We hit the road from Memphis Friday afternoon with Kim and Derek following us. We ran into some Nashville traffic, but nothing too bad. It was a great day for a road trip. We got to the house, unloaded our bags, and got situated. Then we called in some carry-out pizza, pasta, and salad from the local Italian place. We took a stroll around the Assembly grounds after eating dinner and then caught a little basketball on TV before hitting the hay.
Saturday morning, Andrew woke up uncharacteristically early and ventured out for breakfast provisions. He made bacon, eggs, cheesy potatoes, toast, and coffee for the whole gang. Then we headed to Chattangooga to go to a disc golf course Derek had heard about called The Sinks. We brought the dogs along too. We quickly discovered the course’s namesake: the many sinkholes throughout the course serving as obstacles and traps. Derek is a disc golf afficianado, while the rest of us are novices. It was a great course though, and we all had a great time. Madison and Delta went back to the car after Hole 12, but the rest of us finished the course. I lost one of our discs in a sinkhole full of water. When we finished, we headed back to Monteagle and settled in for some basketball viewing. Andrew brilliantly suggested carry-out from High Point, so we didn’t have to dress up or miss the games. We ordered a boatload of delicious gourmet food and enjoyed it while watching UK fall to West Virginia in the Elite Eight. The defeat of the turncoat Coach Calipari’s team in a total upset made for the sweetest dessert possible after an amazing meal.
On Sunday, everyone slept in with the relaxing sound of the rain on the roof during the night and early morning. Once everyone was up, we went to brunch at the Dutch Maid Bakery in Tracy City. After our meal, we all enjoyed selecting delightful baked goods to indulge in later. From the bakery, we went to Foster Falls, which, with all the recent rain, was running as powerful as I’ve seen it. We checked out the overlook views then carefully made our way down to the valley floor. The falls were even more spectacular at the bottom! We had fun messing around on the suspension bridge and taking pictures of the water and scenery. Then we made the laborious climb back to the top of the gorge and explored the rim trail that makes up the end of the Fiery Gizzard trail. Soggy conditions turned us back before too long, which was fine since we were pretty pooped and since Kim and Derek had to get on the road back to Memphis.
Monday was relaxing, and, in the evening, we went to Beechgrove (down the interstate from Manchester) for dinner at the Northcutt’s. As we turned onto their rural road, we came upon a large heifer blocking the way and saw several other cows out and the gate standing open. I became entirely too invested in trying to secure the cows, resulting in the general annoyance of Andrew and Madison and little else. We had a lovely evening with Nick and Andrea. Aspen is becoming ever more engaging, and that occasion was our first time meeting Nova, who was lovely and good-natured. Madison had fun seeing the girls and hanging out with the grown-ups during after dinner conversation after the little girls went to bed.
Andrew spent most of the day on Tuesday cooking up the components of gourmet hobopacks. Once he got to a stopping point, we took the dogs down the mountain to Manchester to go on a hike around Old Stone Fort. This park is one of my favorites, and it was a delight to visit again. We were there at late afternoon/ dusk, and the park was quite empty, allowing for quiet reflection on the spiritual significance of the site. I saw a young deer walking quietly through a clearing and saw many circling bats as the sun set. We went back to the cottage for a delicious dinner of hobopacks.
Our greatly-enjoyed escape ended on Wednesday as we packed up, cleaned up, and prepared to head back to Memphis. We decided to splurge on having the cleaning service come by after we left to finish tidying up, so that we didn’t have to work so hard at getting the house perfect for the next guests – quite a treat. The drive back to Memphis was nice, and we were back home before 8pm. A perfect spring break getaway!
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