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Published: June 21st 2013
Laurel Falls
Relaxing in the sun and hiding from the tourists. After the cruise in the Bahamas, Jhene and I headed to Orlando where we were faced with a very difficult decision. We had limited funds and limited time and two life changing opportunities before us: Taylor Swift in concert or the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
With only minor hesitation, we decided on Harry Potter. We were Tennessee bound and T Swizzle would surely be performing around her hometown. Or, even better, maybe I would run into her at Olive Garden with her mom.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Orlando Florida
We did it all. As we walked on to platform 9 ¾, the train station whistle welcomed us. We strolled down Diagon Alley and visited Borgin and Burkes and the Apothecary. We went to Hogsmeade where we sent postcards from the Owl Post. We visited Zonko’s Joke Shop, Honey Dukes and stopped at a stand for butterbeer. Disappointed it was not real beer, we went to the Three Broomsticks and sat in the dark cool pub sipping beer so dark our ears curled.
We rode on Hippogriffs over Hagrids hut and fought dragons in the Triwizard Cup. We got a tour of Hogwarts and
shook hands with Dumbledore himself; Harry, Ron, and Hermione even waved to us from a tower before disappearing under the invisibility cloak. Now if only I could get that wand to work, life would be perfect.
Touring through Florida and Georgia
After the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we drove north on 75. Exhausted from the heat, we were both tired. After two hours but my eyes were getting heavy with the weight of the day’s excitement. Jhene was already sound asleep in the passenger seat. There was no waking her to drive. We had planned to stop at a cheap hostel she found online. I did not want to spend the money, but she was not excited about sleeping in the car. However, she slept in the car now so I deemed her earlier argument void.
Around midnight, I pulled off at an exit in Lake City close to the Georgia border. A busy gas station/Shake and Steak was bursting with life. Truckers filling up, high school students evading their curfew, and travelers stopping for a midnight caffeine hit. I pulled into an empty spot off to the side, rolled down the windows and put
the seat back. I was out in seconds.
I woke up the next morning to a lawn mower and an empty car. This could only mean one thing: Internet connection and coffee time. I found Jhene at a table in Steak and Shake. She was in the zone: ipad on its 1970’s pastel green stand, phone in hand, and cords interwinding between a coffee cup, bowl of oatmeal and plate of toast. After I ate and published a blog, we were on the road.
It was 10:00 am. The 75 was clear of traffic and the sun was out. Vegetation became greener and more lush as we made our way north. We drove the four hours straight through to Atlanta, stopping for gas only when needed.
In Atlanta we spent time with Jhene’s friend Tony. He was half Korean so I automatically liked him. On top of that, his quirky humor and friendliness made me feel as if I were with an old friend.
At a coffee shop, a friend of Tony’s joined us for some local brews. At one point, Tony and I had to use the restroom. Through a hallway and down a flight
of stairs we found ourselves in an awkward abandoned basement with a couch. An occupied bathroom was on the other end of the room. I had a plan.
Tony and I sat on the couch. Me on his lap. As soon as the bathroom latch unhitched we wrapped each other with our arms and pretended to make out, forcing the bathroom user to awkwardly have to cross the room right in front of us in dead silence.
Back on the front patio of the coffee shop, I saw the guy who had walked by us downstairs. His green shirt gave him away. We were sitting on the ledge right outside of the door when I had another idea. Tony and I switched partners. Tony and Jhene sat cuddled up holding hands while I had my arm around Tony’s friend. The guy with the green shirt was coming out of the door with a woman.
“Hunny,” I said leaning in closer to ruffle the friend’s hair, “We don’t have to go to that movie tonight if you don’t want to.”
I caught a glimpse after they passed. The green shirt man looked abhorred as he took a
King of Pops
Meeting the maker himself. second glance.
Jhene and I decided to play with some acroyoga in the parking lot. At one point we got some excited hoots from men in a passing fire truck.
“I can do that too!” Yelled the fireman in the back of the truck as they drove by a little later. “Look, I’m doing it!” He had his leg up in the air and the biggest smile I had ever seen.
Tony shared other Atlanta treasures with us such as Cafe Intermezzo, and a local seafood place with upstairs patio seating. Jhene and I walked around and checked out a small area of town. We loitered at the King of Pops stand where we tried multiple locally made frozen ice cream bars. My favorite was the red velvet. In true ALT Fashion, some local wonderer asked us if we wanted to do coke.
