Saturday, July 7, 2007
Tennessee Visit
July 2
Although we finished our “official” trip in downtown Chicago last Friday, taking a few days off the road in Tennessee feels more like the midpoint of our trip. We’ll visit Chuck and Chris and their families, watch fireworks, and sleep in….
By the way, if you’re ever headed south through Indiana and need a hotel, skip the Holiday Inn in Columbus. Sure, the laundry machines were free, but the pop cost $2 a bottle! Also, for $100 a night, they could at least serve donuts in the morning. What we didn’t know is there is a perfectly acceptable Days Inn less than 20 miles south. We were tired, and Columbus was as far as we were willing to go. Besides, we got great pie at Dimitri’s restaurant across from the Holiday Inn.
We got to McMinnville about 2 pm, checked into the motel, and called Chris. He came right over, welcomed us to town, and took us to Chuck’s workplace, where we got the grand tour of the manufacturing facility.
After a late lunch of burgers and pop, we spent the rest of day relaxing and watching television.
July 3
Tuesday started with breakfast for all at the Waffle House. Chuck, Josh (Chuck’s son), Chris, Mary (Chris’ wife), Katherine (Chris and Mary’s daughter), Ron, and I took over a whole section of the restaurant! Kristopher, Chris and Mary’s son, could not attend because of prior commitments.
The rest of the day was taken up with visiting, getting an insight into the boys’ lives. We spent time with Chuck’s dragster and admired Chris’ house and hot tub. We met Chuck’s dog, Viper, and Chris and Mary’s cats and neighborhood dogs.
Left to our own devices, we picked up a few necessities at Wal-Mart. What a small town! We ran into the waitress from the Waffle House and then Chris and Katherine in the Wal-Mart parking lot. On the spur of the moment, we made arrangements to meet Chris, Katherine, and Mary at Applebee’s for dinner.
July 4
This is really what summer vacations are about… Chuck, Josh, Chris, Mary, Ron, and I took a ride on our motorcycles to Fall Creek Falls State Park – about an hour away. We checked out some of the nature walks, stared at the falls, and ate much too well at the park’s buffet. On the way back to town, we stopped at a hidden scenic overlook with a great view of the entire county.
After a nice, long nap, we met the entire gang (this time, including Kristopher) at the town center to watch the fireworks display. It’s great to have someone get there early and save you a motorcycle parking place! The show was great, except for the outlaw car alarm going off behind us. We had as much fun watching the professionals set off the explosions as we did watching the display in the sky.
July 5
Both the boys have taken the week off work, which is a good thing. On hot, muggy summer days, however, people around here spend a lot of time relaxing indoors. We followed their example, and spent the day on naps and laundry. We did manage to get a meal at the Medley’s Diner next door to the motel, however. It’s one of those mystery restaurants – the kind you always mean to try, but it’s closed when you finally go there. It was certainly worth exploring!
This was Chris and Mary’s anniversary, so we drove by the house and dropped off a card. We “buzzed” Chuck’s house, but it was siesta time.
Small town time, again… We figured Chris and Mary would be celebrating, so did not intrude. Applebee’s called, and we responded. While we waited for our order, guess who walked in? Chris and Mary claimed their own table, but we grabbed their check on our way out!
July 6
Did the diner for breakfast again. More napping, finished the laundry…
Chuck came over in the afternoon, and he and Ron went looking for oil at the local Harley shop. No luck – the owner went fishing, or something. They did take a scenic route back through Rock Island State Park.
While they were gone, I went next door and bought some homemade peach cobbler. You never know when that diner will close.
We made a date with Chuck for dinner, and met up with him later for Chinese buffet, along with Josh and Annette (Josh’s mother). Chris, Mary, and Katherine dropped by the restaurant on their way to a teenage party at the bowling alley
After dinner, we went back to Chuck’s place, and he and Ron got the new engine in the race car to roar to life. A blown alcohol engine is deafening, but exciting to watch, especially when Chuck tried to set his shirt on fire when alcohol sprayed out of the exhaust onto him and then ignited. We visited for a bit, and then went back to the motel.
July 7
It was time to get back on the road. We tried to sleep in, but couldn’t make it past 6 am. After packing everything up, we had one last diner breakfast. (Boy, was that great food!) We woke up both families to say good-bye, and headed out of town by 8 am.
The trip out of Tennessee was fairly uneventful. We found a Harley store by 9 am, and got some oil. Nashville traffic on the way to the Titans’ stadium slowed us down to less than 10 miles per hour. We avoided the shrapnel from a big rig’s blowout on the expressway. (Why did we just see the Myth Busters episode with the motorcyclist and the big rig blowout?)
After more than 300 miles on the road, we have left Tennessee and Kentucky behind. From Mt. Vernon, Illinois, we will continue through Missouri tomorrow. No pictures today, but we did collect quite a few from our family visit. Enjoy!
