2023 Sep 15, Trip to The Movie town of Canton, MS

We rode through Russellville, AL, stopping at Jack's Restaurant for breakfast gravy and biscuits and Diet Coke. 

We stopped at McDonald's in Louisville, MS, for a restroom break and a couple of cookies and cream pies. 

After a four-and-a-half-hour drive through several small towns, we arrived in Canton, MS. 

We were greeted by our guide, Billy Joe Wells, at the Visitors Center in Canton, also known as the Trolio Hotel. 

A Time to Kill stars Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, and many others were in this film.

Most of the filming took place around the Madison County Courthouse, the old jail, and a Sound stage was built in the city's park. Much of the stage props were in Canton's Museum.

My Dog Skip was principally photography in Canton props, also located in Canton's Museums.

O'Brother, Where Art Thou? It was shot in the Spring in Canton, MS props, and New Paper Articles in the Museums. 

The Hotel Trolio had Memorabilia from the movies. O' Brother and A Time to Kill.

Cast from A Time to Kill 

Lawyers Office from A Time To Kill 

By George Mississippians Think he's got it.
Fans flock to see Clooney filming a movie, the latest effort in his move from TV to Big Screen. 
O'Brother, Where Art Thou? George Clooney 

Restaurant/Cafe where the scene of A Time to Kill was filmed. 

A scene from "A Time to Kill" was shot at the table in this restaurant. 

Also located up a flight of stairs in the Trolio Hotel was more Memorabilia from both movies. 

Willie Morris & My Dog Skip Movie Museum

Willie Morris & My Dog Skip Movie Museum.

Every community needs a Willie. 

This museum is lovingly dedicated to the ineffable spirit of Willie Morris. 

Because he turned south toward home, My Dog Skip became a reality. 

Our many thanks to Alcon Entrainment and Warner Bros 

February 12, 2000 

A Glimpse of Willie Morris 

The Canton Convention & Visitor Bureau and Film Office 

5 & 10 cent Store Est. 1935

The General Store was where scenes from My Dog Skip were shot. 

Bone tired and Weary in a country Cemetery.
John Wayne Blough Sr. steers a team of horses through the streets of Canton during the filming of the "Ponder Heart" based on an Eudora Welty novella for PBS.  

Billy took us to several locked museums loaded with memorabilia and did a very good job of explaining about the props and the movies. 

We had not seen the movies for some time, so nothing was familiar. 

We thanked Billy for the tour and walked around the historic Courthouse Square, taking pictures of several of the historic stores, courthouses, and markers. 

We stopped at the thrift shop, where I purchased several Halloween figurines.

Canton Madison County Courthouse is also used in several movies. 

2023 July 18-21, Trip to The Alpine Village of Helen, Georgia (4 days)

 Day 1: Tuesday, July 18:

We left home at about 6 A.M., stopping at Jack in Athens for biscuits and gravy. 

We continued through Huntsville, taking Hwy 72 toward Scottsboro through (hwy 35)Mento, crossing the Tennessee River,  to (Hwy 40) Hangar, Valley Head, and Mento, crossing into Georgia.

In Georgia, we traveled through Summerville, Rome, onto the I-75 bypass of Atlanta. We went through Cartersville, Marietta, taking 400 north, bypassing Atlanta to Dahlonega, Cleveland, and 75 to Helen.

We checked into the Castle Inn around 2:25 p.m. and took all our luggage up two flights of stairs (they had no elevator.)

We walked down the front of the hotel to the nearby Troll Tavern. The Tavern was along the Chattahoochee  River with a gate covered in locks weighing it down. There was a sign that said no more locks, and all locks had to be removed. It was causing the gate to be unstable and unsafe. 

Troll Tavern with Gates full of locks 

While we were waiting for a table, we watched hundreds of people tubing down the Chattahoochee River on green, pink, and blue tubes.

We ordered Reuben on toast with mashed potatoes and Diet Coke. I think they were short-staffed because there were lots of empty tables and people waiting to be served.

Reuben on toast with mashed potatoes

We walked around the town, and some of the places we saw were The Wooden Toys, Assay Station, Welcome to Wildwood, Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen, Wilkommen, Helen Hat, Grimm's Weg, Sock Store, Christmas & More, Christoff's Seventy-six, Helendof Inn, Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf, Pepper Place, Dizzy Bear,  Cowboys and Angels, The Christmas Shop, just to name a few. 

