· Remembering WWII Event ·

Two weeks ago, we traveled down to Linden, TN for the Remembering WWII event!  We first heard about the event months ago from the hosts, the Courter family, but due to a few factors, our decision to attend was put off until just a couple weeks before the event.

Our dear friend Kathryn was able to come with us, and while it would have been enjoyable without her, she made the trip a rousing success! :-D

On our drive down to TN, while we weren't talking, laughing, and watching movies, we occupied ourselves by looking at the atlas and searching for amusing town names.  Let me tell you- Tennessee does not disappoint!  I don't know if we were just in a laughing mood (entirely probable...), but with town names like Dancyville, Nankipoo, Skullbone, Manlyville, Soddy-Daisy, Only, Difficult, Burnt Church, and Bugscuffle we were entertained for quite a while! ;-)

Our first 10 hours in TN were decidedly more eventful than the trip down.  Between a hotel reservation that never went through, a much-later-than-expected night once we found a replacement hotel, and a (surprise!) flat tire the next morning, we decided that uneventful is much preferred. ;-)

We did end up making it to the event safely, and only an hour late. ;-)

We arrived just after the first battle "reenactment", so we had time to mingle around and explore before the next scheduled event.  The town of Linden all pitched in for the event, and it was so well done!!- you could tell they put so much thought into even the small details! :-)   There were cute vintage-styled posters on all the businesses downtown (even the ones that weren't participating in the event) and newsboys going around the event with newspapers and later earplugs for the loud reenactment.

During the course of the day, we were able to hear from several WWII veterans about their experiences and how the war shaped and changed them personally.  The whole event had the theme of "Remembering WWII", and that sums it up well.

There were several old cars parked along the street, and we all enjoyed dreaming. ;-)

Yep, I think we need a car with a cute pop-up seat in the trunk and luggage rack on the back. ;-)

A red pickup!!!!  Oh my.  I'm sooooo jealous.

I think I'll just try not to think about this anymore.

We never got a photo together on Saturday, but managed to rectify that on Sunday after church! ;-)
Photo courtesy of Boyer Family Singers- thanks! :-)

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to know the Boyer sisters. :-)  I first heard of them last year through blogging, but other than exchanging comments, we hadn't been in touch.  I never know what to expect of a blogger vs. the person in real life, but we were all so pleased by the Boyers in person! :-)  I'm naturally quite pessimistic, so I wasn't sure if we'd hit it off- but we most certainly did. :-D  They were so kind and didn't seem to mind all of us constantly joining their table for meals. ;-)

We were also able to meet several other followers and commenters from the blogging world- I'm always so touched when people say they read my blog. :-)  Even though my stats tell me otherwise, it still surprises me when I hear that someone reads my blog. ;-)  After years of being off the internet radar, it is an enjoyable change to have people already know about me! ;-)

We had lunch at the old hotel downtown, and it was SO good! (the balsamic flatbread is highly recommended!!)  It felt great to sit back and enjoy the air conditioning for a while, too! ;-)  The weather overall was gorgeous that day, but it was on the warm side...  We had been having cool weather the week before, so it was a bit rough to transition to the heat again so suddenly!

In the afternoon after the last speech, we all felt the need to take advantage of the refreshments at the "Canteen"- particularly the root beer floats. ;-)  It really is the little things that make an impact, and the floats were made and served with glass-bottled root beer!  While Kathryn and I were enjoying our afternoon treat, we were informed that the reenactment would be taking place where we were seated so we'd have to move.  We decamped to a table in the canteen where Atlanta and her little girl were seated, and were able to chat with them until the shooting became too loud.  We ended up being in a not-quite-ideal location for viewing the battle, but we did end up right near the thick of things by the end, so it made for a memorable time anyway. :-)

In the evening, we went to a USO-themed dinner at the Courters' house.  The whole set-up was SO CUTE!!  It looked like it was straight out of Pinterest- buntings and lights strung up and patriotic banners hung on their barn-inspired house.  So cool! :-)

Also..... there were old cars for posing.  So of course we did. ;-)  

The Boyer Family Singers performed a concert for us that evening, and we were all so impressed!  Kathryn, Gretel, and I all decided that we want to be them when we grown up. ;-)  We were all in a swing/Andrews Sisters mood after that!

All in all, fun times were had by all and we're so glad we made the trip!  So much effort was put into everything, and it was very memorable!  Thanks so much for hosting, Courters! :-)

· Photos by Kathryn ·

(Despite the appearance, we did not actually bring Kathryn with us just to be our personal photographer.  Although that was a nice added bonus. ;-))