usa: road trip from Columbus, IN to Charlotte, NC

The original plan was for John to pick me up on Thursday morning, then we'd take our time driving back to Charlotte. That plan was delayed by a little over two days, but such is life. John picked me up after lunchtime on Saturday, and we started driving.

Our first stop was in Columbus, Indiana, for lunch. The pizza was good, and I saw a business with my last name :) I've done a day trip to Columbus previously, but didn't get to see everything. This quick stop reminded me that I want to come back and see more.

We kept going until we got to Cincinnati, Ohio. I got to drive much of the way, which was fun. Though the U.S. doesn't have a good public transport system, it does have a good network of highways. (Notice that I didn't say that all this infrastructure is in good shape, because it isn't.)

Cincinnati is a city of almost 300,000 people, founded in the late 18^th century. Wikipedia tells me it sits at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio Rivers, I only knew it was on the Ohio River. Clearly I need to go back and make sure I see the Licking River, just because it has a fun name.

I grew up going to Cincinnati every summer to watch the Cincinnati Reds play at Riverfront Stadium. The stadium has a different name now, but it will always be Riverfront to me. We parked the car near the riverfront walkway developed by the city, and started walking. We didn't get far before deciding to cross Roebling suspension bridge. Crossing the bridge took us over the state line into Kentucky, a state in which we had zero desire to spend any time.

The water of the Ohio River was not particularly good looking, it was a shade of brown as far as I could see. Yuck. Somehow I doubt it ever looks all that great.

Just after coming off the bridge I realized I was rather dehydrated, and needed water quickly. I'd heard about an ice cream place called Graeter's that was originally from Cincinnati. It has now spread to other cities/states, but the fact that it was originally from Cincinnati made it okay for me. (My general rule being to avoid national chain restaurants.)

I drank a bottle of water really fast, then enjoyed two scoops of black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. I would most definitely go back for me the next time I'm in Cincinnati.

From there we wandered around a little bit of the city center, enjoying the architecture of the sky scrapers. We didn't wander far, heading back to the car soon enough. I've since checked a couple travel apps and found plenty of things to do and places to see in Cincinnati, I'd like to go back. (With plenty of water.)

We started driving with no end point in mind for the evening. We pulled into a hotel parkplatz a little before midnight, after having crossed state lines into Knoxville, Tennessee.

The next morning we decided to explore a bit of Knoxville, just because we could. I'd been there once before, when I was 18 years old and trying to decide where I would go to university. I don't remember much about that trip, it was nice to go back and basically see the city from scratch.

We found a free parkplatz downtown, near a pedestrian street. The street was nice looking, everything had been developed nicely. This pedestrian street was mostly lined with cafes and restaurants, nothing too extraordinary.

We walked to the end of the street, circling around a few streets down there. One of the buildings we saw was the old county courthouse, it still has a war memorial on the lawn. Another building we saw was one of the most boring government buildings I've ever seen. We also saw a church or two. As it was the middle of summer, flowers were blooming, and everything looked lovely.

Finally we saw something we'd seen while driving into the city center: the tower of the convention center. There is a gold ball at the top of the tower, the whole thing is really eye catching. The rest of the convention center wasn't anything great, which wasn't much of a surprise.

The bottom of the tower was near a small body of water, which had also been redeveloped nicely. There was a splash pad, steps by the water, etc... Not too far away we found a war memorial for the soldiers of east Tennessee. Very nicely done, with maintenance done regularly.

Around that point I realized that yet again I'd let myself get dehydrated. We walked back to the pedestrian street and found a local cafe. The server brought water, which I drank immediately. We asked for a full pitcher of water, she brought another glass for each of us. I drank that fast as well, finally feeling closer to normal again. When she saw how fast I was drinking she realized I had asked for the pitcher of water for a reason, and finally brought it. Our food was fine, and the air conditioning felt good :)

Before leaving town John found a cigar shop to visit, but didn't buy anything because he didn't want to spend that much on rolled up tobacco leaves. I had no idea cigars can cost more than $100!!!

From there we went back to the car and got back on the highway. Our next stop was Asheville, North Carolina, because I was craving ice cream. I found a place listed on a travel app, it was okay, but not as amazing as I wanted it to be.

From there we drove to Charlotte. I'd never been there before, it was completely new to me.

I would definitely return to Columbus, Cincinnati, and Knoxville, as there is always more to see and do :) Road trips are the best.

tennessee and virginia: bristol

My friend Nancye used to live in Utah, but during the past year she had moved to Bristol, Tennessee. I had never heard of the town, but if you are into car racing, you probably know the name. I drove from the north side of Chicago to Bristol in one day. Not a fun drive, but not awful either. The worst traffic was when I crossed the river from Indiana to Kentucky, as they are building a new bridge. All the rerouting is really confusing. Note to google maps: fix your directions to nancye's house, you had me turn the wrong way onto her street!
The first night we stayed up chatting and catching up. She was a year ahead of me in high school, but we have a lot of friends in common and still keep in touch with many of the same people. She also suggested a place to meet for lunch the next day, and told me some places I could visit in town.

