Thursday, December 20, 2018

2018 Dec 4, Day trip to Nashville to see Grinch Ice, Gardens Opryland Hotel, & Opry MIlls Nashville, Tennessee

Hubby and I ate lunch at Cracker Barrel Spring Hill.

Hubby ordered a Hamburger, coleslaw, and pinto beans
I ordered a kid's shrimp tarter sauce, and fried apples with cornbread. 
Before entering Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The ice display includes over 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures. 
Everyone must line up to get a blue coat to wear inside because the rooms are kept at 9 degrees Fahrenheit. I wasn't going to get cold! The coat I am wearing here I wore under the blue coat, along with gloves and boots. It was still cold inside, you could not stay long inside.
The Grinch and his sleigh and I bundled up 
Me and the Grinch 
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Opryland Gaylord Hotel stopped for a quick picture in front of  Sleigh and Christmas Tree.
A quick picture with Trace Adkins

bird of Paradise 
Red Poinsettia 
Purple Orchard
Lots of beautiful flowers throughout the three gardens at the Hotel.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. 
We took our time at Grinch Ice, Three Gardens at Opryland Gaylord Hotel,  and we walked around at Opry Mills.
We ate dinner inside Opry Mill and we did not run into the work traffic on our way home.
We arrived home around 9:30PM.



2018 Dec 2, A Visit to see Santa Clause at Santa Land Elgin, Alabama

Hubby, Ava, and I went to visit Santa, Mrs. Clause, and the Reindeer at Santa Land.
Hubby parked the car in the field and we walked to the ticket counter. There we purchased our tickets and were told we could take our time strolling the grounds before entering the castle. 
Entrance to Santa Land
SantaLand 
We saw Micky, Minnie, Winnie Pooh, Tiger, and many other Disney Characters.
Ava and I enjoyed listening and dancing to the music that was played at the Looney Tunes Area with Wylie Coyote, Road Runner, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, and Tasmanian Devil. 
Ava and I were dancing to the music and hubby overheard a little girl say I want to go there and dance. 

SantaLand is home to Santa Clause Mrs. Clause, Reindeer, and many other characters. 
Ava loved all the outdoor decorations but wanted to go inside because it was a bit chilly outside. 
Ava said, "I am Cold!" 
Once inside the castle, we saw a menagerie of Christmas Decorations. 
A couple of Puffins 
The Grinch 
Santa and his talking Reindeer 
We were greeted by Santa's helper and waited our turn to sit in Santa's lap and talk to Santa. 

Ava went right up and sat in Santa's lap, she told him what she wanted for Christmas.
She told Santa and we continued walking through the Castle. 
Ava and Santa Clause 
Ava and Mrs. Clause 
Next, we saw Mrs. Clause, Ave went right up and sat in her lap, she gave Ava a Candy Cane. 
We took a few pictures inside and walked outside.

We could hear the Chip Munks singing in the distance. Ava said they were singing too loud. 
Alvin, Simon, Theodore the Chipmunks
Ava kept saying I want to go back inside and see Santa Claus. So we took her back through and Santa was going on break. He asks Ave if she wants to go see the Reindeer, and she says yes.
Santa took Ava's hand and they walked outside stopping to see the Reindeer. 
Ava and Santa visiting the Reindeer 
Santa holding Ava's hand 
Ava told Santa Merry Christmas ðŸŽ„
We walked around outside some more. It was damp and cold outside so we

went back inside.

We bought Ava a gingerbread cookie and took it to a table to be decorated. On each table were three different colors of icing to be used to decorate the cookie. We used green for the eyes, red for the buttons, and trimmed him in yellow. He was yummy and sweet. 


Ava with her Gingerbread Cookie, we ate all but the head.
Gingerbread Cookie I helped her decorate
Ava didn’t want to leave, we told her Santa Clause had to go to bed
She was okay then.

