Tennessee, Part 2

We were able to stay in a vacant home about a quarter of a mile down the road from our Tennessee friends. We were blessed with being able to spend many hours at the Stouffer and Lovett homes. While staying at this home we came across wild strawberries. They were not very sweet but oh so pretty!

We have some friends, the Lingo family, who have a CSA (community supported agriculture) garden. Five acres of beautiful veggies growing in this part of Tennessee. Now wouldn't you just love getting a basket like this weekly? My children had the privilege of helping plant and cultivating the gardens with the other teens from the Centerville church.

So, I just can't resist a good party! The Evans family and my family hosted four other families for dinner one evening...the kick of it all was that we were puttin' on a party in someone else's home! We had such a great time!

The kids out on the porch playing a new game.

Every once in a while my eye catches what I think might be a beautiful picture. I am such an amatuer! Someday I will learn how to use my camera but in the meantime I just hope that they will turn out this pretty.

This is the Hermitage....Andrew Jackson's home. We had to quickly move through the displays and didn't actually get to see the whole house because of a prior appointment at the Tennessee Capitol.

One of the more famous Tennessians was Sgt. York. Kind of funny that the docent for the Capitol just assumed that we had never heard of him. He is kind of a hero of sorts among homeschool groups.

One of the highlights of this part of our trip was the tour of the Capitol. I have arranged many tours like this for our family over the years. It is such a great way to learn a bit about the state's history and the architecture of these buildings is quite amazing. I love old buildings...love taking pictures of old buildings.

One of my favorite pictures of the Capitol.

The group that ended up enjoying the tour. Our docent was a great guy that worked across the street at the War Museum. He was full of great info.

After the tour of the Capitol we headed over to the Grand Ole Opry hotel. My first thought? Why are we going to a hotel? Found out why quickly. The inside reminded me of New Orleans section of Disneyland. It felt like we were in the Bayou. It was beautiful!

Again, the group. Dr. B looks like he is ready to give a speech.

Crazy kids!

O-kay...so, I love my iPhone and the convenience of the different applications. One of my favorites while I am traveling is Yelp. We wanted a good ole' bbque and so I plugged it in. Found one that was a local haunt. Hole in the wall. It was fantastic!

On the last day of our Presbytery we had many sad good-byes to say and hugs to give. Goose has spent the previous two weeks before with dear family friends from Illinois. He had a hard time saying good-bye.

Miss M and her new friends....a few of the Harper girls. Love those hats!

Daisy with one of the Stouffer girls.

Remember that CSA garden that I mentioned above? Here are a few pictures of what the kids had been working on. Tomatoes in their hog wire cages.

Those hard workers grubbin' on some good eats.

On our way out of Tennessee we had to stop by the Parthenon. O-kay, well, not the real deal but an exact replica. Incredible! We didn't have time to take a tour of it but it was pretty amazing to even walk up to the amazing building.

Another sweet picture of beautiful architecture.

My kids humored me and took a detour off the beaten path to the Jack Daniels Distillery. You know, we are a homeschool family and prohibition was a big part of our Country's history. Well, that is how I justified it! Again, we did not have enough time to take the hour tour (my kids were soooooo happy to hear this!) but we were able to enjoy the museum. We didn't get to sample...sniff, sniff!

One of the many displays in the museum.

The distillery grounds and buildings reminded me of the many wineries I have visited in Napa valley. Funny detail? The county that the distillery sits in is a "dry" county. In other words, you can't buy Jack Daniels in the county that it is created in!

Oh, oh, oh....now this is the sweetest picture I have taken so far. To see your son and daughter not only get along but be arm-in-arm is heart warming.
I can not believe how often I have been without internet service on this trip! I am going to try to catch up...a lot of vacationing has been done since this post!
All is well...we are well...thank you for your prayers.
~Heather