Happy Almost Thanksgiving friends!  We are talking about unconventional travel this week, like the last, and giving thanks to what our life and what travel has brought to our family.

I am thankful for the bonus family that we have acquired through our traveling adventures.  We tell our kids to not talk to strangers on the internet, and especially do not travel across state lines to meet people you do not know.  We have done these things, we have traveled from Tennessee, to Missouri to Texas to meet strangers from the internet that now have now become a bonus family.  We could not be more grateful, although sometimes they may have wished they never answered the first call.

When I look in the mirror I see light blue eyes and a nose that is a bit too big for my face.  I, like many, take for granted that I  know where I received these traits from, and I know what medical ailments may plague me in the future. My husband was not so fortunate, he was the product of a closed adoption.  He was raised with a loving family, however holes exist.  Medical history, physical traits, and ancestry.

We tried for many years to find medical history, however, being poor we could not afford an attorney to open the court records and only get a possibility of results.  We mainly wanted this for medical history for our children.  Then Ancestry DNA happened.  Korey took the test and it was a stepping stone for a quest for answers and new lifetime relationships.

When you get your results back and you are adopted, you just get a giant list of strangers.  Since we knew Korey’s last name at birth we separated sides by that name. After 30 minutes or so we cracked the code and found his parents.  They were older when Korey was born so it was not a shock to see that they had passed away years ago.

We, I mean me, messaged people like crazy on our match list until finally one day we got a response. It was from Korey’s mother’s side.  They were in Tennessee.  After several phone calls and text messages we decided the best course of action was to pack up the kids and go down there and meet them.  Fingers crossed they are not wackadoos right?

We were headed down to Jamestown, Tennessee.  Five years ago I had never heard of this town.  Now it seems every person we speak to has a story about Jamestown, Sergeant York, or both. 

If you go to Jamestown, a word of caution, STAY ON THE MAIN ROADS!  Especially if it is your first trip.  We went via Google maps and ended up losing signal and almost ended up at the snake church. I believe there were also banjos playing off in the distance. These backroads we took were twisty and turny and a bit sketchy for us yankees. We have acclimated to it now and will head down these roads just for fun.

Let me say that I am inverted and my husband, well, he has never met a stranger.  But this was different, we were nervous as hell and wondered what the weekend would bring.  Korey had two uncles still living and their children and there were other family members that we would meet as well.  We stayed in the heart of town in a vacation rental that my husband’s bonus family had reserved for us.

We had a meeting at the local church.  We were so nervous and really did not know what to expect.  I had connected to several cousins and two aunts on Facebook and Korey had spoken to several members through calls and text.  But this was it, we were here and there was no turning back.  What if they didn’t like us?  What if we didn’t like them?

We met in the basement at a local church for a pitch-in.  OH MY GOSH.  There were so many people.  It was just like on T.V. Everyone was so welcoming and it was like we always belonged.  I know not everyone has this type of reunion, but we were so lucky.  Korey’s birth mother was 1 of 14 so the list of cousins was huge.

We learned family history, medical history, stories of the past, and so much more. It has been 5 years since this meeting and we visit 3 or 4 times a year.  And you know what, nobody has moved!!! Tennessee has provided not only a bonus family, belonging, and lifelong friendships, but also exploration and new adventures.  

Jamestown and the surrounding  area is filled with awesome landscapes and history.  Sgt Alvin C. York State Historical  Park offers a grist mill, bunkers you can explore and burial sites.  The big mill is one of my favorite spots to picnic and just take in the surroundings.

If you are a big hiker or trail rider, Big South Fork is also in the general area. We have not spent too much time here, but we have driven though and explored some small areas.  There is wildlife, bluffs, and gorges for those wanting the full experience.

Cookeville is also one of our favorite places to visit.  It is usually where we stay when we go down to visit as it has more lodging choices and close to family.  I recently went to a production of The Hunchback at Cookeville High School.  I was blown away!  The amount of talent those kids had as well as the set itself, I thought I was watching a professional performance.

If the arts is not your thing, the town has several restaurants, breweries, and quirky stores.  Cummins Falls State Park is also there for all the outdoorsy folks. You now have to obtain a permit to hike to the bottom of the falls so be aware if you go.  However, if you do not get the permit, you can still hike to the observation point which is also pretty spectacular.

Besides the new family, my final sell on Cookeville badassery is the water festival. We were visiting in July and there it was, the Heavens opened up to light the way to the Slide Cookeville Water Celebration.  This was a 1000 ft long slip n slide that was set up in the middle of town.  The slide is positioned down a hill with several victims, I mean volunteers along the route to make you go faster.  Any town that sacrifices their own as human bowling pins on a waterslide is my kinda place.

A year after finding our new Tennessee family, we received another message from Ancestry.  I had reached out to a man that had my husband’s last name(at least at birth), that was a year ago and we got no answer until now.  I don’t blame him for being cautious, or a little suspicious , wackadoos are everywhere. We may be considered borderline by some.

I was kinda familiar with this group as I had become a stalker on this quest for answers.  I had looked at this man, his sister, and his parents on Facebook however I could not for the life of me figure out how they were tied to Korey.  They were from Texas and I could not find the link.

Finally my husband got brave and called the Ancestry contact.  Turns out he was my husband’s nephew, and he was older than both of us.  His father was Korey’s half brother, and only 35 years apart.

Just like with our Tennessee family, we talked on the phone and shared some text messages before deciding to meet up in Branson, Missouri.  We rented a condo, well two in case we thought each other were weirdos.  And just like before we loaded up and drove across the country to meet strangers, again, this is  what we tell our children NOT to do.

We were not as nervous this time, as the Tennessee family ripped that bandage off by having half of Fentress County at the church for us to meet.  There were just 5 people.  Korey’s brother and wife.  His niece, her son, and her boyfriend.  Easy peasy!

When we arrived at the condo.  We took our bags to our room and then headed down to our Texas kin’s room.  The door flew open and we were embraced by the warmest welcome and the biggest hug from our new sister in-law. This was followed by our new big brother and his daughter.  It was like we always belonged.

It is a weird thing to see two siblings who are 35 years apart, who have never met, and never knew about each other interact.  The similarities in their mannerisms is bizarre.  The best part was the joy of finding a sibling on both sides.  Big brother was introducing Korey to everyone we encountered in Branson as such.  Then they would laugh at the looks that they would receive.  We stayed late into the night all weekend, getting to know one another and talking about life.  Big brother never knew his dad so we shared what little pictures and knowledge we had of him.

We have met in Branson three times since and we have been to Texas to see their turf twice.  Big brother and his family have shown us so many amazing things.  Korey has not only a niece and nephew, he also has great and great-great nieces and nephews.  His great- nephew is only 8 years younger.  Whew!

While in Texas we explored the stockyards in Fort Worth, we were shamed at a Mexican restaurant, got the Texas meat sweats at a BBQ place, rode our first mechanical bull, saw our first oil field, and found another piece to the puzzle that was a hole in both of the brothers as it turns out.

Even though my husband has a loving family that we love, the family that we found has also has become a pivotal part of our lives that we also love.  We are grateful for the experiences God has granted us with this journey so far, and we are also grateful that we had the  courage to step out of our comfort zone and explore the unknown.  Sometimes the bravest things are scary, uncomfortable, and unconventional, but they have the best reward.  I hope you all live your life to the fullest and are brave enough to venture into the unknown.  

Happy Thanksgiving!