Tiffin Motorhomes in Red Bay Alabama

This leg of our trip was to go to the Tiffin factory where they made our motorhome. They have a campground that holds over a hundred motorhomes waiting for maintenance, modifications and repairs. We had a couple of repairs and while there we decided to have the washer/dryer and oven removed and some shelves put in. We also got a great deal on a leather sofa trading out our cloth one. It is so soft and warm. We are real happy with all the work that was done.

They have quite a system for service at Tiffin. At the crack of dawn you move your motorhome into a service bay. After you have gone over the work you want done you are free to stay in their great customer lounge with comfy sofas and chairs, television, tables for your computer, puzzles, checkers or chess. Or, you can go explore the countryside. When they are done with the work your motorhome is put back into your site and hooked back up.

We stopped in and visited Bob Tiffin, the founder of Tiffin Motorhomes. He always welcomes customers and we had a great chat.

We also got to meet Lex Tiffin. He is head of the Paint Shop. We toured it. They allowed us to just walk around and visit with the nice people who work at Tiffin. It is quite a process to paint the motorhomes and put all the swirls on them. We wanted to tour the factory, however, it was a two hour walk and I am not quite up to that yet.

One of the local restaurants with a lot of "character" was Swamp John's. It is in an old service station. The food is great.

Yes, at the end of the day Lance decided to relax on our new couch.

U. S. Space and Rocket Center

Imagine our surprise when we went through Huntsville Alabama and discovered the U. S. Space & Rocket Center. We were staying a few miles from Huntsville so we took time to look it over.

I had no idea how many rockets we have shot off -- Apollo, Orion, Jupiter, Saturn, Juno, Redstone, Atlas, Hercules and more...

Of course, this group of students had their own rockets...one of them landed on the teachers head!

They had a great display on the first rocket launch. The engines were so powerful they would blow themselves apart until they came up with the right combination of heat protection, fuel and configuration. You can actually hear and feel the launch.

These are the real lunar explorers.

To the right is the quarantine motorhome. It was quite "compact".

They have rides there also. This ride creates a 4G pull on you....and you should have heard them scream.

At the Center they had a Space Camp for kids. Here are some little people enjoying their adventures. They also had an Aviation Challenge for adults. Looked a little strenuous to me.

Christmas in Tennessee

Christmas is here already in Tennessee. Right next to Sevierville is Pigeon Forge which goes all out with Christmas lights -- 5 million to be exact.

In Pigeon Forge is Patriot Park - the displays are patriotic.

Down the road from Pigeon Forge is Gatlinburg. The town reminds me of Whistler BC or Leavenworth WA.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Near Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is the Great Smoky Mountains Nationa Park. This time of year it is absolutely gorgous. The fall colors, sun and rivers combine to make you exclaim, "This is definitely God's Country..."