Gone Squatchin in Helen 

It was a beautiful day but very hot, so we walked back to the Castle Inn and rested until around 7PM. 

We left the Castle Inn and walked across the bridge, stopping for a picture at the Cafe International (head in the hole), the Mural of Helendof Inn. I continued walking past the Alpine Wedding Chapel, Fashall, where they were playing bingo. I saw the Pirates Cove Miniature Golf and Alpine Village Inn. 

I walked to Wendy's, where I had left hubby, and he bought us a strawberry frosty and Diet Coke. 

We walked back to our car and rode to Cleveland, stopping at the White County Courthouse to take a few pictures. 

Day 2: Wednesday, July 19:

Early in the morning, I took my journal outside onto the balcony and began to write. I watched as the town slowly came alive. I could hear the birds chirping in the distance and could feel the cool breeze, and the sky was full of clouds. The only people that I saw were early-morning workers. 

We were at the Waffle House when it opened at 8AM. I ordered 3 pecan pancakes with whipped cream and Diet Pepsi. Hubby ordered 2 eggs, sausage, 3 pancakes with gravy, biscuits and hash browns.

We rode to the visitors center there they gave us a map of Helen and suggested places we should visit. 

She said Anna Ruby Falls, Sautee General Store, Hardman's Farm & Indian Mound, and the Covered Bridge. 

We walked through Veterans Park, taking pictures of the park behind the Visitors Center. 

We rode to Unite State Park to see Anna Ruby Falls, but before we began our climb uphill to the falls, it began to sprinkle, so hubby went back to the car for the umbrella. 

We had to stop several times to rest during our climb uphill. There were stone benches along the path. 

It was getting slippery with all the light rain, but we finally made it. Hubby stopped just short of the falls Hubby talked to a couple while I walked to the top. 

Anna Ruby Falls 

I ask a red-headed girl to take a picture of me standing in front of the waterfalls.

We also met a family with teenagers walking up the hill, and they passed us coming down. Several people were visiting Anna Ruby Falls. 

Our next stop was Baby-land, The Cabbage Patch Doll Hospital. Baby cabbage patches were planted all around the hospital. When you walked inside, there were pictures of famous people on the walls. 

There were several different rooms of dolls and scenery it was overwhelming.

Cabbage Patch Kids

It was hard to choose which baby to adopt, but I settled on Sandy Sue. 

Everyone crowded around to watch the birth & the storytelling of a baby boy Cabbage Patch Doll. 

Our next stop was the White County Courthouse Museum.

It had already closed the day before, so we rode back today. 

Several ladies were sitting around a table talking they were members of the Historical Society of White County. 

One of them told us the history of the museum. 

We could hear music coming from upstairs. There was a man in the Old Courtroom playing a fiddle.

I saw a replica of the Covered Bridge and asked questions about it and its location.

Our next stop was the Hardman Farm State Park.  We had to park on the hill and walk down several flights of stairs to the Visitor Center, so hubby did not want to walk around the farm. 

Hardman Farm Historic Site Sautee Nacoochee, Ga 

He bought me a ticket, and I walked around taking pictures of the building and historic markers.

I met a couple of women also taking pictures of markers to be read later. 

Hubby was in the car waiting for me at the bottom of the hill.

Next, we rode to Stovall Covered Bridge and Old Sautee General Store.

The Stovall Covered Bridge has been washed away three times. 

We stopped at Walgreens in Cleveland for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a couple of Heath Bars. 

We stopped at Nora Granary Mill, where we bought some stone mill cornmeal. 

We ate dinner at Wendy's, then went back to Castle Inn. (Hamburger and fries)

We watched the new Ghost Buster Movie.

I walked outside to talk to my daughter and to write in my journal. 

It had been a full day. 

Day 3: Thursday, July 20:  

We rode to McDonalds in Cleveland, bought a muffin with sausage, and hubby ordered a big breakfast. 

Today, we rode to North Georgia Wildlife and Safari Park in Cleveland, GA.  We walked through the petting zoo and then drove through the Safari, where we saw buffalo, Elk, Deer, Emu, Ostrich, camels, Zebra, and several small animals. 

I was not too impressed.

Next, we rode to Brasstown Bald Hiawassee, GA (the highest point in Georgia) and paid $8 to ride the shuttle van up to the overlook and visitor center. 

