Saturday Summary: Week 4 - Cold Snaps, Trolls, and a Tao of Pooh Moment

Sewanee, TN (70’s) → Nashville, TN (60’s)  → Knoxville, TN (50’s) → Ashville, NC (40’s overnights in 20’s) → | Nov 22nd - Nov 29th

The temperature game completely betrayed us this week. We left Sewanee wrapped in warm 70° sunshine and ended up in Asheville with 40° days and 20° nights. What the real heck? This was not the deal Mother Nature and I agreed to. We’re chasing 70°F remember?!?

Before leaving Abi’s, we did what any sensible travelers living in a rolling tin should do; stocked the fridge with warm, reheatable meals. Chicken and rice. Mexican rice. Easy stuff we could cook on the Coleman stove without breaking our budget in a moment of “Let’s just eat out.” Future us thanked past us more than once.

Tennessee

Nashville

I’ve heard so much about Nashville that I was excited to finally go… and then we stepped foot on Broadway.

Let’s just say: not my scene.

Crowds of people dressed like cowboys for the day, listening to rock music blasting from every open door. Cowboy hats: costumes. Boots: costumes. 

Naturally, we went to the Visitor Center, because I am absolutely the kind of person who goes straight to the tourism office. And thank goodness. The staff reassured me that Nashville does have the authenticity I’d imagined… we just had to look for it.

And sure enough, we found it at Acme Feed & Seed, which strives to “stand for, serve, support, share, and save Nashville’s unique identity.” It felt like the Nashville I’d hoped for. Good country music, good beer and a bar made from the original floors when it was a feed store.

Lookout Mountain

The next morning we headed toward Lookout Mountain on the Tennessee–Georgia border. The drive up was tight, winding, and full of drop-offs, the kind of roads that make me question all my life choices. Luckily, Don is unbothered by this kind of driving, he can even admire the views as he drives!

Ruby Falls was packed, so instead of waiting three hours for a tour, we hiked the mountain with Lucky and soaked in the views before continuing on to Knoxville.

Knoxville

Our Harvest Host for the next two nights was The Next Level Brewery, the bartender was fantastic, he even reserved our parking spot. The food truck—Snack City Heroes—served a Crimson Crusader pizza big enough for the two of us. The next day, I biked to the Knoxville library and worked among the stacks. (I will never stop professing my love for public libraries.)

At lunch, Don and I biked around World’s Fair Park, snapped a few pictures, and of course searched for the Dolly mural, because it’s Dolly! Lucky and I spent the afternoon at Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar with Lucky. They have a dog menu, a Dog Menu!! I’ve known many dog friendly restaurants, but to have several menu options dedicated to dogs was fun to see. Biscuit and gravy for her. Beer for me.

North Carolina

We drove into Asheville before sunrise and missed most of the Blue Ridge Mountain views. The stretch of I-40 under construction was tight but manageable. After a blur of “Villes” (Nashville → Knoxville → Asheville), we settled in for four nights at The Finch Grocery in Biltmore Village for Thanksgiving.

The Finch is adorable. It took everything in me not to buy one of everything. I appreciate their dedication to source and sell local products. After working next to the Taste of NY Market, I know it’s not as easy as it seems.  They even had great coffee and house made frittatas for breakfast and the most gorgeous local made crossaints.

Thanksgiving with Trolls

We started Thanksgiving morning at the North Carolina Arboretum to see Thomas Dambo’s Trolls. I have followed them on social media for years. The walk was freezing (30°F!), but magical.

But apparently, the trolls had one more surprise for us.

When we returned to the Skuhlbus, Don spotted a puddle under the radiator. Great. Perfect. Happy Thanksgiving to us.

We stopped at Ingles and Shell for antifreeze and stop-leak, a temporary fix. Mechanics were closed. Holiday. Obviously.

So I grabbed a few items from Ingles for our Thanksgiving feast: stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce. No turkey, raw meat in the bus is a no-go. But honestly? It was perfect. We ignored the issues with the bus and celebrating Thanksgiving in our crazy adventure and had a nice afternoon and evening because we had HEAT!

A Full Tao of Pooh Moment

By morning, we were back on the mechanic hunt. One shop said yes over the phone, until we arrived and they realized “school bus” literally meant a school bus and we didnt fit.

Standing in that parking lot, in 30°F! we had a moment straight out of The Tao of Pooh. You know the part where Winnie-the-Pooh reminds us that forcing things never works, but staying open to options does?

So we paused. We breathed. We let go of urgency. And then things unfolded exactly how they needed to.

We wandered into an Advance Auto Parts next door on the advice from Don's brother. Anastasia and Brian didn’t just have the part we needed, they recommended a local mobile mechanic team who could see us right away. Anastasia even went out to the bus for a tour and to be sure that we got the right parts, especially nice in the 30°F weather.

Enter Matthew and Troy from Asheville Mobile Mechanics, our mechanic angels of the day. In two hours, they fixed the radiator issue, changed our oil, and even gave us tips on national parks to visit and burgers to eat in Moab. Our day spun from stressful to grateful; classic Pooh wisdom in action.

South Carolina

With Skuhlbus feeling healthy again, we headed toward Congaree National Park, stopping overnight at a campground in Spartanburg that Karen booked while we had lunch.

It was a chaotic week, but thanks to Pooh moments, patient thinking, and a whole lot of luck, we ended it with full hearts and a functional radiator.

Here’s to whatever next week brings.