Family Fun, Clinton Library, and Home to Texas

After our wonderful caravan, which ended in Abingdon, VA, we drove to nearby Kingsport, TN to visit our son, Mark, his wife Christy, and our six-year-old grandson, Ethan for a few days. We shared evening meals at our campground, Warrior’s Path State Park, and enjoyed watching Ethan roast hotdogs and marshmallows. He stayed with us in the Airstream our last night. He is doing a great job with his two-wheeler, and it was fun being with him for his soccer game. We used one afternoon to take him to visit our friends, Jim and Charlotte, in Jonesboro. Ethan was quite fascinated with Jim’s model train, which takes up half of his basement. It continues to be a work in progress.

We departed Kingsport and headed south through North Carolina—a longer scenic route than taking Interstate through Knoxville. As we approached Chattanooga, we wondered about our decision. By 5:30 p.m. the entire sky was black, and our weather station was bellowing ominous tornado threats. We elected to stay in a Super Wal-Mart so that we could at least get inside the building in case of an emergency. It poured rain the entire night, and the lightning spread across the entire horizon. The endless flashes reminded us of a presidential press conference. The next day we drove east toward Memphis on beautiful TN State Route 64, one of our favorite drives with many steep hills and winding roads. The trees were beginning to turn a rich orange and red. We encountered an unimaginable photo-op that made us make an immediate U-turn. What we observed was a small caravan of mule-drawn “RVs.” Did you ever see a truck camper pulled by a team of mules? As Gloria reached out, one driver handed her his business card with his website, www.twomulesandawagon.com/awagon.com/. Check it out for more details about John McComsey’s travels and photos of his wagon and mules, Jack and Mack. He and his fellow wagoners were near Lawrenceburg, TN when we spotted them; they make about 20 miles per day. They seemed thrilled that we took many photos of their caravan. They have traveled as far as Phoenix, AZ, and then back to Tennessee.

It was cloudy when we arrived at the Navy support facility in Millington, located just north of Memphis. What a thrill to find a wonderful military famcamp with concrete pads and patios for only $20 per night. The park was perfect, so we decided to stay five nights to relax and just do nothing after months of touring. We had lots of rain, but we didn’t care. We only went to the Commissary and BX. The rest of the time we relaxed, read, played cards and dominoes, and took lots of naps as the rain pelted our aluminum trailer relentlessly.

We marveled at the vast white cotton fields near Memphis. This was once one of the richest cotton growing areas in America. Then it was on to Little Rock, where we toured the Bill Clinton Library and Museum located on the bank of the Arkansas River. The Clintons selected a run-down section of town for their edifice, and it has done much to revitalize that area. The parking lot was full including four-wheelers in RV spaces; we had to enlist the help of a friendly security officer to help us park. Next to the Library is a gigantic old elevator bridge, which will soon be operative again. Adjacent to the library is a lovely scenic park visualized and developed by our former President. While this gigantic library is impressive, the architecture is a bit too modern to suit our taste. Inside there are many interesting stories, videos, photos, and international gifts to the Clintons. Bill’s famous Mustang has a home there. There are references to Monica, but she did not rate a large section even though she was a major distraction to the Clinton legacy. In other words, “Nice try but no cigar.” Many accomplishments are highlighted, including the fact that Clinton inherited a $290 billion deficit in 1992 and he left a $236 billion surplus for W eight years later. Just look where we are now. With delusions of grandeur, Jerry took a break by sitting in Bill's presidential chair. The photo to the left shows dresses worn by several 20th Century First Ladies.

We stayed at a Flying J Service Center for our final night before getting to Hillsboro. What a wonderful feeling it was as we entered the North Texas Airstream Community, we breathed a huge sigh of relief—home sweet home!

Last Stop for Our Caravan: Abingdon, VA

Our leaders took us to Abingdon, Virginia for the last phase of our caravan . We camped at Hungry Mother State Park, which derived its name from a mother trying to rescue her child from Indians, who had raided several settlements along the New River south of the park. Indians took seven survivors to their base camp north of the park, but somehow, Molly Marley and her small child managed to escape. The child was found wandering through the wilderness eating berries; all she could utter was, “Hungry Mother.” A search party found Molly’s body at the foot of the mountain near a stream where she had collapsed. The mountain is known as Molly’s Knob; a nearby stream is called Hungry Mother Creek. It was dammed in 1930 to form Hungry Mother Lake.

Unlike unfortunate Molly, our caravanners were never hungry. Our farewell dinner was a virtual feast held at Greenway Haven Party House, a picturesque, old brick home, which specializes in serving large dinners. The homemade biscuits would make Grandma proud and the service was exemplary. Past President Ed Jones gave a capsulated overview of all that we had seen during our three weeks together, and Cecil and Della were again honored as our hardworking leaders. Also attending was Stan, our dedicated guide.

