Monday, June 1, 2015

Dandridge to Newport

With a good day of rest at the antique shoppe I awoke refreshed, got everything ready for the fourteen miles to Newport. I checked the time when we got to the main road over downtown Dandridge , it was one o'clock. A long bridge crossing Douglas Lake five miles away was a concern. If it were too narrow I would rather dodge a car at four than many during the morning rush. The bridge was modern and wide so my concerns were overblown. I had a full six feet from the white line to the wall. Only two cars went by while I crossed. One from each direction, passing at the spot I happened to be. Everyone had room to spare.
Later in the morning after I had gotten into Newport I stopped at a gas/mart. Rather, Nice (the dog) sat down in the grass in front of the store and wouldn't get up. I leashed him to the world and went inside. There I found one of the women working there had just finished cooking a large pile of crispy bacon. While I purchased the tasty enticement for the dog the other woman, at the cash register and I talked about what we were doing. She said she passed me on her way to work...on the bridge. Nice enjoyed the bacon, then we walked on.
The early start had been fortunate. Weave our way along several sections of the old highway until we got to town where there was a long stretch where the road had been widened and paved but not yet open to traffic and we had a sixty foot wide walkway. Then we had a wide bike lane for the last miles toward town. We had walked over fourteen miles and the sun was just beginning to heat up.
Walking by the entrance to The KOA campground I thought it would be a great place to end the day. I could take a shower and wash some dirty clothes. The only thing was I had not spoken to anyone about a ride. (No one sees us in the dark or on the old road.)
Just then a man pulled in and parked to talk with me. He had seen us on the television news last week, his son had called him that morning after seeing us on the road. His wife did also. He told them both what I was walking for. It hit home for him because he was "pre-diabetic", many in his family were on medication due to diabetes. He had taken action to stay off medications by changing his diet and exercising. He was happy to ride me to Dandridge. We both thought it a coincidence meant to be, I couldn't thank him enough. After checking in we had a relaxing day beneath shade and an electric plug-in to recharge my battery-powered pump and use the fan for a change. I patched and painted the world as I washed clothes, took a dip in the pool, enjoyed a shower. I had a restful night 's sleep.
We were having very good luck thanks to loving people...





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