Sunday, June 21, 2020

SLOUCHING TOWARDS SEVIERVILLE


SMOKY MOUNTAINS GETAWAY
We had been watching the news with great trepidation for weeks now. Anxious over recent spikes of convid-19 in various states that had eased restrictions on the pandemic that is still ravaging this world we watched as Tennessee was highlighted in the nightly television news graphic that showed the Volunteer State was having problems. Not until two days before our departure was Tennessee no longer seeing a rise in cases. Our concern was personal after all; we were going there! We had decided to get out of the house for a road trip to stay in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennessee and it would have been bad luck to wade into troubles.

In deference to the pandemic and smart social distancing we have made this a road trip. Instead of flying we rented a car and are driving from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. This is a big concession for Janet. She does not like long road trips and has placed her limit at no more than 6 hours a day in the car. Me? Heck I once drove from Lambertville, NJ to San Antonio, TX in less than two days to research my second novel, The Music Made Me Cry, and I made a point of taking a lot of back roads mimicking the actions of my characters.

VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS
So, rather than driving directly to Sevierville Tennessee, which is just outside of the revelry of Pigeon Forge and Dollywood, we left a day earlier and stopped in Harrisonburg, VA which is right off I-81, the major thoroughfare in western Virginia. We mooched a night’s stay with a college friend of Janet’s. Of course, we made arrangements weeks beforehand and didn’t just knock on her door.


She was so happy to see us that she bought us beer! After a time of reminiscing on her back deck we went OUT for dinner. That was the first time in months we had been out like this. We sat at outdoor seating, appropriately distanced from others. All the servers wore masks. Janet and I were so happy to be out that I graciously paid the bill, although our hostess offered to pick up the tab. (One must open their wallets in order to ensure future moochability you know.)

GREG’S WAY v GETTING THERE
Readers of this blog know I am more of a meanderer when it comes to driving, but when you are traveling great vast distances one must approach the road with alacrity. Still I loathe driving on busy highways and before we reached Highway 81 which runs brisk but really without non-threatening Kamikaze weavers it was only after several hours of driving along tertiary roads. Normally I wouldn’t mind the slower pace, but with every slow-moving truck and every construction site and every traffic jam (Route 15 outside of Gettysburg was stopped for a while) the clock was ticking and Janet’s patience was waning, as was mine!

When we finally reached our friend’s house we were spent! But being greeted by our friend with her brilliant smile AND a couple of cold six-packs made everything all right. It was a good stop.

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