Outtakes.

London, Ontario - I have had a few days back in Ontar-I-O to regain my bearings, as well as to hibernate a bit (though I watched a couple of suns set, and a few stars dance, while learning about blogging in Malaysia). Just in time to return from vacation and face the hordes of weary, post-labour day souls turning up their collars to fend off the small teeth of fall. Self-sharpening like Ginsu in preparation of the w----- to come. I love this time of year. I can smell it, touch it, taste it. And best of all, I can feel it to my core.

A few additional photos from the trip south this past week.

Huntsville, Alabama: Beauty is all around, waiting to be found. A piece of graffiti I found written on a white board that had been affixed to the red brick wall. Just seemed poignant as I poked around alleys in an otherwise empty downtown Huntsville looking at the architecture and details on the buildings.Near the Kentucky/Tennessee border: Did I mention that it rained? Hard? I believe that this storm 'benefited' from the effects of Tropical Storm Ernesto threatening south and east of here. It was wet. Very wet. And this was when the visibility was still relatively good.Tennessee: From the category of signs gone wrong (or "Signs gone Wild!"?), we first have the "Polk Motel", which -- yes -- is named for one of the country's former Presidents. I'd still think they could have named something a bit more prestigious for him. At least a Suites. An Inn, perhaps? With a motel, there are just too many jokes (or pokes!) to be made.Alabama: That said, however, taking the cake are the Alabamans? Alabamians? (Yes, just looked it up; that's the correct offering for you trivialists.). Really, this one writes itself. And it's in the south, no less. Was there no thought put into that one? I can imagine the bank officer sitting there reading the business plan, snickering. With the number of strip joints I had seen advertised along my route, I would have been pretty disappointed to have pulled in here thinking it was somethign else and instead found that it was a 'Restaurant supply' store. At least it wasn't a carpeting depot.
Huntsville, Alabama: The store fronts (which were actually mostly lawyer offices) were really beautifully done with leaded glass and ornate designs. Huntsville, Alabama.
Huntsville, Alabama: A pigeon decided he wanted to be a part of this one. The buildings were so neat that I found myself looking skyward during most of my visit. At least there was nobody around to relieve me of my wallet when I was there because I was doing more craning than, well, a crane. Huntsville, Alabama: Which direction next? A few weeks until the next road trip, this one, however, only inter-province. Will be joined by a co-pilote this time, though!

Day Two, Morning.

Dry Ridge, Kentucky - Long day again, but this one was more enjoyable, notably because, having gained a grasp of how much time travel would take yesterday, I was able to take my time coming back and see more of the sights. That and, of course, the weather’s cooperation was an immeasurable, not to mention unexpected, help. I had no intention of making the push back to Ontario tonight anyway, so I’ve just set myself up in striking distance, stopping in northern Kentucky. Was more impressed with this state than Ohio anyway, so I’d rather spend my money here. Yeah, still not sleeping out of the car…

Still, in Dry Ridge, KY, I’m just a shout from Cincinnati, which is not too tough a drive back. If I don’t screw up around Detroit. I had thought of stopping into Steve & Barry’s on my way back through ‘The D’ (thanks for keeping me hip to the lingo, Paul) as the entire store is priced at $7, but I’m thinking no at this point. More on that below. It did, however, become ‘University Day’ today. First to the University of Tennessee (Sorry Kate, I know this is the wrong ‘T’, not to mention the wrong colour of orange, but I’d go to Austin if I had the chance, too!) in Knoxville, then the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Good times. Looked like schools. Schools with students. Except bigger than Canada. And even more moneyed.

7:24: Go time! I had planned to get up at eight EST but – blink, blink – started the day a little earlier. Like 5:55 earlier. Oh well, more time to explore. Still have a few days left where I can sleep when I get back. It’s a muggy 25 degrees in Huntsville, Alabama and the slow trek home has begun. Foggy, we start the day at 1,286.1 kms. on the trusty trip meter. Oh, the fog? It’s outside, too…

Must fill up on gas as I let Coby dry out last night because I needed those precious fumes for myself after that long a day. I was gassed, he needed it. $2.699 a gallon for a total of $30.94. Thankfully, the exchange rate these days is good. Clever little sign over a bookstore: “Booklegger Used Books”. Witty, even at this time of day.
What’s Playing: Metric, Split CD: Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? and Live it Out

8:00: That didn’t take long – I’m off the planned road and looking for adventure. Feeling frisky as my confidence in the roads grows. Really, I don’t have anywhere I HAVE to be today, right? So what if I get a little lost. Not that that will happen. Anyway, fighting the fog, a sign for the Cathedral Caverns State Park screams to me like a beacon in, well, the fog. Should be a nice morning for a drive in the smoky mountains. Particularly if the fog burns off. Oh wait, it’s eight in the morning, er, seven in the morning here, and that’s not likely to happen for a bit. Not many other people on the road this time of day. Nor, it seems at the Park. There are a few workers building a new walkway into the cave – which is, apparently, the largest cavern mouth in the world – but the box office is as silent as a mime. Foiled in my bid for spelunking again. Egads. It feels good to go for a little hike in the surrounding area, though, particularly after having cooped myself up in the car for so long these past couple of days.

