Beginning on July 10th we made a long trip… 4000 miles round trip through four states. We loaded up the car after church that Sunday the 10th and started the road trip to North Carolina for our middle son’s wedding.

On day one we headed to Abilene to pick up our middle son and do the road trip with him. That meant that we would be taking two cars all the way to Pinehurst, NC. That also meant filling two tanks all the way there. We were super grateful that gas prices decided to drop by almost a dollar in some places from May to July.

It took us 4 days to arrive at our Airbnb. We booked it starting that Wednesday July 13th through the 17th. We had carefully planned the trip so that we would be staying with family all the way there and back except for the Airbnb.

As things often do, that plan fell through for day two of our trip. We were scheduled to stay with my parents but my mom called that Friday before leaving with the news that she and my father were both down with the Vid. It was their first round and it was really mild but we all decided not to risk getting the groom sick. He is the only one in our entire family that has not had it. (They are doing well, btw.) That meant that we headed on up to Arkansas for the night.

It was a long traffic riddled day so we were glad to book a room as we drove with Booking.com and fall into bed after dinner at the local Waffle House. We did make two big stops to stretch our legs and take care of some business. We hit an REI in Ft. Worth for some gear for the groom and then a Buc-ees on our way to Texarkana. We have not been to Buc-ees a lot over the years but we did stop for a specific photo and some snackage.

We did stop for state line photos along the way, too…

They were kinda over me taking photos by the time we hit the NC line. Actually, probably way before that. LOL

Day three took us into Nashville to meet our newest family member and stay with our kids overnight. We picnicked at the Tennessee state line and took a few more photos. We had a nice chat with one of the helpful ladies at the main desk as we went in. Memphis sits right on the Mississippi River so we ate lunch while looking out onto the river there. We made Nashville by dinner time and enjoyed our DIL’s delicious Chickpea Curry and then spent some time with the grand kids before heading to bed.

It was our second trip to Nashville. The other trip there was in 2005 for the SBC Annual Meeting. It is still just as beautiful and traffic is still just as crazy.

Day four found us heading into North Carolina. It was our first trip there and man, was it stunning! Driving through the Great Smoky Mountains was such a treat. After living in the desert southwest for 25 years the trees were like giants and the green and flowers were unbelievable! I didn’t even mind the extreme humidity. As a matter of fact… as a Sjogren’s patient I rather enjoyed it. My sinuses and skin were so happy. LOL

We arrived late into the night at our Airbnb in Pinehurst, NC. We booked a whole house so that we could all stay in one place. We had all four children plus DIL, three grandchildren, Dan and me, and two groomsmen all staying under one roof. It was really such a wonderful adventure and the home we stayed in was absolutely fantastic. If you are ever heading to Pinehurst just ask me for a recommendation. I have the perfect place for a crowd.

I will stop here for today… I have so many other adventures to share but I don’t want to write a book for you guys. I will share more in some later posts as we move through August.

Until Next Time,

~Leann