To Work...

Today was District Day, an event that I sometimes think of as the "Rah Rah Rah" day when all things are good and the climate is positive. But it's strange being in a new district. It was still rah rah, but there were definitely some differences.First, the energy. This staff is rip roaring, ready to go. It's very refreshing. Second, I've never personally introduced myself so many times in one day. Also refreshing. Third, unlike other jobs where working with a challenging population is met with lots of "they're great kids, they just have issues", today I have several people respond with "God Bless You and Good Luck." One staff member actually crossed herself as she said it. I wasn't quite expecting that.So the new year begins. I work really hard not to build up any preconceived ideas. Other people don't really get that, though. They want to fill me in on all the gossip. I figure I'll get that as I go. Teenagers aren't known for keeping things to themselves.

Cherokee, NC & Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Today was our last full day in North Carolina. We decided to drive west to the town of Cherokee. For those who don't know the story behind the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee were rounded up and marched to what is now Oklahoma in the 1830's. A small group resisted, hiding out in the mountains and the descendants of those individuals are members of the Eastern Cherokee Tribe. They're culture has existed for centuries, and they draw thousands of tourists each year to their events. They have a museum, and a play called "Unto These Hills" which we didn't have time for, but we did visit the Oconaluftee Indian Village and I learned all kinds of interesting things.




After leaving Cherokee, the lure of Great Smoky Mountain National Park was just too much to ignore. It's touted as the most popular national park. I don't know about that, but it does see lots of traffic. I think the park must be a hikers paradise. We, of course, did not have time to hike. But the views are beautiful, and it was worth the 35 mile drive to cross it on Highway 441.

One of the attractions on the North Carolina side is the Mountain Farm Museum. They've pulled together old buildings to recreate a farm complete with chickens and pigs. We saw broom corn, the stuff they make brooms from. I'd never seen it growing before.

On the Tennessee side of the border is Gatlinburg. Wow. It's a town that is unlike any other I've ever seen. Some of you may understand when I describe it as Depoe Bay (Oregon) meets Reno (Nevada) on steroids. I think I'd like to go back and really spend some more time in that area. One day just wasn't enough to see and do everything.

The Biltmore Estate

Today the parents and I toured the Biltmore Estate. It's billed as the largest home in America, and with 250 rooms, I can believe it. A friend of mine, Erin, visited a couple years ago and really recommended seeing the estate. It was a little pricey, but we really enjoyed it.


Originally the estate encompassed 178,000 acres when it was built by the Vanderbilts in the 1890's. Now it's 8000 acres. The house tour includes 62 rooms. Plus you can visit the winery, River Bend Farm, wander through acres of gardens. It's so much more than you can see in a day, but since that' all we had, we made the most of it.

Israel Burial Ground & Reunion Dinner

This morning the family trekked out to the Michael Israel burial ground. Michael was a revolutionary war soldier in the North Carolina Militia. The burial ground is on private property, and from what I understand, if not for the efforts of some family members it would have been obliterated long ago. Like many old cemeterys, the original markers were field stones. The modern stones placed there now are all fairly new. In fact that is part of the reason we went this morning, to dedicate a new stone.


This evening we had our finale dinner event. It's mostly about the fellowship. This year we had a southern fried chicken dinner with sweet potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, cornbread, biscuits, berry and peach cobblers and iced tea. The Moose Cafe did a great job with the food. It was yummy. After eating we shared family stories. It was a very enjoyable evening.

Western North Carolina...by bus

Today we had a reunion event. A bus tour of the route our ancestor, Michael Israel, would have taken to the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. The idea was a good one, but the execution meant a really long day on a bus.

We left our hotel at 7:30 this morning. We got back to the hotel at 7:00 tonight. In the mean time we wandered throughout seven counties in North Carolina and two in South Carolina. We experienced some communication issues between Ken, our family historian, and the bus driver. It made for some interesting detours. It did give us the opportunity to visit with other family members, whom we haven't seen in a year. And we visited some interesting places, such as Kings Mountain Military Park, where in October 1780, the Americans took revenge on the British for the massacre at Waxhaws. It was 96 degrees, so we chose not to hike to the summit of the battlefield. And we had a really good lunch at a little restaurant called Gregory's in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.

After our return from our wanderings we had our reunion business meeting. I now have a reunion to plan. In 2009, the family is coming to Oregon.