December 2015 Trip: Clarksville

Back to my December 2015 trip…

So, in 2015, one of my best friends was living off-base in Clarksville. She had been telling us how beautiful it was up there, and we really wanted to see it.

Justice, Lanie, Laila, and Aaron

We headed from Louisville to Clarksville…and again, my aversion to Nashville traffic played a key role in our navigation that day. But we did see some beautiful little towns in Kentucky. We had just missed some snow, too! I remember one of the quaint little towns we passed through, all of the houses had snow on the the rooftops. That is probably one of my regrets from that trip…we were pressed for time, and losing daylight, so I didn’t get to take pictures of that little town.

Before I forget, and I should most definitely mention…because it was one of our GPS, Pegi’s, funnier stunts. As we were leaving Louisville, and thinking that we were on the interstate that would take us a majority of our trip that day, Pegi said to turn off on exit 12. We followed suit, thinking she knew better than we did. We hadn’t even gotten down the exit ramp when Pegi tells us to do a U-turn. We get turned around (not by u-turn, mind you), and get back on the interstate. She says “Take exit 14.” Again, we listen. Again, we don’t make it down the ramp before she directs us to make a U-turn. Thank God the Sheffield girls can laugh and aren’t opposed to turning around.

Laila, Aaron, and Justice

Eventually, we made it to Clarksville, at nightfall. We got checked into our hotel, grabbed a pizza, and headed to Lanie’s. Justice, who was two at the time, was calling everyone with white/grey hair “Papa” at the time. He and Cynthia Kay quickly became buddies that night, and she, too, was deemed “Papa.”

"Papa" and Justice

The next day, we explored the town a bit. It was very busy, because of the holidays being so close. As Lanie had told us, though, the town was beautiful. While there, Mom and Rheba found the neatest little beef jerky store…that had about a million flavors to choose from. While they were busy stocking up on beef jerky, I was busy stocking up on bourbon….you know, for recipes and such.

Rheba and the giant cow in Guthrie

We even ventured to Guthrie, Kentucky, another Lanie suggestion, which was only a few miles outside of Clarksville. They have an Amish store there called the Country Pantry. We took our time there, buying peanut brittle, popcorn, cookbooks, and old fashioned candies. It was so neat, and well worth the side trip. We got a lot of treats to give to our extended family for Christmas.

Lanie and I

That night, we had dinner with Lanie and her family. We had even went to the grocery store and got the ingredients to make Christmas cookies with the kids. It was such a sweet memory, and Cynthia Kay sure loved it.

Later, we went to a nearby park that had dozens of Christmas light displays by the water. Seeing the kids faces light up as we walked through the park, warmed our hearts. After strolling through the park, we said our goodbyes to Lanie and the kids, because we were planning to leave early the next morning.

Rheba, Cynthia Kay and I

Next week, I will share the last leg of our trip…Montgomery. Which involves a little bit of Literary History, a few ghosts, a little bit of Country Gold, and a terrifying experience by the train tracks.