Summer time is usually a time for travels. When one has kids at home and they are out of school, it is time to hit the road. When one's kids are gone and summer comes, it is time to hit the road. Not a lot changes. Most people choose to travel in the summer time, and so did we.
Tennessee was on our plan this year for summer time. Why was that? Well, it was the time of my wife Clema's family reunion. One always wants to make family reunions, and when they happen, that is the time to travel.
We were happy to include our granddaughter Audrey out of San Antonio. Audrey had made a trip last year to Tennessee and found a lot of fun with cousins. She knew we were going, and she asked if she could go. Audrey, now 11, was ready to travel, and it was a joy to have her along.
Audrey's dad gave me a $100 to dole out to Audrey. At one point she asked me to just give her the $100 bill. No, I said. I will give it to you in $20 increments. She was happy with that, and she lasted the $100 for all of the trip, which was really about 10 days. She spent wisely, the first of which was in a Cracker Barrel for gifts for her brothers at home. I thought that was really good use of the money she could have spent anyway she wanted - under my watchful eye, of course.
We traveled over 3,000 miles and burned over 150 gallons of gasoline at about $2.50 per gallon. We stayed five nights in hotels at good rates, based on Clema's employment and employee rates. We stayed 3 nights with Clema's niece in McMinnville - her bed and breakfast, we call it. You can't beat a mountain top bed and breakfast of that kind.
This kind of travel is not to see things. It is to see people and renew acquaintances. That is what we did, mostly. In Dickson, we met with my aunt and uncle and had Tennessee catfish with them. We met with my deceased brother's wife and children and grandchild. Always, that is good. We also met with a 2nd cousin, the son and his family of my cousin who lives in Illinois. The second cousin preaches in Lebanon but we met up in Dickson for the Walnut Street Church of Christ homecoming and dinner on the ground (well, it was not really on the ground). Then we visited the family cemetery in north Dickson County.
From there we went to Smyrna, Tennessee to the CoC there and their evening singing. There is no singing like congregational singing with people who like to sing. So, that was a real plus. After that we joined our friends there and went out for a meal at O'Charlie's. Getting back to Nashville was where my GPS (from the previous post) came in handy.
On my birthday, August 5, we traveling to McMinnville and Harrison Ferry Mountain and Curtis Town. After a couple of big meals on Wednesday and Thursday, we attended the reunion, held at the Mt. Leo CofC. A good time by all, for sure. We did take in some sightseeing at High Rock (picture included). It was also good to have our daughter Valerie and her husband Brad, from Corpus Christi, join us in McMinnville for a couple of days.
Saturday through Monday we returned to Laredo. We stopped off in Houston to visit our daughter and family, then on to San Antonio to drop Audrey, and on home to Laredo.
A good trip, and it was good to get home.
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