The Hills of Tennessee
After the weekend in Atlanta we were back on the road to middle Tennessee. Before we knew it, we had crossed the state line and passed through Chattanooga where we caught Interstate 24. The landscape was lush and green. We drove over the the Tennessee River with
Enormous Cross
One of the many we passed on the side of the highway. its’ ripples shimmering in the overcast and catching the reflection of dense forests on all sides. Tranquility would have overtaken the bridge and engulfed the little green Toyota Corolla completely if oncoming traffic wasn’t there to remind us that we also had a place to be. We were headed to Murfreesboro where we would spend a few days with my brothers and explore Nashville.
After the Tennessee River we trudged on, up the mountain at Monteagle. Up we went for what seemed like miles. The little green Corolla felt as tired as we were. She was telling us so, and I give her a little gas to give her that final boost to get up over the hill. That was when realized the gas pedal was already at its max.
In fact, it was floored.
“Uh, Jhene, this is as fast as she will go.” As I spoke the words we had begun a steady decline from the speed limit.
“It is?” She asked in a subtle panic.
Moments later the the check engine light came on. We were slowing down and the Corolla was loosing power. I brought her to the median and she
puttered to a stop with the grace of a wounded bird.
We had not seen and town for miles and neither of our phones had service.
“Welcome to Tennessee,” I said nonchalant tone.
We sat for a long moment.
“Do you think she will start again?” Jhene asked.
“We can try.”
There was no smoke, no loud noises, no overheating, nothing except the check engine light and the oil light. I knew she was old, but not that old. This 1998 Corolla was the newest car I had ever owned. We let her rest for a minute.
I turned the ignition and she started. She sounded normal, fine, happy. We got back on the highway. We made it about a quarter of a mile. We could see the next exit. The Corolla spazzed, clanking and rattling. Grumbling in anger. She began to die again and her engine let out a final angry rattlle. She gave up right at the base of the exit.
We sat in her for quite some time. We had cell service now but it was late in the afternoon on a Sunday. No mechanic shop was open. I
Murfre - esboro
Our Hitchhiking sign. called Geico to see how to use my roadside assistance. Despite upgrading my insurance plan only a month before specifically to be eligible for roadside service, they said it did not show up on my account. We were on our own.
We had about a quarter of a mile to walk up to the gas station. We took out our valuables and started the trek up. As we did so, it began to rain.
Hitchhiking, Manchester, TN
The good news was we were only an hour from Murfreesboro where my brothers lived. Rather than having them drive a two hour round trip to come and get us, it made more sense for us to bum a ride with someone already headed in that direction. Jhene stood outside at a bench and watched our gear. I casually stalked the isles of the gas station making friendly conversation with truckers, locals and teenagers to see which direction they were headed. No luck. I bought a sharpie and got 2 sheets of some recycled paper from the cashier. I went back outside and outlined the double sheeted sign:
Sheet one: Sheet Two: MURFRE ESBORO
Hitchhiking is
actually illegal in the state of Tennessee so we had to be sneaky. Jhene grabbed her backpack and I grabbed my suitcase and we walked to the freeway onramp. I held one sheet and Jhene held the other. Our first truck came by; we each held them up next to the others and smiled. The truck waved but passed by headed over the bridge in the other direction. A car drove by and sped off past our measly sign in the direction of our destination.
“Look cuter,” I told Jhene. As we lowered our paper signs and sheltered them from the drizzle.
Another truck was coming. We waved and smiled. He slowed down. We got excited. He made the turn onto the ramp and sped up again.
“At least we are getting closer,” I said.
Shortly after a Chevy Cobalt pulled up and stopped.
“You guys need some help?” A man asked.
“Yes! Our car broke down,” I said.
“We don’t usually pick up hitchhikers, but then again you don’t look like the typical hitchhiker...” His wife was smiling at us in the driver seat.
His name was Pace and his wife’s
name was Evie. They were headed up past the boro.
It was good they stopped because the sprinkling picked up and our little paper signs would not have lasted much longer. He loaded up our bags and we got in the back seat. They seemed about as nervous as we were. Evie suggested I called my brothers so they didn’t worry. I did.
“He is worried,” I said after I got off the phone. “He said he hoped I had a knife or pepper spray or something.”
Pace looked unsettled. It was not the right mood to make a joke. “I guess I should have patted you guys down before I let you in,” he said in all seriousness.
Eevie laughed. “Oh well.” She said.
We made casual conversion throughout the trip. They dropped us off at my brother's door step. We were extremely grateful for the kindness and generosity and glad to find that they were not axe murderers.
