H-90 Dandridge L H 76 L 64 RAIN H H 62 L 54 RAIN M H 76 L 58
L-63 C H 96 L 71
Bear update: The Bear says Piratesses Were Escaping On Motorcycles Party. TR says, “We caught them until Julius McCoy interfered.” Moose say, “At least they’re the real McCoy, Bear!” Lou says we will have a Julius McCoy Party. We will serve Appalachian Foods.
We woke up to sun. Will it last? It lasted, and the temperature in Dandridge climbed to 90.
Tucson 104/81 Radford tomorrow 88/68 Brooklyn 81/66
We woke up at 7:30AM. We got dressed and drove to McDonalds for breakfast. We checked out of room 124 at 10:14AM. Our first pit stop was at exit 300 in Monterey at a Citigo station to get gas. It was the most country station yet. I actually tried out the ATM for the first time on this trip, getting $20.00 cashed from Fidelity Checking. We went to Hardees. It looks just like Carl’s Junior. The second pit stop was at McDonalds at exit 322. It was our last pit stop in the Central Time Zone. We’re about to change time at exit 340, right before our lunch stop at the McDonalds at exit 347 which is already advertising on billboards miles ahead of time. We stopped as planned at McDonalds. There was a train right beside the restaurant. Gary took some photos. There was lots of grass for the dog. The fund lady from US Steel phoned us. One more week. Christine Lewis called from Pittsburgh. I got the rest of Sabaka’s schedule. She’s going to email us directions how to get to her house from the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Sunday. The next pit stop was exit 373 at a Pilot Travel Center to get ice cream and a flat of water. Then we stopped at a Pilot to buy Kenny clip ons at exit. Finally we arrived at Dandridge (or Dandruff) and went up a grade to the Quality Inn where we checked into room 120. They told us we get 10% off at Perkins Restaurant. We went there and they didn’t have the ham steak. They also didn’t have a strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I wouldn’t go back there. We took the pets for a walk. I snapped a photo of Gary, the dog, and the Smoky Mountains.
It’s amazing how little of the topography of Tennessee I remember from the 1990’s. Maybe that’s because it’s so unremarkable — or at least it was. In the 90’s I lived in Virginia. I’d lived in the East all my life until then. But from the perspective of living in the West it seems entirely different. I don’t think that now I would forget how East Tennessee is rolling. You go up hills and around bends in the road without ever seeing a mountain. People tell you that they are there. That’s the only thing that explains the roads. But they don’t remind you for a minute of western mountains with their passes and elevation markers. You don’t see snow-capped peaks or sky islands. You don’t see architecturally sculptured rock. In fact you can’t really see much of anything as you drive along except the road itself and the trees lining it on either side. At one point right after 340 when we entered the Eastern Time Zone were were coming down a hill. To the right was a vista of ground hill mounds. I guess those are Tennessee mountains.
We noticed a sign for “shine wine” at the Crossville exit at 322 on I-40 in Tennessee. The sign said: “Wait over. Hillbilly shine wine now bottled here.” Right next to it was a sign for BEAN POT. Yesterday we saw an ad for a cowboy seafood house. I’ve also seen an ad for a CHOP HOUSE, which apparently was a steak house. What is all this slang, y’all?
The Dog/Cat Report:
Sabaka is an adventure dog. He sometimes looks out the window every minute, counting on more excitement around every bend. He adjusts better than anybody else to the ever-changing scenery and time zones. He sees a sign for the Knoxville Zoo. He imagines himself walking through it on a leash examining all the exotic species.
There was a never-ending crowd of onlookers in front of our big picture window motel room at the Best Western in Cookeville. What were they gawking at? The cat, of course, silly! Putlitz didn’t flee. He just stood there and stared back.
The cabin on the ship is 269 square feet. The balcony is 77 square feet. That includes the bathroom. The closet is 4 feet long by 2 feet deep. There are drawers in the closet. There are other drawers. There is room under the bed. There is room to hang clothes. There are two chairs on the balcony. You could scour up another chair. I have to come up with a packing list.
Still no contract . . .
What next?