It was too foggy to see very far, but we did enjoy the Visitor Center museum. 

Brasstown Bald Overlook and Visitor Center

In the museum, we saw several handmade quilts hanging on the walls.

We saw several different forest animals, a log with a saw, a train engine, displays, etc. 

Saw several barn Swallows and Gray Catbirds. 

We rode the shuttle bus back down the mountain. 

We stopped at Chick-fil-A in Cleveland for dinner. I ordered a kid's chicken finger meal with waffle fries and ice cream. 

It was raining when we returned to the Castle Inn. 

I sat outside on the balcony, listening to the band in the restaurant across the street. 

It was a stormy night, and very few people were outside. 

Day 4: Friday, July 21:

Check-out Castle Inn 

👣👣👣👣 2016 April 9, Saturday, Historic Walking Tour of Downtown Athens

The guided walks offered by the Athens-Limestone County Tourism included the 

The Historic Downtown Athens Square

Beaty Historic District

City Cemetery 

Athens Veterans Museum

Athens State University

The walks are set for one hour but can last a bit longer, with knowledgeable guides. 

There were four in our group including our guide that took the Historic Downtown Athens Square walk.

Athens-Limestone County Tourism

Our first stop was The Gulf Station, it was one of the full-service stations in Athens. It was owned by Jack Parks and Louis Speaks and was located at the corner of Market and Clinton streets.

The Gulf Station  

Our next stop was Train Depot: 
From the 1850s-1970s the Louisville & Nashville Depot
 located between Market and Washington Streets

Cistern

Our next stop was the Cistern:
This cistern is the last remnant of Trinity School located here 1865-1907. The cistern was used to store rainwater collected from the roof.

No physical evidence remains of the Ross Hotel, the Chapman Quarters, and other buildings on this block, which played an important role in Athens's history.

Trinity, a school for the children of former slaves, was established here, on the old Richardson property, in 1865, primarily through the efforts of Miss Mary Frances Wells, the school's principal and chief proponent.

Trinity Hall was built here 1881-82, as a joint effort by the American Missionary Association and local African Americans who handmade and laid the bricks for the building. It burned in 1907 and was rebuilt the following year on the old Civil War fort site west of town

The Raisler Corner Building 

We stopped at The Raisler Corner building, it was sold to the Hendricks Brothers.

Scenes from Hobbs and Marion Streets

North Side Square

Second Confederate Monument

We stopped in front of the Courthouse and were told the history of the first Confederate Monument:
We were told that the Confederate Monument located on the courthouse lawn, was the second monument made. The first monument, the soldiers did not like because the face on the monument was facing downward-looking like they were defeated so, another monument was made to replaced the first monument. The first monument is located in the Athens City Cemetery.

 UG White Mercantile Since 1917

 Store Fronts on the Square Athens

After we finished the walking tour and we walked back to the Visitor Center where I bought eight Postcards.

Post Cards of Athens 

Post Cards of Athens 

These are the four postcards that I bought:

1. Welcome to Athens Limestone Alabama

2. Confederate Monument a Confederate soldier guards the Courthouse square

3. The Richard Martin Rails to Trails Limestone County

4. Hendrix Building Historic build the former Raisler Building

1. Post Office Mooresville is the oldest Post Office in Alabama that is still in use

2. Newby Gulf Station East Street

3. The Brick Church in Mooresville the Oldest Town in Alabama

4. L&N Depot in Elkmont Alabama is used for town meeting

👣👣👣👣 2015 April 11 Saturday, Civil War Walking Tour, Car Show, Grand Opening

I took two of my grandsons to the Civil War Walking tour in Tuscumbia. We were a little early so we went inside the book store and browsed.
Everyone met at Cold Water Book Store and departed at 11AM. Our guide talked about the history of Tuscumbia and how it played a part in the Civil War as we walked up Main Street.
We stopped at the Courthouse under one of the large trees for shade as our guide talked.
On main Street stands a monument that honors the brave soldiers that gave their lives.

Confederate Monument

Tuscumbia Courthouse

We stopped at the First Presbyterian Church and before we went inside we listened to a woman play Lorena on her banjo.
Lorena is an antebellum song written by Rev. Henry L. Webster after a broken engagement. It became a favorite of soldiers of both sides during the American Civil War.