8.24: 1,342.2 kms.

8:37: Sunshine! Was back in the car after the caves at 8:30 and actually found my way back out alright. Oh, I spoke too soon. Back in the valley, it’s grey again. The new State colour of Ohio has become the theme colour for my trip. Grr. Driving through Scottsboro, AL (“Where the mountains meet the lakes”) is gorgeous and, as the tagline suggests, actually features water, which is something I’ve seen little of thus far. The lake is covered in kelp and doesn’t smell very good, but it looks nice with the mountain backdrop.
What’s Playing: Hayden, Live at Convocation Hall, Disc Two.

9:24: 1,413.1 kms. This has just been a spectacular day thus far, particularly with my deep-seated love for the mountains, though the Smoky Mountains don’t hold a candle to the Canadian Rockies. Actually, nobody should hold a candle to either of them. Still, in the absence of the Rockies, these will do just fine. It’s 24 degrees, though humid, and I’m traveling along at a slower pace, not relying on those snooty main highways. The problem with the secondary highways, though? No state rest stops. At least I’m coffee deprived.

9:47: Georgia! State number six on the trip.

What’s Playing: REM, Reckoning. Just in time, too, for they are Athens, GA natives. Funny, too, is that the now-infamous line, “Jefferson, I think we’re lost” came on right as I crossed the border. Small things, small minds. I get it. Just because I like the name of the town, Rising Fawn, I stop. Well, that and I need to pee (no state rest stops, remember? Keep up, will you!) We’re back into the heart of the mountains at this point.

10:15: Tennessee! Sorry Georgia: Wham, bam, thank you ma’am, I barely got to know you. Similarly, it’s hot and sticky here, too. 27 degrees.

10:24: Looks like I didn’t track the kilometers this hour. Busy putting Coby the Cobalt through his paces up various switchbacks of Lookout Mountain. We’re headed to the highly-vaunted Ruby Falls. Well, they’re vaunted by the billboards littered across the mountain for miles back, anyway. I sense commercial exploit. Peter Parker, by Spidey Sense is tingling. Oh wait, is that what that is? I’m not going to need the topical cream after all. It’s a mountain, people; what’s so great about it.

Sigh. The Disney-like music is playing out of faux-rocks. It’s not quite “It’s a small world after all”, but it’s close. Dead give-away. Would be the only give-away of the visit, I am sure. I should have been smarter and run as fast as my wee legs would take me. Well, they’re not so wee, so I couldn’t. The smell of outstretched hands for money. Oooh, ooh, a trail – perhaps I can snake them and get away with it! Harumph. “Employees Only”. Dead end. Back toward the music and the door, manned by someone with far-too-shiny teeth. I’m not sure, but I think I heard a latch bar the door shut when I went through.

So, I’m suckered for $15.00 to see the falls, touted to be the tallest underground falls accessible by the public. Would have rathered give that kind of money to a state park (like this morning’s, which wouldn’t take my money), but, okay, I’m a tourist. I’ll bite. That’s what I’m here for, right? Actually, it sounds kind of neat. I’ll get to see a cave. And a waterfall. Maybe even stalagmites. Ooh, ooh, ooh – I’m getting excited now.

The tour guide was actually very funny. Even 160 feet beneath the ground. Though the combination of his whiny voice and his southern accent made me want to punch him. Not really. Poor kid’s grasping for puberty. And to discover his sexuality. He made little jokes about ‘Stalag-lights’ for the things the company had built to house the lights in the rocks and ‘Stalag-pipes’ for the tobacco-shaped rock formations (seriously, they decide rocks look like various objects, then name them after said object). That’s the kind of humour I can appreciate. In small doses. Unless it’s me.

The formations were actually pretty cool and the cave was neat in and of itself. Not built for people of my height, though. I guess they’re not really built at all. For dramatic effect, the lights were off in the room with the waterfall until…just…the…right...moment. That was a bit much, but it was something you don’t get to see every day. Unless you work there. The guide had obviously made his spiel a few times. Unfortunately, the camera battery died before I got the chance to get up to the top of Lookout Mountain, so no pictures. It was quite a sight over Tennessee, though. You’ll just have to trust me on that. All in all, it was cool.

Such a tourist am I.

Day One, Afternoon.

Huntsville, Alabama

12:01: 640.6 kms.
12:11: Nice little welcome centre in Kentucky. Free maps! And literature. Whoo hoo, paraphernalia! Oh, did I mention maps? It’s a little muggier, having climbed to 26 degrees.
What’s Playing: Led Zeppelin, Box set, disc two.

12:59: Gas stop number two in Carrollton, Ky. The terrain has become much hillier and is very green. Gas is $2.519 a gallon and came to $17.77. Lucky sevens! Where’s Vegas? There seems to be a big business in the “flag car” industry out here. There are so many trailers with “Oversized Loads” (and this has nothing to do with the obesity rates in this country) as people seem to be moving their houses on large trucks quite a bit. Not quite trailer homes, but…

13:01: 718.8 kms.

