A Gallivanting Excursion

On Monday, my 2nd cousin twice removed (can you tell that I am a genealogist?) graduated from high school, and Marty and I were invited to attend.  The festivities occurred in Sevierville, TN and Marty and I decided that it would be fun to catch up with family and stop in to see our daughter and grandson on the way. 

We've made the trek to Bristol fairly regularly of late but this time we decided to reroute and not travel south on the nerve wracking I-81 corridor.  So, we planned a route that would lead us through the rolling hills of Virginia with a scheduled overnight in Culpeper. 

One thing to note when taking the off-the-beaten-track route is that rest stops are not readily available.  But that was easily resolved when we decided to stop at the Monocacy National Battlefield Visitor Center just outside of Frederick, MD. 

Not only was the stop convenient, but the bathrooms were pristine.  Actually a delightful experience for a change! 

Outside the center was a map detailing the park, which actually covered quite a distance, all within easy reach.  The ranger directed us to a nearby spot where we could take a little walk and see the site where the two bridges crossed the river. 

But first, Marty needed a selfie with a cannon.  No surprise there. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see a wooden boardwalk that stretched ahead through the woods. 

It ended at the bridge view so we stopped for a photo. 

There were benches along the way, and as we had packed a picnic lunch, it seemed the perfect opportunity to refuel before heading back out on the road. 

The drive from here to Culpeper was relatively uneventful which certainly would not have been the case on I-81. We arrived nonplussed and headed to our B&B which was self check in, and we had no problem settling into our lovely room which was located in the building right behind the LOVE statue.

A quick evening walk introduced to a few highlights of the town.  There is a train station, but we're not really sure if a train runs through as there didn't appear to be a schedule anywhere to view. But there was a caboose outside the station. 

There were some lovely old buildings to admire

And a Civil War and Vietnam war memorial.

The architecture was quite interesting with different style buildings lining the main street. 

On Saturday morning, we popped into the local bakery and each bought a delectable treat to enjoy with our Keurig Coffees at one of the tables lining the street.  It might not have been the healthiest choice, but it sure was delicious!

We headed out relatively early and made our way towards Roanoke, stopping in Bedford VA to tour the National D-Day Museum, which I've already featured in the previous blog.  

We arrived in Bristol by early evening and enjoyed time spent with Becky and Joshua until we left on Monday to drive to Sevierville.  The graduation was at 7:30 PM, so I had booked a hotel in Sevierville since I did not know how late the event would run.  

We arrived early enough for Marty to try his hand  (or should I say body?) on the water slide. 

I'm happy to say that even though he came rushing out like a bullet from the bottom, he seems to have sustained no damage. 

We then set out for the 5 mile trip to the high school where Lenka and her husband had reserved a large section of bleacher footage on the 50 yard line so we had the perfect vantage point!

In case you might be wondering, Lenka's grandfather and my father were actually first cousins.   She was born in Bratislava, as was her mother and grandfather. (and the generations before).  When she was about 12 years old, my parents were on a tour of Slovakia and had a day in Bratislava to themselves.  Out of curiosity, Dad took out the phone book, looked up Mrenna (spelled Mrena in Bratislava) and called the number. 

Helga,  (my second cousin who speaks English much more proficiently than I can speak Slovak), answered the phone and within short time, she and Dad determined that they were, indeed related.  She invited my parents over, and the next thing she knew, Lenka was meeting Mom and Dad in Helga's apartment along with Helga's parents, her father being my Dad's first cousin. 

Lenka and I both agreed that this course of events would probably not happen in today's world.  It sounds like a scam ready to happen!

Here is a photo that might have been taken by my father, although I can't be certain.

The families kept in touch, and Marty and I visited them in Bratislava, and Lenka came to the US for a summer on a student work program.  She would eventually come to the US, marry her husband, become a United States Citizen, and set up a household in Sevierville, TN.  Soon Dominika would come along, and here it is, 18 years later, and the beautiful young lady was graduating from high school.  We were honored to have been invited to attend!  And, we were Lenka's only family in attendance.  She introduced me as such and her husband's aunt asked me if I came from Slovakia.  I assured her that I did not. 

But I digress. Here I am with Lenka and her husband.  It was a bit sunny, but that was certainly better than rain!

And here you see Marty and me with the graduate!   It really was a lovely ceremony and Marty and I were thrilled to be part of the festivities. 

We visited the next day at their home where we once again got to see Buddy.  

How is that for cute?

Time flew by as it always seems to do, and soon we were saying our farewells and headed back to Bristol to spend one last evening with Joshua and Becky.

We certainly made the most of what time we had left there.  We played the digital version of Trivial Pursuit.  As you can see, our icons were rather entertaining.  You'll find me on the very left with Marty next to me. 

Final results: Marty was the winner.

Then we played a game of Junior Detective where, once again, Marty was the winner. 