The years creep slow by, Lorena,
Snow is on the grass again;
The sun's low down the sky, Lorena,
The frost gleams where the flowers have been;
But the heart throbs on as warmly now,
As when the summer days were night;
Oh! the sun can never dip so low,
A down affection's cloudless sky.

First Presbyterian Church

This church has baloney seating, bag pipes that still sound great, and stained glass window.
This church is where the Keller Family attended; Mr Keller served in the Civil war.
Services are still held inside this church and the piano is beautifully played by a long time member of this church.

The street was in full bloom with white and pink dogwoods.

Dogwood

We stopped at several house along the way and our guide talked about how each owner played apart in the war. 

We finished the walking tour at 12 PM.
We stopped at Krispy Kreme to pickup two dozen donuts.
Our next stop was at the grand opening of CE Pools where we enjoyed a grilled hamburger, and a bowl of Sue's banana pudding.

We still had time to attend the 5th Annual car show at TM Rogers.
We saw pink Trucking Magazine, green Chevrolet truck with Lee Radial GT tires.
Rusty old ford truck, red Corvette, Yellow SS Camaro.
The boys got to sit behind the wheel of a Vintage GB.
There were tractors, trucks and cars of all shapes and sizes.

Montana 

Nevada 

🚙2010 ~Tuesday, May 18, Memphis, Tennessee

Today my husband and I rode to Memphis, Tennessee.

We left between 8:30-9 A.M.  

Stopped in Corinth, MS used the restroom and filled it up with gas.

We arrived in Germantown after stopping to take pictures of a Girl on a horse, which is to honor Germantown Charity Horse Show’s 60th Anniversary 1948-2008, a picture of A Blue Star Marker to honor the Armed Forces, by Germantown Garden Club, and a marker Listing the Mayor's Grove of Germantown from 1920-1994. 

Jockey rider

We then drove to Joe’s Crab Shack located at 7990 Horizon Circle Blvd Memphis, Tennessee. 

I ordered a Caesar salad and Seafood Fun-Do (a creamy fondue filled with shrimp, crawfish, spinach, and saluted mushrooms, topped with bead crumbs, Served with garlic bread for dipping) and a glass of unsweetened tea.

My husband ordered a Caesar salad, and he ate some of the Seafood Fun-do, sweet tea, Crabs in a bucket, with corn on the cob, and new potatoes. It costs 22.00 a bucket. We spent $42.00.

Our Hostest at Joe’s Crab Shack is located at 7990 Horizon Circle Blvd Memphis, Tennessee. 

 Joe’s Crab Shack is located at 7990 Horizon Circle Blvd Memphis, Tennessee. 

Crab legs, corn, and potatoes come in a bucket! This will put a smile on his face over time!

We then took I-40 over to Front Street, we went into the Welcome Center, where we got information about Memphis.

In the Welcome Center, we saw a statue of Elvis Presley and a statue of BB King  

Elvis Presley 

BB King

Monorail to Mud Island along the Mississippi River

We walked to the Monorail and paid $4.00 each to ride to Mud Island. 

The Monorail was located under the bridge that went to the Mississippi River.

(The monorail has a big wheel called a bull wheel. It pulls one continuous loop cable which moves the passenger cabins in opposite directions on separate tracks at the same time.)

We took the escalators down three stories to the ground level. 

We saw an inlaid map of the Mississippi River. I took pictures of the maps and markers of the Mississippi River from beginning to end. 

The river walk is a portrait of Old Man River in Miniature that winds 1,000 miles of Lower Mississippi.

The model portrays important features of the river and its floodplain, with an inlaid street map of each community along its banks. 

The river model is a jigsaw puzzle, made up of 1,746 pre-cast concrete panels, each weighing 8 1/2 tons. An average of 1,200,000 gallons of water flow through the system.

Information panels along the river wall tell the stories of people, places, and events along the lower Mississippi River. 

I took pictures of most of the information panels along the riverbank crossing back and forth over the riverbed. I said, "I have crossed the Mississippi River more times than most people cross in a lifetime. "

We walked over to the flying flags. 

There were flags from Tennessee, Great Britain, Spain, France, North Carolina, and the Confederate States of America each representing their involvement with the Mississippi River. 

Mud Island

Visiting Mud Island

Mississippi River and Bridge

Instead of going back up the Mississippi River, we went around towards the Amphitheater and back up the stairs to the Museum and we talked to one of the curators of the museum. 

