Sweet Teannessee

After spending a total of 23+ hours traveling by planes, a death shuttle from the airport and lovely family members' vehicles, I am elated to declare that I am back home from a very unforgettable trip. Where might I have journeyed to that required so much traveling? Perhaps London to visit Piccadilly Circus? Or maybe Yemen to brush up on my Arabic? Wrongo: my destination was the good ole land o'Tennessee. In case you have never been there (as I had never been), let me shed a wee bit of light on the place that my dear red headed friend calls home.

1) It's not as hot as one might imagine. Maybe my Texan heritage has roasted and toasted me enough to not be phased by such things but I found the weather to be lovely and enjoyable. My gams got their fair share of much needed sunlight and vitamin D, and became the blood donation center of choice for every mosquito in Bradley County. But I kept my shorts on the whole time. Viva la suntan!

2) Honey mustard is the Tennessee person's choice of condiments. For everything. Well, not everything I suppose, but anything and everything that is fried. I ate so many fried pickles and mushrooms that my intestines now have a fine breaded coating. But it was definitely worth it. Oh, and the sweet tea there will most definitely cause sugar induced comas. Drink it up y'all!

3) If you decide to go boating as a means of recreation, make sure that you know exactly where the keys to your car are at all times. (I realize that this is a good rule of thumb to follow when boating anywhere in the world, but I had to throw that in there for Bootsie.)

4) And last but not least, Tennessee is beau-ti-ful. You can't escape it. There are trees growing everywhere and out of everything and there are plants growing out of the trees. Everything is lush and green and full of God's glory. And when you escape the the gloriness (another word I made up) of nature and go into the city (i.e. Nashville) there are guitars everywhere. Beautiful paintings and sculptures and carvings of guitars (mostly Gibson) everywhere!

How much more beauty can one handle? I know I didn't get enough in one week. Looks like I'll have to go down there again and test my limits.