Course Result:
His Holes: 2
Halved: 6
Her Holes: 1
Course Record: Him 10 - 4 - 15 Her
Holes Record: Him 67 - 98 Her
Hole one had a bit of an odd start with a converted shuffleboard court being a sideways tee, as our players halved this. Hole two saw him have some bad tree luck along with a missed putt, as she made par to take the lead. Though the trees would continue to plague him on the third, she found herself deep into the rough leading to another halve. Four would see a more respectable four-shot from each of the players to keep it close. However, a bad shot into the rough on five gave him the opportunity to tie the score, and he capitalized. After a halved hole on the six, a missed putt from her led to him taking a difficult seven and the lead in the match. He almost gave it back in the rough, but a missed putt allowed him to scramble back to a halve. Trading missed putts on the nine, he was able to hold on as our players halved the hole. The shot count was 43-all.
He is now in the double digit win column, but can he gain any momentum from this? We'll find out next time, but until then, be sure to Follow Your Internal Compass.
Trip number 25 saw the Freedom Rolling crew staying at the Raccoon Valley RV Park in Heiskell, Tennessee. This is a privately owned and sponsored park just outside of the greater Knoxville area. A two week stay was had here.
Grounds: Raccoon Valley is well situated for access to many things around the area, only about a mile or so from Interstate 75. With Knoxville being nearby, there are plenty of resupply opportunities available, as well as other sights to see. And if you don't mind the drive, even Nashville can be done as a day trip.
Sites: This park has 68 full-hook up sites, a combination of back-in and pull-through. However, with the actual park sitting along a hill and the sites at an angle, the gravel pads themselves are not flat, so be ready to use leveling blocks. These are also probably the tiniest sites that you'll find for a privately owned campground, so we were barely able to fit everything. Although they have both 30 and 50 amp service, be prepared to pay extra for 50 amp service.
Staff: Though we seemed to have an acceptable experience while reserving, we came to find a rude and condescending person running the park when we arrived, and seemed like they were stalking during our stay. It was someone we encountered before, and actually chose not to stay at another campground because of the same person, who had since been transferred to this park. Maintenance decided they were going to pesticide spray near occupied lots with pets present, making a difficult situation for the fur baby.
Amenities: The park has very limited things to offer within its grounds, including a dog park and nature trails that patrons were discouraged from using. Laundry facilities exist, but be prepared to use extra quarters for the dryer. The bathrooms are stocked in such a way that the management insists paying customers do the housekeeping work, with squeegees and spray bottles at each shower and an abundance of signage to the same extent. We've seen this at some of this corporation's other locations, and felt lucky we weren't harassed about it this time.
Atmosphere: This campground is certainly meant for the 55+ crowd, as families didn't seem as welcome. If it weren't for Knoxville being nearby, this may very well have been a disaster of a location to stay, as it was incredibly uncomfortable, and was one of the leading factors to us doing further due diligence and changing plans for another of the corporation's parks.
Overall, Raccoon Valley RV Park receives a six out of a possible 10 rating. One of the few redeeming factors for this location is the price, as it is lower than many of the other parks where we had stayed during this recent run. Unfortunately it is not enough to salvage the experience had, as if our Internal Compass brings us to the Knoxville area again, it would be best to choose a different campground.
Another trip is behind us, and we have returned to our previous trip's location. What has happened, and what have we learned from this?
First off, not all the equipment survived. High winds not even worthy of a special weather statement took out the canopy AND the tent we brought. The tent barely fit the air mattress we were using as it was so it's not a complete disappointment, but those cheap setups from major outdoor retailers are incredibly flimsy and don't hold to anything other than calm desert sunshine. At least the grill and air mattress survived, as we still have use for those with our primary RV setup. So the first lesson learned: Find better quality materials.
Secondly, we've certainly found that we are destination-bound travelers. What we mean by this is that we aren't simply cruising along, looking at every little thing, nor doing that ridiculous 2-2-2 or 3-3-3 that some RVers seem to love. No, we go for aggressive travel days, and we may have over-compensated on scheduling this time around. Looking to do over 1500 miles in a day and a half, mostly because of an appointment, proved tiresome. It's not the first time we've done a long travel day, as we've been known to do over 600 in a day while pulling the RV, and cross-country in four days. However once we did the return in about two days and a couple hours, mostly around a desire to get back to our home, that tells us what we look to do on travel days. Don't get us wrong: The open road is probably one of the most peaceful places you can ever be, and we absolutely love being there, with him behind the wheel and her riding along. However, lesson learned: 750 miles per day while light is comfortable, 1000 is aggressive but doable if we must, but under no circumstances do we drive through the night unless we're forced to do so.
