Tennessee in three parts

After returning from St Maarten, we closed the camps and tucked them in for the winter. Then our winding path from New Hampshire to Florida brought us down to Massachusetts (to say bye to Tam and the pups), then Pennsylvania (for a day visit with Milan and Sadie), then to Virginia for a workday, and then, finally, to the beautiful state of Tennessee for a visit in three parts over two weeks. We were delighted to be camping in Louie again, and we made the most of it as we picked our way south. We did take a different approach with this repositioning. Previously we only traveled on the weekends or when Larry wasn’t working. This week, we were moving two vehicles over the course of several work days. This meant we both drove for a few hours in the morning, then parked so that Larry could work for the day. Then we would drive a few more hours in the evening to get to our next camping spot. It got easier as the week went on, and while I don’t know that I would choose that method of travel for all our adventures, it certainly worked to get us positioned to enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains.

Part 1: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
This was our last national park for this year. We were fortunate to visit amid the government shutdown. Local organizations banned together to fund the operation of TGSMNP, one of the most visited National Parks in the country. The park itself is vast and very, very pretty. I was delighted to see bears in addition to all of the incredible natural beauty. We hiked Cades Cove to the waterfall on one day and Rainbow Falls Trail on the second day. We were very lucky with weather and foliage. From what I gather, this park is especially lovely in the springtime, as the endless walls of rhododendrons, mountain laurel, and azaleas promised. I would likely die from allergies if we came in May, but I bet it would be a pretty death. Less pretty, and slightly baffling were the towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. These towns felt like Las Vegas/Orlando themed amusement parks. Lots of strange, outsized, and brightly colored things to look at. It was as close to opposite a national park as possible. Like a train wreck in many ways, we just couldn’t stop looking at it.

Part 2: Nashville
We headed into Nashville on a Thursday. We saw Jason Isbell at the Ryman Auditorium ten years to the weekend that we last saw him. The show was excellent. The venue, iconic. We loved that he had a middle school mariachi band open for him. After the performance we met up with our friends and frequent travel partners, Dave and Amy for a raucous and very filling weekend. We enjoyed ourselves quite a bit, eating, drinking, people watching, thrifting, and laughing a lot. It’s shocking to me how much the food scene has exploded in Nashville. We had excellence across the board, from the food court to the private craft cocktail experience. Everything was well executed. We stayed in East Nashville, which, in and of itself, feels like a whole new village neighborhood. Like it wants to the Brooklyn to Nashville’s version of Manhattan. They aren’t there, despite all the NYC brands making homes here, but it definitely has grown since I wandered those streets a decade ago.

Part 3: Visiting with family and friends
This part straddles the cities of Nashville, where we — too briefly — got to catch up with Larry’s sister, Laura, and her beautiful family, and the city of Dickson, where we were blessed to visit with so many friends and family members from both sides of the family. Larry’s sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws, and lifelong friends made time to visit with us, and it was nothing short of precious. We loved being able to be at two large Sunday dinners, and we appreciated all the visiting and reminiscing. We were grateful for the hospitality and kindness, and we so appreciate everyone meeting us where we were at.

It’s not always easy, what we do: We are living nomadically, not just traveling for pleasure or vacation. That means we strive for a normal, day-to-day life of working, exercising, choring, cooking at home, and getting proper sleep, we’re just not doing it in any one, consistent spot. It’s weird. But for us, it’s wonderful. We are so lucky to have supportive and understanding family and friends who recognize this odd little adventure we are on, and make space for us.