Tennessee
Virginia (Includes Bethany's Blessing) & West Virginia
Kentucky
Nashville
 

 Our Southeast Tour
Aug 31-Sept 11, 2004

On August 31, 2004, we headed off to the Oakland airport for an early morning flight to Nashville, Tennessee.  We were hoping our flight would be on time, so we could make a 2:30 tour of the Saturn Manufacturing Plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee.  It was!  After our tour, we drove to Chattanooga and spent the night at the Hampton Inn on Lookout Mountain.  We enjoyed the sights of Chattanooga topped off by a great visit with Joe and Tawnia and their family.  Before we arrived at Laura and Bob's in Blacksburg, VA, we were able to drive through the Great Smoky Mountain area,  tour the Museum of Appalachia, where we read stories of the wonderful people of that area and viewed their handiwork, and then review the life of Christ at the beautiful Christus Gardens.  We enjoyed very much our time visiting Bob and Laura and Ethan and Bethany.  It was especially nice to be able to attend Church with their family and to be there for the blessing of Bethany.  After leaving Blacksburg, we spent the remaining days visiting some wonderful sights.  A highlight was to visit Walton's Mountain, bringing back memories of The Waltons, a television show we both enjoyed.  The Shaker village in Kentucky reminded us somewhat of Nauvoo.  Learning more about slavery at the Hermitage and of the Civil War at the Lynchburg Old City Cemetery and the Appomattox National Historic Park was sobering.   In Nashville we enjoyed the beautiful woodcarving of The Last Supper in the Upper room and the music of the Grand Ole Opry at Opryland.  On the evening of September 11, we boarded our plane in Nashville very much aware of the significance of the date.   We arrived back in Oakland with many fond memories of the wonderful area we visited and of time spent with family.

                                                                                                          ---Lewis and Dianne Newton

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