2026 April 28-30 Mystery Trip with Travel Lady (Greenville, Kingsport, Bristol, Tusculum, & Gull's Gap, Tennessee)

 April 28-30 Mystery Trip with Travel Lady  

(Greenville,  Kingsport, Bristol, Tusculum, & Gull's Gap, Tennessee) 

Day 1: Tuesday, April 28, travel Day to Mystery location

Hubby and I drove to Lawrenceburg and parked in the church lot.

We were on the bus by 6:45 A.M.(Bus driver Steve) (Bus Starship Dream Line Journey, Excelsior.)(Group leader Krystal)

After everyone was loaded onto the bus & we were on the road, our leader passed out a breakfast tray that included two chicken minis, a fruit cup with strawberries, blueberries,  & grapes, two sweet pretzels, cheddar cheese chunks, and a muffin from Sister Sweets. 

Our first stop was at a pilot in Columbia, TN, to use the restroom.

We stopped for lunch, @ Wendy’ s1618 S Roanne ST, Harriman, TN 

Hubby and I both ordered a junior cheeseburger deluxe, large fries, and two Frostys.

We arrived at the Burlay Bunny Antiques Home Decor and More. Here we meet our guide, Vera Ann Myers, and the owner and employee, who were waiting to greet us. A table full of treats, cookies, dip, crackers, fruit punch, and more was waiting for us. Everyone used their restrooms and enjoyed the snacks. When we returned to the bus, everyone was given a surprise gift. 

We returned to the bus and rode to the General Morgan Inn, 111 N Main St, Greeneville, TN, room 213, where we spent two nights. 

We were given some free time after the bus was unloaded and our luggage taken to our rooms.

Hubby and I walked through downtown, where we saw several churches, the courthouse, historic markers, and much more. 

We returned to the hotel for dinner in the Grand Ballroom at 5:30 P.M.

We were served a salad, rolls, butter, green beans, baked chicken, creamed potatoes, and banana pudding for dessert. 

At 7:30 P.M., we walked to the Capitol Theatre, where we were greeted by the Friends of Crockett before watching the Disney movie, David Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.

After the movie, everyone walked back to the hotel.

Photos 

5828 Breakfast served on the bus at 7:08 A.M.

5829 Wendy’s Harriman, TN @12:) 1 P.M.

5830-5841 Greeneville, TN @ 2:20 P.M. 

5842-5843 Burlap Bunny Greeneville, TN @ 3:16 P.M.

5844-5849 Greeneville, TN 3:35 P.M.

5850-5857 General Morgan Inn @3:38 PM 

5858-5898 Walking around Greeneville, TN @ 4:21 P.M.

5899-5902 Dinner @ 5:33 P.M.

iPad 3627-3661 Greeneville, TN @4:07 PM

Day 2: Wednesday, April 29:

We were served a buffet breakfast in the Grand Ballroom. 

I got bacon, fruit, scrambled eggs, biscuits, jelly, and cranberry juice.

Everyone went to Catalyst Coffee Co. for coffee, a pastry, or a muffin. Hubby and I both ordered a raspberry chocolate scone, which was included with our hotel stay. 

After breakfast, everyone walked to the Dickson-Williams Mansion, which was behind the hotel. 

We were given a brief history of the mansion and allowed to tour it. 

We then boarded the bus for our next mystery location: the Kingsport Carousel.

Which is located inside the Pal’s Roundhouse on East Center St and Clinchfield.

The 30 hand-carved and hand-painted animals by volunteers, which include dogs, cats, dragons, tigers, zebras, and horses, can be enjoyed for just one dollar. For children and children at heart. 

Everyone enjoyed riding the carousel at least two times. 

Our next stop was Riverfront Seafood Company, where we enjoyed lunch. 

I ordered a baked potato and fried codfish. Hubby ordered fried shrimp and a 

baked potato. 

After lunch, we rode to the birth home of Tennessee Ernie Ford. We were greeted by the very informative curator. 

Our next stop was Bristol, where one side of the town was in Tennessee and the other in Virginia. 

We did a little shopping at Cranberry Lane, on the Virginia side. Here I bought a mixed package of raspberry and chocolate Scones and a mat. Spent $19.95.

Our next stop was Bristol Motor Speedway. We were led to the Dome seating, where we had a great view of the speedway. Our guide gave us the speedway's history, and everyone had the opportunity to use the restrooms.

Next, we loaded back onto the bus and headed to the Motor Speedway, where we drove around the track. What fun!

We stopped at the gift shop, where I bought a speedway bag.

We once again loaded onto the bus and rode to the state park where David Crockett was born. All the buildings, including David’s birth home, were washed away by a flood just a few years ago. 

The only thing left standing was the chimney. The park intends to rebuild because of the site’s importance.

Our last stop was Whistle Stop Restaurant in Tusculum, TN, for dinner. 

Here we were served broccoli soup, a salad, rolls, dip and crackers, baked salmon, a baked potato, tea, and cheesecake.

