Good Old Rocky Top

Tennessee: Check! Last weekend we boarded the dogs and set off for "The Volunteer State". The original plan was to play it by ear and just explore, but when we realized how much driving we'll be doing over the next month we decided to take it easy. That's right, we've reached the last major milestone and will be saying goodbye to our final "home" on this adventure next week.  I'll try to post updates when I can but they might be brief until we're stationary again.

Back to last weekend. We decided to keep our travels to a minimum so as not to burn out the kids (although I’m sure the anticipation of returning home to their friends will sustain them….) so we picked Nashville as our main destination. Nashville is the country music capital of the world and there’s no shortage of things to do, so we set off to see what we could see. Here are a few things we saw along the road between Kentucky and Tennessee...

Corn fields (I wonder how much of this will become whiskey?)

Amish farmers

Tobacco fields

Once we arrived in Tennessee and set our eyes on Nashville, we were overwhelmed by the sleek, shiny buildings glistening in the sun.  

Sculptures and murals decorate the city and are woven among the modern and historic buildings.

The smells of barbecue and smoke hover in the air. 

CMT- Country Music Television

Music floats through doorways and winds its way through the traffic on the streets. Musicians stand on street corners and play their instruments for no one in particular, while others stroll along with guitars on their back, nodding to each other in solidarity.

Groups of women in matching tops rode along on what looked like pedal-powered bars, hollering, laughing, and toasting the bride as they went. No one fell off.... that I saw.

Tennessee treats were sold at just about every venue and we got to try Goo Goo Clusters where they've been made since 1912. They were gooooooood!

Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline Museums are downtown, not far from the original site of the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  

  

Shops line the streets selling every western themed item you could imagine, including my personal favorite, boots!

We were only in town for the one night and we wanted to make it extra special, so we got all gussied up and treated our kids to their very first concert ever....at the Grand Ole Opry!! It was even better than I had imagined!! 

All the seats were church pews

Of course, I had my fancy boots on- and I wasn't the only one! The Opry is boot heaven. :-)

The whole show was broadcast on the air and included several hosts and musical acts. We saw everything from newer groups like Locash, to classic bluegrass favorites like the Osborne Brothers. 

We watched the Grand Ole Opry Square Dancers, and some of the musical acts got in on the fun and joined them. We had a great time and one day I hope to return. 

On Sunday we left Nashville and headed for eastern Tennessee to visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I was amazed by all the kudzu vines everywhere! It seemed to swallow entire hillsides.

Barn quilt!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is part of the larger Appalachian range and also includes part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It was a beautiful drive. 

Moonshine (or white lightening/white dog/hooch/home brew/corn liquor, etc.) distilling has always been big business in these parts, but now you can get a permit to make and sell it lawfully. It's basically whiskey straight off the still, which means it's still clear and looks like water.

We drove through Pigeon Forge but didn't have time for Dollywood this time, sadly. I was really surprised by all the attractions! Friends tell me it's very much like Branson, Missouri, but since I haven't been to Branson, I can't verify that. If you have then take a look at the pictures below and let me know. 

The Tennessee barbecue was tender, smoky, and delicious! 

  

Hollywood Wax Museum

Titanic Museum

The Hatfields and McCoys Dinner Feud

Wonderworks is actually a science museum/center. According to their story, this building was originally a top secret research laboratory on a remote island in the Bermuda Triangle. An experiment went awry and the resulting tornado  brought them to this location, with all the experiments still intact... It look like a fun place to visit!

The Smoky Mountain Opry 

AND we drove by the real Rocky Top, Tennessee! That song has been stuck in my head ever since we saw the Osborne Brothers at the Opry!

...and yes, it really was rocky. :-) I missed the shot as we were passing but this is what the roads looked like for a lot of the drive. 

Now to start prepping for the journey back home...... Hope y'all have a great week! 

- Jen

Secret Caverns and Hot Chicken

On Friday I finally gave in to my computer and clicked the "Update and Restart" prompt. I waited for what seemed like hours for my computer to do its thing. When it was finally ready I tried to open my browser of choice to write the blog entry, and what happened? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The browser refused to open. Not only that but a few picture folders had magically disappeared. Being that it was Friday and I didn't have time to fiddle with it, I tried to open another browser. Apparently my cookies weren't properly enabled in that one. So, instead of throwing a tantrum and smashing my laptop I turned off my computer and enjoyed a movie with the kiddo's.

Fast forward to today and the problems have been fixed. Hooray! It may be a few days late but trust me, this post was written in much better spirits than it would have been on Friday. It's just as well because we're going to Tennessee this weekend and the next update will be posted the following Tuesday also. If this trip has taught me anything it's that it's okay to remain flexible and switch things up from time to time. Now, on with the show!

One of the requirements of homeschooling in Washington State is that the students have to complete one of the state approved tests for our records. There are several to choose from, but only one can be completed entirely online, the California Achievement Test or CAT for short. Each student completes the test on their own and then we submit the test together. Within minutes, the results are emailed back.

