Our latest RV chapter kicked off in Tennessee, tucked into the super-peaceful Seven Points COE campground in Hermitage. Honestly, this place is such a gem — quiet mornings, pretty lake views, and just enough distance from downtown Nashville that you can unwind after a busy day of exploring.

And explore we did. We hopped on the Nashville Hop-On Hop-Off bus, which is absolutely the easiest way to see the city without fighting traffic or parking. From music history to quirky neighborhoods, it delivered the perfect sampler platter of Nashville life. We capped it all off with a night at the Grand Ole Opry, soaking in the whole “pinch me, we’re really here” vibe.

After Nashville, we cruised up to Lexington, Kentucky, settling into the Kentucky Horse Park Campground — horse country at its finest. We visited the Horse Park, of course, and then made our way to Woodford Reserve, Sam’s all-time favorite bourbon. The distillery tour was beautiful, classic Kentucky, and you could practically smell the history (and the bourbon!) in the air.

From there, we aimed for West Virginia with our sights set on New River Gorge National Park. But the road had other plans. Somewhere along I-64, we literally lost an entire tire — gone. The axle bent, and that was that. We limped into a rest area and spent the day camped out, waiting for a tow to Glen’s Towing.

Glen’s tried everything to find us a used axle, but no luck. The timeline? Six to eight weeks. Yikes. Sam tracked down a brand-new axle from Lippert (the original maker), and thankfully it could be shipped in just two weeks.

With the trailer stranded, we headed to a hotel for the night — Annie’s first hotel stay, and she nailed it like a champ — and then we packed the truck and bee-lined it back home to Vermont. No New River Gorge this time, but we did get to catch the very tail end of the fall colors at home, which felt like a soft landing after the chaos.

So that’s where this adventure wraps for now.

Next up: heading back to pick up the trailer and a full recap of our “Golden Gap Year” on the road.