Week 48 - March 4-13 Part 1

As has become the recent trend, we are very far behind in our blogging efforts.  January and February were a bit of a grind for us.  At our Northern latitude, few hours of sunlight were made fewer by the constant presence of dreary, drizzly clouds.  Couple that with our continued-three-time-per-week effort to master broken Dutch (and therefore little time to explore more of Europe).  In short, we finished the winter months feeling a bit worn down.  A trip home to the U.S. at the beginning of March was just what we needed to pep us back up.

We planned the trip around the much anticipated celebration of Jessica (Molly's sister) and Mary Lee's (Molly's now-sister-in-law) union in matrimony!  But before we got to that exciting weekend in New Orleans, we had a little less than a week to spend time with family and friends in Tennessee.  Arriving into Knoxville on a Friday night, you may well be able to guess our first priority: Tex-Mex food!  In this case, the best spot in Knoxville for this fix: Chez Guavera.  Seriously, this place has the best margaritas and tostadas in town.  After this lovely dinner with Mandy, Jessica, and Mary Lee, we were ready to crash and try to get adjusted to local time.  On Saturday morning, we decided the best method to feel at home was to punish ourselves with a run on the Cherokee Boulevard.  It seems Knoxville has a bit more elevation change than Antwerp, and we were just short of passing out at the top of every hill.  Saturday evening brought more valued time with family/friends and another opportunity to stuff ourselves on local cuisine.  Karen, Steve and Allison hosted us with a dinner of mouth-watering ribs and other delicious fixins.

Our packed agenda put us on the road Sunday.  Molly went to see her Granny and Aunt Syd in McMinnville, and Tyler headed home to Kingsport.  After a delicious lunch and pleasant visit with her family, Molly then made her way over to Kingsport as well.  In addition to family time, the other key priorities in Kingsport: Pal's Sudden Service and a trip to Bays Mountain Park.  In you aren't from the area, you are forgiven for not knowing the best burger joint in East Tennessee.  With an expanding network of stores in the region, Pal's has received national recognition for their quality and service.  If you ever get a chance to drive though or stop in, you can't go wrong with a Big Pal or Big Chicken, Frenchie Fries, and Sweet Tea.  On a healthier note, we took advantage of the beautiful spring weather to take a journey up to Bays Mountain with Tim and Robin.  This was Molly's first time to the park, so we did the full tour of the animal exhibits.  The main attraction is the enclosure for the Grey Wolves, which seemed like it was going to be a bit of a disappointment as the wolves were sleeping.  However, a few minutes later, a couple of rangers came by with a group and tried to howl in a way to communicate with the wolves.  At first, it seemed the wolves didn't have much interest, then the alpha male lifted his head and gave a howl.  The whole pen exploded with activity: howling, playful biting, and more howling.  It was quite a show.  As soon as the howling stopped, they went right back to napping. After our brief stay in Kingsport, we left early on Tuesday to head back to Knoxville (stopping for some breakfast Chedder Rounds at Pal's on the way out of town of course).

A Pals milkshake stop

Bays Mountain selfie

Tuesday and Wednesday were filled with more opportunities to see family and friends, shopping for items only found in America, and more scrumptious meals.  We had great meals at Tomato Head, the new Balter Beerworks, and the Otten homestead (Bronco Burgers for the win).  A very big Thank You to everyone in Tennessee!  It was great to see all y'all, and we really appreciated coming home to good times and good meals.  Although we took a special trip to the Netherlands to buy a new camera and Molly made a big show of carrying it across the Atlantic, we took embarrassingly few photos!