In a Flat Land

Geographically speaking, we drove downstream through the gorge of the Pigeon River, out of the Great Smoky Mountains, into and across the Great Appalachian Valley, through Knoxville, up across and down the Cumberland Plateau, across middle Tennessee, through Nashville, then across the flat agricultural lands of western Kentucky to Laura’s hometown of Henderson, on the banks of the Ohio River. This is all very familiar territory for us; Laura and Craig met and started their married life in Nashville. We have driven this route scores of time visiting Laura’s parents; for a while with one, two and then three car seats in a Honda accord, then with three Game Boy-occupied older children in a minivan, now just the two of us in a camper van. Laura’s parents, Nan and Joe, are doing great at 88 and 94. The heat index, whatever that is, is 108, although it is really only 96.

Tomorrow with some apprehension we leave this nice home with central air conditioning, plenty of room in the refrigerator, good Wi-Fi and nice beds. What could go wrong?