April 5 - “Texas”

After a breakfast of waffles shaped like the state of Texas, we tried to get an early start yesterday. Josh texted us at breakfast that at 1:00 AnnaGrace was singing in a concert at her homeschool Co-op. That was about 3 and a half hours away. We did the math and opted to give it our best shot. On to Waco. 

The drive was not as long as the day before, but it was occasionally rainy or misty. Just enough to wash that evil yellow pollen off. On the way we saw lots of bluebonnets (welcome back to Texas!). I thought I saw some random wild chickens, but there is a strong possibility they were turkey vultures instead. Gorgeous critters. Just like the one gracing our back seat with his presence. 

We made it in plenty of time for the concert. In fact we saw the kids at their lunchtime before the concert started. We also found out from Christi that Caleb’s baseball game was canceled. Sad. I can’t understand why they didn’t just close the roof. Oh, wait. High school baseball. No roof. My bad.

But the mini-concert was amazing, of course. They sang three songs. My favorite was “Deep in the Heart of Texas”. Made me think of the seventh inning of an Astros game. Way to go, AnnaGrace. 

Last night we had pizza and a movie night with the family. Lots warmer than the baseball game would have been. 

Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Father, thanks for getting us back into Texas and among family. Amen. 

April 4 - “Fourth time’s the charm”

We left Chattanooga around 8:30. And after about an hour and a half of driving, we realized that it was just 8:45. And we had already driven through a corner of Georgia and on into Alabama. Gotta love that Central Time Zone.  

We stopped for gas near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Added a quick lunch at Wendy’s while we were at it. That’s when we made the determination to stay the course and drive until we hit Texas. That decision would put us rolling into Marshall around 6:30. We had accumulated enough points with Choice Hotels that we had a free night’s stay. So I locked it down. 

Next stop for gas was at Clinton, Mississippi. That’s where Josh almost went to college. Mississippi College. Creative name. I for one (and Chris for two) are plenty glad he ended up at HBU. After all, Christi was waiting for him there, and eventually … grandkids for us. 

We added one of those extra, “oh, yeah” stops. We realized that our path was going to take us right through Vicksburg. Now, we have been to Vicksburg. Three times. But never has the museum dedicated to the USS Cairo been open. And - you guessed it - there is a special stamp only available inside the museum. So we had to check it out, just in case. And … success. Saw the artifacts in the museum and got that elusive stamp. Fourth time’s the charm. 

After a success like that, we were rejuvenated. All we had to do was drive across Louisiana. It took a few hours, and I took over driving about the time it started raining a little and getting dark, but we made it into Marshall almost 12 hours to the minute after we left Chattanooga. Yep. We’re a little bit crazy. But we are in Texas …

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭31‬ says, Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.

Father, thanks for watching over our long drive. Amen. 

April 3 - “Oconaluftee”

We made a Vaughan road trip kind of decision. After going to Cowpens yesterday and getting a stamp/sticker for Chris’ book, we just couldn’t pass up the chance to complete this region. We got a hotel (Holiday Inn Express this time. Great price and probably the best hotel this whole trip), and made a bit of a backtrack. We returned to King’s Mountain so we could get the stamp and check out the visitor center. 

The rangers were very nice and helpful. We strolled through the museum, and that answered a lot of our confusion about whigs and tories and exactly which battle happened when and why. They even verified that the trees blooming a beautiful white flower everywhere around here were dogwoods. Combined with the pink sugar maples and red redbuds and purple wisterias that are also popping out, this place has been quite the early Spring destination.

Full-on headed back west now, we set the GPS to find some place called Oconaluftee visitor center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Say that five times really fast. It appeared to be right on the way to Chattanooga. It was … sort of. OK. Not really. There may or may not have been the “opportunity” to climb way up into the Great Smoky Mountains. 

On the way there we hit a patch of really dense fog. More like low-hanging rain clouds, actually. Eerie. Oh, and it was cold again. Low 50’s with the wind chill in the 40’s. And me in shorts and a t-shirt. Brr. 

I gotta say, the drive up to the mountains was chock-full of downright weird and touristy stuff. But the drive down followed a beautiful river with rapids. The only tourist incursions were the river rafting companies. Highly enjoyable. 

Up at the Oconaluftee (love saying that), we got the stamp first, then took a walk. Certainly not a hike by the standards of the last two days, but at least we strolled around and stretched our legs. They had a mountain farm set up, and the buildings were actually built many years ago. They were moved to the site to show the struggle it was living in the mountains. 

Once out of the mountains, we made our way to Chattanooga. Not to experience anything. We have already spent time there. This time it just happened to be in the appropriate place to grab a hotel room. But once again, God provided quite the show for us. Mountain vistas. Another beautiful river. And we even got to follow the world’s next Dollar General - at about 25 mph. 

