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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