Day 2. Nashville. In which we question our life choices.
Luke felt this image perfectly represented the day.
We awoke to birds at some time past 5am. A rising chorus of chirps, warbles, chirrups, and one concerningly loud ki-ki-ki-ki had me wondering blearily for a moment if we hadn’t accidentally made camp at Jurassic Park.
I had to finalize some notes for an 8:30am presentation I’d had to reschedule from the day before (that aforementioned jerk Murphy, and all that), so I wouldn’t have been able to sleep much anyways. I never oversleep when I have something to do in the morning. Luke got to sleep in, though I likely wrecked any chance of that with all my moving around. Fun fact: the quieter you try to be in a tent, the louder you are. And I’m not particularly graceful, either.
My familiar Bradley was alert immediately and ready to leave the tent for his morning routines.
Bradley has decided he likes tent life.
We’re on the trail to find the outhouse! I appreciated the handrail very much.
Still searching…
Are you my bathroom?
Found it!
Here came the first true test of the trip. Would my mobile hotspot work well enough for a video call? With bated breath I opened my computer to check. It was at 1%, and died immediately. (If you know me, this is nothing new.)
In future days we’ll have our solar-powered electric generator out and running, but as I mentioned before we’d only gone for the bare minimum when unpacking at 10pm. I sighed and went for my iPad. It was inconvenient, but it would have to do. #GlampingProblems
90 minutes later, I was done with my call and poor Luke had packed up camp without my noticing. We were on our way to Asheville for brunch. We stopped at one of our favorite places (Liberty Cafe — Luke had a Cobb Salad and I had Overnight Oats with Fresh Peaches). I was so inspired that I insisted we stop at Whole Foods to grab some peaches. I was going to make those oats. (Spoiler: I did, and yes I will share the recipe with you.)
Then, it was time to hit the road again. Until this happened, and we realized we needed to rethink our car packing system.
That’s Bradley’s food on the ground, if you’re wondering. It flew out when we opened the trunk and spilled all over the road. I honestly would have left it, but…. inflation.
Okay… THEN it was time to hit the road again. We sighed as we realized our next drive would be 5 hours and 30 minutes… and it was already past lunchtime.
I wish I could tell you more about the drive, but it was a blur, except for a pit stop where we got some bangin’ falafel in Knoxville.
By the time we pulled off the main road to our next camp, it was nearly dark and we were tired and cranky. Despite our exhaustion, we gasped as we entered what looked like a fairy glade.
The temperature instantly dropped as we turned off the main road; statues and sculptures adorned the sides of the road, and a small, playful brook splashed and wound its way between the stones as we drove.
I wish I could tell you we appreciated the scenery more, but at the moment all we could think about was how this camp was a Done-For-You glamping situation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of our cots and mats, but after the driving day we had, I couldn’t wait to throw down my day pack and rest on a bed I didn’t have to build first. The bougie comfort I craved was so close I could almost taste it. We just had to make it to the site before the sun went down.
“Come before dark,” the instructions had warned. “There’s a steep hike to the site and you won’t be able to find your way in the dark.”
Steep-shmeep, I thought. After the 8 days in the Grand Canyon, I was a certified hiking pro. I had faced 200-foot drops without so much as a shudder!
Hold my beer, said the hills of Tennessee.
Not bad, you say? Oh, we were only at the beginning.
I should have known something was up when the host gave us general directions and bid us adieu.
15 minutes later and 200+ feet higher in elevation up unpaved, overgrown woods, this certified hiking pro was well humbled and gasping for air like a fish who accidentally flopped out of her lovely tank back in Raleigh.
Bradley bounded along like a happy little mountain goat, tailing his new friend Rocket the beagle up the trail.
When we arrived, we were tired. We were hot. We were sweaty. We were dirty. The huge, picturesque glass windows of our little cabin in the woods had acted like a magnifying glass for the sun, turning it into a sauna.
It was time, I realized, to bring a little bougie back into our camping situation.
Bougie Solution #1: Time for the Camp Shower
Oh wait… the shower equipment was down that hill mountain. Well, maybe tomorrow then.
We considered just going to bed in the loft, but then a giant wasp flew overhead and I shrieked. We opted to sleep on the floor with the dogs.
Dogs, you say? Yes! The aforementioned beagle Rocket decided Luke was his new favorite cuddle toy and decided to hang with us for the night.
Nestled amongst two happy pups, we settled in on the floor. We’d had a struggle of a day, but at least we could fall asl—
“Hey love, is Rocket biting himself?”
“No, I don’t think so. He’s just— oh. Oh no.”
Nestled amongst one happy pup (and one sad, hopefully flea-free pup outside), we settled in on the floor, both quietly wondering:
Have we made a huge mistake?