I had good intentions. I intended to get up a few hours earlier than lunch, explore a little, then meet Nancye for lunch. Instead, I slept a lot later than I expected, and barely made it to lunch. 7 minutes late. Argh. A lovely sandwich place. We sat outside, it was nice. Her office wouldn't mind working with this restaurant for some events, so she chatted briefly with the manager.
Then she went back to work and I walked around for a bit. Bristol is not a big town. I'm not sure how it works, because the town is located in two states, Tennessee and Virginia. State street, basically in the middle of town, is the border between the two states. There are boundary markers all the way down the street. Pretty nifty. Apparently there are two high schools, both named Bristol. Sales tax is higher in one state, income tax is higher in the other. At one end of the street there is a big sign over the whole street: Bristol TN VA, a good place to live. The sign has been there since the 1920s if I remember correctly.

While walking around I found the chamber of commerce, which has postcards. 50 cents for each. That's crazy! But seeing the photos showed me the existence of the boundary markers on the street, which of course made me want to take my own photo. In addition to these markers up and down the street, there are state flags down each side of the street. Tennessee on one side, Virginia on the other. During this short visit I wasn't able to figure out if people from each side have a strong sense of state pride. Hmmm, things to wonder.
I also found a fudgery. I don't know if that's a real word, but they had a lot of fudge, so I was happy. There should be more fudgeries around the world.
I saw the old train station, it's still quite pretty. I don't know if trains till come through the area?
In Cumberland square park I saw a couple memorials. I think one was WW2, the other was a big plane.

This park was across the street from the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Apparently, back in 1927, a guy working for a record company came through the area and recorded a number of groups. These recordings are considered the birth of country music, as the style of music was different from what was heard around the rest of the country. There is an entire museum built around these recordings. You can listen to several of the recordings, watch a video explaining what happened, see some of the equipment used back then, etc... It's a small museum that can take quite a lot of time if you want. I didn't rush through, but I  didn't dawdle either.
Twice during my walk I ended up talking to people on the street because they started the conversation. You've probably heard something about friendly southern folks. One guy was rather impressed with himself, I found out (without asking) that he did high level security clearances for the government. 

Two ladies in an olive oil shop were quite passionate about olive oil.
Nancye arrived home not long after I did. We picked up subs from a place called Zero's and went back downtown for some live music. Bristol is the birthplace of country music, but is no longer the center of the industry, which is Nashville, TN. Howeva, people in Bristol still love live music, and there are plenty of ways to hear it. We took our subs, and a blanket, and went to a small park in town to listen to a band. Apparently this happens several nights a week, and plenty of townfolk show up to listen.
The next morning Nancye went to work again, and I did a much better job of getting out of bed at a reasonable hour. Why is this so hard to do when I go to sleep at a normal hour? 

My first stop was Bristol motor speedway. If you're into car racing, this is a well known place. (I'm not, so I'd never heard of it, but I figured I should visit a place so well known in the life of some people.) Twice a year a whole lot of people come to Bristol to watch cars race in circles around a half mile track. I don't get it. The ends of the track are very steeply banked. You can see how steep it is when workers are on the track, they can't stand up straight. I think I read that a car has to be going at least 80miles per hour in order to make the turns! I think you can take yours which involved going around the track in a car, I had no desire.
As the track is only half a mile, it's not big. So the stands around it go up more than out. I imagine it gets very loud during the races. I was excited when I saw one of the grandstands is named after me: Johnson grandstand (and terrace too!)

I hopped in my car (the same fabulous Prius) and drove to another area of town: to Steele creek park. Along the way I stopped at a hole in the wall for lunch, grilled cheese. Yum. Also on the menu was a bologna sandwich. I had no idea anyone would order that, let alone eat it!
Steele creek park isn't huge, but I liked it. The entry fee was $2, not bad. I'd looked online, and it seemed that I could find trails going around a small lake. It took me a minute, but I found what I wanted. The trails on one side of the lake were steeper than I expected, but well done. They were mulched, and easy to follow, but I still felt I was getting a physical challenge of sorts. Very pretty, except for the bugs. I hate bugs.
The other side of the lake trail was very flat, made of cement in some places. Due to the time of day I was there, this side was also very sunny. I didn't have much water with me, I wasn't feeling so great when I finished. 

Thank goodness for the water and Gatorade in the car :)
After I got home, Nancye picked me up and we went to a short yoga class at her gym. Nice way to stretch into the weekend.
The weekend we filled up with two day trips. (Read the other posts.)
The following Monday Nancye went to work and I went into town again. I mostly walked the streets just to see what I could see. I made another visit to a bakery I already loved. There is no such thing as too many brownies.
I had lunch at a place called Manna, a bagel sandwich and soup. In hot and humid weather I never want heavy food. They had plenty of yummy sounding items on the menu. Nancye tells me it's a great place to go on sunday mornings, when everything else in town is closed.