2018 Dec 15, Leipers Fork Christmas Parade Leipers Fork, Tennessee

Hubby and I rode to Leipers Fork to attend the Christmas Parade, it was one of the biggest crowds I had ever seen.
The crowd at Leipers Fork Parade 
John Snider(Bo Duke) from Dukes of Hazzard was the Grand Marshal. John rode atop a replica of the Bright Orange General Lee #1 from the Dukes of Hazzard Show (1979-85).
Followed by the Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane's Police Car.
John Snider Grand Marshal 
Kid Rock came riding in a White Car that had a bull horn on the front grill, packing guns on both sides of the car. The backside on the tire covering was Hank Jr. Kick Rocks & Michigan Plates 64 Nudie. With shotgun, horses, and horseshoes on the trunk, fenders, and bumper.
The kid was dressed in White trimmed in gold wearing a black hat drinking a Coolers Light beer.
The guy from American Pickers came riding in the parade in a Polaris Jeep.
Kid Rock and his granddaughter
We saw a Grinch 
Cindy Lou-Who 
Santa Clause in his sleigh with Reindeer 
Hubby and I stopped at Jack's Restaurant in Lawrenceburg for breakfast. I ordered a sausage and cheese biscuit.
Hubby ordered a big breakfast.
We arrived at Leipers Fork around 11:00 AM set up our chairs and walked around taking pictures and talking to local shop owners.
Christmas Ball hanging from the ceiling at one of the local stores also in the attic area was a Manger Scene 
People already had a chair set up in front of Pucketts Grocery a local restaurant 
fireplace a warm cozy spot 
Cowboy boot Sign
There were several portlets set up but not near enough for the crowd.
Where we sat were a couple of firepits with marshmallows and gram crackers to make smores.
It was nice to sit by the fire it was an overcast day with temperatures around 50+ degrees with some sun.
At the portlets, I met a woman who was building a house in the Leipers Fork area. She said we have 2 dogs and 2 cats and they were renting in the Nashville area but were originally from Atlanta, GA.
I also met a woman wearing a Mad Hatter hat, she was covered in Christmas rope, bells, and balls.
She gave me and the woman next to me a bell. I tied my bell on my tennis shoe and everywhere I went I would hear bells, I forgot it was me that was ringing.
I met a family from near Dickson, TN, she said she was an artist and he was a landscaper (from Nashville until he married). They had two children and they had never been to the Leipers Fork Parade. I told them they were in for a treat. They were waiting to eat at a local restaurant and when the parade began they came and stood nearby. The man said after they ate that the kids rode horses in the fields and there they saw Kid Rock.
The little girl said she wanted one of the bears that were going to be thrown out during the parade. Both she and her brother caught two each.
They left after the bears were thrown out.
Hubby and I both made smores but they sure were messy. The parade began around 2:30PM  and lasted until about 4 or a little after the sun was setting and it was beginning to get dark. The cleanup crew began to clean up all the debris left from the parade and the crowd. Hubby and I sat by the fire pit as we watched a steady stream of cars leave the grass-filled parking area.
A young man stoked the fire and we warmed our hands and bodies.
A man with his daughter was warming up at the fire pit. We were talking about the Shoals area that we were from and the man said that he had a friend that played in a band that played at the Shoals Marriott.
We finally braved the traffic and began our travel home.
At 5:22 PM we stopped at Panda Express in Sring Hill.
End of the parade and the sun was setting. 
We ordered broccoli and beef, honey walnut shrimp, orange chicken, chow mein, egg roll, and 3 creams cheese Rangoon.
We ordered broccoli and beef, honey walnut shrimp, orange chicken, chow mein, egg roll, and 3 creams cheese Rangoon.

At 7PM we stopped at Big Lots in Lawrenceburg for some bread and Archway gingerbread cookies.
(I love me some gingerbread cookies) we bought three bags and a bag of Archway gingersnaps. 
We were home around 7:30, took a hot shower, put on my pajamas, crawled into my warm bed, turned on the TV, and were asleep in no time.
Hubby had a great day, it was a little on the cool side, overcast, and the sun tried to sneak out a time or two. Saw John Snider, Kid Rock, and the guy from American Pickers. Made a few new friends, ate some good food, and had a safe trip home.


2018 Dec 18, Christmas Trees, Cards, Cranes and Ducks Atherns, Decatur, & Madison, Alabama

Today, Hubby and I visited the North Pole Christmas Tree Stroll at Big Spring Park Athens.
North Pole Stroll Athens, Alabama 
Mallards, White Ducks, and goldfish greeted me as I approached the pond at Big Springs.
I enjoyed two(Grinch) buttermilk pancakes with a hint of green topped with sweet cream cheese icing and red candy hearts. Crowned with creamy green whipped topping & 2 link sausages at IHOP in Madison.
Hubby ordered fried Fish, shrimp, fries, toast, and a stack of 3 buttermilk pancakes.


Grinch Pancakes 
fish, shrimp, fries, toast 

Hubby drove us through the larger-than-life Christmas Card Lane that is showcased in front of some of the historic homes in Madison along Front and Chruch Streets.
Thank You for Visiting Christmas Card Lane
Magical Christmas Tree Trail Madison, Alabama Different sponsors of Madison decorate a tree and the trees are located on both sides of the Main Street Cafe.

We rode to Wheeler Wildlife Refuge in Decatur via I-65 workers working on the bridge over the Tennessee River traffic backup. 
View of Decatur from the bridge where the traffic was backed up 

We walked down to the overlook to see the Cranes and ducks. Not as many sandhills and Whooping cranes as last year.  
We saw thousands of Sandhill Cranes but only one White Whooping Crane
The Whooping Crane at 5 feet tall, is the tallest bird in North America and one of the most endangered. They are named for their whooping unison calls. 

Our last stop was Founders Park in front of Old Historic Bank to tour the Enchanted Forest Christmas Tree Stroll. 
Enchanted Forest Christmas Tree Stroll in Founders Park, Decatur 
By the time we finished, it was beginning to get dark but the solar-powered lights had not come on. 
By the time we arrived home, it was dark. Hubby stopped at McDonald's for a hamburger, fries, apple pie, and Ice Cream. I ate a piece of the fish he had left over from lunch. 
Uploaded some of my pictures after I arrived home.
Sunset 

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