My Handwork Studio ~ A Fashion and Needle Arts Community for Kids!

"Where in the World is Miss Julia?" Update

June 23, 2011:  A wise person once said, “Half the fun is getting there." We know our final destinations, but little did we know what would be in between.

Dallas, Texas is our first scheduled stop…but there are a lot of miles in between D.C. and Cowboy country. With a van packed to the gills and every 12volt plug taken up by car chargers, adapters, and GPS’s we know we can figure anything out!
 

Along the way we became a mobile office and researched places to go. First stop, Gatlinburg Tennessee. In case you did not know, this happens to be the childhood home of country music queen Dolly Parton and, oh yeah, the Great Smoky Mountains.

We arrived in Gatlinburg in the latter part of the evening (the motel even called to check in on us). We had to meander our way through narrow, dark country roads and then we popped out in the midst of a bustling strip of bright glittery lights that we likened to Las Vegas. Hotels, arcades, restaurants, comedy shows, dinner theatres and a Christmas Village (every day is December 25th here), upside down houses, the Titanic, they got it all in Gatlinburg!

Despite our late arrival stores were still open, the sounds of banjos and guitars filled the cool mountain air, and families were out and about feasting on lollipops and popcorn. After sampling some of the sweet local fare, and listening to good ol' country music, we went to bed with visions of adventure and conquering the unknown!

 

June 24, 2011: We woke to a sunny dewy morning, packed, re-packed, rearranged and re-configured our trusty stead, The HandworkStudio mobile. After our morning workout of packing, we both knew we could not leave this town without at least driving through the Dollywood Parking lot. Miss Alisha just about cried. She loves Dolly Parton.

Leaving the cool crisp air of the Smokies behind, we ventured to the blues capital of the U.S., Memphis, Tennessee. We arrived just in time to experience an evening of blues and rock and roll. Not having any real plan in mind, we walked the stretch of hot concrete known as Beale Street where the scent of Tennessee barbecue was heavy and the mood festive as folks danced and sang in parks and on the street. We asked a local artisan where the really good places were to eat -- no tourists traps for us!

Right on Beale Street we enjoyed live music (Spanish guitar in the south. Awesome!), southern fare including BBQ chicken, cole slaw and baked beans, and fried everything -- fried catfish, fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, and fried okra. Should we keep going? Somebody call a cardiologist! There was nothing more two hungry crafters could want!