Chapter 2

She had been driving a few hours when Sharon decided to pull into a BP station for gas just off I40. It was mid morning now, the sky was blue but she was still about eight hours away from Nashville. After a quick trip to the restroom to freshen up, she browsed through the store and picked up a few protein bars and a Diet Coke. She paid for her few items and returned to her car.

The weather could not have been better. She updated her GPS and she was off again. Flipping the radio to her favorite radio station, she listened to a great selection of country songs. That too was her specialty. If you grew up in the Carolinas, you either sang blue grass or country. Well bluegrass did cross her radio dial at times, but it was country music that just stirred the passion in her.

She had not been any further than the NC mountains, but this trip would far surpass that. The interstate was busy. This amount of traffic was not something she was used to, but she just got in a slower lane and let the truckers and speed demons pass her by. So many vehicles, they swarmed past like flies. Trying to outrun other vehicles on the highway was not in her schedule. Even at a legal speed, the towns seemed to fly past her, Chapel Hill, Burlington, High Point.. The landscape quickly changed from flat land to beautiful rolling hills. It was a different feeling now. She loved the mountains and they were calling her.

Sharon finally stopped for a late lunch just past high Point. As she pulled off the interstate, she was releived to get a short break from the heavy traffic. Her favorite fast food restaurant did not disappoint her. Finding a table near the door, she pulled out her tablet and reviewed the directions to Nashville, upcoming campgrounds and other landmarks. She knew she would not make it all the way to Nashville today, but wanted at least to make it close to the Smoky Mountains. Notr having much experience driving in the mountains , her father had given her a few safety tips which would prove to be essential. Again she topped off her gas tank at the station across the road. She pulled back her long auburn hair into a ponytail and opened the sunroof.

To save money, Sharon had decided to stay in campgrounds. She was an avid camper and a former girl scount so she wasn't afraid of camping alone. In fact, there were few things she was afraid of, ecept maybe bears. To save the strain on her car she was going around the Smokey Mountain ridge instead of over it. Staying on I40 with the traffice was a safer choice for an inexperienced dirver in this area. Even though the road was still somewhat steep in places, it was much better than the exhausing trip over the Smokey Mountain ridge. A longer route, but safer. Keeping to the right in the slower lane made it easier for her.

She had done her research online. The best campgrounds, popular restaurants, best roads to travel. She was taking traveling alone seriously. It was almost 5PM now, she deceided to go ahead and stop at a campground just off the interstate. It wasn't fancy, but was next to a mountain stream. A nice family camground, it had the basic amentities: bathouse, campstore, and a great mountain view. There was no mall, no video store and no WI FI connection. But was only $20/night. There was however, a quaint little restaurant just a few miles down the road. After that there would be nothing for miles.

She got out of her car and went in to pay for the campsite. A little old lady in her eighties was at the counter. Reminding her of her grandmother, Sharon felt immediately at ease with her.

Well hello there, what can I do for you sweetie.

Well, what do you have available for tonight. Preferably by the stream.

She showed Sharon on a little map the campsite that would be hers. Sharon paid for the site, a bag of ice to put in her cooler, cereal, milk and a few snack items along with a country music magazine. She got back into her car and drove down a narrow path and parked in from of site #26 that just happed to back up to the creek.

Sharon popped open the trunk and pulled out her tent bag and a small hammer. Throwing it on the grown in front of her car, she made haste of the process of setting of the tent. Laying it out on the ground with the door facing the creek, she ran the poles through the loops, hammered in the stakes and unloaded her cooler, suitcase, laptop,a sleeping bag, camping lamp and a few other essential camping tools.

Since she had only packed a few food items, she took off down the road to the little restaurant she had passed. It was like something out of the sixties. Very basic but full of people. The campground was also full so this must be where a lot of the campers ate. She opened the somewhate plain menu and selected a vetable plate of collards, sweet potatoes and blackeyed peas. For an out of the way place, it met her needs just fine. There were simple gingham curtains hanging and candles in tin cans on the tables. The light over her head was a small foot tub with a light in it. Very quaint she thought. The waitress was a young girl about her own age in shorts that didn't leave anything to the imagination. What kind of dreams did she have, Sharon thought. In this little out of the way place was this her only hope for the future?

What can I get you

She was very pleasant and spoke with a more southern twang in her voice thanSharon. Reading the meanu closely, she gave the waitress her order and handed the menu back to her. The entier room seemed very small but there were people everywhere. An elderly couple sat across from her, smiling and sweeting holding hands like they probably did fourty years ago. A young man reading a paper was to the left of her. He was deep in thought and his eyes never left the paper. There was what appeared to be a newlywed couple to the right of her. They were holding hands and drowning in the moment. She looked at they and then back to the elderly couple and thought that was how they would be in a few decades. A midle aged man with a long beard and overalls sat across the room. He quietly sat and ate but his eyes were constantly surveying the room like a wild animal protecting its last meal. She wasn't sure whether he was a farmer or what his attire said about him.

She could have been a writer she thought. Looking at each one of them, she could write a song about them, each one with a different story. They were all different and yet the same. They all seemed to be going somewhere and just pausing only to enjoy a simple meal. The one thing they all had in common. Writing was something she wasn't very good at, but wanted to pursue. And, in music it was almost necessary. Even at her young age, Sharon seemed to have a knack to reading people.

The waitress brought her meal after a very short time. As she basked in the moment of dining, she continued to observe the activity around her. The food was wonderful. Much like her grandmother's cooking. She finished her meal and paid the cashier. As she walked toward her car it began to sprinkle. Oh my, she thought she had to get the top up. That proved to be a wise choice. Just moments later as she drove out of the parking lot onto I40, it began to rain harder. The elevation was becoming more challenging, and now rain! She had never driven in the mountains before so she was taking it slow and her father had made sure he had given her proper instructions. She was really glad now that she had made the decision to stop and find a campground early.

It rained for what I am sure was just a short time but seemed like hours. She arrived back at the campground and ran for her tent. Unzipping the door, she heard a noise nearby. It was a small dog sniffing around the tent in search of food. From her bag containing snacks, she pulled out a cookie and threw it to him. While feeding him she realized the rain was showing signs of stopping and the clouds were slowing moving to the east of her.

She stepped back out of the tent and zipped it back up. Grabbing her camera, she walked down to the creek. In the center, was a large granite rock. She could walk from were she was right out into the riddle of the creek by stepping onto smaller stones. Looking up the creek she could see several small falls. Not impressive by a photographer's standards, but still beautiful. This was truley God's country. The sun was setting now over the mountains. Walking back to her tent now she realized even though this was her first day, it had been a good day.