Saturday morning, we woke up in Memphis,TN and headed out to sight see before hitting the road. Conner begged to go to Sun Studios. Many of you may not know but Conner has been a Johnny Cash fan since he was five years old. He has longed to see the Sun studios for all of those years. We found it quite easily and decided to take the tour. Definitely well worth the twelve dollars,it is one of the places you walk into and feel the history around you. They take you into the actual studio and let you walk around, it is in original condition. Truly amazing to stand where Elvis sang for Sam Phillips, where Johnny Cash got his start and where Jerry Lee played the piano. Conner was giddy and grinning ear to ear.
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| Sun Studios, Memphis,TN |
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| Conner and Marty sitting in the recording studio at Sun Records |
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| the front office of Sun Studios |
After Sun Records we headed off to Graceland. I missed the ducks at the Peabody because we took the tour and so we decided to just see those another time. Graceland is quite the tourist trap and in my opinion over priced. We just went to the gift shop to find the tackiest souvenir we could find and found a place to eat bbq while we were there. The food was great and we found our tacky souvenir easily. We walked across the street to take a picture in front of the wall before hopping in the car to get on the rode.
We hit the rode to Nashville. Along the way one of my blog readers and friend Rebecca stopped us and gave us the most wonderful gift bag of ''welcome to Tennessee" goodies. It was so thoughtful and kind of her, it was amazing to my family.
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| Thanks Rebecca for the lovely welcome! |
We hopped in the car and headed to the Grand Old Opry to meet up with my cousins and their families. They drove down from their home in TN to see us and welcome us to the state. My kids loved seeing their cousins Anthony, Geoff, Peyton and Parker once again. It was our first time meeting baby Parker who is adorable. We visited for a little bit before getting in the truck to head to our final destination of Knoxville.
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| Conner and his cousin Anthony |
We plowed along through middle TN in the dark, trying to make it to our new home to park the moving truck. Thankfully it wasn't a long drive and we made it by 11:30 pm. We didn't know our new home is well off the beaten path on a tiny gravel road. The moving truck didn't fit so well on said road especially with low hanging power lines and trees. Needless to say,the pitch black,tiny road, trees and power lines made for a disaster and 26 feet of moving truck and 10 feet of car trailer ended up stuck in the mud in the farmer's field across from the house. We had to leave it there overnight and headed to a hotel to sleep.
We woke up the next morning,called Penske to come rescue our family once again, met up with our friend Lee and toured our new home. We got the moving truck into the driveway with the help of Lee's dad ( our new landlord) and Lee. Liviu Sr, the crazy Romanian helped us unpack the moving truck in less than one hour! It was a whirlwind of activity but well worth it. We were ready to be rid of the moving truck and the hassles of moving.
Good news, our little goldfish survived the long car ride in an ice cream container and earned themselves a new 5 gallon tank out of the ordeal. I must thank Shannon and Margaret for helping me move the fish across the country with their information.
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| the fishes moving container |
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| Happy fish in their new home |
It was so nice to sleep in our new home on Sunday night and start settling in on Monday morning. We went out to dinner on Sunday night with our friend Lee and met his wife Flavia for the first time along with his daughter Nora. So nice to finally meet them in person.
Monday afternoon, my dear tweep Anita stopped by with BBQ from her mother in law Jane. I loved meeting Anita for the first time. It was so wonderful to not have to cook dinner and eat amazing TN BBQ! I am so grateful to them for the lovely welcome to TN! Jane is an amazing cook and I cannot wait to meet her. This is truly an amazing family who have all been helpful in our move especially Anita's Dad Jeff. He kept us updated with weather and instructions along the way.
My mom was here to help me unpack and get organized until Wednesday afternoon. She helped me unpack boxes and find homes for everything. We didn't get completely unpacked but have made huge headway in a short time.
On Thursday morning, I started my new job at Fig and Company . Lee and I met when we were twelve years old, going to Jr high, high school and college together. It is truly surreal seeing him everyday once again, he hasn't changed that much over the years. I am truly enjoying getting to know his lovely wife Flavia as she trains me in store. We found out on the first day we are kindred spirits and very much alike in many ways. I am enjoying working with them and learning the ropes while giving them fresh perspective. They have built an amazing business in a short time.
We are starting to get settled. We are all loving the area, the dogs are happy in their new home, the kids are looking for ways to get involved and Marty is helping hold down the fort while I am working. We all are so glad we made the jump and took a leap of faith. We've been greatly blessed so far!
Thanks for all of the encouragement, messages, gifts and support. I am deeply touched by the support our family has received from everyone during this move. It was as if you carried us along the way on a wave of goodwill. We hope to be able to share that support and give it back someday.
