Saturday April 20, 2024  Cleveland TN to Maynardville TN and home 

Considering the noise with the air conditioner we were surprised that we both slept until 8:30!  Very unusual for us.  In fact we missed the breakfast at the hotel.  The other Clarion Inn we stayed in did not have a very good breakfast so we did not hurry at all.  Thought we would eat a good late breakfast and then have a late lunch after the funeral we were headed for in Maynardville.  Our first thought was go back to the Old Fort for breakfast but at 9:30 their standing room only with a long wait led us to move on...we ended up at the Waffle House nearby and ate what for us is a huge breakfast.  We were then on the road about 10:30. Our ETA at to the funeral was 1 PM and it was a graveside service at 2 PM.  Well better early than late so we thought we would just sit in the parking lot and read.  

Nothing looked the least bit familiar in the Broadway, Fountain City area of Knoxville.  Ben's grandmother's house is gone - we could not even fine the office building that had replaced it. We did pass by the Central High School were Ben's mother and dad went to High School.  I remembered Maynardville as a very rural community.  It has certainly grown - has a Food City and quite a few fast food sites.  We parked and about 1:30 got out and walked up to visit with Ben's cousin.  It was a fairly short graveside service for Ben's aunt Louise Lynch. Especially nice was that we both had a nice visit with his other aunt Ethel Stone who is 100 years young.  A bit slow getting around on a walker but sharp as a tack. 

After the funeral we drove through Luttrell and Thorn Hill towards Bean Station and home through Rogersville.  We ate a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich in Rogersville about 4:30 and then headed home.  It was not a particularly difficult drive but that road from Maynardville to Bean Station was indeed curvy.  One switchback said 10 MPH!  

Home unpacked the Sprinter and did nothing.  Jane's car is covered in brown oak blossoms and the grass is high. Ben ate a bowl of soup about 7:30 but Jane never did get hungry.  

Total mileage for our trip 1,590.  Nice enjoyable trip but we were glad to be home.