Monday, August 8

Michael had a sleep in this morning, so we got a late start.  After breakfast we headed for the Smoky Mountain National Park and the Cades Cove Loop drive.  This is one of the few National Parks that don't charge an admission because of an agreement with North Carolina when the park was established.  The drive is beautiful with stops along the way to explore old homes of those who lived in the area before it was declared a park and they had to move.  A couple of times we saw the local black bears who spend most of their time in the trees.  The weather has been rather warm (upper 80's) and quite humid and today was no exception.  It rained pretty heavily as we were leaving the park heading into Gatlinburg.  We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at the Texas Steakhouse.  I had a 6 oz sirloin with BBQ ribs (love those ribs) with caesar salad and mashed potatoes.  Michael had smothered chicken and fries.  Their beer list was limited to domestic national brands which was a disappointment.  Not a terribly memorable meal, but it was reasonably priced.  Now we're back in the unit where Michael is napping and I'm getting ready to watch a little more Olympic coverage.  If we're hungry later, it will be a salad again.