Knoxville and Beyond

It was beautiful out when we got to Knoxville on Monday, which put me in the mood to work out, which I never really do. I went down to the gym, and it was like a sauna. No way was I going to exercise in there! So I thought, well, it's nice out, so I'll just go walking outside for a half hour or so.


I took off, crossed a bridge, and saw a sign that said "Riverwalk". Awesome- I can walk down by the water! I go for a bit, and realize something must be wrong- I am not on a river, but rather walking through trashy houses. But I decide to keep going. I come to a yellow sign that shows a winding hill is ahead. Can't be too bad, right? So I walk up, and up, and up. I'm dyin'. I get to the top where there is a water tower, and I see a man in a truck. I also see a sign for the town I am in, which is NOT Knoxville. I ask how I get back to my hotel, and he gives me a weird look. He says I can either go back the way I came, or go down the other side and follow the hospital signs. That should get me back.


I walk/run down the other side of the winding mountain, practically spraining my ankle numerous times, as I run into the rocks on the side of the road to avoid getting pummelled by semi trucks, and avoiding the animals on the road who were not as lucky. I keep going, and going. I finally see a hospital, and I walk onto the campus. I'm tired, and hurting. I go to human resources to ask how to get back to my hotel. She gives me a weird look. I ask what time it is- I'll fill you in on that later.


I follow her directions out of the hospital to get to a path that is supposed to lead me back into Knoxville. I wind up on a horse and cow farm, with a man in a tractor that gives me a funny look. OK buddy, I KNOW I'm not supposed to be here! I finally find a freeway. A lot of good that is going to do me. However, there was by some miracle a pedestrian bridge and path that ran next to it. A bridge that did not take me to my hotel, rather to....


The University of Tennessee. I ask a bus driver how to get to my hotel. "You walkin'???" Yes, I am, and you don't even know Mr. I ask about five more people, and make it back on a main road that is supposed to take me to my hotel. Guess what? It did.


I wanted to die. My body was just shot. I had listened to 38 songs on my iPod. I left at 12:45 and got back at 2:30. I went on the computer to Googlemap the distance I had been lost for, using landmarks I walked past.


10.2 miles.


And thanks to no sunscreen, here is what my chest looked like:



Not the best day ever.