A smallish trip…

This is part one….
So after my little check up on the office, I blasted off to Atlanta to make it there before dark. When you ride long distances, it’s the best time to think, or at least for me; planning building the house, and work, where my life is going, all that good stuff.
I made it in time for dinner at Luke’s; the kids were all hyped up jumping around “Unta Mart!” Julie was busy packing for her church retreat with her Mom and the two little ones. Some people didn’t get why Luke decided to leave his family on the 4th but Julie really wanted to go to the Ladies/Youth Group Meeting and Luke really wanted to go on a bike ride. It worked out perfectly. I showered, ate and then played with the kiddies a while and then off to my bed in Kyle’s room. He liked the idea of having me as a room mate, peeping his head over his bed boards every so often to make sure I was still there.
I woke to a giraffe spying down on me, from a mural Jacks painted as a gift. Rolled out of the bed and slothed into the living room, on the couch snoozed Jacks. Julie motioned for me to be quiet “He’s been here maybe a good 30 minutes” I wanted to wake him. He looked tired and weak and somewhat thinner, hell the last time I saw him he was cracking over 220 pounds I bet he’s not over 170 now.
We loaded Julie and the kids up for their trip, then ourselves after a huge breakfast. Our first stop was Dahlonega to pan for some gold (This was a dare) but it was still funny to do. There we met some giggly girls, I guess traveling in a group, staring at Jacks as he looked about, he was oblivious to their attention attempts. We entered the mine and the giggles echoed, Luke, Mr. Paranoid knew the walls would cave in from the high pitched squeals.
Then on to Helen, a nice little alpine village, just to get out and walk about. I of course had to eat the local flavors; they have so much food and cooked it outside for everyone to smell. The town is made to be Bavarian style, with piped in music over the whole village. What’s really cool is there are as many bars there as shops -- no we didn’t stop in all of them. When we were younger our parents would take us there as a half way stop, in visiting some aunts that lived in Virginia. We always did the lazy river ride, so this time, in watching the other families float down brought me fond old memories.
We had planned on spending the night in Knoxville; Luke called and made reservations, a few weeks in advance. I wanted to get there in time to see the fireworks display. We goofed around in town a while longer and then drove on through a national forest. Winding curves and cool shades made the trip enjoyable.
Welcome Centers are always nice places to stop, in which we did at the Georgia/Tennessee state line. The majority of the time the sky was beautiful and from the storms nearby the breezes were good, so you didn’t melt in your seat. I was eager to get into the Smokies and see what changes have been made; also I own 40 acres up there and needed to check up on some developments near. There is a steep, curvy mountain road they close off in the summer just for bikers to do a time test going up or down. As you drive along you see tire tread marks and bits and pieces of bikes. The majority of bike parts are in the trees, where the rider lost control and flew off the mountain into the trees.
The ride to Knoxville was uneventful unless you count for the stop we made because of a rain cloud. Passing others on their bikes as they made their way up or down the highway, checking out who had the coolest ride.
We rolled into town and found our hotel, asked the desk clerk where the fireworks might be and head out for dinner. We all three ate like we normally do; the waitress would walk by and shake her head over the mounds of plates on the table. We sat and laughed and munched the whole time. The show was fantastic; the best on the water by far. This is something I want to take my children to see, Knoxville is diverse with museums and the zoo and so much history to learn there. We tromped into the hotel room and planned the route for the next day; it didn’t take long to drift off to sleep. The next day was a riverboat ride/lunch while riding up and down the Tennessee River. Then on to Jacks…..