Greetings from Chavies, Kentucky...aka "The coolest place you've never heard of."

The first thing I want to share with you is a picture that I took...that I didn't really mean to take. I went for a run last night and it was supposed to be approximately five miles long. About two miles in I realized I wasn't feeling it so I took a shorter route back to my car. The route required me to run up a RIDICULOUS hill but when I got to the top I got to see the very end of the sunset and it was absolutely breathtaking. Here is a pic I snapped with my phone.

The sunset in Johnson City - no instagramming. 

I started off my day today heading to Barbourville, Kentucky in Knox County. Knox County is the home of Union College, one of the prettiest college campuses I have ever seen. Union College is also the birth place of ASP. In 1969 Tex Evans' dream of helping families have the basic right of housing became a reality at Union College. The college's perfectly manicured grass and state of the art sports facilities probably skewed my opinion of the prettiest campus...considering I spent a lot of time in sports venues in college. Union College has a stunning atmosphere which makes it hard to believe Knox County also has a poverty rate of 29.6%. On a lighter note, the town of Corbin (not too far from Union College) is the home of the original Kentucky Fried Chicken. I decided to swing by after seeing the sign on the side of the road and...although I wouldn't recommend taking too much time out of your road tip to see it, I got to check it off my bucket list which was cool! Go to a Kentucky Friend Chicken...in Kentucky - check!

The route I took to get to Knox County, KY took me right by Jonesville, VA (one of our year round centers) and there is an overlook that I stop at every time I go there. Here is a picture I tried to take while resting my phone on my car. Although the picture doesnt do the view justice, I am sure you can understand why I love it so much.

The overlook on the way to Jonesville, VA

After meeting with the Facility Manager in Knox County, Kentucky (one of our thirty summer centers) I hit the road en route to Chavies where ASP has another year round center. I have a meeting with the Facility Manager in Breathitt County, KY tomorrow. Breathitt County is about three hours from Johnson City but only about 45 minutes from Chavies so it makes the made the most sense to come and hang out with the staff and spend the night.

On my way here I passed through Clay, Leslie and Perry Counties. Here is a cool picture I took through my windshield on a backroad in Clay County (where Mark and Bopper on last season's The Amazing Race were from).

Somewhere in Clay County, KY

I also went through a mountain!

The Cumberland Gap tunnel

Now I am sitting in the Chavies apartment. I was hanging out with the awesome staff - Steve, Matt, Hannah, Caitlin and Jill - but their first group of volunteers has arrived so they are meeting with them. What an exciting time! They have four groups from Missouri - or at least that's what their van say. 

If you are wondering why Chavies is the coolest place but you have never heard of it, that's because it's a cute small town off the beaten path of Highway 15. Here's a picture of the post office :)

Post Office in Chavies, Kentucky

One more thing I did today was stop in Walmart to get a new notebook and some dividers to organize all the information I have been processing lately. When I walked in the Hazard Walmart I was overwhelmed by the Halloween decorations! Whoa! I am so excited for fall :) I got a pumpkin spice candle that I cant wait to get home and burn!

Walmart's Halloween decorations

Happy almost-Friday everyone!

MISS ya LOVE ya 

MEG

PS. This is only a PS because I don't know where to fit it above. I am not sure if you have heard, but ASP is building 46, yes FOURTY - SIX, new homes in Johnson City in response to the recent floods. Here are a couple articles about "New Build Washington County."

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=102329

http://www.wcyb.com/news/Charity-building-new-homes-for-flood-victims/-/14590844/16583966/-/a1g4gcz/-/index.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_464635513581570_5327090_464772613567860#f3f4a2dae05e3a

The view at the office on an early morning

Ok, so I am going to try to start this up again! HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE! It's been a while since my last post...considering my fifth half marathon is coming up in just a few weeks in Baltimore (previous post was about my fourth half marathon).

Running news...ASP has decided to start the "ASP Running Club." Joining the club gets you a sweet dri fit shirt that you can wear during the race to raise awareness in the community about ASP...no matter where you are racing. Basically...a walking advertisement. The Running Club just ran our first race this weekend in Kingsport, TN. We had a former summer staffer come up and talk to us after seeing our sweet shirts! It was the Eastman Road Race 10k. Unfortunately I have been sick all week so it wasn't the most pleasant hour for me but the pre race dinner and fun times after the race were great! I am getting excited for my upcoming half marathon in Baltimore on October 13th!

ASP Running Team

Work news I am busy going around to all of the summer centers and meeting with Facility Managers about their experience with ASP and beginning the conversation about hosting ASP again next summer.

I am officially part of the County Set-up team which means I have been tasked with setting up about twelve counties... I am going to be on the road a LOT this fall and in the spring. It is going to be a lot of work, but I am excited to travel to each of the states ASP serves in and I am also really excited to meet new people! I will be setting up two counties in Kentucky, four in Tennessee, two in Virginia, two in North Carolina and two in West Virginia. Let me know if you have a favorite book on tape or something that keeps you occupied on long drives...I may need that!

ASP's service area

Another part of my job on the County Set-up team is to go on Initial Home Visits to jump start the process of selecting homes to repair for the summer staffs in each county. This is one of the most difficult parts of the job. Usually I will find a Community Contact in the community where the center will be and we will sit down at the beginning of the day and sort through many applications for home repair. After we have devised a plan to tackle the different areas of the county we head out for a long day of figuring out directions, getting lost and evaluating the need at many different homes.

Housing news....my roommate of almost two years is moving out at the end of October :( boo! Cameron will be moving to New York so that is fun! I need a new roommate. Could it be YOU!? I don't want to move out of my cute little abode in the mountains if Johnson City, TN. We will see how the roommate hunt goes. I actually put up an ad on Craig's list...the only problem was I was not specific enough. I got two responses, one from an 18 year old boy and another from a dude that sells professional golf equipment and owns an electric drumset. Bummer. I will try again tomorrow.

Baltimore news... I will be home October 12th! If you are from Baltimore reading this post - let's hangout! I am running the half marathon on Saturday and going bridesmaid dress shopping Saturday morning for Kelly's wedding. Let me know if you are free! I really want some steamed crabs when I am home...

I dont really have too much more to chat about with my blog audience tonight, but I want to update this more frequently with cool stuff going down in JC and more about what I do down here in Tennessee. I hope all is well wherever you all may be.

miss YA love YA,

MEG