H is for Hometown Rivers and Huey Lewis

I am participating in the A-to-Z Blog  Challenge this month. My theme is...the music of my life.

In 1983, director Mark Rydell and a movie crew from Universal Pictures moved into Kingsport, Tennessee and the surrounding areas to film the movie, The River, starring Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek. This was a really big deal in a small town like ours, and to have actors, directors, and producers from a big-name film company like Universal made people feel like our town had been put on the map. I auditioned for the role of one of the children even though I was much older than what they were looking for (I was eleven and they were looking for a six-year-old, but I figured it was worth a shot).

Many people’s homes in our area were rented out by members of the crew. I remember trick-or-treating at the home where the director was living. He wasn’t candy-ready, so he gave us fifty-cents a piece. Locals helped coach baseball and showed the actors how the other half lived. We showed up to watch scenes with Mel Gibson being filmed, and Sissy Spacek kept her horses at the same barn as ours. I even got to sing a song for her while sitting in her white BMW with her husband and eighteen-month-old daughter looking on. She was a lovely person. It was a really exciting time.

The River came out in 1984, and a lot of other interesting things were happening for me during that time. I was cast in a small-town production of Annie—nothing too exciting…I played an orphan—and this little foray into theater solidified a desire in me to act and sing (a passion of mine for many years thereafter). My stepmother gave birth to the first of two younger sisters, and Mom, her new husband, and I made plans to move to Washington, DC.

I turned twelve in 1984, and all sorts of wonderful movies were in the theaters like Ghostbusters, Footloose, and Sixteen Candles. The billboard charts were full of classic—80s songs like Huey Lewis and the News, Madonna, Pat Benatar, Night Ranger, and Eurythmics. Actually, there were too many good songs to mention them all. This was one of my favorite times of my life, and one of my favorite times for music.

What were some of your favorite 80s tunes?

Favorite Things Friday: Vacation

Vacation is all I ever wanted…

Remember The Go-Go’s song from 1982?

 

I’m one of those really weird people not necessarily into sandy beaches and Caribbean cruises for vacations. For many years my idea of a vacation was sitting in an English pub watching rain course over beveled glass on Shakespearean windows; climbing winding stone stairs of old, decrepit castles while watching my breath form in puffs before me; or tromping over wet meadows in Wales with cold wind whipping off of the ocean while stepping over sheep dung. Again—I am not ashamed—I’m weird.

 

 

Although I still think these are my favorite images for a vacation, this year I’m happy to stay in the good old US of A and explore more domestic territory. I already toured Biltmore this summer and enjoyed an eat-a-thon in Asheville, N.C., so that’s scratched off my list. Here’s my revised summer travel hit list:

1.    Gatlinburg, Tennessee: I used to go there as a kid, but I haven’t been since I was around ten years old. I remember this really great haunted house I ran through with my eyes closed. I’d sort of like to do that again. Plus, I hear there are great places to eat there.

2.    Nashville, Tennessee: Yes, I know these are both in the same state, but as most of you know Tennessee is my home state. And I really love my home state. I’d like to go to Nashville to see some good live music (my husband and I are both music lovers). I also hear Nashville has great restaurants.

3.    Winchester, Virginia: This is an odd choice because it’s only an hour from where I live, but I’ve wanted to go there for a while. I’d like to stay in a B&B and take in a few historical sights.  There’s also a restaurant there called One Block West that looks really good.

So there we have it. You probably get a pretty good idea of what my husband and I like to do on our vacations—we pretty much eat our way across town.

 

Anyone who has been to any of these places have any recommendations for good restaurants with great food and atmosphere?