Asheville, NC to Nashville, TN

Days on the road: 6.
Miles today: 311.
Miles to date: 1546.

Advanced warning to all you illiterates out there - no pictures in today's post as the camera stayed in the trunk.

Today saw my first natural disaster-related amendment as a rock slide had taken out access to the "Tail Of The Dragon" - a renown twisty length of highway loved by sports car drivers and motorcycles riders that borders NC and TN. So, being the ever flexible man that you know and love, I ran the option and headed North through the Great Smoky Mountains. This scenic route was busy with weekend travelers and it lead me to accidentally stumble upon downtown Pigeon Forge. This exotic sounding locale is home to none other than Dollywood. It was also host to a hot rod festival and the combination of these to high-intellect events led to numerous lifted pick-up truck sightings, multiple confederate flags, and a whole bunch of traffic congestion. In other words, I was amongst my people.

Once the traffic cleared, I made my way to Nashville via a due-West interstate run passed Knoxville. After a check-in with the unbelievably nice valet and front desk clerk (the niceness may be starting to get tome), I went walkabout around downtown Nashville. My walk re-emphasized two things I knew, but perhaps had forgotten:

1) I really hate country music. I kept thinking about that line in the movie The Blues Brothers:

Elwood: What kind of music do you usually have here?
Claire: Oh, we got both kinds. We got country *and* western.

2) Ever stuck for a place to eat or a restaurant recommendation? Ask a cop. One of Nashville's finest directed me to a steak and pasta place off the beaten path. He knew of what he spoke. Fun fact of the meal - the bartender explained to me and anyone else that would listen how he had accidentally taken a muscle relaxant about 2 hours before coming in for his shift thinking it was a pain killer. He was hopped up, but didn't miss an order. Nice work if you can get it.



While I have no photos to share today, here's a screen grab of the route I took: