You would think that after staying at a lovely 3-story VRBO on a lake in Tennessee that I’d come back talking about the views, jumping from a fifteen-foot dock into the water, kayaking through the finger lakes, singing karaoke, and just generally enjoying time with friends. We recently stayed at this awesome place on Lake Norris, and it was so much fun. In fact, it was kind of wild. Kim and I coordinated almost 30 people from 11 families staying together for a few days. That level of logistics and organization is not for the faint of heart but still not what we all remember from this trip. It was for Scholastic Rowing Association’s National Championships, which our daughter Abby got to compete in. Again, you’d think that would be what my story was about or what we’d remember.
What truly wasn’t for the faint of heart was the driveway that led into this amazing house. Every driver in our group will remember it for a long time. We had families arriving at various times, some in the middle of the night, and as a precaution I sent them pictures, texts, various messages, warning of how steep this driveway was. I even met most of them at the top of it, just to make sure they didn’t drive down and get stuck.
My pictures aren’t going to do it justice. First, you came from the main road down a steep but manageable asphalt drive with two extremely sharp hairpin turns.
Then you arrived at a little landing area that was still forty feet above the house. Here the surface turned from asphalt to a medium-sized river rock. Slippery when dry, like a slip-and-slide when wet, and for most of the time we were there, it was raining.
The angle down ranged from 30 to 50 degrees depending on which side you took, but here is the wild part: it went almost straight into the house’s garage with only the slightest bit flattening out first. How multiple cars haven’t just careened through the garage area is beyond me.
My trusty old 4Runner made it up and down the steep bit a few times, but then on the morning of the actual rowing competition, when Kim and I were trying to leave in the rain and in the dark before daybreak, my car was struggling. I’d get up a few feet, then I could feel the tires starting to spin and the car starting to slide back down. Even the brakes would lock up, and I could tell the wheels just couldn’t grip the slippery rock. Finally I gave it one last try and got the car about halfway up and it held, inch by inch, and made it to the top, so fortunately we were on time for the races. I think, in twenty years, we will barely remember our kids even racing, but we will never forget this driveway!
It’s funny what sticks in our memories, and often it is what we least expect. We try our best to make plans, to create moments to remember and then something like a wild driveway becomes the story. I’m happy to say that all drivers and pedestrians made it through the weekend safely and the kids had fun rowing and enjoyed the lake house. What memories are you making this summer?