Speaking of that, let's take a look at accommodations. Motels are way too expensive, so we don't use them. Campgrounds close early and we usually don't know where we're going to make for a particular day, as much as we can make a guess. So that leaves rest areas and truck stops. Yes, states crack down on these, but there's some wiggle room for if you're not fit to drive. Even when heavy, we try to let the truckers settle as much as they can since long-vehicle parking is at a premium and we don't have time limiters electronically forced on us. Needless to say, a pickup truck is not a SUV. We can't exactly stick a futon mattress in the back and sleep there. And when you're in the wild, not exactly good to use the truck bed. Switching off may have worked if we were adjusted for it, but we couldn't exactly do that because of what happened before and during the travels. Couple with filling the cab with all of the necessary items meant the seats had to effectively stay where they were.
At the end of the day, what we've figured out is that we'll need to bring the RV when we travel longer distances. We're already bringing half of what's in there anyway, and it'll make for better accommodations where we are. Unfortunately only one of us is comfortable driving it so we're stuck with 500-600 miles per day, but we can make it work if need be. Long story short, we can travel with the truck in a pinch, but only up to the one day limit. Anything beyond that, we take the RV.
So until the next time we look to get on the road again, be sure to Follow Your Internal Compass.
Once again, off to the links they go.
Welcome to Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville, Tennessee for today's disc golf match. The course at Victor Ashe Park is free to play, and both the design and outside gates lead us to believe that this may have once been home to a traditional golf course. Today, it hosts an 18-hole course along with many walking paths and other amenities. For today's match, our players will be playing a "modified nine", which has previously been discussed but not actually done. They will go through holes 1-5, but instead of going to a different section of the park, head to hole 15 and finish out the course. In addition, because of the water hazard at the first tee, our players will modify hole 1 and play an "alternate tee" that is on some maps, despite no tee box existing on the course. The blue short baskets are in play for this round. With all the ground rules out of the way, how will the players do?
Course Result:
His Holes: 3
Halved: 0
Her Holes: 6
Course Record: Him 9 - 4 - 15 Her
Holes Record: Him 65 - 97 Her
The alternate tee proved rather difficult for our players, though he was able to take hole 1 and jump out to a lead. It wouldn't last long, as two missed putts cost him hole 2 and she tied the score. Missed putts would continue to plague him, as she take the last lead on hole 3. She was once again able to pick up another hole, this time on 4, and a missed putt from him gave her the game winner on hole 5. The missed putt woes continued for him, as despite some better driving from him, she was able to seal the match on hole 15. With the game iced, she had some trouble in the rough, while he was finally able to get a 4 and win hole 16. The rough and missed putts plagued both our players on the 17, but he was able to pull out the win. Those trees would prove to be detrimental on the 18, though, as she would take her sixth hole for the match. The shots were 48-52 in her favor.
Will she win another? Will he pull it back? Will their handicaps improve? You'll find out next time, but until then, be sure to Follow Your Internal Compass.
Dine like a swine for five ninety-nine! OK, it might cost a little more than that these days depending on where you go, however for this edition of Freedom Rolling's pizza reviews, we'll be looking at a few buffets to see how they stack up against the competition. Is it a better deal to go to one of these, or is the quality at a traditional pizza shop more worth the value?
They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and buffet portions are certainly able to satisfy this claim, especially at Port A Pizzeria in Port Aransas, Texas. First started over 30 years ago, Port A Pizzeria has been servicing this island community with both their dine-in buffet, as well as a traditional take-out or delivery option with basic Italian fare you'd find at most pizzerias around the country. Coupled with a sports bar-like environment on the inside, this has become a relaxing place for the gulf visitors to enjoy, while at a surprisingly economical price for the location that benefits the locals and thrifty visitors. So don't feel like you have to venture to the mainland for some well priced grub; give Port A Pizzeria a try.
Come for the pizza and get your fill of fried chicken! That's what you'll experience at Pizza Ranch, a buffet-style pizza outlet with many locations across the Midwest and Rockies. First starting in Iowa in 1981, Pizza Ranch offers several different varieties of pizza, many with cowboy themed names, at regular intervals to their customers. What's most unique about this place is that if you're not really feeling like pizza, you could head over to the bar with fried chicken and all the fixings that you'd expect with that sort of a dinner. Some locations will also include an arcade in the back to help keep the kids occupied between plates or during a party event. So if you're looking for pizza but not sure what you want, maybe give this buffet a try.
Next trip finds us on the edge of the college city of Clemson, South Carolina for Joe's New York Pizza. Founded in 2009, Joe's services three different locations in the Clemson area with both buffet and traditional pizzeria services. The Clemson location offers a weekday lunch buffet in a bright and inviting restaurant. The ambiance is very much dedicated to the local Clemson Tigers sports teams, with some memorabilia in the bar area in support of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Joe's pizza knows how to do the product the way it should be, with a thin cracker-like crust that allows the toppings to be the main feature. The buffet will not offer the same foldable slices you'd be able to get with the larger pizzas at this establishment, but the dessert pizza is one where you will want to save room. If you want good pizza while in the area, Joe's is a must-have for everyone.
