Travel Now: Encouraging People to Explore the World

November 5, 2018February 18, 2020

I Love the Fall

There is something glorious in each season, but there is no season quite like fall.

God has given us this world to enjoy, and fall is a reminder of that truth. He paints the trees and bids us enjoy His handiwork, though only for a brief season.

Sometimes the leaves change in varying stages. Other times the leaves change all at once.

In South Dakota, there weren’t as many trees, but there was still tremendous beauty. I remember in 2012, one of the hottest years I’ve experienced, when all the leaves changed at once. I had the privilege of driving through Spearfish Canyon several times to enjoy the innumerable cottonwood trees that complimented the Black Hills’ pines.

A little more than two years later, I moved to Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. Trees everywhere! I was excited for my first fall in October of 2015.

One thing that was a little disappointing about Tennessee was that it did not have the maple reds that Michigan (where I grew up) had. So, I was excited one October day when I drove into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and went to one of my favorite trails: Laurel Falls. There I saw red leaves in abundance.

That day, I put up on Facebook: Sevierville friends, I don’t care what you are doing, come up now into the GSMNP! It’s peak color!

The whole fall is beautiful, but to see that one day where everything seems to have turned together is just other-worldly.

I don’t have to travel far, though, to see and experience the leaves. My own yard provides an amazing variety of colors for me to enjoy. Some of my favorite pictures are those of my daughters running across a yard with the backdrop of the colors of the oaks, the beeches, the dogwoods, a Norway spruce pine.

People spend millions of dollars to come and see trees as their leaves change color. My neighborhood is filled with a huge variety of trees and colors in the fall. One thing I have emphasized to my wife is that we need to make sure we are enjoying what we have right in front of us.

And that is one of the most important message of life: enjoy what’s in front of you! Fall is a brilliant reminder of that. “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving . . .” (1 Tim. 4:4).

May 1, 2018May 16, 2018

Return to the Battlefield

“I’d like to hike the Union line trail.” I told the rangers at the counter of the Visitor Center of the Chickamauga National Military.”

They looked at me like I had styrofoam cups on my ears and then began to show me hiking maps.

Oops. No Union line trail. Of course, there was a Confederate Line Trail but no Union Line Trail. This was Georgia, after all.

Since 2011, I’ve had a fascination with battlefields. They combine the history of our nation together with the study of strategy. Seeing the terrain of the battlefield always gives me a fuller perspective than just reading about a battle.

But this visit was going to be different.

Over the past year, I had researched my own family history and genealogy. What I had come to realize is that my own family history intersects the great points of our nation’s history at so many points.

I had identified 15 of 16 of my 3rd Great Grandfathers (in other words, my grandparents’ great grandfathers). I was amazed to find that 6 of these 15 were soldiers in the Civil War, all on the Union side (I thought for sure I had found my first Confederate ancestor when I discovered that 3rd great William Smith had served in the 1st Alabama Cavalry. Turns out it was Union and accompanied Sherman on his infamous “March to the Sea.” Not surprisingly, he moved to Kentucky from his Georgia home shortly after the war). Continue reading “Return to the Battlefield”

April 10, 2018April 21, 2018

No Room at the Resort

Clay and India Huddleston. Saint Simon’s Island, GA. Those were the names on the online registration form for guests of Evergreen Church (where I pastor). Clay and India were planning to visit on Sunday, March 24th.

I quickly emailed them back. “I’m excited to have you.” I wrote. “We have some Huddlestons in our church, and, ironically, we’re planning on coming down to Saint Simon’s Island on April 2nd.”

I had planned to go to Saint Simon’s Island on our way to Florida for spring break. This was my daughter Anna’s first year in public school, and I thought it would be a nice gift to bring her and two of my younger daughters down to Florida to enjoy the ocean and warm weather during spring break.

About 6 months prior to spring break, I had gotten a great price on a hotel at Daytona Beach and so made reservations to stay 3 nights at the Grand Seas Resort. This was going to work perfectly, I thought. Continue reading “No Room at the Resort”

September 25, 2017September 26, 2023

A Day at Neyland Stadium

Have you ever been to an SEC football game? It’s something to behold.

A year ago, I went to my first game–UT vs. Mizzou. It was an amazing experience. 100 points scored. The deafening cheers and the loud boos. United emotions all directed toward one object. You’re part of something that’s much bigger than yourself.

This year, I wasn’t sure I’d make it. I studied the ticket prices over and over, thinking over the dates. Could I afford it? What was a good day? A lot going on this fall.

Then, my good friend Jeremy Daley said he was going. He wanted us to go with him.

I pulled the trigger. 8 tickets for $23 a piece for the UT-UMass game. 4/4s of his family and 4/9s of mine.

The Trip to the Stadium
The days passed. Game day arrived. We left at 9:00 a.m. from our house in Sevierville to drive 45 minutes down Chapman Highway to get to Knoxville.

Knowing that it would be a long walk to the stadium, I decided to stop at Bojangles to use their restroom. Plus, I could get a country ham biscuit. I also purchased 6 Bo-Berry Biscuits for the girls at a combined total of 2,820 Calories. The fact that they were shaped like footballs made them even better.

We parked at the Kern Bakery on this side of the Henley Street Bridge. This bridge crosses the Tennessee River and leads into downtown Knoxville.

There are several advantages to doing this. It is easier to get out after the game. It only costs $10 to park. You get an amazing view of the city and the Tennessee River. In addition, you are going to walk no matter where you park. There are very few parking spaces directly next to the stadium.

Still, as children complained about the long walk across the bridge and asked to be carried, I doubted myself. Was this really the best place to park? Continue reading “A Day at Neyland Stadium”