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ says, Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.

Father, thank you for the overload of natural beauty we experienced yesterday. You done good. You done real good. Amen. 

April 2 - “Entrapment, annihilation, and an American victory”

Our exciting stumble of the day? We drove through Marshville, North Carolina. And why was that such an accidental marvel? Why, because Marshville has a distinctive claim to fame. It’s the birthplace of none other than Randy Travis. No big attempt to draw in tourists, though. Just a big mural of his face on the  side of a building. 

Around lunchtime we finally reached the first of our two goal sites of the day, King’s Mountain National Battlefield. It was a key victory for the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. Sadly, the visitors center was closed, so no stamp for the book. Chris said she could just make one of her own. The highlighted hike was listed as just a mile and a half, so we decided to tackle it before getting some lunch. 

Perhaps that wasn’t our finest decision of the trip. Oh, the trail was well-marked and even was covered in that rubbery substance.  But we failed to take into account that this was, after all, King’s MOUNTAIN. That trail was the toughest one all journey. A few almost vertical climbs (at least they seemed so to us). And the return down the mountain had some pretty severe slopes. You know, the kind where your toes get all scrunched up against the front of your shoe. Ouch. There were a few stops for Chris to “take pictures.”  (Code for catch your breath and let your heart rate calm down). But we made it the whole way. Yay us!

Next on the list was the Cowpens Battlefield National Monument. The visitors center was closed at this one, too, but we went in to check out the hikes anyway. And to our surprise, they had set out a bunch of stickers with three stamps on them, all for the taking. Check. 

This place was another Revolutionary War battle site. We did the hike there. My favorite comment from the many noted on signs along the trail: 

“The stage was set for entrapment, annihilation, and an American victory.”

Go, Patriots! Go, ‘Murica!

Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭2‬ says, My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget   all His benefits.

Father, thank you for our really full day yesterday. Those walks were tough but fun. Amen. 

April 1 - “Pepsi!”

Chris was convinced for the better  part of the day that the date was April first. Not sure what jogged her memory, but when she commented, “Wait. Today is March 31st, not April 1st,” I may or may not have uttered those fateful words… April Fools. Not that I intentionally set her up. It just seemed so … appropriate. 

We made a fascinating discovery upon awakening and settling in for breakfast. There on the wall was a photo commemorating this random little town where we happened to stop for the night. Come to find out, we were in the actual birthplace of - drumroll here - Pepsi! So of course we had to at least do a drive-by. 

Sure enough, the corner drugstore where it all began was now a commemorative museum. Sadly, it didn’t open for another hour. And we wanted to be on our way to our next destination. So we took a few pictures and hit the road. 

Cape Lookout National Seashore 

Harkers Island was next. I know. That’s a mouthful. The plan was originally to take a ferry ride from the visitor center out to Cape Lookout Lighthouse. However, we chose not to ride the ferry out to the lighthouse. It was cold and damp and the ferry was an open pontoon boat. And we found out that you can’t go inside the lighthouse anyway. So we opted to use the good ol’ zoom lens and take some long-distance shots. 

On the advice of a visitor center professional (or more likely, volunteer), we did check out the next door Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center. That museum was a great diamond in the rough. Our favorite part was the entire floor where local communities and families donated old stuff that was important to them. The exhibits were a fascinating glimpse of local Americana and rich history. More places should learn from that. Listening, Rosenberg Library?

A volunteer at the museum gave us a recommendation for a place locals eat, so we headed there. On the way we passed the local fire station. All the bays were open and all the trucks were there. They also had a sign indicating they had fire department t-shirts for sale. Overwhelming combination. We pulled in. They had an amazing array of equipment. Most of it looked brand new. However, there wasn’t a soul in sight. Well, except for the guy preparing a roofing bid. Guess they saw my chaplain’s hat and locked the door. Oh well. 

 

We did find someone at home at that lunch spot. It was called, of all things, the Seaside Galley. Chris had mediocre clam chowder. I had a basket of fried shrimp and some key lime pie. Mine was great.

We made it to our next stop by around 3:00. It was a Revolutionary War site called Moore’s Creek. We did the little history hike to find out what happened. Seems the Patriots set an inescapable trap for the advancing Loyalist troops. Bogged them down in a swamp to wear them out. Then the Loyalists, led by kilt-wearing Scotsmen brandishing broadswords, attacked. They were summarily defeated by the Patriot gunfire and cannons. You don’t bring a sword to a gunfight. In fact, that was the last time broadswords were used in battle. 

From there we continued our now-westward trek. Hotel along the way last night and on to two Civil War sites in South Carolina today. 

Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬ ‭says, For it is God who is working in you, enabling in you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.

Father, be with those youngsters we saw at the battlefield. Help them grow in knowledge, but also in closer proximity to you. Amen.