Our first stop in Tennessee was a welcome change from the types of places we’ve previously been visiting, not that we haven’t been enjoying ourselves at all the other stops too, but this one felt like some much appreciated normally in an otherwise all-new itinerary. Not that we’d ever been to Franklin before, but we were visiting with some very good friends who had moved to Franklin from Campbell about a year ago. We were also spending some time at a (very nice) house instead of a cramped RV and campgrounds.
We’ve known Brian, Alice, and their kids Brian Jr and Kate for about 7 years. Most of that time I had coached baseball with Brian, but our boys have also played soccer and basketball with Junior as well. Meaning of course that we’ve spent lots and lots of time with all of them. We were happy that they had found a great place to move but we were also sad to see them leave. It was very nice to be able to visit with the Lombardos and it definitely felt like the old days, albeit in a new setting.
After we arrived, Brian gave us the golf cart tour of Westhaven, which is the planned community where they live. To me the community looked like a movie set (in a good way). All the houses and front lawns were perfectly manicured, everyone waved as we drove by, and all the communal areas were landscaped with blooming flowers. I can definitely see the appeal of living in a community like this.
After a home cooked meal of Korean BBQ (thanks Alice!) we headed over to the nearby community tennis courts where Brian introduced us to Pickle Ball, which is a big social activity in the area. Who knows, maybe we’ll give it a shot when we get back home too. Seems like the perfect combination between tennis and ping pong.
The next morning Lana the boys attended Junior’s baseball game. As much as I would have liked to attend and once again bask in the glow of Coach Brian yelling at kids during a sporting event (in a good way!) I went on a tour of the countryside with Bill, one of Brian’s friends who he introduced us too.
We were all wondering how long it would take for the HOA police to bust us for parking the RV on the street (it did kind of stick out like a soar thumb in that neighborhood), but fortunately we were in and out before they were the wiser. It was great seeing the Lombardos but after less than 24 hours it was once again time to move on. Now we’re off to the Poole Knob campground where we were meeting up with Lana’s cousins who rented a RV and were coming down to meet us from New Jersey.
I finally read this. Nice post. Great to see you guys. It really did feel like the good old days. Hope you guys one day come back. And, yes, you should try some more pickleball when you get back to CA…..fastest growing sport in US….or so someone told me. 🙂 Take care Keysers.
Thanks for hosting us Brian! We’re very happy that we were able to stop by. Yes, we would love to come back some day!