James Boyd
The Tennessee tempo picks up
Early Wednesday, B. J. and I awoke to a faint pattering on our bedroom window. She rolled over and pulled the curtain. Rain was coming down hard. I shook some of the sleep off, pulled myself from the sack and wobbled out on the patio to get close up to the Tennessee rain. The landscape was beautiful even in the rain. A quick check of the local weather on my state-of-the-art Blackberry indicated that there would be rain most of the day. There would be no helicopter rides over the Smokies today.
“Well, it’s a good day to stay in and check out some more of this condo,” I told B. J.
“I agree,” she replied.
An early morning shower would put us in good order for the day. The shower was enormous. There were several options to taking a bath: Jacuzzi, shower or a traditional tub bath. After our wake-up baths, we donned some lounging clothes, made coffee, scrambled up some breakfast, turned on the big screen, high-definition TV, opened the big patio door and kicked back in the comfortable chairs and watched the Smokey Mountain Rain falling on the mountains.
We were still concerned about Rita and Nelda.
The time passed and the rain came down. Around noon, B. J. reported, “I’m hungry what are we going to do about lunch?”
“Well, since it’s raining, let’s see what we can find inside the condominium.”
B. J. began shuffling through the brochures she had collected. “Here’s an interesting sounding eatery, Grizzly’s Grill; it’s on the other end of the condo. That’s a long walk.”
“Well, we need a walk to stretch our legs and examine some of the other things going on in this place.”
It was nearing 11:00am so we slipped out of our comfies, into more public presentables and set out in search of Grizzly’s Grill. It was still raining hard. When we crossed the skywalk, we paused to take in the view in the rain; it was fascinating. The Smokey Mountains in the rain has a charm that captivates. Even though there was a damp chill, we felt warm inside.
Our walk carried us through the lobby and toward the far end of the building--still no sign of Grizzly’s Grill. We asked an attendant: “Oh, you are going in the right direction but you will have to drop down to the lower level. The grill is next to the indoor water park.”
We continued, took the stairs, descended to the lower level and were greeted by an awesome spectacle, something we had never seen the likes of before: a fully equipped gigantic indoor water park. Computerized climate control kept the temperature appropriate for all kinds of outside weather conditions. New, State-of-the-art lighting provided for an even tan while enjoying the exciting water park, and it was all indoors. The there was even easy listening music.
Grizzly’s Grill bordered on the water park. We studied the menu for a while and settled on the old American favorite, loaded hamburgers with fries and drinks.
While they were preparing our burgers and B. J. was rounding up some condiments, I went outside and found a table with a good view of the water park so we could observe the happy splashers and swimmers while we were eating. The burgers were bigger than the average burger, and fundelicious. We had fun eating beside the water park.
Back in our pad, a familiar tone told us that we had a text message; it was Rita and Nelda. The text read: “We are here! Out front!”
Replying to the text, I told her to hang loose for a few minutes and B. J. would be down to greet her and show her where to park. A hot pot of chili was ready on the stove. I went out on the patio to watch for them. Shortly, the big Lincoln Navigator rounded the bend and slipped into a parking place dwarfing, externally at least, Big Red.
B. J. rolled a cart out for them to load their things on and soon they were with us in the condo. We handed them their keys. They happily picked out their room and unloaded the cart.
B. J. and I thought that after their long ride up from Georgia, via Helen, they would be ready to don some comfies and kick back with a bowl of hot chili. Knowing Rita and Nelda, we should’ve know better. They were ready to hit the strip with the flashing lights and explore Sevierville and Pigeon Forge at night.
The tempo in Tennessee was definitely picking up.
“I agree,” she replied.
An early morning shower would put us in good order for the day. The shower was enormous. There were several options to taking a bath: Jacuzzi, shower or a traditional tub bath. After our wake-up baths, we donned some lounging clothes, made coffee, scrambled up some breakfast, turned on the big screen, high-definition TV, opened the big patio door and kicked back in the comfortable chairs and watched the Smokey Mountain Rain falling on the mountains.
We were still concerned about Rita and Nelda.
The time passed and the rain came down. Around noon, B. J. reported, “I’m hungry what are we going to do about lunch?”
“Well, since it’s raining, let’s see what we can find inside the condominium.”
B. J. began shuffling through the brochures she had collected. “Here’s an interesting sounding eatery, Grizzly’s Grill; it’s on the other end of the condo. That’s a long walk.”
“Well, we need a walk to stretch our legs and examine some of the other things going on in this place.”
It was nearing 11:00am so we slipped out of our comfies, into more public presentables and set out in search of Grizzly’s Grill. It was still raining hard. When we crossed the skywalk, we paused to take in the view in the rain; it was fascinating. The Smokey Mountains in the rain has a charm that captivates. Even though there was a damp chill, we felt warm inside.
Our walk carried us through the lobby and toward the far end of the building--still no sign of Grizzly’s Grill. We asked an attendant: “Oh, you are going in the right direction but you will have to drop down to the lower level. The grill is next to the indoor water park.”
We continued, took the stairs, descended to the lower level and were greeted by an awesome spectacle, something we had never seen the likes of before: a fully equipped gigantic indoor water park. Computerized climate control kept the temperature appropriate for all kinds of outside weather conditions. New, State-of-the-art lighting provided for an even tan while enjoying the exciting water park, and it was all indoors. The there was even easy listening music.
Grizzly’s Grill bordered on the water park. We studied the menu for a while and settled on the old American favorite, loaded hamburgers with fries and drinks.
While they were preparing our burgers and B. J. was rounding up some condiments, I went outside and found a table with a good view of the water park so we could observe the happy splashers and swimmers while we were eating. The burgers were bigger than the average burger, and fundelicious. We had fun eating beside the water park.
Back in our pad, a familiar tone told us that we had a text message; it was Rita and Nelda. The text read: “We are here! Out front!”
Replying to the text, I told her to hang loose for a few minutes and B. J. would be down to greet her and show her where to park. A hot pot of chili was ready on the stove. I went out on the patio to watch for them. Shortly, the big Lincoln Navigator rounded the bend and slipped into a parking place dwarfing, externally at least, Big Red.
B. J. rolled a cart out for them to load their things on and soon they were with us in the condo. We handed them their keys. They happily picked out their room and unloaded the cart.
B. J. and I thought that after their long ride up from Georgia, via Helen, they would be ready to don some comfies and kick back with a bowl of hot chili. Knowing Rita and Nelda, we should’ve know better. They were ready to hit the strip with the flashing lights and explore Sevierville and Pigeon Forge at night.
The tempo in Tennessee was definitely picking up.
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