Tennessee & Georgia

We had a short trip planned to Tennessee and Georgia to visit family. We didn’t quite now what to expect for weather so we loaded our suitcases with warm clothes, a drastic difference from Costa Rica. It was a good thing we did as it was a bit chilly.

I’m not sure how this happens, but without asking, we seem to attract the more sporty rental cars. This is a brand new Mustang and had only 5 miles on it. It was a fun ride and I was glad it wasn’t red.

We headed to Cleveland, where we spent several days visiting my daughter, continuing our work of restoration - God is so good and it was a precious time together. We look forward to more trips in the future.

Next stop was Georgia to visit my cousin Julie. It has been years since we have seen each other, and we chattered all afternoon, catching up on our lives, our families (individually and collectively) and everything in between. For those of you who know us, you are right, there wasn’t a single silent moment for hours. Keith eventually meandered to a soft chair and ignored us. He was so grateful when Dean arrived home and they could chatter about guy stuff - golf! It was a great time and we look forward to meeting up with them again.

Next morning it was time to head to north, but we first needed to grab some breakfast. I had never eaten at a Waffle House, and frankly was a little nervous the food would be like Cracker Barrel. I’m sorry for y’all CB lovers, but I can’t stand their food. It turned out the Waffle House had a decent breakfast and the grits were great. But, do you see how high this sign is… it could be seen from the freeway 3 miles away. You can’t miss it and they are everywhere. I think there were more of these than there were McDonalds.

It was our last day and we were spending it in Nashville. I had been before but Keith had not, so it was great fun showing him the sites, strolling Broadway, and just popping into whatever bar had the best tunes. The streets were crowded with people but we always found room to sit and listen, and maybe dance a little!

This was our favorite. He created his own percussion and bass electronically and then played with it. It was amazing and very good.

Shortly after arriving, we learned some dear friends, Tim and Lisa, were also there, celebrating their wedding anniversary. We quickly connected and honky tonked together. It was such a fun afternoon, with lots of laughter. They had tickets to the Grand Old Opry that evening and we eventually had to say our good-byes and go our separate ways. We had to admit we were a little envious though.

We meandered into a number of fun stores just to browse but this one turned out to be an expensive stop. Yup, I finally bought some boots. I need to scuff up the soles before going dancing though or I’ll be the laughing stock of the crowd, slip sliding all over the place. I couldn’t convince Keith to buy some but he did get a western style shirt. One step at a time I’d say.

The end of the day was near and we had an early flight, so we finally headed to the hotel. What a fun day. We look forward to a return visit.