The vaca to the Smokey Mountains starts out with an eight hour car ride. Its practically all interstate, so there isn't much to entertain yourself along the way, except the stops in between.
Made it past Meridian and into Alabama at the second exit, to the Love Truck Center, this the first of several gravity breaks. It was a truck stop that was humming with this activity, tire shop was taking care of some blow outs, the truck wash was blasting the crud away, the sleeper lot was full of truckers snoring the morning away. The pumps were busy topping off the outgoing rigs, and as I got out of the car, I got to wondering what awaited us inside?
When you entered the station you were welcomed by a little old crusty women yelling "welcome to Love's!". The rest room was buzzing with truckers washing hands and faces, getting ready to continue their trek. For some, the cold water was a wakeup call for the road ahead. For others, it was an attempt to revive those wrinkled, road weary faces that still had a few more miles to travel.
As I paid for my diet dew and snicker, the little old lady continued to yell " welcome to Love's!". You could tell from a close look at her that she had a few stories in her. She was or had been a heavy smoker in her day. I noticed a lot of small tattoos up both her arms, wondering what stories they could tell. She yelled "welcome to Love's" again as more customers came and went. I couldn't resist. I had to ask. "Is this where the Love Train ends or begins?". She burst into laughter, and said " oh thank you sweetie! The stories I could tell you!". "Welcome to Love's!". With that we were on our way!
Retired in 2012. I'm trying to out run old age and boredom. So far, I'm winning the race!
No comments:
Post a Comment