Southern States Tour: Tuesday June 24, 2014

After another great night spent with our Norris TN host families, we gathered at the bus to say our goodbyes to CA and Judy who are longtime friends of Dr. and Mrs. Jacobs.  They made all the arrangements for our two day stay, and we thank them as well as all of our host families who made us feel at home! Our first stop today brought us to Big South Fork National Park where our bus driver Lori professionally guided the bus along the back roads of the park. We were lead by a park ranger on a two mile hike to see the twin arches which were formed thousands of years ago.  This was quite an impressive site! While there are over 300 bears in the park we did not have any cross our path. Following our hike we had lunch on the bus as we made our way to the Nashville area, where we passed the time by singing and taking in a few movies. After arriving at the hotel we had some downtime to freshen up before heading out to dinner and our concert tonight at the St. Cecelia Academy Mother House. The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia Congregation filled the room and were deeply moved by the performance. We had a short meet and greet before the evening prayer bells rang and then were invited into their gorgeous chapel to experience the evening prayers, which included rituals and the singing of sacred hymns.  Feeling blessed, we returned to the hotel for an hour of swimming before heading to bed for a good night's rest.