Sight seeing at Oak Ridge and shooting with the Knights (road trip diary - 8).

First, here are a few shots from the road trip down from Williamsport to Harriman.

Here's a shot of the road down the west side of the Susquehanna. The river was obscured by fog all the way. I think this was taken about 8am, or thereabouts.

Saw this cool air boat being towed down the road...

And this Stiker armored car in an army convoy. Note the nice GPS system my buddy loaned me for the trip. Nice toy, but it tends to overheat up on the dash, so I put a towel over it.

I was smokin' a stogie and jammin' tunes all the way. Robert Johnson, Albert King, The Black Crowes, Jimi Hendrix, Government Mule and the Allman Brothers. Must of had my mojo workin', 'cause I was able to evade capture by at least three state troopers who should have nabbed me for flyin' low. I was able to make good time, cutting an hour off the trip from the last time. Helps to go 75 or 80 most of the way.

Today we hit the road and Mushy showed me around the perimeter of the plant he worked for about thirty years.

Oak Ridge was a part of the Manhattan Project in World War Two, and parts of it still function, so we couldn't get too close, but it was very interesting to see the old K25 plant where Mushy worked part of the time, and other buildings too, and listen to some of the stories from that time. It was cool to see what's left of the old housing, and the community that grew up there over the decades that the facilities have been in operation.

After that After that we strolled through Gander Mtn., waiting for the eating place to open. We went to Wild Wings in west Knoxville, and both of us chose the eight piece meal, and a beer.

The Sierra Nevada was cold wonderfulness, and it turns out they actually had wings the flavor of the generals chicken. You know I was in heaven.

Later we headed over to Steve's place (one of Mushy's brother-n-laws) and shot guns. Another brother in law, Ron, met us there, and we all had a great time.

I got to shoot a few of their toys...

I shot Mushy's .45 revolver.

And I got to shoot a Garand for the first time...

Mushy checked out my AKM. It's a hoot to shoot, fer sure.

And when he got to shootin' it, he kind went over the edge, emptyin' a clip at some inoffensive beer bottles. It was a great time.

After the shooting, we retreated to the comfort of Steve's screened-in porch. The beer was flowing, and the stogies burnin', and the tales a spinnin'. My first Macanudo. Very smoothe! Good times. I tell ya, I'm havin' a ball here with these folks. Best time ever. Can't believe how well we've all hit it off. Steve's place was cool as hell, and I bet it's even prettier in the winter.

Well, that's enough. I'm hoggin' Mushy's computer. More fun later. Cheers.