A Visit to Grandma's

Before Christmas is here, I figured I'd better get the pictures taken over Thanksgiving up on the blog. So... here we go.

We decided some time ago to drive to Crossville, TN from Naples, FL. It was 812 miles, or so, took a long time, but was a super trip. We took our time and had fun.


First, Adriana had to wrestle getting the camera away from Rachel, taking pictures of her foot, the dashboard, the floor... we deleted most. And finally we got into a part of the country where we knew we weren't in Florida anymore. Mainly, we were climbing hills.

Here, we were already close to Tennessee. Since we miss the changing of the leaves down in Naples, this was a real treat. Still some leaves on the trees - and what colors!

Mom said to take... well, I think it was I-24. Even though Crossville is near Knoxville, it's easier to get to by way of Chattanooga. We didn't even take a map. Jim and Beth had been back and forth a few times, plus Mom and Dan knew the way. A couple of cell phone calls when we had to get off the major highways, and we were set.

Surprisingly, we simply take I-75 to I-24 and then a state road in Tennessee. So, we're always on the big roads, except when we get closer to Crossville, Mom & Dan's home. We stayed the night in Chattanooga. We left Naples around noon and it was getting late.

About this time we were asking each other what to call Dan. I said, let's just ask him what he wants to be called. We didn't want to be disrespectful. He's a great guy and this was a great opportunity to get closer to him.

We don't see countyside like this in Naples. This is beautiful. Rolling hills and green fields.

We stopped at a couple of turns in the road on the way to Grandma's house to take pictures. At one point we stayed about 5 minutes, which is forever when you are about 7 minutes away from Grandma's and the subject of the photo did not want to be bothered.

A white horse, content as can be, kept his head down and was grazing away until I finally yelled and got his attention. Adriana snapped a quick shot and we moved on.

One more beautiful farm and we were almost to Mom's (Grandma to Rachel) door. There is something about the rolling hills, the blue reflected in the water, and the home set off the road, far back on the property. (I'm also creating lots of text here to frame around the photo before we get to the picture Adri took of my Mom coming out of her home - as we drove up for the first time.)

And finally, we arrive. As we drove through the Lake Tansi area, I expected I'd need a little help because the roads are many and they are all rolling and turning. But, beautiful. This is late November, so the leaves are for the most part, on the ground. Still, the area where Dan and Mom live is well wooded and hidden away until - there's the house - and Mom running out to meet us.

You guys do know you can click on any of the pictures and see the full size, download it, print it, etc.

Soon, Jim and Beth arrived - they live about an hour and a half away. The boys and Rachel had so much energy, they got out on the front lawn and ran and ran. I bought a little foam football at the Dollar Store which became the toy of the day. Here are the trio for a quick pose.

The kids got along great and worked up quite an appetite for the Thanksgiving meal. We were all inside trying to stay out of the way of the major cooks - but I still bumped into everyone as I made my way back into the kitchen to make another tea for the fifth or sixth time. Mom and Dan need a water filter. That stuff can't be healthy for you. Maybe it's just my tastebuds.

Look at this table. Of course we couldn't keep our hands off anything; or was that just me? So good and full of aroma. Before all this took place - that is - setting the table, I forgot to mention that Beth had us do some crafts. We made pilgrim men and women and a few Indians. Well, one Indian. I can understand now how I didn't see any Indians on the way to Tennessee.

More tomorrow! Got to get some rest. Lots of photos...