Away we go! Again!

Travel - Part 2
Well! I am happy to say that the great guys at Speedy Transmission accomplished the near impossible and did get us out of Atlanta on Thursday. We received the call that the car was ready and road tested about 3:30 and by 4:30 we were on I-75 and heading north. It was gray and rainy and with sundown not too far away, I will admit I was a little nervous. The worst part of the whole drive (to me) is the drive over Eagle Mountain, just west of Chattanooga. I had *planned* (laughing hysterically here) to do that tough part in the morning -- daylight, etc etc. But unless we spent another night in Atlanta, we would have to do it at night. With the rain I was also concerned that it would be snowing in the mountains. eeeeek

One little decorative item that I packed somewhere in all that luggage is a square of scrap wood that I made in a wood burning craft class when I was a Pioneer Girl at camp back...well, back. It says, "Cast all your care on Him, for He careth for you." Yup, yup, yup. So, the rain stopped before we got to Chattanooga, the clouds lifted and we had light much longer than expected. The roads were completely dry...all through the mountains and over Mount Eagle. It was dark, but I discovered I was actually less nervous driving it in the dark because I couldn't SEE how far down the sides were, all I could focus on was the road. I was taking care of what I was supposed to take care of, and not worrying about what I couldn't see. I also know there were many lifting us up through this time, and I am extremely grateful.

I let my aunts in Tennessee know that we wouldn't be arriving until 8-9pm, cutting our visit short, but we would still get to see them. I had to call my brother, Bill, and let him know we wouldn't make it in time to meet him for dinner. That was very disappointing for us all. Our drive was very smooth and went quickly. Even more quickly when I was on my phone (THANKS to everyone who called throughout the trip to check on us and let us know they were thinking of us - getting teary here) and realized that we had crossed into central time! Forgot about that, so quickly called the aunts and revised the time to 7-8pm THEIR time. So we gained an hour of visiting!

After leaving the interstate, we took some backroads into Gallatin and enjoyed some Christmas lights. Then all of a sudden on the right, through a grove of trees, we saw what looked like a massive display of lights. As we got closer I saw that it was a homemade drive through display, so I spontaneously (who me??) hung a right and we took a brief detour. It was beautiful, all kinds of lights and displays. There were even live sheep, including a couple of adorable little lambs, at a nativity. Both buildings and fields were completely decorated. We drove through a small barn...and there was Santa! He came over to the car and gave us all candy canes while talking to the girls about their school work and behavior. Kristen was beside herself with delight. Even the little barn was perfectly decorated as a cozy Christmas cabin for Santa. Our detour delayed us about 30 minutes, but made a great memory for four girls who had been traveling for four long days.

Shortly thereafter we arrived at Aunt Joyce's house; Auntie Phyl arrived shortly after and we had a fun "Fulton-style" visit -- card games, teasing, lots of laughing, hugs and more laughing. Joyce and I stayed up after midnight talking about everything, a real sacrifice on her part as she needed to leave for work at 6am. It was a wonderful family time. But not quite over! At about 5, Joyce woke me up, I thought at first she was just saying good-bye, but then she said, "There is someone here to see you". I knew at once that it was my brother. He had driven over an hour early in the morning to see us before he had to be at work. I flew out of bed and roused the girls. They had all been so disappointed that our visit with Uncle Bill had been cancelled, so I knew they would be thrilled despite the early hour. So we didn't get much sleep, but our time in Nashville was special beyond measure. Bill left for work a little after 7, and we were soon dressed and packed and back in the car for our final driving leg.

I'll stop here and put the Nashville to Chicago trip in Part 3.