Sightseeing on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

Good afternoon.

I have been sitting here working on designing a new website all night and I realized it was almost noon, so I decided to take a short break. Since I had trash that needed to be carried to the dumpsters, that sounded like a chore worth doing.

When I got out on the road, I realized what a beautiful late-spring day it was, and, even though I needed to get that work done before tomorrow, I just couldn't bring myself to go back into my cave.

So, when I got back home, I just kept driving north along Joe Brown Hwy towards Tennessee. I didn't plan to go far, but I did want to drive along the east side of Lake Hiwassee and see the sights.

I haven't been out that way in quite a while and it was great seeing the lake full of water. After years of extreme drought, we've had lots of rain this spring. The lake is full, the trees and plants are green, and it's a nice warm afternoon.

For the last few years, there were quite a few houseboats that were stranded on the lake bottom, but all of them were afloat today. In addition, I saw dozens of smaller boats and a few pontoon boats cruising around.

Lots of people were fishing, both from boats and along the shore. I slowed down and watched a couple of men working together to get a pretty large fish into their boat. One was patiently bringing the fish to the other guy who was waiting with a net.

There were lots of squirrels along the road and I even saw a groundhog.

I didn't plan to go far, but I just kept driving.

After awhile, I found myself approaching Unaka. When i got to the sign that said it wasn't a good idea for tractor-trailers to go any farther because there were no places to turn around, I knew I'd be heading up into the larger mountains on the way to Tennessee.

Back in the mid-1970s, I caught a ride from Mom and Dad's home to Unaka and then spent a couple of days hiking over the mountains to Tellico Plains, Tennessee.

Since I was already in Unaka, I decided I'd drive to where the paved road turned to gravel and then come back home.

You'll have to indulge me for a moment, because I'm going to sound like an old grandpa.

Apparently things change in 30 years. (grin)

The road didn't turn to gravel. I didn't remember exactly where that was way back when, but as I continued driving, I realized that there was a nice, two-lane paved road where the gravel used to be.

I drove along for five or six more miles before I found a place I could turn around and come back home.

Even though it is a beautiful day and I was enjoying the drive, I knew that website wasn't going to build itself, so here I am, back in my cave and working away.

I enjoyed my escape into the great outdoors - even though it only lasted a couple of hours.

It was a pleasant drive and the scenery was beautiful. I didn't even see too many other cars and trucks on the road although there were quite a few parked near the lake.

I hope you're having a great day, too.

JD