... Where the Buffalo Roam

I was up at 7am and very eager to get going. I made quick work of my exercise routine and then sipped coffee while watching ESPN2’s Mike & Mike. Soon, I dashed out the door for my final run in Tennessee. And you can bet your sweet bippy that I ran towards the east. I drank in the cool sunny morning air doing my best to store into memory the sweet mountain air. I’ll miss this place. I kept my run to approximately three miles. Cujo joined me for the final mile. I knew the kids would be excited to see him back one last time. The owner of the house we rented didn’t come by to pick up her money until last night kind of late. Very laid back style. She said that Cujo was a refugee apparently left behind by other Lake Norris visitors, and that she and the other neighbors have some what adopted him. She inquired if we wanted to take him home. NO! J Back home Mindy and the kids were finally up. We set a goal to be out of the house by 11am but quietly aimed for even earlier. We systematically moved all of our gear to the lower level. It took us just 15 minutes ot load everything into the boat and Trooper. We pretty much followed the same blue print we used on the trip down. Happily, we had lightened our load by approximately 500lbs in consumed food and liquids. The last big challenge was getting us safely out of the drive and then up and out of Hollow. I had the kids and Mindy pose for one last picture at the house. Mindy helped guide me as I backed down the steep gravely drive. The brakes proved ineffective against the steep hill. Fully depressed, I still rolled backwards. Somehow I missed two passing pick-ups that I didn’t see. Mindy later said she tried to stop them but to no avail. The important thing was that we missed them and were safely onto the road. Next, up and out of the Hollow. We were off at 10am. The drive out to highway 63 was a stressful experience lightened only by the assurance that we knew the correct way. I worried about the brakes and the potential for on coming traffic. We were good on all fronts. I was never happier to see a real 5 lane highway. We stopped to fill-up at the Shell station by the Christmas Inn at exit #134 on I-75. Off we went. The drive on I-75 was far easier than the drive down, especially now that we had the most treacherous piece already behind us. Next stop – lunch. We drove non-stop to 25 miles south of Cincy – about 215 miles. We stopped at an Exxon station that also housed a Dairy Queen – Mindy’s choice. Mindy and the kids dashed in while I pumped our gas. Afterwards, I found a parking spot and joined them. We all enjoyed our lunch at DQ. Next stop - home! Crossing the Ohio River pulling a boat is kind of scary, not to mention winding through the city’s freeway system. But that was nothing compared to the hollow. We were home by 5pm. And it seemed like we made it there in a snap of the fingers. Predictably, the kids asked almost immediately if they could run off to the neighbors. We made them help first. Collectively, we worked to carry in all of our vacation gear. We had everything carried in and well on its way to stowage in less than 30 minutes. And by 6:30pm we had almost everything put away. I jumped back into the routine by walking Ykraps and then watering my flowers. They looked very thirsty. Mindy brought me a cold beer while I watered by hand. I noticed lots of ripe tomatoes resting on our vines, too. Yummy! We did little else other than relax for the remainder of the evening. I followed the Vikings preseason game against the Ravens online. The Vikings won! Mindy & I were both looking forward to sleeping in our own bed. We headed up around 11pm.