There is Something Restorative About A Drive to the Mountains

Sunday morning I woke up to find the day remarkably pleasant. 

Mother Nature opened her arms and called me like the alluring siren that she is...and said come follow me and allow your gift of the senses to feast upon the beauty that surrounds you.

Living in east Tennessee we are so privileged to live close to so many naturally preserved watershed areas. I am fortunate to have the ways and means to wake up in the morning and choose to drive an hour this way or that and be surrounded by God's magnificent glorious come as you are, opened door church.The color of the sky was brilliant in its blue, heightened by the glimmering clearness of the sun as it streaked across the sky to highlight Mother Earth's simple beauty. 

I have found that I am a spur of the moment persona. I think perhaps that was one of the reasons my husband Curt and I were so well suited to one another, we of course did have to make long ranged plans; but what we truly enjoyed the most was our last minute "Let's do something drive outings." Those journeys throughout our married life at first with our children, and later with just us, I believe was the delicious icing that 41 year marriage was founded on. 

January of 2020 was a difficult month of reality checking revealing the hands of time of my and our children's life before and after Curt. The thoughts were sobering with their introspective meanings. February was a welcomed respite and the opportunity to feel comfortable enough to venture out of Lane Home Place once again as Mother Nature offered up a sneak peak of spring soon, as well as the famous groundhog "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather-Prophet Extraordinary, did not see his shadow, so February 2nd, 2020 offered up a beautiful day for a drive.

The new link of the Foothills Parkway is close enough to enjoy on a spur of the moment jaunt, and the beautiful genre's it offers is breath taking. One interesting fact is that the paved roads on the Parkway as well as The Smoky Mountains are a dream to drive on after living with the nightmare's of our local highways and byways.

There was little to no traffic on the Parkway, the pull offs are so well worth taking the time to stop, look at the vista's and commune with nature. I felt like I was attending church with vast open skies, silent beauty so ethereal in it's clear mountain air. There were a few cyclists managing through pure athletic ability

making their way up the steep inclines of the parkway, I admire them but even in my younger years I could not make it through Cades Cove on a tandem with Curt so it would not be my forte now. There was an older couple sitting at one of the overlooks in folding chairs happily having a picnic, while feasting on the panoramic views and far off vista's, I thought, ahh yes that would have been us, enjoying life...

I left the Parkway, turned right and drove over to Little Green Brier School House Road and turned left to Metcalf bottoms picnic area, where I stopped, hiked and listened to the Little River happily burble its way down stream, when last I was in that area in the early fall it was overloaded with lots of sightseer's, thankfully it was quiet, peaceful and serene on this visit.

It was a beautiful day to get out of town...Good for what ails you...

When peace like a river attendeth my way,                                          When sorrows like sea billows roll;                                    Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say,                                    “It is well,  with my soul!”                                    It is well, it is well with my soul! As my day of adventure turned me towards home my tire light came on, so I stopped in West Knoxville at Pep Boys to get some air and we found a lovely metal wedge of some sort in my sidewall. They took it off put on my my spare and off I went. Got up early Monday headed to Rusty Wallace Honda at 7:00, the best time to get in without an appointment, they gave me a car to head on to my Dr's appointment and called me when it was ready! They are a wonderful dealership. When they first moved to Callahan Curt and I bought the first Honda Element sold in Knoxville from them and it has been a wonderful relationship. They have always been and are respectful, courteous, understanding, reliable, and kind when I have had to use their services. This time I had Junior as my service rep and we were talking about Murphy's law while I waited on my rental car, sharing stories. I got in headed towards Hardin Valley on Oak-ridge Highway in the early morning, school traffic and the lo fuel light came on, I thought oh great...pulled in got some gas and made it too my appointment right on time. When I got back to Honda, I told Junior what had happened and Murphy's Law once again had come into play, we laughed and he said did you keep the gas receipt, I said yes...he took it, pulled out what I had spent for gas out of his wallet and said here you go Ms. Lane, sorry that happened! Now that is service with a smile right there. Moral to the story, I had a problem, I had a local company who gladly took care of my problem, gave me a car to drive, so I did not have to change my plans, and because of the extra protection I bought with my car I got a new tire, rotated, balanced, free of charge and all it cost me was my time and conversation and a little aggravation. Another thing I really appreciate is they have retired older men that greet you when you pull in and they get your mileage, then take your car where it needs to go, they also do the same when you are leaving. They are always polite, and ready to share a story or two, yesterday when I went to get my car the older gentle man, whom I had seen several times, said "now you be safe out there okay? " I said, not thinking "thanks Darlin" he laughed, and waved as I blushed because I was embarrassed that I had instinctively said that...Oh my word I guess my southern just came rolling out of my mouth... So  P.S.  “The gist of a lady’s letter is in her postscript.”