Yes, I am Alive and in Knoxville!

I haven't posted too much since I first arrived in North Carolina about a month ago. I apologize. I'm still working on trying to keep up at work. Relocating a whole company can be very challenging. I love new experiences, but I think I would have to think twice about moving with a company that is relocating headquarters again. Whew! But I do love North Carolina and my job, and I'm glad I am there.

For the next three days, I can forget about the challenges of work and delve into the FGS conference in Knoxville. I arrived this evening around 6:00 pm. It was a nearly 6-hour drive from Raleigh. It was an easy route to remember --- straight across I-40. The conference started this morning, but with the work piling up mentioned above, I decided to skip the first day of seminars and come in this evening. The drive here was beautiful. I drove through the Smoky Mountains, partially in a light rain storm. It was pretty neat to see the smoke coming off the mountains right in front of me. Unfortunately, I came by myself, so I didn't get to take too many pictures. Here is one of the Smokies near the North Carolina/Tennessee border.

Tomorrow, I am planning on ordering a nice breakfast from the hotel room service before attending the keynote speech at 8 AM. I believe there is a trolley, but I think I will walk to the convention center since it is only a block away. I then plan to explore the exhibit hall and meeting up with some geneabloggers before the 11 AM sessions. If I don't change my mind again, or if I can manage to arrive before the sessions get filled up, I believe I will attend the following three sessions tomorrow:

1) The Manuscript Collections at the Kentucky Historical Society - I have heard that there is info on my Renfro ancestors in the historical society's vertical files

2) Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies - I couldn't miss a presentation by Elizabeth Shown Mills. She is also using examples from one of my favorite novels, Cane River.

3) Ya'll Come See Us: A Virtual Visit to the Tennessee State Library and Archives - I'm sure there is much info there on my Proffitt ancestors.

And speaking of my Proffitt ancestors, I just realized today that I was actually in Jefferson County, Tennessee, the land of the Proffitts. I may have to veer off I-40 to Chestnut Hill to look for cemeteries and whatnot on Sunday.

Anyhow, I will try to post another update tomorrow or Friday.