🚙2015 ~ Tuesday, July 14, Day Trip to Tullahoma Tennessee

My husband followed me to Champion Chrysler in Athens, we left the van to get the oil changes and for them to see why the back seat would not return to the sitting position.

We ate breakfast at I-Hop in Athens, I ordered a banana, pecan waffle with whipped cream and diet Pepsi, and my husband ordered hotcakes, two eggs over easy, and bacon with diet Pepsi.

Great breakfast which costs us $20.56 plus tip.

banana, pecan waffle with whipped cream

hotcakes, two eggs over easy, and bacon

We left Athens traveling up I-65 north exiting onto hwy 64 at Frankewing, traveling hwy 64 to Fayetteville, taking hwy 50 through Mulberry just past Lynchburg 50 turns into 55 all the way to Tullahoma.

Our first stop was Beechcraft Staggering Museum 570 Old Shelbyville hwy. Hours are from 8:30AM until 4:30 PM, cost per person is $10.00.

We entered the lobby, paid, and visited the museums, there were three rooms of Beechcraft airplanes, a cabin, several miniature planes, and lots of memorabilia.

We saw inside the lobby a bright Yellow Gilmore NC230 Beechcraft airplane.

Inside the museums were many different styles, colors, and sizes of Beechcraft-built airplanes, some with markers giving more information and many with names and the number of the aircraft.

Yellow Gilmore NC230 

Beechcraft Museum

Beechcraft Museum

On the cabin was a marker that read: The Louise M. Thaden Office and Library Building dedicated to Louise M. Thaden, pioneer aviatrix, who held altitude, solo endurance, and speed records in 1929. The first woman to enter and the only woman ever to win the Bendix Race, in Staggerwing C17R in 1936, Harmon Trophy recipient in 1936, and inspired the creation of the Staggerwing Museum Foundation Inc. June 14, 1974.

Inside the museum in the hallway is a photo of Mrs. Thaden and the 15835 airplane.

 Mrs. Thaden and the 15835 airplanes.

The Louise M. Thaden Office and Library Building 

We traveled to 401 S. Jackson Street to the Fine Arts Museum but the museum was closed for July. 

I took pictures outside, a historic marker, statues, and flowers.

Jane, Emma, AFFA Ann Baillet the three sisters, businesswomen, and artists owned and operated J & EA Baillet Millinery Shop where they created original fashionable ladies' wear and hats. 

Tullahoma History Trail 

Ballet Home is now the city's regional Fine Arts Center, sisters Jennie and Affa Baillet and their parents lived and worked here beginning in the 1870s. Jennie was an artist and the family operated a millinery store downtown. They watched much of what happened in Tullahoma during its prosperous years between 1875 and 1925.

Fine Arts Center

Fine Arts Center

We travel to 101 Mitchell Blvd to the Science Museum cost $5.00.

Outside we first saw the Goethert Observatory on the door is a marker that reads:

Goethert Observatory

Dr. Bernhard H. Goethert

October 20, 1907 - March 29, 1988 

Dedicated January 17, 2002 

Dr. Goethert was a distinguished scientist, engineer, and educator, and instrumental in the creation of The University of Tennessee Space Institute and the UTSI Observatory.

UTSI donated this observatory to the Hands-on-Science Center

For the scientists and engineers of the future.

Goethert Observatory 

GOODRICH 

In May 2008, the Landing Gear division of Goodrich completely refurbished the Goethert Observatory. This work included major repairs to the structure and restoration of a  ten and twelve-inch telescope.

The Landing Gear Division of Goodrich is next door to the Hands-on-Science Center. Past donations include a complete landing gear display and the property that is now home to HOSE.

Along the path in front of the observatory were the planets Mars, Earth, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, etc

Inside we saw floating above us the planets, NASA’s Space Station, & N201C Marion Cole airplane. We saw a turkey, bobcat, coyote, fox, beaver, and a bear.

On the ceiling were kids' handprints red, orange, blue, yellow, and purple, some were from the fifth-grade children of Robert E. Lee School 2007. 

We saw fossil coral found in Wagner Creek, Dioptase silicates, and many different sizes, shapes, and colors of quartz Geode.

We saw the Elements Table, The periodic table of elements.

We saw the world’s heaviest & longest species of pine cones.

We saw many hands-on activities including pipes of the pan, the shadow room, how clear can you see this, putting on a pair of glasses, and tossing a ball toward a target.

We saw the intestines of the human body and the tissue of the brain.

We saw many different colors, and shapes of linking toys.

We saw a staircase that went to a mural door. 

We filled a paper balloon with hot air.

I stood behind a Bug Eye bug statue to get my picture made.

Science Museum

Science Museum

Science Museum

We saw three shelves of miniature airplanes, that were tested/developed 10 miles away at the USAF Arnold Engineering Development Center AEDC.

We saw US 1903 Wright Flyer US 127 Ryan Spirit of St Louis, US 1932, Gee Bee, US Goodyear Blimp, US P-51 Mustang, US Doc3 Douglas, Navy Hellcat, Army AC P-51 Mustang, Army AC B-25 Mitchell, and many more.

Live animals: a snake, a spider, and a lizard.

We talked to a couple of the curators, one curator was from Indiana, and the other was a local.

I asked if they had ever visited the George Dickels Distillery the woman said she had a friend who worked there. The curator said the tour is great and she said you will have to hurry because the last tour ends at 3:30PM.

We got lost trying to find George Dickels Distillery, we arrived at 3:00PM and walked inside.

The tour will not start until 3:30PM which is the last tour of the day. We bought a 7UP and a piece of chocolate candy and we sat down at a table to eat the candy and drink the 7UP.

I went outside and took pictures of the building with a sign that read: Provisions General Merchandise George A Dickels & Co Cascade General store US Post Office.

I took a picture of the statue of George Dickels, the distillery, the Charcoal Ricks plaque, & the cabin. Inside I took pictures of our waiting room, the US Post Office Dickels, Tennessee, Souurmsh car, with writing on the side that read: Established 1870 Cascade Distillery George A Dickels & Co-Founder, proprietors Geo & Augusta Dickels, and I took a picture of a couple of quilts.

The group of six were all taken on a forty-five-minute tour of the distillery. Our guide took along an umbrella there was a great chance of rain. Our guide said if it starts lighting the tour will end but it did not rain.

On the tour, we were shown the process of making the whiskey, and the barrel house.

At the end of the tour, we were offered to taste several different whiskeys at the cost of  $10.00.

Hubby had to drive home so we did not taste any whiskey.

They spell Whisky without the e.

George Dickels Distillery

The cabin 

Taking the tour 

We were in Lynchburg when it started to rain and it poured buckets of rain for several miles.

We stopped in Frankewing to eat dinner at Sarge’s Shack where I ordered a sirloin steak, saluted mushrooms, and a salad with house dressing, Hubby ordered Rib Steak, baked potato, salad, and Texas toast. It was very good and we both ordered a diet Pepsi to go.

We got onto I-65 to Athens where we picked up our Chrysler Van now 7PM the salesmen were closing up shop.

We traveled home and were home within the hour.

Had a great time in Tullahoma, the day started out very hot and humid over 90+ degrees after the storm the temperature dropped to 73?