When Friends Become Family

After a conference south of Nashville, we eagerly headed to Knoxville, TN to visit friends. You may recall in our story, An Unexpected Encounter, we met a couple, Heather and Jerry, and made an instant connection with them. After seven months and several video calls, it was finally time to visit our new friends in person.

Our hosts pre-planned a wonderful itinerary for our visit – a welcome respite to a couple of full-time travelers who are in a continual planning state of mind. It is hard to highlight all the fun activities without turning this post into a book but let me give it a try!

A portion of our visit was dedicated to learning about the history of the Knoxville area and the Appalachian culture. The downtown area has a cute Market Square, Old City neighborhood, and includes the location of the World’s Fair which they hosted in 1982.

Oddly enough, I was not aware of what the World’s Fair was but what better way to learn than visiting one of the host locations! Known as an exhibition or an expo, the World’s Fair was created to highlight the achievements of the nations of the world. Knoxville’s fair theme “Energy Turns the World”, highlighted the wealth of energy in the area from all of the Tennessee River Valley’s dams. President Ronald Regan opened the first day of the fair, which ultimately hosted 11 million people from all over the world, before its conclusion. Knoxville transformed an abandoned railroad yard for the site of the fair. The site now houses a beautiful park, the original Amphitheater, and the iconic 266 foot Sunsphere. A ride to the top of the Sunsphere provided a beautiful view of the city of Knoxville, as well as the Cumberland and Smoky Mountains.

We also were able to view the city at night from Sharps Ridge. Knoxville is known as Knox Vegas, and we found out why, as we looked down on the lights radiating brightly. In the distance, we were able to see the Smoky Mountains, and unfortunately two forest fires actively burning. Thankfully we were in the area long enough to learn the fires were 100% contained, but not without the loss of woodlands, property, and a close call for a group of fire fighters.

Knowing how we love to serve others, Heather found a location for us to volunteer and joined us as we served the Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries (KARM). Their mission is to rescue those in need by providing shelter, food, basic hygiene, and clothing while building relationships with encouragement and support. Combined, those acts lead to restoration in the lives of the individuals they serve. Just one of many examples of people showing the love of God. We had the pleasure of volunteering at their popular thrift store. It was a nice afternoon spreading salt and light alongside our friend. And yes, Heather and I had a hard time not shopping while serving!

A few days later, Heather’s mom hosted a tea party for us. I had no idea what to expect but was amazed at the beautifully decorated table, pastries, finger sandwiches, and an array of teas – even some from France! It was a wonderful afternoon visiting with Heather, her parents, and a long-time friend. I understand Heather’s mom is known for her extravagant tea parties and we were blessed to be gifted with her talent. Another example of someone demonstrating the love of God.

During a trip downtown, we visited the Blue Plate Special show. You may be thinking it’s a restaurant, (we did visit during lunch and there were blue plates) but instead it is a radio station featuring local and regional bands. Hosted by WDVX radio station, the bands (with just one or a few musical instruments) play for a modest audience which is broadcast during the lunch hour. The special featured two bands that day. We were particularly fond of the band, Palmyra, a young group of musicians likely hoping to make their musical dreams come true. Their Americana/Appalachian musical style and performance was engaging, leaving us wanting more. Attending the Blue Plate Special was such a unique experience and one I could see myself visiting often on my lunch break if I lived in the area. By the way, the blue plates do have a purpose, they display photos of musicians who have previously performed.

After a spending a few days in the Knoxville area, we headed to Heather and Jerry’s property (lovingly called, “the Villa”) in the Smoky Mountains. Their location is unlike the tourist areas of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, a much quieter part of the mountains. In our opinion, the best way to experience the beauty and majesty of the region.

As if planning our itinerary for the trip wasn’t enough, Heather and Jerry arranged for us to stay at an Airbnb RV site only minutes from their home. Jerry graciously guided Jim as he drove the RV up (and down) the mountains, making sure we took the best route, as well as providing helpful advice for our first mountain experience.

The view from their home was simply stunning. The day we arrived we were blessed with a beautiful day. We couldn’t have thought of a better way to experience our first view in the Smoky Mountains. Fortunately, throughout our stay we had the opportunity to experience many different weather patterns over the mountains. But that fortune came at a cost – you guessed it! SNOW!! We keep hearing from people that the cold, snowy weather isn’t typical, but it seems everywhere we go, it follows us. We are beginning to think it is us! Luckily the snow didn’t stick around for long and beautiful weather returned. Despite the stint of bad weather, it really was amazing to see the mountains in their “smoky” state.

Sitting on the deck was my favorite place to be. Observing the ever-changing view of the mountains was mesmerizing but even watching the birds was a treat. In fact, we all waited in anticipation, for the first sighting of the hummingbirds. When the moment arrived, we were speechless – not because any sound or movement would scare the bird away – but because of the beauty of the moment.

We spent our days hiking the beautiful mountains, finding hidden waterfalls, gazing over a lookout tower to see the valley, and even a visit to a natural spring for jugs of the best water I have ever tasted!

It wasn’t all strenuous hiking though. We simply enjoyed each other, the peace of the environment, and eating. Did I mention eating? There was a lot of eating! In fact, one night Heather and Jerry’s neighbor treated us to a German dinner. Having spent many years in Germany, Cherie loves cooking the foods she grew up with. It was heartwarming for a person, who didn’t even know us, to show such kindness. She even sent us home with some goodies! Yet again, someone showing the love of God.

Although these experiences were only a sampling of our visit, we reveled in the fact that our itinerary suited our personality and what we enjoy doing. We truly enjoyed each day, but what sits on my mind most is the love and abundant kindness Heather and Jerry showed us. As the earlier blog mentioned, these are people we spent a short time with while in South Carolina. Besides video calls, we had never spent any length of time with each other, yet we felt like we had known them our whole life and soon considered them family.

We knew from the moment that we met, God had placed us together. The two weeks we spent with them in Knoxville was unmistakable evidence that He indeed had a purpose on that ordained September day. I wish I could express in words how we feel about them and how much God has blessed us with their friendship. Instead, those words are in the hugs, the conversations, the laughs, the faith, the trust, the prayers, the love, the tears when saying good-bye, the love of God. Those words are found through the One that brought us together: Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence. Proverbs 27:9