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This morning we said goodbye to Tennessee and took one more ride across the top of the Smoky Mountains, occasionally stopping a few times in the cool air to venture out and take in the panorama all around.  

The skies were very clear, unlike what we were thinking earlier.  The hurricane was going to head up this way, and we were in for what we thought was an interesting ride home, but in fact the storm went across Florida and into the Atlantic and then over to South Carolina after that, completely missing us and even North Georgia.  We had a clear trip down, and the views were spectacular as always.

Nevertheless, no doubt we were seeing some of the outer bands of this monster storm, a clear line of clouds in the sky.  We certainly had a bit of weather favor when on this short trip, as we saw perfect days of brisk fall temperatures.

The other stop on the way home was at the same Chick-Fil-A in Franklin, North Carolina.  We stopped at this one on the way up, and now on the way down too.  We got the new Autumn Spice Milkshake from there, and it was really delicious.  We stopped for a good bit there, just having a seat and eating together before getting back into the car for the final push home.

It was a fairly busy day.  Can you believe we went to both taekwondo classes tonight?  Yes, Maddie, Nana and I went over as usual like it was any other day, and Maddie was there for class, doing a bit of last-minute training for her testing on Monday.  She's doing well, and her instructors have told her as much, which she was happy to tell us afterwards.  We'll all be there for testing on Monday, just another step towards her second degree black belt.  That should come some time next year, but it's not necessarily about getting this belt super quick - it's about the journey.  

After classes, Maddie wanted to catch up on some of the shows premiering.  Of course there was "She-Hulk," and after that we watched "Rings of Power."  We all sit and watch another thing posted on social media after these shows, an ongoing thing called "Screencrush," where a host and his dog manager show hidden things or facts from Marvel, Star Wars or the Lord of the Rings that help explain background on a lot of stuff that we may not already know about those.  Anyway, that's always the first thing after all of these episodes - Maddie calls out, "Screencrush," and we hop over to that to watch for backstories and things we might have missed.

Ah, to sleep in our own beds again!  Tonight we said our prayers after such a long day, and we read from our book too, continuing to learn about the Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict.  It was a nice day, and but we're off to sleep now!