This week the Barry family traveled to the mountains of Appalachia in Virginia to pay our last respects to my uncle and support my mom.

My uncle, Ronnie Neil Mullins, passed away suddenly at 59 years-old.

We drove 13 hours to spend a few precious hours with family before piling into the car and driving 13 hours back.

We made it just in time to attend a hillbilly funeral complete with banjo playing and uniformed coal miner pallbearers.

The trip usually takes us through Chattanooga and Knoxville Tenn. However, we decided to take a different route this time.

We drove to Atlanta and then headed to Greenville, South Carolina before turning north and driving through the Smokey Mountains.

The trip was one of the best I have ever taken, at least to that part of the country.

We stopped in Asheville, North Carolina on the way back home so we could see the largest residential home in America, the Biltmore.

Due to time constraints we didn’t actually get to see the Biltmore, but we did get to see beautiful Asheville.

It’s been added to our list of places to visit again. It is in a gorgeous setting tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

When my wife realized that we would be passing close to the estate, there was no possibility of passing it by. The city was bustling with tourists and has a vibrant arts scene.

As much as we enjoyed the area, it made us realize what a beautiful little gem of a city we live in. Vicksburg has an upcoming downtown and an arts scene full of acclaimed artists.

There is always something to do in Vicksburg and the National Military Park draws visitors from all over the world.

We like to travel and enjoy other communities whenever we can, however one thing is certain. We love Vicksburg and we miss it when we’re gone. It’s always nice to come home.