I have to say, I was really impressed with the whole process. The test wasn't timed, so each child could take their time and really think about their answers. I feel like this gave them a chance to show what they know instead of how fast they can work under pressure. It's a fairly lengthy test and it was also nice that the student could pause and save their progress for lunch or bathroom breaks. I'm pleased (and relieved) to report that they all did great! Now I have to finish typing up transcripts so we can petition the school district for the corresponding high school credits for our oldest son.

You may be interested to learn that just as we have the prerogative to homeschool our children, any school in our district has the prerogative to reject all home-based education credits if we decide to attend their school. This means our oldest son would have to complete all four years of high school in three years time to graduate with his classmates in 2020- a daunting task to say the least. He's fifteen so we feel that he should be the one directing his education at this point. He has chosen to reenter the public school system. Now it's up to us to gather as much information as we can to prove our son did the work and knows his stuff. We'll see what happens but if you feel so inclined, a prayer on his behalf would be greatly appreciated...

We only have two weeks left here in Kentucky. That doesn't leave us much time to pack in all the places we want to see, but we'll sure try! A few weekends ago we visited the Louisville Mega Cavern, which is unlike any other place we've ever been. It's an ENORMOUS cavern built under the limestone layers of Louisville. It's opened year-round and tours are available. You can also ride your bike or try out their ropes courses, zip line, and more.

The entrances are large enough for cement trucks to fit through. The Mega cavern is one of the largest green facilities in Kentucky and when a cement truck has cement left over, they bring it here and use it to pave the roads in the cavern. 

Those pillars are at regular intervals throughout the cavern to maintain structural integrity.

This is where they keep all the road salt for winter. That's a lot of salt! 

Stalactites are slowly forming 

The cavern was originally a limestone quarry and in the 1960's it was set aside by the government as a fall-out shelter for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Check out this eerie representation of what it might have been like for the survivors....for a while. The government didn't take into account the radiation coming in through the drinking water. Most of the average Louisville population at that time didn't even know this cavern existed which amazes me because it covers almost 100 acres underground! I encourage you to check out the link to their website for more info.

Limestone is formed over a long period of time under oceans.You can see fossils in the ceiling. Weird and cool all at the same time.  

They do a lot of recycling of paper in the cavern (food would smell too bad). The tour guide showed us their worm farm...and then she ate a worm! Apparently she does that for every tour. I guess that's one way to get your daily allowance of protein... 

The cavern is so big that it houses a storage facility and there's still a TON of unused space!

For Christmas, bus loads of people drive through the cavern for an underground lights display. 

The Louisville Zoo was another place we visited and it happens to sit right above the Mega Cavern. The kids had fun running around and seeing all the animals. My favorite part was seeing the baby gorilla. SO cute!!

Southern White Rhinoceros

African Elephant

Our youngest son took a ride on a Domedary Camel. He said it was soft.

Giraffe 

Just look at that sweet baby gorilla! It was swinging all over the place and momma was always close by. 

A Silverback Gorilla decided to sit next to our daughter for a while. I wonder if it was the one who likes to take selfies?

A Polar Bear, not in the arctic, but in Kentucky!

We walked through the Wallaby area where they could hop right up next to you with no separation!

Here's our oldest with one. 

Black Piranha's are HUGE! 

We also saw an Albino Alligator. 

After our trip to the zoo, we stopped off for lunch. I know the rest of the world thinks of Kentucky Fried Chicken when they think of Kentucky. That's all fine and good for fast food, but if you want a REAL taste of the South then you don't have to go far. The Louisville food scene is amazing and the local chefs can stand up to restaurants in NYC or other big cities any day of the week. So if you're looking for juicy, crisp, perfectly seasoned fried chicken, all you have to do is go to a place like Joella's or Royals Hot Chicken. Add an Ale-8-One and you're all set!

Royals Hot Chicken Sandwich with a Coke Float. You can always find a few pickles on top of the sandwich. 

This is the mural outside of Royals. We came at a great time because there's always a line out the door. 

See what I mean?

 And this is Joella's Hot Chicken Sandwich. Yuuuuuuum!

Our last stop this week is the Kentucky Science Center. It's really well put together and includes a lot of interactive exhibits as well as a museum area. I feel like I learned as much as the kids did. We had fun and if you're ever in town, I recommend checking it out. It's nice when everyone in the family can participate and learn together.

People can stand inside a giant bubble of their own making.

Fun with dry ice.

One of the exhibits in the Science of Sound area. I bet some of you will recognize these. 

Art not made BY paint brushes, but OF paint brushes. :-) Love it!

Creating a model to launch

It's not every day you can see a sarcophagus deconstructed.

Fun with electricity

I hope you are all well and enjoying your summer or winter, depending on where you're reading this. I'll be sure to check in again next week after our Tennessee adventures. Until then, take care and be careful when your computer tells you to "Update and Restart."

- Jen