The Terrible Catsafterme

I had had such a great time hanging out with my new girlfriend Erin in California and back in Ohio the week after, that I was anxious to find an opportunity to meet up with her again just two weeks later. She left on Ohio on Mothers Day, May 9, and the week that followed saw a bit of rainy weather and the appropriate amount of laziness that resulted. I began watching Archie Bunker’s Place on DVD and I think that one season officially now holds the record of longest time it took to get through one season of TV.

On Thursday, May 13, we had the official company retirement party for my boss John, who was leaving our company after 37 years of employment. John had been a great boss and one of the most respected guys in the business. We had a nice dinner for him at Montgomery Inn with some great appetizers and a delicious BBQ pork ribs and chicken dinner. There was also a nice video presentation of accolades as well as a live spoken one from Rick, my former zone manager.

I took the opportunity to get some relaxation in, doing almost nothing but lazing around the house, laying out and getting a bit of a sunburn, watching my website get more and more behind, and doing a lot of talking to that girl I was crazy about. I had been either traveling or otherwise completely occupied for the past nine weekends, so this was a nice break.

But on Friday, May 21, 2010, the traveling and fun resumed…and I got to see that girl once again. We decided this time to meet in Knoxville, Tennessee, having already met in Gatlinburg once and having plans to meet there yet again the following weekend. I had passed through the city many times on the way south, but never actually did a thing there. I didn’t expect to find a whole lot to do in the city, but knew that spending time with Erin was the main reason for the visit anyway. I’m sure being with her had a lot to do with it, but it turned out that I liked Knoxville quite a bit.

I left from the store I was visiting in Hebron, Kentucky, after work and drove the four and a half hours – the first leg through driving rain, enjoying my iPod and frequent phone conversations with Erin, who had left quite a bit earlier in the day and got there a few hours before me this time. It was about 9pm when I arrived at the Comfort Inn & Suites, where her beaming, beautiful face greeted me in the parking lot.

We walked to dinner at Carabbas across the street where we shared pasta, pizza, and sangria. Back at the motel, I went through the first of a few photo albums that she had been working on chronicling her interesting history in Ohio and California. I gave her some Esther Price candy to commemorate our two months of knowing one another.

Together again…at Carabbas

On Saturday, May 22, we spent a lazy morning chatting and perusing the remaining two photo albums, all the while enjoying some 1920s jazz music on the iPod dock she brought along. We didn’t get going until about noon, heading first to Panera for lunch.

I think I was a good sport about making a couple of shopping stops at Jo-Anne fabrics and Old Navy before working on the little itinerary I had worked out. In fact, I quite enjoyed browsing for photo album supplies at Jo-Anne and fighting the crowds for the $1.00 flip-flop sale at Old Navy. I didn’t get any flip-flops for myself, but I did pick up a few t-shirts. It was fun just to be anywhere with Erin.

With one of the many, many pairs of flop-flips purchased that day

By 2pm, we were making our first historical stop at the First Presbyterian Church. I was able to make a ‘bucket-list’ checkmark on a grave of one of the United States Constitution signers. William Blount (1749-1800)  in fact was the only signer of the constitution whose final resting place is outside of the 13 original colonies. He moved to Knoxville after being appointed Governor of the Southwest Territories by George Washington in 1790.

Hangin’ at the First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville

United States Constitution signer William Blount

A bonus grave: James White, the founder of Knoxville

Not far from the grave was the William Blount Mansion. Erin and I joined a tour of it already in progress, then went to the visitor center, watched the introductory video, and took the beginning of the tour up to the point that we joined it. Although one would be hard-pressed to call this house a mansion by today’s standards, when it was built in 1792, log cabins were still the common home of the day. Since this house would be acting as the capitol of the Southwest Territory, Blount wanted the building to command the respect of visitors.

Outside the William Blount Mansion

The world’s smallest mansion

 Inside the ‘Governor’s Office’, a free-standing building built on the property – with a copy of the  first Tennessee state constitution signed by William Blount

Indicating Blount’s signature on a copy of the United States Constitution, now hanging in his office

Erin and me in the backyard

It was around 3:45 when we finished up here. The docent at the Blount Mansion gave us a map of the area and told us that we could leave my car there. So Erin and I set out on foot to explore the area, stopping first on the South Gay Street bridge for a nice view of the Tennessee River.

Overlooking the Tennessee River

As we walked toward north on Gay Street, we came upon the Old Knox City Courthouse, which featured a nice monument to Knoxville, the original Tennessee State Capitol, and the memorial grave of John Sevier, the first Governor of Tennessee (and the only governor of the territorial State of Franklin, which later became part of Tennessee). Oh, and there was also a cannon here. Guess what I did.

