For the second night of the trip, we swing by our good old friend Budhu’s house in Knoxville. Ranjan-da came over too. We missed both Arpita (in India now) and Nita-di (in Davidson right now). A good relaxed evening on Budhu’s deck over some wine as he kept himself busy with the grill…

The water behind (if you can see it) is Little Tennessee river, I believe.

… and straightening out in the last stretch…

Someday, it is going to be me…

If you have not heard of the Tail of the Dragon, it is a very circuitous route in North Carolina/Tennessee border that is often considered a rite of passage for motorbikers. It is something I have a goal for myself to conquer someday on my motorbike. The 11 mile route has 318 switchbacks – and some very steep hair pin bends. On a bike, you rarely get to sit up. You are constantly pushing your bike down to the left or immediately recovering to push it down to the right. The route, unfortunately, claims one biker’s life every year on an average. There are some interesting statues and structures made of broken motorcycle parts at the entrance.

Since we were in North Carolina already, we decided to enter Tennessee thru the Dragon. Of course, I was much safer in a car. But I wanted to get a feel for the route. It is as demanding and scary as it is billed to be.

Someday, I will make it on my motorbike. For the time being, I slayed the dragon in a car…

Right in the middle of Fontana lake. A clear half mile away from any shores…

A very cute little house in a rare opening in the mountainside. Apparently, this is one of the oldest houses around in the state. Built in 1865.

After dinner, we came back to the hotel and instead of going to the bar, I got the wine out and sat on a bench next to the hotel. After Facetiming both the daughters, I settled down to feel the light breeze and watch the people going by. Sharmila got busy ordering food from Amazon and getting it delivered to Nikita (apparently, she has run thru her stock of snacks for three weeks within half that time !!)

We eventually made our way into Asheville in North Carolina on first day. Checked into a hotel and started walking the streets. It is an incredibly beautiful town – both the surroundings as well as downtown…

Tallulah Gorge in Georgia.
The gorge has, at times, sheer drops of nearly thousand feet…