In the afternoon I met Nancye on her campus, she gave me a tour. King university is a Presbyterian school. There are approximately 1000 students on campus, half of which are athletes. There are another 2000 students online. Tuition is not cheap, but the campus is beautiful. Some of the athletic teams are national champions! She introduced me to one of the coaches, who happens to be Ukrainian. Awesome. At the bookstore I loaded up on postcards, much more affordable there.
After the tour we left campus and drove to yet another area of town. We visited the south holston dam. It's very different from any dam I've seen before, I liked it. I don't know how much water the area holds, or what happens when the rain is strong. There are flat trails around the area, we went for a stroll. There weren't too many people out there, it would be a great place to go running.

The next morning I packed up, and met Nancye on campus one more time. She gave me a King University swimming t-shirt, and we said our goodbyes.
Then I got 'on the road again.'

tennessee: great smoky mountain national park

Friday evening Nancye asked which which sounded better of two national parks: Cumberland gap, or the smokies. After spending a few minutes looking online, I chose the great smoky mountains national park.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast, hopped in the car, and took off. Funny story from a petrol stop along the way: I went into the store in a petrol station to pick up (unhealthy) snacks, and realized it was also a drive through station! People could drive up to the window, and the clerk would run around the store picking up the snacks they requested. Americans really are lazy. I know my food wasn't healthy, but at least I came into the store myself to get it!
A bit over two hours later (it should've been faster but I failed at my job as navigator) we arrived at one of the entrances to the park. There were a lot of people, not enough parking, and a bit of chaos.

We got a basic park map and asked one of the park rangers for information. I'd wanted to hike a specific trail to a waterfall, but we were nowhere close to that trailhead, (one of my failures as the navigator,)  and would've had to drive more, which neither of us wanted to do. (Not more than a few minutes anywho.)
We decided to go to clingman's dome first. The park ranger promised great views over the entire area, and a short hike.
After figuring out which way to exit the parkplatz we drove the twisty road to another, smaller, parking area. This one was basically 4 rows of diagonally parked cars on top of a mountain. The views along the way were also pretty nifty looking. We got lucky, and found an empty spot, there were almost none of those; there were a number of cars circling the area.

To get to clingman's dome we walked about half a mile up a paved path. Kinda steep for a walking path, you could see some people having a bit of trouble. It's the kind of steepness you feel in your calves, even if you're in shape.
Clingman's dome is not a natural formation. It's cement, almost like a tower reached by a curving ramp. When you get to the top, you have 360 degree views, and signs showing you what you can see. As we were there on a relatively clear day, we could see quite far.
One of the uglier things we could see was right up close: the awful effects of acid rain, which happens all too much in this area due to pollution. This pollution also stays in the area on 'clear' days, so you can't see as far as you once could from this spot.
The overall effect was beautiful though, and I'm glad we saw it.

If you ever hike the Appalachian trail, you'll go through this park. Suiting our walk up to the dome we saw a couple signs for trails of the Appalachian trail.
Then it was time for a picnic lunch. Nancye is awesome, and had packed some food for us. I'm terrible at thinking about those things (I'm good at remembering water, but not much else,) and I was starving by that point. What is it about spending time in a car that makes you so hungry even though you haven't moved too much?
As we ate, we sat on a wall that allowed us to look out over the mountains. Beautiful. Way off in the distance the mountain ridges look blue. So peaceful.
We briefly stuck our heads in one of the ranger stations up there, it was also a store. Surprise surprise, I bought postcards. :)

After lunch we drove back down, stopping for a while at a creek. It's fun to play in the water and walk on the stones. We took photos, of course.
Our next stop was a place called laurel falls, one of a bunch of waterfalls in the park. Not surprisingly, I failed again at my navigator job, and we accidentally drove out of the park. Ooops. We got a chance to turn around, and took a photo by the park sign (you know, that whole gotta prove you were there photo.)
After another stop at the information center, we figured out how to get to the falls, it wasn't far. If I remember correctly, the distance from the trailhead to the waterfall was about 1.5miles.
We were the only people on the trail, but there was a general sense of quiet, which I loved. Since we were walking through the forest, the views were completely different than what we had seen earlier. One group we passed said they had just seen a baby bear. Nancye knows bears like I do, (enough to know you don't get close,) so we looked for the cub but weren't too upset when we didn't see it.
The waterfall wasn't big or stunning, but it was nice. Another photo, of course. I loved that kids were playing in the water. It's always good to see families/people outside, enjoying nature, being active.
On our walk back to the car Nancye and I each checked our pedometers, (smartphones have them these days,) and had totally different numbers even though we knew we had walked the same distance. Just a note to those dependent on their Fitbit/Apple watch/etc: they're not always accurate.

We left the park a different way than we had come in. Neither of us wanted to deal with the traffic mess that is gatlinburg. This different exit is what we should've used in the morning to enter the park. Oh well. It got us back to pigeon forge a bit more quickly, where we were again stuck in traffic. People who live in the area must hate it every weekend.
On the way to the park in the morning we passed heaps of pancake/breakfast places, and decided to visit one of them for dinner on our way home. Go figure, most of them seem to close at 1300 or so. How annoying. Who doesn't want breakfast for dinner? Eventually we found a diner which had a reasonable sounding menu.
We made it back to Bristol all safe and sound and happy.