Friday, April 29
This morning I joined Dad as his co-pilot on his road trip to Elizabethton. Since Friendship Christian was more or less on Dad’s way to the interstate, Dad dropped Levi off at school before meeting up with me and Terry at the Gallatin exit. As today also happens to be our 21st wedding anniversary, Dad presented Terry and me with a beautiful anniversary card from him and Janice with two gift cards enclosed, one to Bonefish Grill (I can’t wait to order a cup of crab corn bisque, their house salad and split a Bang Bang Shrimp with my beloved) and one card for Shell gas. A place to eat and a way to get there. Perfect.
I hugged and kissed my honey bunny goodbye and our adventure began. Before getting on the interstate, we had our requisite breakfast through McDonald’s and then were “east bound and down”. We made great time, switching drivers at the Petro station in Knoxville and arriving in Elizabethton early afternoon.
Grandmother greeted us on the screened-in porch looking marvelous in her summer corals. Phyllis arrived shortly afterward and we shared a late lunch together of pinto beans, slaw and cornbread along with a slice of chocolate pie that Phyllis picked up at City Market. We sat around the kitchen table and enjoyed a great meal together catching up on just everything. In fact, we pretty much sat there all day just soaking in the good times.
Having been on the road and not wanting to get back out, we decided to stay in for dinner and settled on Boar’s Head ham sandwiches on Pepperidge Farm rye bread with cheddary sliced cheese along with sides of green olives and salty potato chips. Instead of a sandwich, Grandmother settled on a baked sweet potato with butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar.
After our casual but ultimately satisfying dinner, we began watching a DVD of Agatha Christie’s, “And Then There Were None” but since we were all falling asleep we called it a night to regroup in the morning. What a wonderful day!
Saturday, April 30
It being Saturday, we all slept in eventually finding ourselves all tucked around the kitchen table savoring hot cups of coffee and tea. Phyllis looking all cute in her summer gingham joined us as well to partake in a cup of joe. Since Grandmother and I were still in our jammies, Dad and Phyllis popped out to Hardee’s and picked up an assortment of flaky biscuits with sides of gravy for our breakfast. Yum!
Did you know you could celebrate Christmas in April? Well, you can! Phyllis presented Dad with a passel of gifts that were the most fun ever. The first box he opened included a roll of toilet paper which made us all pause and ponder until he pulled out a western style handgun toilet paper holder. Hilarious! It will hang with glory in the hall bath of the log cabin. There’s a carved, wooden figurine that Phyllis gave Dad years ago of a man wearing a slouchy hat and long johns holding a cup of coffee that will keep it company. Keeping it rustic, a red pickup truck with a Christmas tree in the back will look dandy in the cabin while Dad and Janice can groove along to tunes on their tabletop holiday jukebox.
We wiled away the morning on the porch before finally deciding to make the traditional trip around the monument. While we were cruising around town, Phyllis pointed out the office where Grandmother Carrie worked for the Welfare Department, which today is the second floor of Community First Bank in downtown Elizabethton. Dad and Phyllis would stop and see her and she would give them money to go to see a movie at the Bonnie Kate Theater. Phyllis said one time, Burchell gave them each a dollar and they spent all day trying to decide what to buy. I love hearing these stories.
Tootling around town, Grandmother showed us a few interesting sites around town including where the old horse trail used to cross the Doe River on Academy Street next to what was Frank and Mary Shepherd’s bed and breakfast, the Doe River Inn.
We continued paralleling the river down Main Street to Watauga Drive where we saw Grandmother’s friend, Jennie Chambers. We stopped so Grandmother could say hello and chat for a few minutes. Jennie lives in the house she grew up in and she shared a cute story with us. Growing up, her best friends father worked for the telephone company and he and her father arranged to have phones installed in the girls bedrooms. This was a real extravagance at the time. Their fathers quickly realized however, they would never get to use their home phone again with a teenager in the house so they nipped that in the bud. What’s funny about all of that is that not only did her friend live next door, their bedrooms faced each other so they could literally open up their windows and talk to each other.
Another fun story Jennie shared was the day her nephew called and asked if she was going to be home because he and his buddy were floating the river and asked if she could she bring them snacks and sandwiches as they floated by. Talk about curb service!
Soon enough, we were off again following the river along Lovers Lane. We spotted a fly-fisherman, a couple of mallard ducks and some fishermen enjoying canoeing the river. Wild irises were blooming alongside the bank and Dad said this is where the irises at the Farm were procured.
Slightly famished, we finished up our galavanting around town with a trip through Sammon’s for a late afternoon snack of hot dogs, fries and lemonades.
Back at the ranch, a nap was globally agreed upon. Grandmother settled into her recliner with the dulcet sounds of Turner Classic Movies playing in the background while Phyllis and I each grabbed a couch and Dad settled beside me and caught up on sporting news. Phyllis and I chatted while Grandmother and Dad grabbed a little shut eye after which we all passively watched the end of “Miss Congeniality” on TV as we were all too lazy to change the channel.
Continuing our theme of relaxation, we scrounged in the kitchen for dinner making ham sandwiches for me and Dad, a bowl of sliced strawberries in milk dusted with sugar for Phyllis and a Brown Cow for Grandmother Ginny. Tummies full, we watched season one of BBC’s “Sherlock” with Benedict Cumberbatch from Phyllis’ DVD collection. Marvelous! We watched the end of “The Proposal” and the beginning of “Miss Congeniality” before Phyllis headed home for the evening. As soon as she made a move we all called it a night.
Dad laughs opening Christmas gifts from Phyllis. Who would’t love a pistol toilet paper holder?
Grandmother’s house dressed for spring.
Sunday, May 1
Once again we all slumbered soundly getting up in an unhurried manner before gathering around the kitchen table. Phyllis wandered in looking adorable as always and the three of us leisurely savored our tea and coffees. We sat and enjoyed each others company, gabbing and laughing and making the most of our waning time together.
Before too long, the siren song of the highway was calling us and it was time to hit the road. We grabbed a few last hugs and photos on the back porch and then we were on our way.
The trip home was easy and uneventful. Dad and I listened to the soundtrack from the Broadway musical, “Chicago” which made you just want to shimmy and shake while simultaneously executing a high kick with a flourish of jazz hands which is all quite challenging to do while driving. I hadn’t listened to the soundtrack and years and had forgotten how wonderful it was and it really made the time fly by.
I so enjoyed our time together and can’t wait for our next road trip adventure.
