On The Road Again

It was a slow start. First baseball, then dropping Damian off in Luray to spend Spring Break with his Mom, then down to Fishersville to deliver Darren’s newly repaired eyeglasses. Finally, at 4:00 p.m. we were headed for Asheville.
Since March Madness has already seen the elimination of my alma mater, Georgetown & my number 2 pick, VCU I needed to revert to some other form of entertainment to amuse me on the long trip. Our 2013 Ford Focus rental car was not only fuel efficient, but sweet. Leather interior, 4 doors enough bells & whistles to confuse us and Sirius Satellite Radio. Don found an old timey country station, Willie’s Roadhouse, that played the real shit-kicking country music. (I haven’t seen anyone so happy since his Mom got to meet Little Jimmy Dickens backstage at the Grand Ole Opry – and, yes, we are from the Bronx. Go figure.)

So we rolled along soaking up the bucolic scenery until we reached the greater Chilhowie area. (shout out to a certain Charge Nurse aka Little Kim)
Hoyt Axton’s timeless classic, “Bony Fingers” was playing on the Roadhouse Radio station. I’d had my fill of classic country by this point & threatened to shove my own bony finger into Mr. Russo’s eye socket unless he changed the channel. After deciding he did not want to spend his vacation in an eye patch, some classic rock was located on Sirius.

After traversing the state of Virginia, we arrive in Eastern Tennessee. Before I insult any of my Tennessee friends I would like to say that the following is merely an observation & not a criticism. It seems to me that in Eastern Tennessee they will make a church out of anything. Every 15′ there is a church of some sort. One looked like it was an abandoned Jack-In-The-Box Restaurant. They made a Jesus out of the clown by the drive through squawk box. Another looked exactly like the exterior of every  Bass Pro Shops you pass. Instead of the big fish on the sign, there was St. Peter with a fishing pole. What gives, Tennessee??

At about 9:00 p.m. we reached our destination in Asheville, The Brookstone Lodge. So far it seems totally adequate and the desk staff was pleasant and helpful when we asked where we could get some eats. We opted for some Papa John’s & the NCAA Wrestling Finals on cable. (well, since it’s been eliminated from the Olympics this may be our final chance to see U. S. A.’s finest college athletes) Tomorrow we will see what the weather is like before deciding on how we will spend our day.

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