Where We've Been

We've been so busy lately with all that I haven't posted in quite some time.  Right out of the gate our Summer began with a long road trip with stops including Tennessee (The Smoky Mountains) and on to the state of Maryland to see my Momma's family: Uncle Tom, Aunt Victoria, Dear Sweet Momma Dot and the boys; cousins Trent and Garrett.  Along for the trip were Mimi, Pop, Nate and Myself. Big Daddy stayed back on the homestead to watch over our furry child, Saban and of course make doughnuts and sale parts at MI. All of which equal $$$. We missed him on the trip but rumor is he enjoyed his early bedtime and lounging in his underwear!

I have to say I am a country girl and I truly love a trip to the mountains. And believe it or not I go for the nature and less for the tourist attractions or the shopping.  There is something both spiritual and inspirational about the mountains to me.  They are so peaceful and I feel closer to God there. They are one of my favorite vacations in the world.  While there this time we weren't able to hike to Clingman's Dome so we settled for a trip into Cade's Cove (my favorite).  I was a little disappointed with the time of day we had chosen to travel to the cove. It is was my opinion that early morning or sunset is the best times to see abundant wildlife in eyes view. Well after a disappointing first half of the loop we were the first to arrive onto the seen of 6 yes s i x BEARS!!!!!!  It was the highlight of my mountain trip! Oh and we stumbled upon this great eatery/market serving up truly some of the best BBQ, homemade ice cream and fried pies I have ever eaten! O' and you have got to try the french fries and FGT and the smoked Italian sausage and the roasted corn! We ate here twice and each time we spent less than $25.00 on all 4 of us with desserts.

This "Big Daddy" walked right beside our car just outside of the visitors center in Cade's Cove.

This Mama Bear and her playful cubs were in the valley near  Dan Lawson place. There were 3 cubs. The other little one is behind his mama near her back legs.  FYI: watching this family was so much fun. 

And lastly, this little guy was walking along the road outside of Cades Cove near were the the National Smoky Mountains visitors center is. I took it with my iPhone and therefore it's not the best but honestly I did not zoom or crop this shot. He was that close. There really were BEARS everywhere!

               My souvenir from the trip. The black bear salt and shakers from The Old Mill Pottery.

Later in the week we made our way to Maryland to visit with my momma's side of the family. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Victoria graciously welcomed us for a few nights in their home and treated us to a delightful seafood dinner on the Chesapeake Bay.  Nate and I were super excited to see our cousins Trent and Garrett too.  They were able to join us for dinner one night.  We enjoyed their company and story telling.  Later we all went out for ice cream. The boys are the reason Nate got to go to the Airsoft Gun store and make his purchase. As with any gathering with my Uncle Tom and family there is always plenty of laughter !!! We really had a good visit.

Me, Uncle Tom and Nate and yes we're laughing. 

Garrett and Trent our cousins 

While there we visited with my dear sweet grandmother named Momma Dot (by Nate) her only great grandchild to date.  It was a bittersweet visit in that her memory is fading. It was sad that she couldn't really remember any of us.  For brief moments she would remember having 4 children of her own and she would ask my mother are you really Libby? For the last year or so my grandmother seems to believe that my mother isn't here anymore. She often will talk about my mother passing away some time back. Well we all know this hasn't happened. Once she remembered my Dad.  She talked about how loud his car was. (This memory was from back in the 1960's.) And Nate and I. Well she just couldn't comprehend me as her grand daughter. And Nate she didn't remember at all either.  She was kind and gentle and complimented his nice looks and good behavior. Our conversations repeated themselves on about a 3 minute rotation. She would say I am sorry do I know you? And we would all tell who we were and how we were related. She would then get very excited and say, I have a family! A really big Family! She would ask us where we lived. And we would tell her Alabama. She would say, how did you get down there and why? We would tell her we've been there pretty much all along and remind her she has even lived in Alabama before.  She would then ask how old she was and when you told her 88, she would huff and gasp like she couldn't believe it. She would ask you your age and if you were lucky enough to be me during one conversation, her memory drifted back to years and years ago. She told me about how she new I was lying about my age (33) because well I not only looked much older but she knew I was. She also talked about how my Pap/her Bill loved me but wished I wouldn't have tried to call him Pap. That was because I was their niece and it made him feel old. It would have better that I call him Uncle Bill.  During this conversation she told me that blonde really wasn't my color either and yes I let her get to me even though I know it wasn't her.  (thus the darkening of my hair.) Sometimes in conversation she wouldn't remember any of us from just minutes ago so she would ask us if we were brothers and sisters to my Aunt Victoria.  She would say wow, your mother must have been crazy to have kids so distant in age. And again during another she asked where the boys father was. She kept saying it's a shame you ran off such a nice young man. I think we all handled ourselves well considering the circumstances.  I was surprised that my mother did so well.  Often at night I would tear up wishing she could remember us.  I also found that I would make myself laugh to keep from crying too. She had her moments though like when we took her to lunch at a local diner.  There was a table of elderly gentleman (all with war veteran hats on) seated just behind us. Just after we ordered she looked up and said to us, now I tell you if I had some red lipstick on, one of those handsome men would ask me out! We all got a good laugh out of that and because the older men all where pretty much hard of hearing only one or two heard her and they handled themselves like true gentleman. As they left the restaurant they each stopped to tell her it was lovely day to see a lovely lady out with her family. She just :)))

Nate, Me, Momma Dot and Mimi