Just couldn't help it....

I couldn't help both buying and eating this Royal Wedding donut (and then had to unbutton my pants for the remainder of the day's ride):

I'm camping outside of Talahassee, Florida.  Holy moly mosquitoes!!

Leaving Miami

[Afternoon clouds from the balcony]

[Quad plays in the pool with a friend's kids-- Nathan and Brendan]

[Dinner at Michael's Genuine.  So serious...]

[Self timer misfire]

[Giggling....]





[Quad and Abel before the start of the corporate 5k]

[Post race.  Good race, Quad!]

[Go Team Ryder-- Tina, Abel, and Quad]

South Beach-- that's how I roll

I started Thursday with high hopes.  I was just south of Bristol, Tennessee and planned to hit Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  This park straddles the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.  It's the only national park that does not charge for admission.  It was established, in part, with funds from the Rockefeller family with the contigency that the park not charge its visitors.  Its also the most visited national park.

The drive from Bristol to Great Smoky Mountains was amusing.  From I-81, I drove secondary roads into the worldwide center of kitsch, Sevierville, Tennessee.  Sevierville is the birthplace of Dolly Parton.  It is also home to Dollywood.  Don't get me wrong, I love Dolly.  I think she is sassy and talented and really funny.  (And, as an aside, I dressed up as Dolly Parton for Halloween when I was, like, six years old.)  Seeing Dollywood made me sad.  Sevierville was probably a gorgeous little mountain town when Dolly was born there.  It is now a horrible strip mall of touristical tragedies.  I resisted the lure of the Hatfield and McCoy dinner show.  I drove on to the park.

Sadly, the weather didn't cooperate.  The lower elevations of the park were slightly foggy and cool.  I stopped at the visitor's center to choose a hike and found one that was a short 4 mile loop with an optional 2 mile extension.  As I ascended, the fog got thicker.  Folks kept below the 35 mph speed limit.  I had to double back to find the trail head because I didn't see the sign until it was too late.  I geared up (snacks and water) and started on my way.... until I realized that visibility was probably 4 feet.  Knowing my navigational limitations, I stopped and returned to the car.  If I can get lost with perfect visibility, what would I do with pea soup fog?  Oh well.  I am now part of the depressing statistic about Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 3/4 of visitors do not get more than 100 yards from a paved surface.

I motored on through the Cherokee Reservation on the North Carolina border of the park.  This was the Cherokee indian version of Sevierville.  Kitsch.  Kitsch.  Kitsch.

And from there, it was a blur of interstates: through North Carolina into South Carolina and then Georgia.  The radio stations were less than satisfactory.  And Florida.  Don't get started about how boring Florida was.

But here's the light at the end of the I-95 tunnel:

That's me (when did I perfect the Miss America pose?) on my brother's balcony in Miami Beach.  I could get used to this....

There are two 'n's two 's's and four 'e's

Yup.  That's Tennessee.

Day #1 of Mr Toad's wild ride consisted of a remarkable amount of driving.  515 miles to be exact.
These are the states I traveled through: MA, CT, NY, PA, WV, and VA.

There were supposed to be heavy thunder and lightning storms in Northern Virginia, so I bid for a hotel room online and got a fancy room at the George Washington Hotel in Winchester, VA for half the price.  And then it didn't storm very much at all.  I felt robbed.... until I settled into my nice pillowtop mattress and fell asleep.

This morning, I headed for Shenandoah National Park.  I last visited in 1998, I think.  Spring has just about arrived in this neck of the woods.  The trees are about to bud, so all of the skylines have a bright green haze around them.  Many of the fruit trees are flowering right now-- I would definintely not have known there were so many cherry and apple trees along the roads here if they had not been showing off their spring colors.

I embarked on what was supposed to be a 6 mile hike to a waterfall-- the Overall Run Falls which are supposed to be the "biggest" in the park.  It was chilly to start-- mid 40s, I think.  Because the leaves aren't out on the trees yet, the sun warmed me right up and it turned out to be a pleasant hiking temperature.  The falls were really more like a roaring river.  I enjoyed the sound of rushing water and the immaculately groomed trails-- part of this particular hike followed the Appalachian Trail.  My hike turned into more like a 10 mile slog after I, you guessed it, took a wrong turn and made an extra loop off of the loop.  Where is CG and his sense of direction when I need him?

 I drove through the rest of Shenandoah NP-- about 105 miles and rejoined Interstate 81 South.  I'm camping just outside of Bristol, Tennessee.  The campground office was closed when I arrived.  One of the "regulars" helped me figure out where the tent camping area is.  It's kind of amusing to lie in my tent and write this blog!  I am, according to this helpful guy, the first tent camper of the season.  I always knew I was kind of special.

And like a prom dress....

I'm off!!  Tomorrow I begin my cross country odyssey.  First stop:  Miami Beach, FL.

I'd like to introduce you to my chariot:

His name is Skip.  Handsome, no?

At long last.

The final round of pictures... for now!

[Post hot springs morning reveals this pretty little town with a name I can neither find nor remember.  Did I dream it all up?]

[Black rock river canyon on the way from Chos Malal to San Rafael.]

[Funny rock formations in Canyon de Atuel.]

[Canoe on the lake in Canyon de Atuel.]

[Back in Buenos Aires.]

[Trying to explain to the valet about the filthy car at the fancy Hilton.]

[Goodbye car!  Goodbye CG!  That's a total of 10858 km (6786 miles).]

[On to Teatro Colon (built in 1908 and recently reopened after extensive refurbishment.  Supposedly one of 5 venues in the world that has perfect acoustics) and Karen!!]

[Exquisite marble]

[Mosaic fan flooring-- 300+ tiles for each fan, all hand placed]

[Bizarre set for "El Gran Macabro."  This is the first performance at Teatro Colon in 4 years.]

[The lights of Teatro Colon.]

[Well translated sign at the Museo Evita.  The rest of the museum was pretty much the same.  Not worth a visit if you are ever in Buenos Aires.]

[Mediocre dinner during obligatory visit to Barrio Chino (Chinatown).]

[Graciela gave us tickets to see an open air Placido Domingo concert.  Karen, as you can see, had to be dragged downtown.]

[Either Karen smells or everyone is afraid of the "china."]

[Lunch at Fundacion PROA]

[After a satisfying lunch, two girls hit the self timer.]

[Louise Bourgeois spider in front of Fundacion PROA.]

[Goodbye lovely Karen.  Goodbye Buenos Aires...]

Just when you thought I might be done

More pictures!!

[One of the lakes on the Route of the Seven Lakes.]

[Cooking breakfast at the "improved" campground beside Laguna Blanca. 
It was colder and bleaker than this picture makes it look.]

[Excavation site at the Dino Park]

[Big dinosaur fossils.  'Nough said.]

[Tour guide, Gaston, holds a blighted ovum, dino style.  This egg has been x-rayed and is empty.]

[Red rock landscape around the Dino Park.]

[Car outside our hotel in Chos Malal-- "Let's go slowly to space."  And the owners of this vehicle gave US funny looks..... Hmph.]

[In the mountains above Chos Malal.  Felt like the top of the world until the clouds lifted.]

[Getting closer to the hot springs.]

[Steaming river from a distance.]

[Geyser!]

[We can't go over it; we can't go under it; must go through it...]

[More hot water coming out of the earth.]

[Hot enough to cook a nice afternoon snack-- that's a brown egg cooking away in there.]

[Steam kissed (and apparently cross-eyed).]