A city to skip

Day 241
Knoxville TN

We rolled into Knoxville at our first free place to stop. The botanical gardens had a little visitor center building that was in need of some work. It was cute in a rustic kind of way but was not very nice inside. Most of the lights were off and there was a lady sitting at some random desk off to the side stacked full of paperwork. We headed out into the garden as the rain started to fall.

The walk was even less impressive. Botanical gardens are usually well manicured and meticulously landscaped. This place looked more like a yard at your Uncle's house, if your uncle didn't own a leaf blower or weed eater. Time to move on and find some more free stuff. Up next was a museum that was inside Tennessee State University. Upon our arrival signs said it was closed for some event. Ok... next on list then. A couple more miles took us to downtown where the art gallery welcomed us with open arms. The lady at the reception desk was  about as nice as they come.

Looking at the sunshpere from the World's Fair

The art gallery turned into another disappointment. Out of the three floors only two were open. The upper floor had a couple of rooms with paintings from local artists. The lower floor had a bigger sculpture and a bunch of tables for events to be held. It felt more like a well decorated convention center than an art gallery. Walls were riddled with scuff marks and the place was in need of an interior update. Let's move on.

Deeper into the downtown was a historic cemetery. I'd love to show that to you but the streets were closed down for construction. Right next to it was a veteran's cemetery that was open for us to stroll through. It seemed like a such an out of place area. A glance across the street showed barbwire fences and barred windows on houses. The drive in took us past a homeless camp under a bridge with some police officers walking around. Knoxville was less than impressive. A dirty looking city that had nothing shining bright through the grime. Pass on this one folks. They can't all be good, that's part of life on the road.