So while you Follow Your Internal Compass across this great nation, be on the lookout for pizza buffets where you can get your fill, whether stationary or on the road.
In the immortal words of Willie Nelson, "I can't wait to get on the road again." That sounds like a good idea, so we'll do it.
Trip 27 is going to be taking us to the destination state of South Dakota. Yes, for the fifth trip, that's where we're headed. However, this one is going to be a little different in that we won't be bringing the heart with us. This is not only to save on fuel costs, but also because of a bit of a time crunch in scheduling what we intend to do when out there. You're probably wondering why we'd make this a trip, and some of our other truck-only adventures to not be as such. We had a couple "strictly business" travels during trip 18 and the lead-in to trip 19, so that's not going to qualify. There are a few times we've crossed one or two borders to go visit something, and clearly those aren't going to count as separate trips, either.
So how are we going to pull this off if we're not in the RV? It's time to give the old tent a chance and see if this will still work in a pinch, or if we're getting too old for it. This isn't the first time that we've tried such as thing, as before we had the RV, there were a few tent excursions that we've previously mentioned. Let's dust off the cobwebs and see what's possible in our traveling lives. Worse comes to worst, we return to the truck and use that, as it wouldn't be the first time.
As we embark on our next trip across this land, we remind you to Follow Your Internal Compass wherever life leads you.
Looking for a historic scenic drive? Perhaps you don't want to pay hefty tolls along the Penna Pike? Try this drive on for size.
Welcome to Interstate 68, the National Freeway, and one of the routes across the Appalachians towards the midwest. This highway follows one of the first highways that the US federal government built in its infancy: The National Road, now known today as US Route 40. Although the upgrade to interstate standards was not completed until the early 1990's, and the interstate's right of way departs from the National Road west of Keyser's Ridge, the National Freeway still remains a highlight for scenic driving in Western Maryland, which was on our bucket list of places to go.
When first approaching the highway on the east side, after seeing Pennsylvania in one window and West Virginia in the other due to a combination of natural (Potomac River) and political (Mason-Dixon Line) borders, you are greeted with the long Sideling Hill and welcome center. This cut through the mountain is a sign of what is to come. Meandering through the Green Ridge and Rocky Gap state areas, you eventually come up to the city of Cumberland. Be careful with this drive, especially if you have a trailer behind you, as the steep hills and tight roadways bring the speed limit all the way down to 40 MPH, and for good reason. After clearing the valley, it's back to the scenic driving of the open road in the far west portions of Maryland.
Eventually as you continue west, the country road takes you home to West Virginia, and the breathtaking views of the surrounding wilderness continue. West Virginia offers a bit more of an "open road" setting while driving the highway, heading through Coopers Rock State Forest. Eventually, you are led along a southeastern bypass of Morgantown, home to West Virginia University, and the end of the National Freeway at Interstate Highway 79. There have been several plans in the past to extend this highway further west, but none have come to fruition. From this point, drivers will either head south to dive further into West Virginia, or head north to Pennsylvania to rejoin either Interstate 70 or the National Road on the way to the midwest.
So if your Internal Compass tells you to head west and you find yourself presently near the Mid-Atlantic, maybe give the National Freeway a chance. You might find it one of the most scenic drives you've had in quite a while.
Off they go to another course!
Welcome to Powell Station Park in Powell, Tennessee, just on the outskirts of Knoxville for today's disc golf match. Powell Station is a free-to-play nine-hole course situated on a municipal park near the local high school. Although this is a shorter course, it can be deceptively tricky with the number of trees protecting the holes even along the fairway. Signage is fairly good, including how to get across the dried-up creek bed. Most importantly with this match, how did our players do?
Course Result:
His Holes: 1
Halved: 1
Her Holes: 7
Course Record: Him 9 - 4 - 14 Her
Holes Record: Him 62 - 91 Her
Right off the bat, this was not going to be a good game for him with some short fairway shots. Our players traded missed putts, but she had enough to win the first hole. On both holes 2 and 3, a shot into the rough cost him, as she took both. A misdirected tee shot put him further into the hole, as despite traded missed putts, she takes hole 4. The missed putts continue for him, this time costing him hole 5 and sealing the victory barely halfway through. Things get worse for him, as bad tree luck slows him up, giving her a sixth win on hole six. Despite traded missed putts, she was able to get to the green quicker, leading her to take yet another hole. Things would turn around for him on the eight, as a missed putt gave him the win and prevented the sweep. He had a chance to also take hole 9 with bad tree luck from her, but a missed putt from him halved the final hole. The shots were 45-51 in her favor, a complete domination as he was unable to break five shots on any hole.
