Fall Break on the Mountain

Thanks to the generosity of a former client who has become a friend, we spent Fall Break in Monteagle.  Jude and the boys drove up midday on Thursday.  I finished a two day mediation early Thursday evening, so stayed at home that night and drove up on Friday.  I've been burning the candle at both ends at work for the past six weeks, so I was anxious to get away, even it was for a long weekend.

My friend's house is comfortably ensconced on Lake Louise in the Cooley's Rift development.  Cooley's Rift is similar to Clifftops, though newer and with fewer houses.  There are quite a few lots for sale there, some with bluff views.  Also, the boys and I saw several houses under construction when we drove around the development Saturday afternoon.

David's house was a recent build and very nice.  Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, with a view of the lake  on three sides.  

Whenever we're on the Mountain, we relax in an active kind of way.  Jude and the boys played golf on Thursday afternoon.  JP went on long runs on the Mountain Goat Trail and on Sewanee's campus.  He ran into a classmate from MBA - a tennis player - and they played tennis together Friday afternoon.  P, Joe, and I got a workout in on Sewanee's baseball field and in the batting cage on Saturday morning.  Joe and I went for a run on Saturday afternoon before all of watched the Tennessee - Texas A&M game (a 20 - 13 victory for the Vols).  Jude hiked Morgan's Steep, also on Saturday afternoon.

We hit all of our favorite spots for meals.  The Blue Chair for breakfast.  Papa Ron's for dinner.  We had dinner at Shenanigan's Saturday night, where we played Hearts while we waited for our order, as is our family tradition.  We got lunch from the Mountain Goat Market on Saturday afternoon, which was packed.  That was nice to see because there was a time during and after the pandemic when the Mountain Goat Market was open odd hours, understaffed, and in danger of closing.  

I finished a great book I've been reading - Wild Idea - a biography of Doug Tompkins written by Jonathan Franklin.  Doug Tompkins started North Face, sold it, then with his first wife grew Esprit into an international clothing company before selling his share to her for 150 millions dollars.  He became one of the world's most famous environmentalists, moving to Chile and purchasing millions of acres of land in Chile and Argentina that he and his wife ultimately donated to the countries for the establishment of national parks.  He died tragically in a kayaking accident in 2015.  

And I didn't work at all.  Not a bit.  I may pay for it this week but I desperately needed to disengage for a few days and I did.  Now, coffee almost finished, I'll leave Dose, get on I-65 south and head to the office.  Back at it.