Gatlinburg - An Adventure in Survival (Girls' Trip to Gatlinburg)

Gatlinburg - An Adventure in Survival

An early morning departure.
Destination: Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Suitcases packed and neatly placed in a welcoming Camry trunk.
Eager shoppers meet as one battling illness nibbles on an anniversary Saltine.

First stop - Cracker Barrel.
Much needed coffee and bathroom break.
We eat, we leave. Melissa did pay this time.

CRASH!
F150 tangos with the Camry.
Everyone OK?
Kathy, can you speak?
Her first Slamogram.

A lone TVA worker
Virgil
Melissa admits guilt
Call the police

Officer arrives.
A sneer on his shaved face.
Bad morning - no handcuffs.
Capture the clandestine moment with film.
Ducktape car back together, kind officer slams truck closed.
Depart once again.

Patti, passenger seat driver.
Shirley sleeps.
Melissa, somewhat frazzled, drives on.

Pigeon Forge.
Loretta’s ten-minute quickie at the Family Inn.
Shirley asks to join,
and Loretta admits she’s not “as quick as she used to be.”

A village of shops greets us.
We eat, we shop, we journey to our hotel.
A long perilous pilgrimage.

Loretta eagerly unpacked her car’s luggage.
Melissa’s car angrily imprisons her traveler’s bags.
A friendly fireman loans Loretta a long crowbar, decorated with a yellow tip.
She is a woman on a mission. A mission impossible!
Turn the key, tear out the speaker, jump on the trunk, pull!
Nothing.
I need my medicine! I want my pillow! What about my underwear?

Dejected, Melissa calls home and relates the accident to a machine,
one that will greet Scott when he returns.

A furied search for toothbrushes and clothes begins.
Three toothbrushes, one to go.
Shirley, outfitted in her white bat finery, stumbles upon
a product that will keep each women fresh and dry.
A true matriarch.

A pancake house dinner warms our bodies and fills our empty stomachs.
Renewed, the seven travelers search for the remainder of their captured necessities.

Arms loaded with gifts and supplies,
the travelers return to the room.
Patti finally frees her puppies, but her cat is stressed out.
Jana airs out.
Dirty socks and Rook, a perfect combination.
Shirley cheats.
Jana, will you shut up? demands Polly Pureheart.
Christy doesn’t vote.

Calls home.
Brett killed an 8 point buck!
Ryan wrecked his car!
Scott, are you sure you’re not mad at me?

Never have I ever?
Lots of interesting revelations.

The travelers sleep.
They wake to a pancake breakfast.
Suitcases and makeshift bags are gathered.
A search for the perfect Christmas ornament.
A stop at Target.
The duck tape still keeping the car intact.

The group separates into two,
and each travels home
with achy joints, missing tail lights, dirty clothes, gifts, empty wallets,
and lots of family memories.

Melissa Shields 2001