oh, play me some mountain music

... but please don't make me drive in them very often.
Here's the letter I wrote earlier today to my youngest brother.

Hey, Tony!
My first priority is to write to you today. I did finally dash something short to you at the tail end of last week, but let's catch up, shall we?
That three-day trip of driving in mountains wore me out. Those twisting, curving, rising, falling roads demand constant attention. CONSTANT. People keep saying, 'oh, isn't it so pretty up there?' Well, what little bits and pieces I saw were, indeed, pretty, but as the driver of a ton of death machine, I had few opportunities to admire the view.
It took me two full days, and maybe a piece of a third, to recover. Seriously. I was exhausted.
That said, the trip was well worth all of that! I got to dance to Kevin Costner & Modern West's music (kind of like John Mellencamp, I've been told)! I saw the "new to me" version of the Tennessee Aquarium - both buildings! - and had a fabulous 2 1/2 hour dinner with Stephanie in Monteagle! And, I had a 3 1/2 hour visit with you! :-)
The week I came back was the last week of classes. I gave my last test, graded it, gave it back to the students. That Thursday, May 1, I went to a science nerd banquet to honor my friend Cedric for his 50 years of being a member - wow! Then I got up the next day and went to visit my BFF and her daughter until the morning of Monday, May 5th. We went to the Botanical Gardens, an Anti-Prom dinner (with Morgan and 3 of her friends! great fun!), and their May bellydance show in which they performed a comedy mother-daughter dance!
Fabulous fun!
Okay! I am so glad I did this! Later!
with much love!

ps I even made it back here in time for Deborah & Kimmi's reception!