I told the curator about how much I liked the River Walk. How we had crossed the Mississippi & Ohio in Paducah, KY, and the bridge in Cape Girado, and how much more interesting it was seeing in all layouts. She told us that the city had asked Bass Pro Show to use the Pyramid building because the building was empty and needed use. She also said that the city was going to help them get moved. 
She was very excited about having a Bass Pro Shop close by. We said goodbye and left the museum. We took the three flights of escalator to the monorail and rode it over to Front Street. 

We exited the Mud Island Monorail Building and walked toward Adams Avenue. We walked down Adams Avenue and I took pictures of the Fire House Museum, the Memphis Police Department (old building), the Shelby County Courthouse, statues and Markers, Calvary Protestant Episcopal church and Marker, St Peter Catholic Church and marker, the Eugene Magevney museum and marker, 1862 Post Office marker, (hiding under a tree), Forrest’s Early Home Marker, Christopher Columbus, statue, markers and Park. 

My husband waited while I walked down Adams Avenue taking pictures, I then met back up with him and we walked down North Main Street taking pictures of old buildings, the train trolley and I stopped a couple of young men to make sure we were headed in the right direction. 

The Trolley

Firehouse Museum 

 Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church

Christopher Columbus Statue

Firehouse Museum 

I took pictures of the Kress Building, Orpheum Theater, Peabody Place, FedEx forum, Gibson’s Music Store & showcase, and the Elvis Presley Plaza and Statue. 

Elvis Presley Plaza and Statue. 

I took several pictures of signs about Beale Street. “There were two types of culture, on Beale Street. The sinners and the saved, you had professionals, and business people and then you had those who worked to have some nightlife fun.”

We walked into the Gibson Music store I took pictures of a white, red, and blue piano a 20-foot guitar, and another 15-foot hard rock blue guitar.

We walked across the street to the Civic Center called the FedEx Forum where my husband took a picture of me sitting on a soccer ball. They had the font of their build lined along the street with soccer balls, basketballs, tennis balls, and baseballs. 

On Beale Street, we saw a statue of WC Handy, and Musicians playing in the Pepsi Pavilion.

We saw the Hard Rock Café, Wet Willies, Ida B. Wells Marker, Brown Zero Blues Club, Pee Wee Saloon Marker, Coyote Ugly Saloon, New Daisy Theater, Nat D. Williams Marker, Rufus Thomas Jr. Marker, Silky Sullivan’s Irish, A Schwab building, Hooks brothers Marker, Kings Palace Café, Benjamin Franklin Booth marker, and scores of other stores, displays, and sites. 

We headed back up North Main Street and we saw Peabody Place, Piggy Wiggly Marker, courtyard Marriott, carriage rides, and many buildings and sites.

Hard Rock Cafe Guitar

Fed-X 

Coyote Ugly

Daisy

Beal Street 

We took the train trolley back to Adams Avenue and walked back to the Welcome Center took a few more pictures and then headed toward Presley Avenue. We drove toward the airport and got turned around. We saw a FedEx airplane taxied off.

We finally found Graceland, my husband let me out of the car and I took pictures of Elvis's marker, the wall around his house, and the gate. Across the street, I took pictures of Elvis's jet from the road. 

We headed back down I-40 by now the work traffic was out so we had quite a long drive back. We finally got off I-40 onto 385 East and traffic was still heavy, we headed toward 72 East, and when we got on 72 East we headed toward Corinth about an hour's drive. This is a long drive because there is nothing to see except the road, and trees not much of anything else.

Wall at Graceland

Elvis Aaron Presley

We finally arrived in Corinth (I said to my husband that I was like the kids and said are we there yet, I was getting hungry after that long walk and it was getting late) we stopped at Burger King, where I ordered a Whopper Junior, diet coke and a slice of Hershey chocolate pie, my husband ordered a whopper, fries, and a piece of the pie. We rode another hour arriving at Best Buy in Florence. My husband went to talk to the Geek Squad about his computer. 

When we arrive home I put on my pajamas, turn on the TV, and crawl into bed. I was asleep in no time. 

The next day I uploaded my pictures to the computer, added a few to FB, and a few to Flickr. Our Internet was too slow to upload all my pictures (580) so I will add them later.