The next morning, though, his luck turned and he lost the game of Chick a Pig to Joshua as well as Happy Little Dinosaurs where Gramma G pulled out a win at the last minute.  

All in all it was great fun.  But we needed to hit the road so that we could begin our drive home. We decided to bite the bullet and travel I-81 for the ride home, with an overnight stay in Harrisonburg.  I booked the Friendly City Inn (previously known as the Stonewall Jackson Inn) as we had stayed there on our way home in January and found it to be quite convenient and comfortable with an amazing breakfast.  

To add to the pleasure, this time, there were home made chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven, tempting us as we walked by to check into our room. 

And you can be assured that we did partake of one....or maybe even two before the night was over. 

They were scrumptious!  

We headed in the rain into town for a lovely dinner at Bella Luna. 

While we were enjoying our seemingly authentic Italian food, I recalled that a year ago, we were in Rome, eating something quite similar.  When we got back to the B&B, I sent a text to Marcie and Kim, our two Rome tour friends, reminiscing about the fun times we had, and I mentioned that this year, I was sitting in a B&B in Harrisonburg, VA.  

The next think I knew, my phone was ringing, and when I answered, imagine my surprise to hear Marcie on the other end, telling me that she and her husband were staying in a nearby cabin for the week, and did we want to meet up at a nearby restaurant?  Well,  why wouldn't we?

Time flew by, and we soon realized that we were the only people in the restaurant, and we should probably take our leave before they decided to kick us out!

Who would have expected so much fun on a cold, rainy night?    Surely a wonderful way to end our trip. 

And looking forward to even more entertainment in the near future.

Until next time....

Gallivanting in Gatlinburg

Did you wonder what happened to us after my previous blog featuring our Baked Bean Adventure?   It may seem difficult to imagine something more exciting than beans, but if you love fish, as we all know someone in this household does, then you can easily understand why a trip to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg would cause some excitement. 

You're probably not too surprised to see that there were fish.

Lots of them. 

All shapes and sizes. 

Colorful creatures. 

Schools of them, as a matter of fact!

Short, puffy ones  (Scorpion Fish) 

Long, skinny ones

Inquisitive ones as well. 

Some with long appendages

and others in remarkable shades of yellow. 

glowing

and striped. 

There was even one named a Squirrel Fish!  Who knew?

But there's a lot more than just tanks of fish here.  The aquarium features a large "tunnel" which runs below a long continuous tank filled with sharks of every shape and size. 

Don't tell Marty, but it appears that one just snuck by him in this photo below. 

And this sword fish was certainly making his rounds.

Someone was totally enraptured by the seemingly endless numbers. 

And I was thankful that glass separated us from these magnificent creatures. 

The tunnel ran for quite a distance and there was ample opportunity to just sit and soak in our surroundings, all while listening to the relaxing sounds of Canon in D playing in the background. (A bit calmer than the background music from the movie, Jaws.) 

Outside the tunnel, the atmosphere changed quite a bit. 

I found these tiny "Nemo" fish to be quite cute and entertaining. 

But we had to be on guard for sudden distractions among them.  Scary!!

These painted fish were entertaining,

and the Balloon Fish looks like he's smiling, don't you think?

Moving along, we watched the graceful sting rays, in a variety of colors, swimming within a very large tank of their own. 

But there were some other interesting creatures as well.  Here you see an Iguana

and a rhinoceros Iguana. 

Acolotl, (a type of salamander)

And a garden eel, which was actually quite creepy as they would suddenly rise up from the surface floor, quite unexpectedly.

Then there were the penguins.  Derby and Noel seemed quite smitten with each other.

And Noel even got to walk in the afternoon Penguin Parade!  How exciting is that? 

And, it seems that Marty even found a friend who agreed to take a photo with him. 

Pretty entertaining, for sure.  

We popped into the "Easter Island" display for some fun.

and then, decided to call it a day. 

We made the drive back to our lakehouse for the evening. 

But Marty was eager to venture down the road to check out the Tennessee Moonshine Distillery that we passed in our travel.  And, so the two of us headed towards the tasting room. 

He was given 4 small plastic tasting cups, and told to put each on one of his choices.  He put a lot of thought into choosing, then enjoyed the samples, along with a small cup of pickle juice in between tastes (to cleanse the palate, I was told.)  He loved it!

And then, he got to do it all a second time! 

Obviously, he found it to be a tasteful experience! 

We headed back to the lake house to meet up with my cousin, Lenka and her family, who live a relatively short drive away from where we were staying.  

It was the perfect venue to enjoy our company while admiring the beautiful view.  

We had such a great time catching up with each others' lives, and, as it usually happens, the time flew by way too fast, and we were soon saying our goodbyes.

It was our last night at this magnificent home, and the next morning, we packed up and headed back to northern Tennesee for our last night's visit. 

What a great adventure for all!  Hope you enjoyed traveling along with me. 

Until next time....