And I would drive 930 miles...

From Bo Bo-

Nancy and I drove 930 miles on Sunday from Louisville, Kentucky to get back home so that I could do some school work on Monday and attend a city committee meeting Monday night.

We had a very eventful week in spite of driving 2,300 miles in 6 days.

We visited Joe and Claire in Marietta, Georgia Tuesday afternoon.

We rode the tandem 11 miles in Cades Cove in the Smoky Mts Wednesday morning -- this is an old farming community from the 1830's and there are still old homes, a mill, and several churches. It is a short ride but there are plenty of steep grades. This was our third time but with the heat wave it was much more difficult. We didn't see any bears this time.

Wednesday afternoon we hiked about 6 miles -- first to Andrews Bald at about 4,000 and then to Clingman's Dome at 6,000 feet. The bald is unique in the Smokies because it is open and you have a good view. This is more like the Texas mountains and we enjoyed that. We took the rough route to Clingman's Dome -- which has an observation tower. For the regular tourist there is a paved path climbing about 500 feet in half mile. This is where you can see how bad shape many people are in -- they are grasping for air, they are sitting down at every bench, they are stopping and turning back, etc. It was extremely hot and perhaps we are accustomed to the heat, but Nancy and I came in off the Appalachian Trail and looked a little rugged compared to most of the people.

Thursday - Saturday we were in Louisville for my 2nd 7/17th Air Cavalry Army reunion.
Friday morning Nancy and I rode 18 miles along the Ohio River and then a little into the city when the trail was blocked by construction -- we connected with some locals who knew how to get around the blocked trail.

Friday night Nancy and I had dinner on the Belle of Louisville and we took a 3 hour trip on the Ohio River.
Nancy knew more people (wives) at the reunion this year and visited quite a bit.
I have some very good war stories to tell -- they are truly amazing -- things that happen that soldiers on the ground don't know until it is over.

I visited with several of the young Cav soldiers from Fort Campbell -- they will be redeployed to Iraq or Afghanistan in 2009. In the next few months they will be deployed to the Mexican border in California -- it will be interesting to see how they handle that.
The weather in Tennessee and Kentucky was over 100 degrees every day -- it felt just like west Texas. In fact, it would have been cooler in Big Bend than in Townsend, Tennessee!

When we were leaving Texas last Monday I got a call from the University of Houston asking if I could teach Comparative Public Policy due to the instructor taking emergency leave. I am already teaching one class and trying to finish up my dissertation, but I decided to agree since teaching is my second career. If I make myself available to help out when they need help, perhaps it will help me along in my career.