happy, kentucky

i started to title this post "teachers gone wild" but in keeping with my policy of protecting those (well, most anyway) i decided to tone it down so as not to get them fired!!!
i love kentucky and i love the people from there. when most think of kentucky, they think of lexington (another favorite city of mine) and louisville (not!!!). but there is so much more.
some of the most real people i have met have come from kentucky. i have an ex brother-in-law who is a farmer in western ky and he is one of the most straight up people i have ever known and i miss him. the ruggedness in southeast kentucky is an absolute wonder. it is primitive and still some of the people very clanish. coal miners. depression. high unemployment. poverty at the worst i have ever seen. i have been many places that when you are driving down the road, you see signs warning "ATV Crossing". one town in particular (kenvir (see mission of hope trip post) actually had atv parking at a church!!!
at this moment, i have a group that has been really fun. they are from happy, kentucky. i guess you could say it is a suburb of hazard, kentucky!!! really hard to find on the map. my tomtom, when i was entering the information, burped, and said, "where? are you kidding?"
happy is at best, small. to most of america, non-existent. it became real to me as i went there twice and spent an enjoyable weekend with about 22-23 of it residents.
as i mentioned, alot of the people in rural areas (wilderness!!!) such as this tend to be "clannish" and i do not mean it in any negative way. the point is, they stick together.
being from a community this small, the kids i had with me will experience relationships with their schoolmates that few of us will ever have the chance to know.
the teachers were smokin' hot and the kids were very polite and respectful. we stayed at "wilderness at the smokies" and it was incredible place. so incredible, my kids and i are going for a week the end of june.
i toned this post down. i was really prepared to talk about the teachers and their "teachers gone wild" attitude. as i also said, i don't want to get them fired but i do have video i will let go to the highest bidder!!! just kidding. they were a great group and i would be honored to take them anywhere.
sevier county is NOT one of my favorite places to go, particularly gatlinburg. the area from sevierville to the park i very pretty and i am proud to have it in my backyard, however, tourists do not know how to drive inheavy traffic and some exhibit that "too bad, i got mine" attitude. gatlinburg is the least motorcoach friendly city i have driven in. d.c. is easier than gatlinburg and the roads are much more navigable. all that being said, i still have a job to do and a responsibility to get my passengers wherever they need to be as safely and quickly as i can. it can't all be easy and carefree.
to the teachers: this was not as bad as it could have been considering all i saw this weekend!!!
until next time...