We’ve begun our trek to Lake Tahoe. We left Lakeland on Sunday the 23rd, and spent the night in Ridgeville, South Carolina where it was a sweltering 99°F and most everything was closed due to being Sunday.

Next morning we drove to Rocky Mount, North Carolina and had a great afternoon & evening with Margeaux, Nestor, Freya, and Vance. Freya is using multi-word sentences, and Vance has calluses on both knees from crawling everywhere at speed. Nestor made delicious salmon, roasted brocolini, and Spanish rice. 

Tuesday we visited with Tom’s parents in Cary, North Carolina. They both look good and we all had lunch in the dining room. Paula made chicken with mushroom gravy for dinner with sides.

Today we drove West, with Knoxville, Tennessee as our stopping point. We made a stop to visit Olivia, Jared, Johnny, James, and Isla in Kingsport, Tennessee. The kids have really grown and the boys are articulate & artistic. Isla is a little shy but speaks her own language fluently.

Oliva and Jared look great, healthy & happy and have made big strides with their land. Olivia gifted us with eggs from her chickens, and we admired the “feeder” pig who will provide bacon, prosciutto, and sausage later this year, to supplement the venison they mostly use. They have gardens, a wildflower patch, a tractor that looks like every kid’s dream to climb on, chicken coop, pig surround, plus Sybil the dog, and Thomas, a very friendly outdoor cat!

We arrived in Knoxville late in the day, so didn’t do any touring. We visited here last year however so didn’t feel as though we missed anything. Tomorrow we head to Indianapolis, Indiana.