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05/08/03; Johnson City, Tennessee
Hello from Tennessee!
Kingsport was our intended destination, but when we arrived there, the only coupons we had for motels were on the wrong Interstate, on the wrong side of town. To use them would have required us to go significantly out of our way. We checked coupons for Johnson City, about 30 miles south and on our route. We found a couple of places here in the coupon book, so here we are!
What a change from the last three days! We awoke to a damp but clear day. The ground was soaked and there was plenty of fog, but the roads were dry and we were away shortly after 0700.
Foggy morning; Beautiful country
When the sun got high enough in the sky, the fog dissipated and we found ourselves in a setting of beautiful forests rivaling anything we saw in Europe. Our first goal was to reach Kentucky. We planned to do that by driving to Middleboro in the southeastern-most corner of the state where Tennessee and Virginia border Kentucky. As we left Tennessee, we entered a magnificent tunnel on US-25E that opened out on the outskirts of Middleboro. (Sorry to say the pictures of the tunnel were not very good, so you will have to use your imagination.) We stopped in the Krogers store to shop. The Olsons wanted to find postcards for their grandsons. Finally, after much searching, Dennis found some in a filling station. The cards were written and posted and we departed Kentucky via the tunnel. We were in Tennessee again for only a blink and then found ourselves in Virginia on US-421, which parallels the Virginia-Tennessee border just inside Virginia. This was a lovely drive. We stopped in the town of Ewing and found a shady spot beside a small stream for our running-board lunch.
Fixer-upper; Brick outhouse; Pumps for sale
It was a quaint town and although the main, four-lane road skirted the town, we opted to take the “business” route, which took us through the town. We were tempted to park in front of the bank and pose for some “Bonnie and Clyde” shots, but we didn’t have any “Tommy Guns!”
Tomorrow our nominal destination is Fayetteville, North Carolina. Dennis was stationed there at Fort Bragg, as a paratrooper during the Korean War and Keith flew into Pope AFB to drop paratroopers and to fly troop-carrying gliders in “firepower demonstrations” in the late ‘40’s. We don’t know whether we will be allowed on base, or not, but we would like to show the ladies the site of our daring-do.
In all, it was a great day – driving on ideal Model A roads, through towns and country typical of the era. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. It was such a change from the cooped-up experience of the past three days. We are “On the Road Again!” Which reminds us that our good friend Bob Marical is recuperating from surgery. We have called Carla to see how he is, but haven’t made contact. Will one of you who are mutual friends, call them to express our concern and send us a full report?
We were able to connect with our good friend Jack Ogden and learned that he is out of the hospital and feeling much better. The Internet and cell phone make being away from home a bit easier.
On the walk to dinner tonight, we saw a big chicken – of course, we thought of Ron! (To all those who don’t know, Ron loves to give rubber chickens to any Model A’er whose car breaks down.)
Ron's Super Chicken
We send all of you our fond regards,
The Happy Four
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