So now...on with the trip. Like I mentioned before, we arrived in Nashville around noon on Wednesday, November 2nd. (Dad wasn't feeling great and was definitely tired, but he was doing ok at this point). Once we picked up our rental car, we headed to the cute suburb of Franklin. We grabbed some yummy Biscuit Love for lunch and ate at a table in the main rotunda downtown. From there, we headed to the Carter and Carnton houses. This is now my third time touring these two houses that were trapped in the middle of one of the bloodiest Civil War battles, and it is still as poignant as the first time I went through. I enjoyed hearing the harrowing stories of the brave men, women, and children in these houses as they endured hours of fear and uncertainty only live months afterward cleaning up the destruction left behind. I stood in silent awe as I saw the bullet holes that riddled the exterior wall of the farm office at the Carter house. My heart ached as I looked at the bloodstained floors and faintly heard the stifled cries of the lives lost at the Carnton Plantation. I can't imagine what it would have been like to be there on that late November day. After we toured the houses, we walked through the confederate cemetery on the Carnton property before making our way to the hotel.
Dad and I were only at the hotel for about an hour before we consulted with Krystle and ultimately decided to go seek medical help. We found an Urgent Care that was still open, but with the infection moving toward the eye, they recommended that we go to an ER. Can I just say how amazing the medical staff was at the ER? They were so kind and comforting. It was hard for me to see Dad in pain...and super anxious. I could only imagine the flood of worries that he had floating around in his head? I knew he was concerned about his health and his sight, but I also knew he was worried about whether or not he would ruin this trip for Mom and I. I have always been proud of my parents, but I was super proud of Dad as I watched his stoicism over the next few days. He hardly complained at all, yet I knew he was in pain physically and emotionally conflicted. Once we saw the optometrist the following day, I could see a measure of relief knowing that the virus didn't effect his eye, but I know it wasn't a comfortable trip for the next couple of days.
The following morning (Thursday, November 3rd), I picked up Dad's prescriptions and scheduled his eye appointment. The soonest they could see us was around noon so we decided to make the best of it and visit the Parthenon. This was the easiest site to see because there wasn't a structured tour and it wasn't that expensive so even if we only stayed 5 minutes, it was ok. Dad took a pain pill and was actually able to enjoy the visit. We even enjoyed strolling around the Centennial Park.
Dad's visit with the optometrist, while uncomfortable because of his swollen eye, went well and we were on our way to Knoxville. Thankfully, he just got to stretch out in the backseat and sleep as much as he wanted to, but he did make sure that we would wake him up for Bucc-ee's. All I have to say is, "If you know, you know." Bucc-ees has kind of a cult following. They are these massive gas stations....and I mean massive. The one just an hour outside of Knoxville had 120 gas pumps and was 54,000 square feet. They have their own fast food area, toys and knick knacks, and of course, the other typical items you'd find at a gas station. We wandered around and bought a few Bucc-ees items before driving the last hour to Knoxville.
Knoxville is where my mom's dad's family is from. She doesn't remember much of her dad and has always wanted to visit this place...now we were. Before we went to the hotel, we headed to one cemetery where her 3rd great-grandfather, a Revolutionary war veteran, was buried. This was one burial location that wasn't near the others that we would visit the next day, so we stopped here first. We got there about 20 minutes after sunset and we were losing the light quickly. I thought I would be able to easily locate the grave since I had been there before, but I went to the wrong pine tree first before realizing that he wasn't under that tree. We were still losing light so I moved on and quickly found him under the other pine tree. We had just enough light to see the stone and take a quick picture of Mom. Then we turned off our lights and let the darkness settle in on us. As it enfolded us in its stillness, the sounds of the night started to amplify. We heard the insects and animals bidding each other goodnight as we gazed up at the now visible stars. This was the sky her ancestors would have sat under. These were the sounds they would have heard as the gathered at the end of the day. It was a serene, sacred moment as Mom soaked in a little of her history.
The next morning (November 4th), we explored downtown Knoxville before visiting the cemeteries (or backyards) where her other great-grandparents were buried. Dad hadn't slept well (to be honest, none of us really did those first few nights) and woke up nauseous. Still, he stoically packed his stuff (because we would be staying in Gatlinburg that night) and joined us. By the time we reached the first store, Dad had to find a bathroom so he could vomit...but thankfully, he felt well enough after doing so that he was able to enjoy our little walk downtown. (Unfortunately, the rest of the day was a series of pulling off to the side of the road in between cemeteries so he could throw up. Like I said, this day and the day before were his worst.) We visited Mast General Store, graffiti alley, Krutch park, and the Sunsphere.
The next few hours were spent driving from cemetery to cemetery. We even drove Tarwater Road, which looked absolutely radiant in the morning sunlight. While we were both worried about Dad, Mom was still able to take the moments she needed to soak in the history that surrounded her. These were the rolling hills they settled. These were the streams they probably got their water from. These were the trees that provided shade. It was definitely an afternoon of reflection and connection.
We finally made our way to Gatlinburg. This was the hotel we stayed in with the balcony overlooking the creek so Dad was more than content to stay in the room while we found something to eat for all of us. The next morning (Saturday, November 5th), Dad still wasn't feeling the greatest, but since he'd finally eaten something, his stomach was no longer upset. Another small miracle because this was the morning Dad was most looking forward to the breakfast. I called in a to-go order and ran over to Crockett's to pick up our thick pancakes and fried cinnamon roll. (Yes, we also grabbed some fruit and eggs...we weren't totally unhealthy.) I was so grateful that Dad was feeling better (and he continued to get better each day) and that Crockett's allowed to-go orders. We enjoyed our breakfast on the balcony before Mom and I went to explore Gatlinburg. Dad, again, was just fine to let us fight the crowds and wander the stores without him. I think he would have liked to join us on the SkyBridge, but he was grateful that he was feeling better and didn't want to push it. Mom and I headed to the SkyBridge first. It was nice that there weren't as many crowds as when I was here for Thanksgiving last November. We were able to get right onto the ski lift and enjoy a crowd-less morning looking out over the Smokies. When we got back to the bottom, we wandered a few stores before returning to the hotel to get Dad before we needed to check out. Since Dad was feeling a little better, we encouraged him to walk to Crockett's to get a picture and snapped a few pictures of the cute snowmen along the way.