13:30: Louisville!

14:01: 827.8 kms. The rock at the side of the road is red and it has climbed to 30 degrees for the first time today.

14:20: Hodgenville, KY, birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. I had no idea he was born here.
What’s Playing: Pet Shop Boys, Discography

14:46: Oh goodie, the rain has returned. And we have now apparently entered the Central Time Zone. So it’s now really 13:46, but I’m going to stick to EST for consistency. A lot of caves in this area, but it is pouring too hard to really see the road, so no spelunking for me today. Driving rain? Not quite the rain for driving. It is, in fact, blinding, particularly when passed by a large truck. It’s actually quite harrowing. The car in front of me actually just surfed off the road and I have felt myself lift onto the top of the water a couple of times. There has to be a good inch to two inches of water on the highway and it is blowing hard. At times, I’m having to drive by shadows of trucks in front – I cannot even see their lights. There are no shoulders to speak of here, so it’s not safe to pull off. Wouldn’t be safe anyway because nobody would be able to see me. So much for seeing the country.

15:01: 915.7 kms.
15:28: National Corvette Museum.

15:47: 1,000 kms! at Scottsville/Franklin, KY

15:55: Tennessee!







Really nice welcome centre in Tennessee. And yes, more maps. Everything’s bigger…in the south? Yay, normal-sized urinals. Yes, these are the things that amuse me.
What’s Playing: Rogue Wave, Split CD: Descended Like Vultures and Out of the Shadow
16:01: 1,012.6 kms. Today has been a fine, full palette of gouaches in a stunning array of greys. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to describe it as watercolours, all blended together instead. Grey either way. Oh, and wet.

17:01: 1,084 kms. Traffic has been really heavy around Nashville and its Batman-like Bell South tower. Grey, but not raining too much at this point. Woo hoo, though, everyone seems to be going to Knoxville or Chattanooga, so the road’s actually clearing up in my direction. A way down the road though, still more end-of-day traffic.
What’s Playing: Killers, Hot Fuss (though I just heard Nickelback on local radio. Hurriedly changed it. Phew.).

17:24: Misty rain still, but could that be – wait a second, brace yourself, no – yes! It is the sun!

17:31: Yes, this is juvenile. Yes, he’s a former President. But the Polk Motel? Good thing his first name wasn’t ‘Quick’. Or “Harry”. Or definitely, Richard.

17:38: First sighting of a confederate flag of the day. Would not be the last. Also saw a quail or pheasant along the side of the road, pecking away at the tarmac. Tasty. The surroundings have been pretty green most of the way down, but there has not been very much water. Apart from the rain, smart ass.

18:01: 1,189.1 kms. Just passed a place called “Boobie Bungalow”. I kid you not. Yikes.
What’s Playing: Sam Roberts, We Were Born in a Flame

18:10: Second directional blunder of the day (not too bad all things considered). I missed the exit I was supposed to take for Huntsville, thinking I didn’t have to exit while still in Tennessee. Oh well, not a major miscue, just need to circle back. A couple of times. Seems to be the way. Once back on track, it’s a neat drive through the country. And the sun is out and – get this – finally, blue sky. The clay at the side of the road is really red.

18:59: Huntsville!

19:01: 1,271 kms. Stopped to wander downtown Huntsville until 20:00. What an absolutely gorgeous city. The highlight by far of the trip. It’s old and every building seems to be historical. And historical in the real sense of the word, rather than just being old. All of the buildings seem to have been converted into spaces for lawyers. They are everywhere. Pretty much every second building. Lots of money. Oh that’s right, lots of lawyers.


Details, big and small, not overlooked in Huntsville.


It’s dead downtown at night though, with only a couple of restaurants open and nobody milling about. Lots of great architecture to look at. The frescos are stunning.


Above: Entrance to a private club. Below, yes that does mean the sun was around for a bit today to be able to set. Sunset over Huntsville. Ah, good sigh.

The homes, too: something else.

I found a Super 8 hotel and decided to stay in the room that time forgot. Not the best room I’ve ever stayed in, but with the amount of time I’ve spent on the road today, it’s welcome nonetheless. Free Internet and a King-Sized Bed. Good news. Went for southern bbq for dinner after looking a number of places. Dreamland Bar-B-Que Ribs, just up the street. Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils. The paper towel roll rests on the table. And they bring you white bread and a (Styrofoam) bowl of bbq sauce to dip it in as a warm-up. Not environmentally friendly, but okay. Pulled pork sandwich (with pickles on it) and coleslaw for dinner. Spicy. The place smells like smoking meat. And I mean that in the very best of ways. Tax and tip: $10.

Final kilometre tally for the day: 1,286.1. On the go for more than 15 hours. The car was wheezing, wanting to protest when it came time to drive back to the hotel.