Knoxville, Tenn., may or may not be a great place to live, or to spend a month or a week or a couple of days. I have no idea. Should the need arise, however, I can say it’s the perfect place to spend 18 hours.

I did just that on a recent Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m., during a bus trip from New York to Kentucky. Why would I take a bus from New York to Kentucky via Knoxville? That’s a story for next week, but getting to hang out in Knoxville was part of the incentive.

In the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the third-biggest city in Tennessee is not a particularly flashy town, unless you count the University of Tennessee’s bright orange uniforms. I had no vehicle for getting into the mountains, but I did take in two free musical performances, see an unexpectedly cool museum, and have four good beers and two excellent meals. I made at least one new friend, browsed a record store that also sold laser-discs, wandered a historic district of early 20th-century homes and learned something about Dolly Parton. It cost me almost exactly $50, including an Uber ride. (No sale on those laser-discs, though.)

Morning

Just after 7 a.m., I made the short walk from the bus station to South Gay Street, Knoxville’s main drag, and headed to the Old City section, where I found OliBea, a breakfast place with brightly painted walls and plenty of sunlight. It was as cheery a contrast to the crowded, smelly bus that I had just disembarked as I could imagine. For budgetary purposes (and in part because I had bought an ill-advised bag of Combos during a 3 a.m. rest stop), I skipped the breakfast plates (smoked-trout omelet, carnita tostada) and went à la carte: a bracing cup of coffee ($2.50), a biscuit ($1.99) and duck eggs over easy ($2.49). I had never had duck eggs for breakfast before, but I operate under the general philosophy that everything duck is better than everything chicken, so went for it. I was rewarded with creamy, gooey yolks that made a perfect dipping sauce for a silky biscuit already slathered with house-made jam.