We returned to the hotel and packed because we are leaving tomorrow.

Photos

5903-5906 Walking on the balcony of the hotel @6:46 AM

5907 Breakfast @ 7:25 AM

iPad 3662-3697  Dikson Williams Mansion 

5908-5994 Kingsport Carousel & Park @ 9:47 A.M. 

iPad 3698-3715 Riverfront Seafood Lunch Kingsport, TN @10:50 AM 

iPad 3816-3721 Riverfront Seafood Kingsport12:11PM

iPad 3722 Travel @1:01 PM 

iPad 3723-3730 Tennessee Ernie Ford Birthhome @1:15 PM

5958-5981 Tennessee Ernie Ford Birthhome @1:24 PM

5982-6014 Briston, Tennessee, Virginia 

6015-6110 Bristol Motor Speedway  @3:00 PM

6111-6119 David Crockett birthhome  @5:36 PM

6120-6122 Welcome to Tusculum, TN @5:58 PM

6123-6124 Dinner at Whistle Stopp @6:43PM

6125-6130 Tusculum @7:49 PM 

Day 3: Thursday, April 30, Travel Home with surprise stops

Walked to Catalyst Coffee Co for another raspberry and chocolate scone. 

Buffett breakfast at the hotel ballroom. I got gravy biscuits, eggs, sausage, and fruit. 

After breakfast, I walked a couple of blocks in the town before we began our journey home. 

Our first stop was the Maifield lilac farm @9:18 AM, Bull Gap, TN. They were serving fresh lemonade for everyone. Some walked to the lilac fields and others to the greenhouse. I bought a small lilac plant, some body butter, and local honey. 

Our next stop was the Myers Farm. Here we all went to the greenhouses with veggies and flowers. I purchased a sweet potato vine, some herbs, basil, thyme, and a Mosquito plant. 

We were served lunch of ham, turkey, chips, tomatoes, lettuce, iced tea, and a dessert. I got coconut pie.)

We loaded onto the bus and began our final journey home. I fell asleep for about 1 1/2 hours and missed our first rest stop. Sleep right through it. 

Our final stop was at Loves in Columbia, TN, where I bought two double cheeseburgers and fries at Wendy’s, which we ate on the bus.

We arrived in Lawrenceburg around 6 P.M. Everything was unloaded for the people getting off here. 

The next stops were Loretto and Florence. We got off at Lawrenceburg and were home by 6:30 PM.

Had a great trip. 

Photos 

6131- Breakfast at the hotel @7:33 AM

6132-6142 General Morgan Inn @7:59 AM

6143-6203 Walking Up Main Street @8:07 AM

6204-6238 Leaving Greeneville, TN @8:37 AM

6239-6244 Midfield Farms Bulls Gap, TN @ 9:18 AM

6245=6251 Myers Farm Bulls Gap, TN @11 with lunch 

2023 July 7, Day trip to Savannah and Shiloh, Tennessee

 We started our day at the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah. 

A true air-breathing MOSASAUR

The City of Florence, a St. Louis and Tennessee River Packet Company boat, was named to honor the fast-growing city at the foot of Muscle Shoals. Upbound near Coffee Landing on February 8, 1913, she got out of control and was lying cross-stream when the towboat Tomahawk, down-bound and loaded with crossties, rammed and sank her. One member of the crew and a young passenger lost their lives in the accident.

The picture below shows a ship with two girls.

12-year-old Ruth Tarbet (left) was one of two casualties of the sinking ship. The daughter of a prominent Saltillo merchant, Ruth, and her daughter had boarded the doomed steamer for the short trip to visit relatives in Savannah.

We saw this picture in the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah.

US GRANT HDGS

We stopped to take pictures of the cannons and cannonballs before crossing the Tennessee River and heading to Shiloh. 

HAGY'S CATFISH HOTEL 

We ate fried catfish, coleslaw, hush puppies, and grilled veggies. Ava ate fried chicken fingers and fries. She said those were the best chicken fingers she had ever eaten, andld our waitress she rate d the food 100. She ate every bite. We took several pictures at the restaurant and near the Tennessee River. 

Garfield's Cabin 

The History of Garfield 
Garfield's Cabin 
If the cabin walls could talk, they would reveal the intriguing story of Garfield Luster, an extraordinary yet excellent resident for many years.
The story begins on a hot summer day around 1920 when Mr. Narvin Hagy, a local traveling salesman, gives Garfield a ride.
During this time, Garfield worked for a family that had mistreated him for many years. He fled this harsh environment and met Mr. Norvin Hagy on an old gravel road. 
Mr. Hagy lived on a large farm, bonding with the Shiloh National Military. His parents were Frank and Mary Hagy. Frank, who had grown up on the farm, was 13 when the "Battle of Shiloh" took place around their home in April 1862.
Garfield eventually established a close bond with the Hagy family and settled in with them.
During the many decades he lived with the Hagy family, he helped care for four generations.