Our final event was held the next day at the Barter Theatre Stage II, an annex to the original Barter Theatre in Abingdon. We saw the uplifting, fun-filled play, “Tom Sawyer.” The young people who played the familiar parts were excellent actors. During the Great Depression, Robert Porterfield, an enterprising young actor, returned to his native Southwest Virginia with an extraordinary proposition: Bartering produce from the farms and gardens of the region to gain admission to see a play. So on June 10, 1933, Barter Theatre opened its doors, proclaiming "With vegetables you cannot sell, you can buy a good laugh." The price of admission was 40 cents or an equivalent amount of produce. Four of five Barter Theatre goers paid their way with vegetables, dairy products and livestock. Imagine a live hog or a dead rattlesnake for the price of admission. The performing actors were distracted, not only by the occasional squealing pig or clucking hen, but by noise from the town jail, which was located directly beneath the stage. The jail was eventually converted into dressing rooms for Barter actors. To the surprise of many, all the seats for the first show were filled. The concept of trading "ham for Hamlet" caught on quickly. At the end of the first season, the Barter Company cleared $4.35 in cash, two barrels of jelly, and a collective weight gain of over 300 pounds.

Today, at least one performance a year celebrates the Barter heritage by accepting donations for an area food bank as the price of admission. Some of our group walked across the street from Stage II where we had seen “Tom Sawyer” to catch a glimpse of the original old theatre depicted in these photos. A stage crew was getting ready for the next big production. We also walked to the nearby elegant Martha Washington Inn, which was once home to Martha Washington College.

Thus a wonderful Airstream Caravan led by Cecil (see Cecil with Tom & Becky) and Della came to an end. It was with mixed emotions as we parted and headed in different directions toward our respective homes. Some of us had been on the road since May. Our leaders can be proud of a job well done. Although we had lived in Northern Virginia for 30 years beginning in 1977, we had never really explored the “Crooked Road” Tri-State Area. It is rich in culture and history going all the way back to our early settlers. Country music and story telling continue to be an important part of its heritage.

Jonesboro and Gray, TN

For the past five years we have wanted to visit the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN, the oldest town in Tennessee. Our caravan included this terrific event as a part of our journey. We camped at the Appalachian Fairgrounds in neighboring Gray, TN on the last night of September with a group of Airstreamers from Tennessee. Each morning we shared a continental breakfast with them before our day of touring.

On Thursday we all did our own thing. Our choice was to tour the nearby Natural History Museum operated by East Tennessee State University. Miocene Age mammals once flourished at the five-acre, 100 feet deep site where we experienced an enriched fossil adventure. This limestone site once provided a sinkhole where many prehistoric animals fell in and were buried by sediments. Boulders from surrounding sites also tumbled in, and waterlogged sediments preserved the plant and animal fossils for four to five million years. The site was discovered in 2000 by highway crews building a new road. Gov. Don Sundquist ordered the highway diverted around the fossil site, which is still actively and carefully being explored by scientists with tools ranging from shovels to the latest satellite technology. Specimens discovered so far include a saber-toothed cat, dwarf tapir, an extinct rhino, and several new species. They have only scratched the surface.

History is still being made in Jonesborough, a quaint, scenic, friendly place, recognized by one author as “One of America’s most charming towns and villages.” Andrew Jackson once practiced law here, and the Emancipator Newspaper was the first to promote the emancipation of slaves in 1820. There are garden galas where residents open their homes to garden tours and teas. One man has a large model train running through his garden. During the year the town, with its Early American architecture, hosts many events, but the biggest is the National Storytelling Festival that has been held here since 1973.

For the next three days we, along with nearly 10,000 others, attended the festival. Five huge tents served as the place where myriad storytellers were featured. The biggest problem was picking which one. Some presenters have been coming here from the beginning, and one, a 92 year old woman, was so popular that people literally ran to grab a seat in the tent where she was featured. The many stories offered at the festival range from family tales to complete fabrications. Several of the storytellers combined instruments and/or vocal presentations to their stories. Photography inside the tents was not permitted. Our weather was fabulous, good food was reasonably priced, and parking at First Baptist Church was convenient, and we were amazed that the acoustics in every tent were superb. On Sunday morning, after an excellent devotional by a member of the TN Unit, our caravanners along with several members of the rally unit, attended a fantastic champaign buffet brunch at the historic General Morgan Inn in Greeneville. Jonesborough is definitely a town to which we will return. We recommend it highly.