Monument at the Old Knox County Courthouse. I guess Knoxvile couldn’t make up its mind if it wanted to be capital or not

The grave of John Sevier at the old courthouse

Face in the cannon in Knoxville

We also happened upon Coolato Gelato, which apparently is one of the most popular gelato shops in the wide area. The proprietor told us that one couple drove in from Asheville, NC, just to visit. Another Italian customer told him that his gelato wasn’t quite as good as Florence, but was much better than the gelato found in Rome. I’m not connoisseur, but as someone who ate gelato every day for a week in Italy, I’d have to say that my Strawberry Mascarpone Cheesecake and Lavender Honey gelato ranked right up there.

On the streets of Knoxville, Tennessee

Erin on South Gay Street, with the historic Tennessee Theatre looming in the background

It’s the hard Knoxville life…for us

Mast General store was near the end of the business district of South Gay Street. This might have been the most fun place to shop of all, Erin and I finding barrels full of all kinds of candy, much of it from our childhood: wax bottles, pop rocks, clove candy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and a very long stick of bubble gum for Erin’s daughter Chloe that we would have to carry for the rest of the day. Erin and I each got a Blenheim ginger ale, one hot, one mild. The picture we had taken of us with our drinks is one of my favorites of us.

Erin amidst the incredible amount of candy in Mast General Store

The hot and spicy ginger ale lovers

We began to work our way toward the convention center area and the Sunsphere, which served as the symbol of the 1982 World’s Fair. We stopped at an interesting looking store called Yee Haw on the way, but were disappointed to find that all they were was a letterpress, print, and design company. The Sunsphere, naturally enough, was very easy to find – but one of the other interesting looking things I was looking for was a giant Rubik’s Cube that had also been one of the most well-known icons of the 1982 World’s Fair.

The information I had said that it was located in the Knoxville Convention Center, so we spent an ample amount of time searching the entire facility. Turns out it was actually in the Holiday Inn at the Convention Center, which ironically Erin and her kids had once stayed in during a trip home from Ohio last year. Once we found it, we decided to enjoy staring at it, by sitting down on a bench for a while and eating some candy. Erin somehow managed to get a foot massage.

A giant Rubik’s Cube and Chloe’s gum

It was about 6pm when we went up into the Sunsphere. We had no idea what was up there and were a bit surprised that the only floor that was open to the general public was a bar. So we figured we’d have a seat, have a beer, and look out over the city. I enjoyed a Blue Moon while she opted for a bottle of Yuenling.

The Sunsphere is the object I’m pointing at with the gum

Erin and the Sunsphere

Overlooking Knoxville with our beverages in the Sunsphere

After our significant amount of walking, our walk back to the car at the Blount Mansion seemed a bit long. Also contributing was a wrong turn or two. Still we made it back in about twenty minutes and headed out of downtown Knoxville by about 7pm.

When Erin had been here before, she and the kids had enjoyed a great Chinese meal at a place called Wok Hay, so we figured a return visit was in order. The place was in fact very tasty. We split an appetizer plate of pan-seared dumplings, spring rolls, and crab rangoon and an additional appetizer of seared ahi tuna with mango salsa. I had some great moo shu pork and Zen Zang beverage of Zen green tea liqueur, Skyy melon vodka, lime, and hot asian spices. Unfortunately, it was garnished with cucumber. I think I ate so much that for a few minutes I thought I was going to pass out.

Filling up like a madman at Wok Hay. Cheers!

We got back to the motel around 10 and hit the hot tub. Fortunately the hot waters helped my belly get back in order. But unfortunately, we had to share the tub with a family that I referred to as the Buttermans.

Hot tub decompression

Erin and I had a nice brunch at the nearby Parkside Grill at around 11am the next morning. They had a very good Full Monte (Monte Cristo) sandwich, and even though the bacon was crispy enough to Erin’s liking, it was a very nice breakfast. The goodbye wasn’t as tearful as others had been as we knew we’d only have four days without seeing each other before we were to meet up again.

Farewell brunch at the Parkside Grill, with one of the new Old Navy shirts

Incidentally the night that I returned home on Sunday, May 23, the last episode of Lost finally aired, culminating the six-year run of the beloved series. I had watched the first five seasons on DVD only, but watched the sixth season as they aired. In all honesty, although I appreciated the ending, I was left largely unsatisfied.

2010 will continue as Erin and I embark on our next meeting…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 6:30 am and is filed under 2010's - Early, Famous Graves, Historical Locations, Vacations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.