He not only cooked but also did laundry and performed other basic household chores, and he helped raise the youngsters—a duty he enjoyed the most. He nurtured the young family of Norvin and Dorothy Hagy, showering them with devotion and care as if they were his own children. 
But Garfield did more than comfort, console, and, when necessary, scold the children; he could also entertain them. 

Many years before the fables of Uncle Remus were popularized by Hollywood, Garfield charmed the young Hagys with his folktales of Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. Another of his talents was acting. He could dress up as a comical character called "Aunt Emiley" and play her so convincingly that the children would momentarily forget they were watching Garfield in disguise.


One of Garfield's favorite stories was about how he got his name. He always chuckled when he recounted how it was bestowed upon him following the assassination of President Garfield.

Like his namesake, Garfield experienced hard times. He refused to dwthought thehad enough occasion to recall his unhappy childhood. Garfield was born and raised in the small rural community of Red Bay, North Alabama, likely the son of a former slave.
Garfield was deprived of a formal education, although he was brilliant and could have excelled in school if given the opportunity.

Even though he was not articulate, his speech was folksy Southern colloquialismsuthern colmolasses,oor naillue blazes, sharp as a tack, strong as an ox, to quote a few.

King Kong 911 1h
Garfield lived a long and happy life in Shiloh with the Hagy family.
However, he suffered much bereavement at the death of Norvin Hagy in 1960, never fully recovering from the loss of a man who had provided a sanctuary for the more significant part of his life. 

Shortly after Mr. Hagy died in 1961, Garfield was diagnosed with prostate cancer. During the last weeks of his life, Norvin Hagy Jr and his wife, Teke, took Garfield home for a final visit with his relatives, who, at the time, were living in Mississippi.
After his funeral at his church, Saint Rest in Guys, Tennessee, attended by the Hagy Family, Garfield was laid to rest in a small grove of trees. 
The Hagys will always remember Garfield with great love and gratitude as a person who enriched their lives.

By: the Hagy Family
Dr Don Hagy/Dean Hagy

Next, we stopped at Shiloh Battlefield. The museum was closed for repairs, but you could watch a film there. We did not stay to watch the movie. We heard gunfire and went to investigate.  

Young Park Ranger giving a demonstration. 

A young man (Park Ranger) was doing a reenactment and was finishing up when we arrived. But he did show Ave the bullet and let her feel the weight of the gun ( I think he said it weighed 10 lbs). When we stopped at the Tennessee River Museum, there was a gun ball behind glass that you could put your hand through to see if you could pick it up with one hand, weighing 7 lbs. So, she compared the two. 

Park Ranger talking to Ava about being a nurse in the Civil War

We stopped at the Book Museum, where we bought her a book about not being a Nurse in the Civil War. We walked to the National Cemetery, where a young woman was giving a talk about the battles between the North and South at Pittsburg Landing.

Ava had read several pages about the Civil War in her book and was asking several questions about the War.

The Park Ranger finished her talk, but Ava kept asking her questions. It began to sprinkle, so we hurried back to the car. We rode around the park, stopping for a few pictures. 

Shiloh Log Church 

We stopped at the old log cabin church to take a few pictures.

We started for home, and the sky got darker and darker, and it began to rain. The closer we got to Alabama, the harder it rained.

Our last stop was at Wendy's for a Strawberry Frosty. That's what Ava wanted, and I had never tried one. We all ordered a Strawberry Frosty, and it was good. Ava and I played a game all the way home in our Imaginary worlds.

2023 April 29, Decatur Historic Homes and Garden Walking Tours

April 29: Garden Tour, led by the Historic Decatur Association 

The public is invited to tour some of the residents' private gardens. The tour begins at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 801 Jackson St, SE.

 We had a large crowd for the Garden Walking tour in Decatur. 

Large Crowd from different towns

Everyone met at Westminster Presbyterian Church, located at 801 Jackson St SE. Decatur.  

Westminster Presbyterian Church 801 Jackson St SE. Decatur.

We learned the history and architectural structure of several different homes.

We finished our walk at Delano Park, where beautiful roses were in bloom.

After the guided tour, everyone was dispersed.

Pink roses at Delano Park 

 

This young girl set up a Lemonade Stand.
 It was a hot day, and we purchased a glass. 

From 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M., we tour nine personal gardens. 3 Gardens were on Sherman St., 2 on Gordon Dr, 1 on Jackson St., and 1 on Cherry Street. One on Line St. and one on Oak St. There was someone at each location to greet us and tell us about their gardens.

On the first garden tour, we saw these beautiful red lilies.

Fish Pond 

Beautiful Yellow Flower

This garden was like having a forest in your backyard.
There was a Bird Feeder, a greenhouse, walkways, and more.

There was a story about how this statue came to be in this garden, but I don't remember it. 

After the Garden tour, we enjoyed a lovely lunch at Mellow Mushroom in Decatur. We ordered a small Maui Wowie on Stone Ground Crust Pizza. It was delicious.

A small Maui Wowie on Stone Ground Crust Pizza.