Labor Day is a mixed bag for Team Saunders. One the one hand, the long weekend makes for our favorite past time, travel. The holiday also marks the season of our wedding anniversary, September 5th; sometimes our anniversary is on Labor Day. But the weekend also marks another, less pleasant anniversary. August 31st is the date of Clayton's untimely passing. So we take the tough stuff right along with the good stuff, and always remember how very blessed we are to share time together on this earth.
This holiday weekend, we got to travel to one of our most favorite and beloved places in the world: Monteagle. Peavine Cottage was a luxury that we too often took for granted when Missy was alive, and so we would often travel to new destinations when we could have come to the Assembly. Now that the house is on the market, each visit could be our last, and we do our best to make the most of it. The cottage has been in the family since the 80's and has been the site of many great Saunders memories.
When I met Andrew, coming here with Madison felt like entering another world. The Assembly has the feel of the setting of Dirty Dancing: rich people vacation homes in a tranquil woodsy setting. The houses look like something out of a fairy tale: beautiful gingerbread cottages with huge porches adorned with swings and rocking chairs. Being in Monteagle, the Assembly is perched at the top of the Cumberland Plateau, with different vegetation than in the valley: lots of hemlocks and mountain laurel and oak leaf hydrangeas and moss and ferns everywhere. The temperatures are generally about 10 degrees cooler than in Memphis. With the South Cumberland State Park and the extensive grounds at Sewanee, the Plateau offers endless opportunities for hiking and enjoyment of the natural setting, one of my favorite attractions. The four hour drive from home feels like a real escape. The Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, as its properly called, also has the interesting distinction of being an explicitly Christian community and hosts an 8-week summer "season" of classes, lectures, and workshops aimed at the
"advancement of science, literary attainment, Sunday School interests,
and the promotion of the broadest popular culture in the interest of
Christianity without regard to sect or denomination…and to hold stated
public meetings from year to year upon the grounds of the Assembly,” according to the MSSA Charter from 1882. We've never been here for the season, but I am certain that it is something fascinating to behold. It's hard to describe, but, suffice it to say, it's a place unto itself. Now that we've been coming here for over ten years, it feels like a real home away from home. When someone else takes over Peavine Cottage, we will surely miss it, but until then, we will be here to enjoy its unique charms as often as possible.
On this trip, Andrew and Cuba left Thursday night for a little male bonding time. Maddi and I departed Memphis on Friday, hitting the road when Maddi got out of school. The trip was pleasant enough and was broken up by a stop a wildlife management area along the Tennessee River, a place we refer to as Birdsong Road, after the name of the exit. That name has a positive resonance with one of my favorite Grateful Dead tunes being named, "Birdsong." Delta and Melody enjoyed the time to stretch their legs halfway through. I was thrilled with the unexpected bonus of finding a plethora of snail shells along the shoreline of the water. Andrew had dinner waiting for us when we got to the cottage: roast beast, candied carrots, and fresh lima beans. After dinner, we hung out for a little while and then hit the hay.
Saturday started off in the most relaxing way, enjoying being first awake with my coffee on the porch. It really is a sublime moment, like now as I write. When the rest of the crew awoke, we puttered around until setting out for Tracy City, home of the much-loved Dutch Maid Bakery. We got some goodies for the weekend and some take-out lunch to fuel our hiking that afternoon. We made our way to Beersheba Springs where the Stone Door State Park is located, part of the larger South Cumberland State Park system. Thunderous dark clouds encroached as we approached the park, so we opted for a shorter loop trail instead of the oneway hike to Stone Door and back. Melody enjoyed running around the trail. Laurel Falls were running swiftly, but the creek was peaceful at the top of the falls. We tried to get Melody in the water, but she displayed her mortal fear of entering water to the extent that she wouldn't even drink from the creek. Maddi had fun using my camera to take lots of pictures along the way. We got back to the car ahead of the rain and headed back to the house. That night, we went to the High Point for dinner, the best restaurant in town! We had a delectable meal and drinks and wine. It was really a nice time. We weren't home long before I retired for the night.
Sunday began the same way. I spent some time coloring, a favorite way to relax. I arranged my snail shells neatly and photographed them for submission onto a blog called, Things Organized Neatly. The day before, I had done the same with my art supplies. When Andrew and Maddi woke up, we hung out at the house, ate some lunch, then took off for Chattanooga. The predicted rain for the day made the perfect excuse to go to the Tennessee Aquarium. We had a great time seeing all our favorite animals (cuttlefish, jellyfish, and sturgeon; oh, my!) and taking pictures of everything. We all had cameras, so that made it fun. Maddi had the fancy digital camera, Andrew had a film camera, and I had my trusty waterproof point-and-shoot. Among the three of us, we got some cool photos of our outing. We had splendid luck avoiding all the pouring rain, both in Chattanooga and on the road. We got back from the aquarium and went to the house to get ready for dinner. I had seen a Chinese buffet advertised on the interstate, and everyone thought that sounded okay. We set out for the place, which, fortunately, was nearby. We pulled into the parking lot and assessed the situation. A faded sign and two cars in a huge parking lot at dinner time greeted us. We all decided that it looked about a sketchy as it gets. I pulled out of the parking lot and tried to make it look like we were just turning around, feeling thankful that we had not but more time into that debacle. Instead, we went to Dave's Modern Tavern, which we always refer to as Modern Dave's. Modern Dave's is one of those restaurant anomalies that shouldn't work but does. In a town where rednecks rub elbows with the well-heeled, this automotive garage cum restaurant doesn't seem like something that would work. Decorated in a beachy theme (why? who knows!), it doesn't try to hide its previous life history. The silver insulation shows along the roof and walls, and the back garage door is opened to reveal a patio area. We tried sitting on the patio, but that proved unsuccessful when a septic-tank-y smell drove us inside. From then on, we were fine. Good food and drink were enjoyed by all, despite our bumpy start to dinner. After our meal, we returned to the house, and each of us pursued our own relaxation: Maddi played on the internet (a rare treat), Andrew read comic books, and I drew and read. After Maddi and I turned in, Andrew and I sat on the porch with the dogs and enjoyed to cool air of the evening.
This morning on Labor Day, I am blogging and doing laundry in preparation for our departure. I love it here and don't really want to leave yet. Back in Memphis, there's a lot on my plate, but, here, high on the mountain, it's easy to forget about all that.
Our end of August went fine. Maddi started school at St. Benedict at Auburndale, a Catholic school. She loves it, and so do Andrew and I. The University of Memphis started back, my last year of education. The BioGSA threw a fall mixer last week, and it was a huge success. I was a little choked up at one point, seeing the fruition of my dream for a biology grad student association that really brought people together. Andrew's work marched on, as it does. We ate dinner at the school one night, which was cool and included tableside flambe, which is awesome. All in all, August was a good month. Now, looking down the barrel of September and the fall semester, I have a lot of work to do to stay on track for graduation. It's hard to believe that it could actually be near: both an exciting and daunting prospect. So it goes!
