Tennesse

 We had an excellent trip. We did so much in the short amount of time we had. I wouldn't have changed anything. I only wish we had more time.

I picked up Ava Thursday night. We spent the night at my condo and left early Friday morning. We drove through a snow squall leaving Detroit, but the weather improved the further south we traveled. Ava is a perfect travel partner. She is a good navigator, goes with the flow, and equally participates in adding unplanned stops.

We stopped for lunch in Cincinnati and spent a few minutes walking around the area, checking out the shops near the restaurant. I bought a tee shirt at a local bike shop before continuing our journey. The trip to Tennesse took nine hours of driving, but it was a pleasant trip. It gave us plenty of time to get to know each other better. I love listening to Ava discuss things she is passionate about. She can get worked up but is never unpleasant.

Our cabin was tucked away down a secluded gravel path just off the main two-lane road. It was fully stocked and situated in a few acres of woods with a mile of trails for us to explore. The cabin was a spacious one-room building divided into a seating area, a kitchen, a sleeping area, and a bathroom. We reached the cabin at dusk. It gave me enough time to explore some of the paths while Ava freshened up.

We stayed two nights in the cabin, and they were just as energetic as our days. The following day we walked the trails near the cabin. Ava loves to take photos. She can spend fifteen minutes trying to take the perfect picture of a pine cone. The path led us passed a pond, across a small creek, and into the trees. I basked in the silence of nature while she took photos. 

We headed for Cumberland Caverns after our walk in the woods. The main entrance into the caves looks accessible and inviting, but our tour took us on a half-mile hike up and down a rocky unmanicured path to an intimidating hole in the ground. We came prepared. They gave us hard hats with lamps, and Ava and I wore gloves and kneepads and carried extra flashlights. And believe me, they were all needed.

Our tour guide led us and fourteen others through a challenging adventure through dark, twisting corridors and tight spaces. It was very physical. We crawled through mud, climbed up and down ladders, and squeezed through tiny openings. I fell once on a slick mud-covered decline. We had to slog our way through six inches of water at one point on the two-and-a-half-hour tour. I found myself bumping my head more than once. Thank god for the hardhat, and we were both sogging and covered in mud before the end.

Ava was quiet as we walked back to the gift shop. I fear she hated the experience, but to my surprise-- she LOVED it. Ava wants to come back and explore more caves. Cumberland Caverns is not as scenic as Carlsbad but much more physically demanding if you are up for it. 

It was late afternoon by the time we finished the caves. We quickly changed the car and headed to Falls Creek state park after. It was a short drive away, and we got to see the Falls Creek Falls from the lookout before taking the half-mile trail down to the base. Once again, the path down to the bottom of the falls is only partially manicured, and you have to watch your step.

Ava is timid, but I convinced her to climb up onto a giant boulder at the base of the falls to take photos. It is a beautiful area. We drove around inside the park after seeing the falls. We saw plenty of deer along the road and inside the trees. There is a modern lodge with a restaurant inside the park, and we ate dinner there. The food was not remarkable, but the atmosphere inside the lodge was pleasant. It was late by the time we made it back to the cabin.

We went horseback riding the following day. Ava loves horses and used to volunteer at a stable in Detroit. It was a fun experience. Then we headed back to Falls Creek Park to revisit the first falls before exploring the rest of the park and going to the second falls. There was a lot of climbing. My thighs were sore by the second day, but Ava is a ball of energy.

Ava took more pictures of the second falls and along a suspension bridge before it was time for us to head toward Nashville. Our two-hour trip to Nashville took us down some scenic, twisty roads. Ava booked us a sound cleansing in Franklin, a ritzy area south of Nashville. 

We ate in Franklin. Ava loved the area. It has all the trappings of the rich-- Whole Foods (we stopped there to stock up on more snacks), bike paths, and a small downtown surrounded by big fancy houses. The sound cleansing is similar to the gong emersion we in Detroit in December. I was underwhelmed by this one, but Ava liked it.

We headed for our hotel in downtown Nashville after. Ava jumped into the shower while I napped on the bed. We she emerged, Ava sat next to me and said, "there is one more thing I'd like to do while we are here."

By this time, it was after ten at night. "What that?"

She was hesitant to say, "You know, that thing we talked about before."

I wasn't sure what she was getting at, so she finally admitted to wanting to go to a strip club. "There is one just two miles away from here," she told me. This was her idea, not mine. Ava is fascinated with strip clubs, though she has only been to one. Ava is a bit bi-curious. She doesn't admit it to many people, though.

I told her I was game for it. It was after midnight by the time we were dressed and headed back into the city. The Crazy Horse Gentlemen's club would be considered a lower-tier club back home in Detroit, but that made it an affordable adventure. They don't serve alcohol. It is strictly BYOB. That was okay for us because Ava doesn't drink, and I don't need to drink. There is no valet to park your car, and we just had to pay a cover charge. 

By my standards, it was a seedy club. There is a three-foot-wide expanse between the stage and the closest seats. The customers have to throw money at the stage, and after each set, a bouncer uses a squeegee on a pole to rake the singles into a bucket for the girls.

It was late, and the dancers still around were thicker than I preferred, but there was one Korean with a decent body that Ava and I liked. I tipped the girl when she was on stage, and we went back for private dances with her after. 

The girl made small talk with us between songs before asking if we wanted her to dance for both of us. I indicated she should dance for Ava, and I sat across from them to enjoy the show. At first, Ava sat stiff and was reluctant to touch the dancer, but she loosened up a bit after the first two songs so I had the girl dance two more for her. Ava liked it and I reaped the rewards late back in the hotel room. We had sex and stayed up past four-thirty talking.

The next day we didn't make it out of the hotel till noon. Then we ate lunch at a cafe and went to see the Parthenon before the long drive home.

It was a great trip. Ava said it was her second most favorite. Which I consider impressive considering it was only four days long and two were taken up by the drive. She was already planning a return to see more caves on the drive home, but I am not sure if it will happen. Ava has decided to take the two-year arrangement with the guy I mentioned before. She doesn't seem too excited about it. I think it is a bad idea and mentioned my opinion till she was tired of hearing.

My opinion is partly because I don't want to lose what we have going here, but I also don't think it is good for her. The thing is, Ava doesn't want to stop hanging with me either. She has fun with me. This trip really cemented the fact. It gave us a chance to talk and broke down the walls between us. I am just going to wait and see what happens next.