Day Two’s destination was Knoxville. We weren’t in a particular hurry to get there. I’m sure it is a perfectly lovely city, but it just didn’t SPEAK to us.
Natural Bridge on the other hand, almost shouted “stop! Ya gotta see me!” , so we did, and we did. Once inside the Natural Bridge complex, and it IS a complex, we decided to forego the wax museum, the toy museum, the Native American village, and yes, even the Natural Bridge, in favor of the caverns. Hey, they had large pictures of the bridge. I can’t imagine that the real deal
would look a whole lot different. Besides, it was getting a tad hot, and we figured the caverns would be a nice, cool break from the heat.
We weren’t disappointed. The caverns were quite beautiful, and the sweet young guide did a stellar job telling the story of their creation, as we descended 34 stories into the earth. At least they SAY it is 34 stories. I find that highly doubtful, given that we not only walked down, but back up. Regardless of the depth, it was a fun experience.
The moss on one wall almost had a Jurassic Park vibe to it.
It was fairly dark down there, so it was a bit of a challenge to get a photo that does the stalactites justice, but I gave it a shot, so to speak.
Although day two covered almost 400 miles, the drive wasn’t tedious. Great company, glorious scenery and enough stations on Sirius to keep us entertained and in a Tennessee state of mind–who could ask for anything more?
We managed to get hungry just in the right spot…near Daleville, the home of the Three Little Pigs Restaurant. Now, I’m not an expert on barbecue, but I have to say, they had the finest pig I’ve ever tasted. Plus, we loved the decor.
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I'm thoroughly enjoying letting this trip unfold, with little to no preplanning. It is quite a novel experience for me, the Organization Queen. Greg pointed out we are practicing "just in time" delivery, something that Toyota does…and look how successful THEY are.
Our last minute hotel choice proved to be an excellent one, just west of Knoxville, one exit past the Adult SuperStore. No, we didn't stop. Something told us there would be several similar establishments along the way. We sure were right about that, but we were moving too fast for me to snap a photo of the billboards.
Wanting to relive the Cinco de Mayo experience, we chose a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and managed to catch a birthday celebration. The waiters sang, dressed the birthday boy in hat and serape and did SOMETHING to get that white gunk on his face. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough with my camera to capture exactly what.
Heading to Nashville for Day 3.
Destination NOW 