Schoolhouse Rocks

Talking with someone recently, I realized we've not been on a vacation since 2013.

Twenty.  Thirteen.

There are many reasons why, but given the stressful summer we've had, it became necessary to shift things around and take an impromptu retreat.

Fall break gave us the perfect opportunity to get away for a few days.  Now that our baby is a working man, it isn't as easy to plan outings.  An added snafu was two doggies with no sitter on such short notice.  So this momma set to googling for a much needed dog-friendly vacay spot.

I found three or four contenders, sent inquiries, and set to packing.  In the end, the top choice became a one room schoolhouse built in the 1920s on the tail end of Kentucky Lake, in Buchanan, Tennessee.

1927 Fort Henry Schoolhouse

The guys were a little hesitant staying in one room all together for several days.  They didn't say much, but I could tell there was doubt.  That all changed though the moment they opened the door.

This is where they spent a good chunk of our trip....

And here...

Of course, I did my did share of R&R too, snuggled with my buddy,who spent most of the trip with a stomach bug.  

He was such a trooper, never once complaining about spending lots of time in the boys room.  Lucky for me there were two restrooms in the schoolhouse.

As such, we didn't venture out much but I was content soaking up the views from here.

                                        

The one "good day" he had we took the boat to spend some time on the lake.  It was beautiful exploring the God's patchwork quilt from the waters.

When at the schoolhouse, I loved browsing through the photos and newspaper clippings about the history.  Growing up, Little House on the Prairie was among my favorite stories so I imagined what life must have been like in a one room school.  We even managed to find an episode to watch on TV one afternoon.  

Though a brief trip, it was nice to stop and soak up some much needed family time.  My boy is growing so fast, this momma often wants to push on the breaks and slow things down.  This retreat gave us that chance.

We received lots and lots of Austin hugs on the trip as well.  

The first we noticed was at our lunch stop.  Noah glanced down and commented it was 2:32 about the same time we noticed the phone number on the restaurant.  The town where we were staying had 232 as the prefix.  On the way to the house, we crossed an intersection for Hwy 232.  And while browsing an online map, I realize the main road beside was Austin Memorial Hwy.  Hanging on one wall were enrollment cards for all the former classmates.  I noticed that each frame contained 23 students.  

So many signs he was smiling down and with us each mile.