>> There were a lot of motorcycles on the foothills parkway. Maybe the motorcylists are trying to save a little gas.


I bet they were just out having fun. The road that goes through the Smoky Mt. Natl Forest between Cherokee NC & Gatlinburg TN (and on to Pigeon Forge) is a biker's dream, 126 curves in eleven senic miles--or so I hear from my father-in-law, who bought himself a new motorcycle last year at age 73.

I may have mentioned him before--I think he's possibly your twin, separated at birth. Like you he is a retired schoolteacher who grew up in the Knoxville area and also spent time in Florida.
He also always has plenty of stories to tell :-)

koala"no scooters though"mom