Summer Vacation 2020 – Day Two

Monday, July 13, 2020

Our first full day of vacation has been exhausting! In a good way.

Andy and I started with a run, as we‘ve been doing MWF for over a month now. The temperature and humidity were about the same as at home, but we‘re really spoiled having a university right by our house. This neighborhood isn‘t busy, but we were running solely on roads, and many fenced backed yards contained dogs. Our AirBnB is basically in the shadow of Lookout Mountain, and at one point we turned a corner heading back toward the house, and the mountain was shrouded in clouds. It looked really cool. (Cooler than the picture!)

After the run we moved pretty slowly getting ready but finally set out for Cloudland Canyon State Park. The park is only a couple miles from our AirBnB, but we had to go around the mountain to get to it, so it probably took us about 15 minutes in the car. We’d chosen a moderately rugged trail called the West Rim Loop Trail. We headed toward the trailhead I had found and put on Google Maps, but that was a campground lot, so we found another one. The trail is about 5 miles, but we took only the three-mile loop and not the “lollipop stick” part. The views were amazing. And we were really hot and tired when we were done!

We grabbed a carry out lunch from a nearby diner, headed back to the house, and got into the swimming pool. It felt amazing. Too soon, though, it was time for me to pick up the groceries I’d ordered the night before.

Now we’re watching Aladdin and relaxing. Soon, thankfully, it will be time to sleep. We’re headed into Chattanooga tomorrow!