Spring Fling 2011 - Day 19

This was my "Holiday Day" of the return trip.  Yesterday was making miles and tomorrow is the final dash for home, but this was a day to enjoy, and it was full of highs and lows, or ups and downs, puns intended!  Without undue haste but not wasting time I left my "adequate" hotel, good for a quick crash but once again reminding me that I like things a little more upscale when there is a choice.

The first two hours were dull, in all respects.  The sky was a solid dark gray and the landscape was boring, but almost simultaneously thereafter the clouds diminished and then departed and the scenery became interesting and largely remained so for the rest of the day.  Throughout the day I couldn't help thinking of a contrast - Maria would have had an ear-to-ear smile the whole day while enthroned behind the wheel weaving her big van left and right and up and down, while Rita (with Bob driving the RV) would have been so white-knuckled that her fingers would have fallen off.  It was that sort of driving, interesting and spectacular.  I had the smarts to fill up at SC Exit #1 and noticed that at the next exit the price was up over 20 cents/gallon, which is real money with a tank of my size!

As Portia was guiding me to the center of Gatlinburg I made an emergency stop at a Mc D's and by a lucky quirk, after a bit of a wait (which got me a free apple pie) got a fresh-off-the-grill Angus burger & also fresh-from-the-basket fries to eat in the van at my leisure with my iced coffee.  Gatlinburg 20-30 years ago was pretty ghastly & now it is 20-30 times even more ghastly!  After crawling through and trying not to throw up my lunch at the people & tackiness I stumbled on a Smokey Mountains National Park Visitors Center, with parking!  I got a good recommendation to drive w-a-a-y up to Newfound Gap for the views and bought a CD of whatever peaceful and melodic "mountain music" was being played in the background.  I'll enjoy that en route home tomorrow.

I spent rather more time up hill (mountain?) and down dale than I intended as after being at the gap with many, many others I attempted to go to Clingman's Dome but the road was still winter-closed so I went a long way with a frustrated Portia who could not find any connected roads to use to turn me around.  (It's a pity she doesn't have an "find a way to turn round & go back" expression!)  As a result I did rather more climbing and descending than I had intended, but with so many streams and waterfall and vistas and cliffs along the way I really didn't care!

Eventually I was on the last leg of this day and discovered that if Gatlinburg was ghastly then the now-much bigger Pidgeon Forge should really be blasted off the face of the earth!!!!!  Hideous and overcrowded barely scratches the surface of the horror that it is.  I think a week in gaol would be better than a week there!  Anyway I eventually was guided to a Hampton Inn in Knoxville, which had my reservation for a very nice room and the desk clerk gave me a recommendation to a nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner, further enhanced by using his name/recommendation in order to get a free dessert!

One way and another I covered 418 miles today and am now at 2240 since leaving home.  It has been a good day, but I will be glad to be finally sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night.