The competition is starting to look out of reach, but can he pull anything back? We'll find out at the next course, but until then, be sure to Follow Your Internal Compass.
Welcome back for another brew review! Today, we take you to Magnetic South Brewery on Main Street in Anderson, South Carolina to see what they have to offer. As with this and all other brew reviews, please ensure that these, or any brews, are enjoyed in accordance with local laws wherever you may be.
Starting off this time will be the Hitman Hops IPA. A citrus scent comes from this hazy colored brew, yet upon first sip, the hops come to you in a very controlled manner that is not overpowering to the taste buds. The roof of the mouth will experience an aftertaste, but is not too bitter that even the beer drinking novice will be able to tolerate. This seems to be a good all weather choice for any season that you'll want to grab if you happen to be in the area.
Next up is the Legacy American Amber Ale. This particular offering was created in memory of a fallen inspirational brewer in South Carolina, and is the result of a collaboration between many other brewers in the state. Once greeted with the traditional amber scent and brownish red color you come to expect, the first sip will bring a little bite to the taste buds on what is otherwise a fairly smooth brew. There is a slight aftertaste that will be left after drinking. Although this is a fairly average selection when compared to other ambers, the tribute is enough to be able to choose this at least once.
As full time RVers, we can't wait to get on the road again, so what a better fitting brew for us then the On The Road Again Brown Ale. First presentation gives a golden brown color but with no noticeable scent found. One sip is found to be not heavy at all when compared to other brews in the category, going down smooth with no aftertaste to be found. If you're finding yourself in the transition of seasons, around the time of the equinoxes, this is the perfect choice to help your taste buds through the change. Just make sure you're not having it immediately before going on the road again.
Finally on the docket we come to The Raven, a Czech Dark Lager. This brew is proudly dark when presented with no scent to be found. Though many dark drinkers will prefer themselves over to the stouts and porters, this selection has an earthy flavor that reminds you of a stout, but without all the aftertaste from those other ingredients as it smoothly goes down without any bite. If you're in the colder weather but have said "nevermore" to the stouts, this will be a wonderful alternative to drink.
On a side note, although we enjoyed a number of the brews at Magnetic South, we were a little disappointed by the customer service of one of the bartenders, as she seemed to favor the regulars while basically ignoring the first time visitors. There is a second location in the larger city of Greenville that may be better. This isn't to take away from what is otherwise a good product, but if your Internal Compass takes you to the area and you want to try this brewery, be careful as to when you go and who you see.
Trip 24 saw Freedom Rolling taking a trip up to Delaware State Park Campground in Delaware, Ohio, just north of Columbus. This is a taxpayer-subsidized park in which a five night stay was had.
Grounds: This park is situated along US Highway 23 on the shores of the Delaware Reservoir, which was created by the damming efforts of the Olentangy River by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Although only a few miles from the resupply city of Delaware and a half hour from Columbus's northwestern suburbs, the area is fairly remote and isolated with limited cell phone reception. The park itself is quite expansive covering two-and-a-half square miles, with a large day use area at no charge to visitors as of the time of writing this, and a bit of a drive back to the actual campground itself.
Sites: The campground section contains 214 back-in campsites across four sections. Each section has a rotary around the common bathhouse with five cul-de-sac branches along which the campsites are dispersed. Each campsite is 30-50 amp electric only, with the dump station having a potable water fill so you won't have to travel heavier than usual, and drinking water is available at the bathhouses and cul-de-sac circles. The pads are asphalt paved and angled for an easy back-in, but aren't the most level and may require using overflow parking for those with larger rigs. However, the grassy patio is quite large and easily able to fit a canopy tent.
Staff: In addition to the friendly staff we met at check-in, although we didn't have much interaction with the maintenance staff, it is quite evident that everyone, from the hired staff to the volunteer hosts, takes great pride in the park they maintain.
Amenities: In addition to the aforementioned site-related amenities, the park has so much to offer across both its campground and day use areas, including two beaches with one being dog-friendly, two disc golf courses, playgrounds, hiking trails, a putt-putt course, and one of the cleanest dog parks with agility course and "stick library" we have seen in our travels. Those looking to bring a boat along would be able to use the launches to enjoy their time on the water, or be able to fish in some of the smaller ponds also around the grounds.
Atmosphere: This campground seems to be a wonderful, family friendly resort that has something for everyone. With our stay being during the week at around the time of school starting, there wasn't too much activity happening until the weekend started creeping closer. Had we visited during the peak of the summer season, this may very well have been quite the happening place.
Overall, Delaware State Park Campground is one of the short few to receive our illustrious 10 out of a possible 10 rating. Although this is only going to be available for a short term stay, the price really isn't so bad for the multitude of what is offered. We would be more than happy to return to this park if we're ever in the area again, and if your Internal Compass ever takes you to Columbus, Ohio, then this is going to be the place where you'll want to stay.
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