Summer often brings vacations, and I recall this year the anniversary of summer vacations that were down south.
10 years ago this past May, in 2010, my parents and I went on a weeklong trip to the Smokies region. We stayed at a hotel-resort in Sevierville, TN (pronounced Severe-vill). From the parking lot, we had a great view of the Smokies, except for the morning we left when it was cloudy.
We visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park twice: First, we did the Cades Cove Loop. I recall being nervous as I drove around on narrow roads, wondering if a bear would pop out, as there was plenty of notice in signage to watch out for bears--this was a few months before I got my driver's license for the first time. On another day, we drove the main road through the park from Tennessee into North Carolina, crossing the border at Newfound Gap, and ended up in the Cherokee Reservation bordering the park on the NC side. There was a lot of great scenery as we went up and down the mountains, and wound around on twisting roads among forests, and coming close along mountain rivers, like the Oconaluftee.
We also spent time visiting Knoxville, including some of the historic sites like a Sectional War battlefield. I had just concluded my first year at ValpU earlier that month, and one of the classes I had focused on the American Civil War and memory. Fresh in that mindset, I found a Sectional War driving tour for Knoxville, which was the impetus for my request to visit there, and guided some of our sightseeing there. We also visited the James White Fort, which hearkens back to the settlers of the 18th Century there.
We also spent time in Gatlinburg, visiting shops along the Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Trail. One attraction I enjoyed was Christ in the Smokies Museum and Garden. In the museum, we walked from room to room, following the life of Christ as depicted in several scenes with life-size wax figures. That seemed a particularly fitting way to spend Pentecost Sunday, after attending Mass at a church in Pigeon Forge: It started somewhat subdued, but then the priest, Father Jay, went into "spit-fire" mode in his homily. The choir concluded Mass with a spirited singing of "Amen" based on the song in the movie Lilies of the Field.
The resort we stayed at was nice, too. It had a waterpark. (You can see in the photo below the view from the balcony of our condo-unit. I probably took it.) I recall that much of mid-May 2010 was a somewhat cooler than average month. The day we arrived in Sevierville felt so summer-like, and going into the outdoor water park really helped get me in summer mode.
Notably, unlike many of our other family vacations in previous years, this one happened in May, during the week right before Memorial Day weekend, from May 21-29. After Memorial Day, it gets particularly crowded there, and so I felt like we were there at just the right time to enjoy visiting the area. Mom's birthday fell on the Wednesday of our trip, and we had a nice time celebrating.
And after my first year of college, and making it through long stretches of time away from home and feeling homesick, it was wonderful to spend time with Mom and Dad, especially in nature recreation.
That trip was my second time in that area, as I went on a family vacation there 5 years prior. Indeed, it was 15 years ago in August that our family foursome joined with relatives from our extended family for a few days at a Fairfield hotel-resort near Lake Lure, NC.
It was a wonderful time visiting together, enjoying some recreation in nature and fun times, with games like canasta and Apples to Apples. Circumstances got pretty interesting when the power went out twice, but we still managed to jovially enjoy each other's company. (My Uncle Bernie even mentioned how I comported myself during a power outage in a letter he wrote recommending me for Confirmation, which happened two months after that trip.)
The summer of 2005 was memorable, just as the entire calendar year was marked by significant events in my life. One other great memory I have of summer 2005 happened at the end of July, when my parents and I went on a short trip to central and southern Illinois, over the course of an extended weekend of sorts, from July 28 to 30. Our primary destination was the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, which had just opened on April 19 of that year. The Chicago Tribune had a special section on the museum, which I carried with me as we visited. (I kind of like to think that this trip was an 8th grade graduation present from my parents.)
It was a great opportunity to reconnect with history that was brought alive in a whole new way, with scenes from his life and era featuring life-size figures, 1860 campaign ads with commentary by Tim Russert, and animations. I also enjoyed seeing the two shows, the Ghosts of the Library, and another on Mr. Lincoln's life, focusing on a portrait of him that is featured at the entrance to that show. I couldn't help but notice that in the museum, signage would note where certain events happened, some of which were almost 800 miles away in Washington, D.C., and some just blocks away. We looked around at sites in Springfield after our visit to the museum, which was shortly after it opened in the morning until late afternoon. One place we stopped was the Chase Bank in downtown Springfield that had an exhibit on Mr. Lincoln's finances, because that bank building was once the Springfield Marine Bank, where he kept his money. We also walked down by the Lincoln Home historic area, which we had visited several years earlier.
Visiting Springfield was on Friday, July 29. The following day, July 30, we drove south to the Metro East Area of St. Louis to visit the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, IL. It is the site where the Lewis and Clark Expedition set out on May 14, 1804. It was particularly meaningful to visit that site in the midst of the expedition's bicentennial, which was an event of great interest to me as I delved more deeply into learning about the earlier years of the United States. It was quite an adventure they embarked upon into the vast stretches of North America for discovery of the land and encounters with the indigenous Americans, and it all started in Illinois. We looked around in the museum, and then looked at the reconstruction of Camp River DuBois. We also went to a spot where we could view the confluence of the Missouri River into the Mississippi River, where the expedition set out up the Missouri River.
Indeed, I have great memories of trips to recall, because of the opportunities to connect with new places and what they offer, particularly windows to times past, to illuminate US history, and scenic views of the beautiful nature the USA offers. And it was wonderful to be present with family and share experiences together of sightseeing and spending quality time together.
