Trip To Tennessee

Original Diagnostic Essay - August 27, 2009

I took my favorite road trip this past weekend with my fiancé, his family, and our son to visit their friends in Kingsport, Tennessee. It was my first trip with his family and before we even pulled out of the driveway, my fiancé, Stephen, and his sister, Rachel, began arguing. Then, as we got onto the interstate, his father, Greg, tuned the radio to National Public Radio. I could tell immediately it’d be an interesting trip.

The drive to Kingsport took much longer than expected; we hit accident after accident and our dinner stop took what seemed like hours. I’d never been to western Virginia or Tennessee before, so until it got too dark, the scenery kept me from complaining. Late that night, we arrived at their friends Patty Joe and Mark’s beautiful house. After a quick tour and putting my son to bed, I found myself sitting at the dining room table with the men. Quickly their talk of guns and cars bored me, so I went on the porch with Patty Joe, Rachel, and her mom, Lisa. We had a nice time bonding until everyone went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up to a spectacular sunrise over the lake that the house was on. After breakfast and a trip to the store, we piled onto the boat to wake-board. I’d never been before, but Stephen and Patty Joe’s son, Zack, were very skilled. They went first and loved showing off. Then Rachel tried and stood up on her very first try. It gave me confidence. Then Greg tried with no success. My stomach was turning with nerves when I slid into the lake. It took me three tries to stand up, and after I fell down, I couldn’t get back up. We went inside for lunch and only Stephen went back out with some of Zack’s friends. Everyone else was worn out, so we relaxed until dinner. After dinner the sexes separated again. The women went downstairs to watch a movie in the “theater room” and the men watched Saturday Night Live upstairs. Everyone went to bed early after the long day.

The following morning, we went out on the boat again. This time, Rachel and I just relaxed on the front of the boat while the boys wake-boarded and wake-surfed. By one o’clock, we were climbing the sixty-something steps up to the house and began packing. We had a light lunch and were on our way. The drive home went more smoothly, and we got home an hour earlier than expected.

On this trip, I got to try wake-boarding and see Stephen do something he loves while bonding with his family. Not to mention I got to see a gorgeous region I’d never seen before. The weather was perfect and we all had fun. This was my favorite road trip because although it had a rocky beginning, everyone had a great time.

Photo can be found here.