We spent a few days going back and forth between Manchester and Murfreesboro sorting out the car situation. The Hackett Brothers Automotive in Murfreesboro recommended an auto place in Sewanee where they knew a
good mechanic. Not ever having to get a car towed before I did not know I had to leave the key. So we drove down to deliver it. They towed it in for us and gave it a look while we sat in a cute cafe in downtown Sewanee.
Turned out the motor was ruined due to there being no oil in the car. I had checked the oil before leaving Islamorada so either an oil leak developed between Florida and Chattanooga or we hit something and created it. Either way our faithful car was no more.
We had to come back down the next day to meet tow truck from the salvage yard. We called them at 8:00 am and told them we were headed down. After spending breakfast and lunch at our cafe, waiting out a torrential downpour accompanied by a lively thunderstorm, and making four phone calls to check on the status of our tow, it was clear they were not coming. I drove up to their shop and made arrangements for them to do it without me there and headed back.
Appalachia, Smoky Mountains
Carless, we now had to find another
Framed Falls
A look under the walkway over the falls. means of getting to east Tennessee. After much searching, we found that it was cheaper to rent a car than it was to take the Greyhound. It was also three hours shorter. We packed up and were off.
In Knoxville we stayed with my mom and my sister. My sister was kind enough to let me use her car for a week and a half, so Jhene and I continued our adventures. We headed out to the Smoky Mountains to hiking for a day. I had not hiked the Chimney’s since 2007 and thought that would be a good place to start.
In college, I drove to the Smokies from Maryville numerous times to hiking and for backpacking trips. Driving from Knoxville was a whole new experience. Waterparks, old time photos, shops, theaters and larger than life restaurants seemed to sprout out of nowhere. Somehow I had forgotten about the tourist mayhem of Dollywood and Gatlinburg. I was almost as shocked as Jhene was to come across it.
Once in the park, we found that our trailhead was closed for maintenance. Looking at our map of trails we decided to go to Laurel Falls. This turned out
View of Hills
On our Laurel Falls hike. to be a paved and high traffic hike up the waterfall. Along the slow incline of the trail we oversaw wooded ridges and ravines all while passing stollers of screaming children and the excited thrills of tourists spotting woodpeckers.
When we arrived at the waterfall we veered off trail and went down to the base of the falls. We were the only visitors here and we set up camp on the large rocks that stood as islands amid the reforming river. We spent a long while soaking in the sun, exploring rock-faced crevices, and putting our bare feet in the cool streams. The steady hum of the falls drowned out the sounds of the traffic on the main trail above and we basked in the peacefulness.
Back on our feet we continued on the trail past the falls. The trail was deserted and we were hiking on a path carved in earth instead of paved over with concrete. We went on for about an hour, climbing in elevation and watching the trees change to large old growth. The foliage grew more colorful as well. After a few miles we jogged back through the secluded woods, past the waterfall,
and through the oncoming traffic of baby carriers and small, leashed pets.
Moonshine and Surfing, Gatlinburg Tennessee
After the hike we were quite hungry. We decided to brave the Wednesday night crowds and have dinner in Gatlinburg. Jhene was interested in seeing some of the bizarre tourist attractions. We found a hidden little Irish pub called the Shamrock with outdoor seating and live music. Neither of us were feeling up to driving back or rushing to go anywhere. The nostalgia of the day had taken us over as we shared a Blue Moon under the setting sun.
As we waited for our food I checked out couchsurfing.org and sent a few messages out to see if there was anyone in the area who could host us last minute. If not, we would explore and then crash in the car overnight. Good thing I had the sleeping bags in the trunk!
We walked by the Village, a round about of small quaint shops. We then did a self-guided tour of the free wine, moonshine and whiskey tastings. We tried over 25 different beverages and sat and listened to live bluegrass bands at each stop.
By
the time the evening was coming to a close, we had an offer for a place to stay. At about 10:00pm we strolled up to Devin’s apartment. Devin works for the park service and in just the first night we had found a lot in common. We shared a bottle wine, and then set up our sleeping bags on the floor.
The next morning Jhene and I went for pancakes. It was another beautiful day, so we took the ski lift up to the overlook.
After exploring a bit more, we took our time driving back to knoxville.
Jhene was headed off to the east coast. I stayed in Tennessee for a few weeks to spend time with my family and work at Tickleberry Manor.
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Jen
non-member comment
I love it. Come back to TN!