Went to watch a “Piano Drop” this evening at MIT Baker House. A semi-regular (based on availability of irreparable pianos) event, though none occurred during my four years there. I brought Clara and Tyler with me, thinking it would be a hoot for them. There were plenty of people there, news crews included, and a helicopter overhead for good measure.

Well, after all the build-up, it was honestly something of a disappointment (and it pains me to say so). They had two pianos, so it should have been spectacular — a grand piano on the ground, with an upright dropped on top of it from six stories up. In theory, practice should be more like theory. But in practice, it rarely is.

Here’s video from the original event, back in 1972. Thank goodness for the internet and YouTube, or I’d never have known what it’s supposed to look like.

A good part of the problem is that after 1984, they moved Amherst Alley (the street behind Baker House that runs parallel to Memorial Drive) away from the building. Subsequent drops (as far as I know) have been done on the Memorial Drive side, in other words, onto the ground instead of a hard surface. Ah well.

We arrived yesterday at about 2:15 p.m. Feels good to be home, but we had some floors refinished while we were gone, so that meant lots of furniture to move before we could settle in. Which leaves today for unpacking, tomorrow for “rest,” then Monday it’s back to work!

Yesterday was our longest driving day, covering about 465 miles, and leaving about 120 miles for today. We are currently having a relaxing morning with my parents in North Haven, Connecticut.

4 states in just over half an hour. Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania.

This morning we leave behind our nth Comfort Inn and head northeast, our intended route to North Haven, Connecticut documented in the post title.

On Tuesday morning, we drove back to the Visitors’ Center to finish off the kids’ Junior Ranger requirements, and got them sworn in.

We then headed across the park to a picnic area where there was also a hike to a waterfall. We had a nice lunch, but we never got around to the hike, because when we got there, it seemed that tubing down Deep Creek was the activity of choice. So we did likewise

Then, naturally, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

And while we were in the ice cream shop, it started raining, and hasn’t stopped since, scuttling our plans for a campfire.

We got to have a nice relaxed Monday mornin’, with no need to get on the road and make mileage. After a nice breakfast, Susan and Jenni packed some lunches and we headed into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was a bit of a drive, and getting down the hill that we’re on is as much of a challenge for the car as getting up it was. When we got to the bottom, we could smell the brakes, in spite of being in second gear the whole way down. Just like when we got to the top, you could smell the engine had been working hard.

We drove up to the Clingman’s Dome trail, and ate our picnic lunch, then proceeded up the half mile paved trail to the top.

And at the top, there was an observation tower made of concrete, with no stairs. A ramp was the only access to the tower, so the entire hike was handicap accessible, and on the way down, we did see someone in an electric wheelchair going up.

It was a good hike. Not long, but fairly steep, and still manageable by all the kids. When we got to the top, we (would have) had a great view of the surrounding mountains

(if we hadn’t been in the middle of a cloud).

One of us needed a little help coming down

but that’s OK. After the hike, we drove back down to the Visitors’ Center, and the kids attended a ranger program to begin work on their Junior Ranger badges. In addition to the program, they must do a lot of work in their workbooks to earn their badges.

Then on the way back home, we stopped at a pullout along the road to hike down to see Soco falls, which was very pretty. The kids wanted to play in the water of course, or hang out longer, but we had to get going to have time to do some grocery shopping for dinner.

After our boat ride, we headed back on I-40 East and drove right out of Tennessee into North Carolina.

We are staying at the home of the uncle of our friend Jenni. It was billed as a “cabin” so we were thinking it would be somewhat rustic, but it is anything but.

And this is our view out the window this morning.

Awesome!

Yesterday, we went on a short river cruise up the Cumberland River on the General Jackson Showboat

for lunch and a show by Tim Watson called Fiddlin’ Around, which was an hour or so of music and comedy

that we all enjoyed. Tim put on a good show, though apparently not much different than what it was three years ago. After the show, we bought a CD of a live show, and Tim gladly posed for a picture with the kids

When we listened to the CD in the car, the main thing that has apparently changed is that he dropped some Michael Jackson jokes. I’d bet this was a recent change. But again, not to complain – the man is a good entertainer. We heard one couple tell the band that they enjoyed the show more than the Grand Ole Opry show they were at the previous night (featuring Carrie Underwood among others, if you recall…)

I didn’t write anything last night because I couldn’t think of a good title. Well, that and the fact that my pictures are uploading slower in this hotel than they do through my mobile connection. But still cheaper, to be sure.

Here we are in Nashville! We spent the night in a Comfort Inn, and for some reason they gave us a rate $30 cheaper than when we made the reservation in the afternoon. Woohoo!

Being rather naive about Nashville, we didn’t know what to go see other than the Grand Ole Opry House , so we went there first.

Turns out that Carrie Underwood (a family favorite) was performing that night, so with no expectations, we went and asked if there were tickets available, and…

there were not. Nor were there tickets for the afternoon show, nor for the backstage tour. But as I said, no surprise — it was a Saturday after all.

Instead, Susan got us tickets for a riverboat performance for Sunday, which should be fun.

I would guess that originally, there was no huge mall across the street from the Opry, but there is now. Lacking any other plan, we went and had an early dinner at the fancy Aquarium restaurant in the mall.

We thought we might take in the new Harry Potter movie after dinner, but it was voted down in favor of something less scary — G-Force in 3D. While the movie wasn’t great, the 3D was pretty fun. So while to the rest of the world, Nashville is known for its music, for us it will always be remembered for its 3D movies