Burgers, tires and a pavilion.

Wednesday

So the story of the burgers.

We pulled into a gas/grocery store to find dinner. We looked around it was one of those out of the way places that you made you think the delivery truck stopped there years ago. There were a lot of empty shelves. There was a warming tray that had food that looked like it had been cooked for the delivery guy.

I tentatively asked if they had anything we could cook. There was charcoal bags, and lighter fluid so if we could find something to cook, we could have a BBQ.

“How about I give you some burgers?” said the lady behind the counter. “Sure, that would work” – how bad can burgers be. Well 5 minutes later we left with what we thought was 4 burgers, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, pickles, mayo, mustard, ketchup, fresh squash, and buns.  We were golden. Chips and dip and we were on our way.

We got to the campsite, put our tents up, and started the grill. When we looked at the ‘burgers’ it was at least a pound of beef! I guess she figured we could make them ourselves. We added salt, pepper and some other spices we had with us and before long we did have four burgers. They turned out to be pretty good. Not like the freshly made jambalaya we made with shrimp we made a few nights earlier but still good. 

As per previous posts I had to get a new front tire. Mine had about 15,000 miles on it and had worn down to the wear strips. With all the rain we had I was starting to think about the tire too much – another Iron Butt tip – if you worry about something it tires you out. The Goldwing GPS has all the Honda stores programmed in so it was easy to find a place in Nashville and a quick call located a tire. They would be ready for me when I pulled in.

After 45 minutes at the store I was on my way. We decided to camp in Nashville and had a visit from one of Jeff’s friends. A large pot of pasta, cold beer and a good laugh at life. Time to call it a day.

Thursday

We decided to get an early start. Of course we did not miss the Nashville traffic, but were heading east so it was not too bad. After about 40 miles we stopped for gas and our first gas station sausage and egg biscuit. It was not bad.

We rode through the back roads of Tennessee, down into the Tennessee valley, and into Tellico Planes. We pulled into the Cherohalla Mountain Trails Campground were we were greeted by this lady in the parking lot. “Were you from?” After a brief explanation of where we had been and what we needed she told us to take the pavilion for the night. “The gas for the grill is included in your fee ($12 per person), and you can ride into town and get some steaks…if you want a baked potato I’ll cook them for you”. I do not think we have met anyone happier to see us this entire trip. Our home for the night has a table, rocking chairs, grill, roof, lights and electricity. It is wonderful.

Tomorrow we will ride some of the best roads around. Tomorrow night we plan to stay at Pete and Tammy’s about half way home. Cathy is going to meet us, so it promises to be a night full of stories.