Before we left Gatlinburg, we drove into the Smokies. Mom and Dad agreed that they didn't have the energy for any sort of hike, but we stopped at an old Smoky cabin to see how the people who came to this area would have lived. I can't even begin to imagine the primitive conditions of their existence at that time or the fortitude they would have required to settle here. The terrain isn't immediately amenable to gardening of any kind. They would have had to clear the land first to try to plant anything, let alone to build a cabin. And yet, so many people sought refuge and a life in those beautiful mountains. As we started to drive back into town (then on to Kentucky), we spotted a few wild turkey. We all chuckled a little at our ironic find seeing that in a few weeks we'd be having turkey for dinner.
Like I mentioned before, that evening we made our way to Berea, Kentucky. We spent the next two and a half days exploring areas in KY that I hadn't been to before. Sunday morning (November 6th), we left the hotel to head to Richmond to drive through a Civil War battlefield...or what was left to commemorate. Before going to far, we stopped at Boone's Trace Trail. It was just a quick walk down the trail that they say Daniel Boone helped forge when he came to KY. If I ever make it back to KY, I guess I'll have to explore more Daniel Boone sites.
The battlefield visitor's center was unfortunately closed, but there were papers outside that told the story of the battle that occurred in this area. We drove to a few of the sites that were commemorated as Dad told us about the Confederate victory in that area.
Once we saw a few of the sites, we moved on to the Ark Museum. This was something that Mom had wanted to see. It is a life-sized replica of what Noah's ark would have potentially looked like...and it was incredible! The workmanship, not to mention the size, was breathtaking. A non-denominational entity had raised funds to build this (and the Creation Museum we went to the following day) to spread their faith and provide probable scenarios of what occurred at the time of the flood. I can't say that I believe everything that was presented there, but I could appreciate their faith and the work it took to build the ark.
On Monday (November 7th), we made our way to the Ark's companion museum, the Creation Museum. Again, I appreciated all the beautiful exhibits and the incredible art, but I'm not sure my beliefs fully aligned with theirs. Still, I love their expression of faith. I also enjoyed the gardens outside the museum. Even though it was fall, there was still beauty in the waning of the seasons.
From there, we made our way south. We had actually driven the entire state from south to north then back south again. This time, we went a little more west as we journeyed to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace monument and the site of his boyhood home. Both homes were replicas of the actual cabins, but it was still pretty cool to see where one of the most influential presidents was born and raised. At the birthplace site, the "sinking spring" that the original farm was named after was still there. The boundary tree that used to mark the property line is no longer there but they have a cross section of it in the visitors center. Lincoln was only 2 when his family moved about 10 miles away to Knob Creek where he lived for the next several years before his family made their way to Indiana. We ended our day at the Lincoln museum in Hodgenville before making our way to our next hotel (we didn't stay in any hotel for more than one night...we were on the move! And thankfully, Dad really started to feel better as the trip went on. So much so that he could enjoy these Civil War sites that he wanted to see.)
Tuesday (November 8th) was our final full day of vacation. We started the day with a visit to Jefferson Davis's birthplace in Fairview, KY. I think it's interesting that both Civil War presidents (from the north and the south) were born in KY only 9 months and only about 120 miles apart. Dad was, of course, more excited to see Davis's birthplace. There was an obelisk marking the spot where his cabin once stood. We were able to go up the monument to view the beautiful farm land that surrounded the area. It wasn't a very big town. In fact, our drive from the hotel was mostly full of back roads and small farms. We walked through the small museum they had their and took a few more pictures before saying goodbye to KY and heading back to Nashville.
Mom and Dad couldn't come to Nashville and not experience the chaos of the downtown (although after a couple of minutes in that chaos, I think they were more than ready to move on). I took them to the GooGoo Cluster store where we created our own cluster (which was delicious!), we walked up the bridge to see the Nashville skyline, we survived the loud music and crowds on Broadway, and we finally had some good Southern cooking at Merchant's. Before leaving the area, I also took them over to the Ryman so they could see where the Grand Ole Opry had its start.
With all the craziness of Broadway in Nashville, we welcomed the more serene setting of Rippavilla. This was our last Civil War stop of the trip. It was here that mistakes were made on the Confederate side that led to the tragic loss of lives at the Battle of Franklin up the road. It was here that the Confederate troops disobeyed and/or misunderstood the orders to block the road, which allowed the Federal (or Union) troops to pass by them in the night. We toured the grounds and the house before calling it a day.
Wednesday (November 9th) was our last day...and not even a day. I couldn't believe the trip had finally come to an end. I was so grateful that Dad was feeling better, even though he wasn't 100%. We decided to do a tour of the Grand Ole Opry in the morning. The Opry is always a cool place to visit and consider the history of country music.
Before we headed to the airport, we decided to drive by the temple. It was the perfect way to end the trip. There was so much we had to be grateful for and so much we needed to thank Him for. I wish I could say that Dad continued to feel better after the trip, but he kind of crashed again. Still, we witnessed several miracles that allowed us to enjoy the trip. It will be one we'll never forget.
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