I have to admit, this time it was harder to drop one of our kids off at college. Instead of a school 2 or 3 hours away, this one is a 9 hour drive. That's too far for a quick trip home to see Mom and Dad (and the dog). And while it may not have hit him yet, it hit us. Hard.
But we gave ourselves a couple extra days to make the drive and discovered some diversions along the way. And that makes it a lot easier when you get home and start looking through pics. It's not just him and his school and his room.... it's Elvis, and a wine trail we never knew existed.
Who knew they grew grapes in Southern Illinois? We didn't even realize how close we were to Illinois, much less a wine trail with 11 vineyards.
So while Mike was getting settled at school, we took off on the trail. We didn't see all 11, but we did get a chance to change our scenery... and give him a little breathing room!
We also went to the riverfront in Paducah, KY, where the Ohio and Tennessee rivers meet.
The murals on the seawall tell the history of the arera. And there's a park, to sit and enjoy the breeze off the water. And sometimes, some music too.
We took the scenic route home. It just happened to take us to the birthplace of Elvis Presley, on the day before the 40th anniversary of his death. (Which we didn't realize til later!)
Wish I had been quick enough to get a pic of the Elvis impersonator who was also visiting!
Of course, you always learn something. Like how important radio was to Elvis and his family--
Oh, I almost forgot! We got Mike settled in school! See... a few side trips make it a lot less weepy when you're dropping them off.