2010 Pigeon Forge Jeep trip
Day 4

January 18 I woke up extra early this morning. I had a dream about my most recent girlfriend. Happy things in the dream, but when you wake up...the reality is kind of haunting. I walked to the porch for some fresh/cold air and was met with this beautiful view. It's begging me to stay longer, and it made me smile. My loose plans were to leave around 8:00 am and hit an IHOP on the way out of town. Instead I reviewed the checkout time. 11:00. I can sleep longer. A couple hours later I woke, took a shower, and started the inevitable packing. The weather was great...and not a bad temperature. The Jeep packed up and ready to go. I slowly got everything in the Jeep. I wasn't looking forward to the drive home. I made one last pass through the cabin looking for stray items I might have overlooked. Sadly, I locked the doors and got in the Jeep. At 10:56 I started the descent down the mountain. Nowhere close to the 8:00 am departure time I had considered. Ha! I decided to leave through Pigeon Forge and fuel up right before getting to the interstate. An hour later I reached the interstate. Tons of traffic. Who would have thought of that on this Monday morning? I had already chose to blow off IHOP and just eat when I got hungry. That time came at 1:15 in Williamsburg, KY. Burger King got my business. Double Whopper...no cheese...plain, and a large Coke. I stopped at Midway again for a break...just across the road from Friday. I had planned to go home via I-64 but the highway informational signs and the radio said there was an accident that had traffic backed up. I'll go back I-65 and IN60...the same way I'd came. I liked this house. At 5:50 I arrived home. I had a couple boxes from UPS. Bike parts. Yes! I had turned down the heat before I left and the house was 59*. Brrrr! While winding through the Indiana countryside I heard a song I like..."It's A Great Day To Be Alive" by Travis Tritt. This song always makes me smile, and it did again. I love the message and the mental visuals. It made me realize things aren't so bad. Last year one of my best friends went through a painful divorce, two guys at work were widowed at young ages, and one of our 'bike gang' couples got divorced. Things could be a lot worse. Time to quit whining, and get on with my life... 356 miles. Click here for my thoughts of the trip. Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Epilogue