Day of Mourning, 18th of Big Ears, 525 M.E. (Atlas): Today, I played rope-a-dope with that front system and severe weather between my hotel in Knoxville and my home in Atlanta. 

I didn't want to drive in a severe thunderstorm, and they were warning about the possibility of 60 mph winds, golf ball-sized hail, and possible tornado watches. The front was moving towards the east, but the weather behind it looked calm. As the highway (I-75) from K-ville to A-town initially runs toward the southwest between Knoxville to Chattanooga, I realized that since I would be driving in basically the opposite direction of the storm, I could pass through it pretty quickly. 

I checked out of my hotel as required by 11:00 am, but waited around until 12:30 pm to leave. I hung around the hotel's business center with a big cup of Starbuck's coffee and watched on my phone as the front passed overhead. I hit the road just as the center of the storm was directly over me and visibility was pretty limited for about the first 15 minutes of driving. But as I got a little further west, the rain let up and after a half hour I was able to turn off the wipers for the whole rest of the way home. 

The center of the storm was over Atlanta when I was about halfway home, but by the time I got here it had moved well to the east. So basically I made it home safe and sound and not too late in the day (4:00 pm) despite my concerns about the weather. 

Big Ears was a blast, as always, and now I have to get back to my regular routine of walking and sitting and watching what I eat.