2015 ~ Tuesday, May 5, Day trip to Rock City

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 

We had a great day; we rode to Chattanooga to see Rock City. The last time I visited Rock City, my daughter was nearly walking. Now, I have grandkids who are much older. 

We drove up the mountain around many sharp curves. There were guardrails along the cliffs, many with dents in them.

We approached Rock City, and I captured this site.

The falls, the flags, Lover's Leap, and the overlook

See Rock City
I can remember when you saw "See Rock City & Ruby Falls" on the side or top of every barn.

As we passed on the way to Chattanooga.

We bought tickets at the ticket counter.

Rock City Adult General Admission costs $42.49, which includes tax, for one day.

We had a great time. This was the Hubby's first visit. 
These flowering trees were everywhere, and they were terrific.

Flowering Trees

We walked through many tight spaces between rocks, climbed many stairs, and walked across a swinging bridge, from which we could view seven states from one spot.

There were many tight walkways and many stairs

There were many places where a wheelchair or stroller could not go.
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There were restrooms, a restaurant, a leather shop, a place to pan for gold, vending machines, and music playing as we walked along.

Panning for gold

We met a couple from Chicago, and the man took our picture in front of the waterfall.
I was using my telephoto lens, and he had a regular lens. We swapped the lens so he could take our picture with my camera. When finished, we swapped lenses; we both were using a Nikon Camera.

There were seven flags to represent the states that we saw:
Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama 

Panoramic View of the flags and seven states

We saw a wide range of sizes, shapes, and interesting rocks.
Cool rocks below:

Turtle Shell Rock

A place to rest under the Mushroom Rock

I had forgotten what was here, but I remember the Gomes and the underground display of little people. 

There were gnomes everywhere; this one was working

I don't remember the characters in the nursery rhyme.

Was a little Girl. 

There was a little Girl

There was a little girl 

Who had a slight curl

Right in the middle

of her forehead,

And when she was good,

She was very, very good,

And when she was bad,

She was horrid.

Hubby said this poem suited me to a T.

When we visited the Nursery Rhyme area with the black light, the suit I was wearing glowed.
The suit frightened a woman because she thought one of the characters had come to life, and she screamed out! 
Neither had noticed the suit glowing because we were too busy taking pictures and reading the nursery rhymes.

I looked like I was in the Tron Movie with my orange glow-in-the-dark shirt and pants.

We got turned around after we came back down the mountain. Hubby said they don't need to let old people loose in a big city. We got back onto the Interstate and were looking for a place to eat. 

I saw a Cracker Barrel sign, and I said, " Where here? "There is a Cracker Barrel, and there are other restaurants. We took the" ramp exit at Cracker Barrel, which was where we had one when we left to visit Rock City. 


It was the same Logan's Roadhouse in Chattanooga that we were looking for when we came down Lookout Mountain. LOL

Logan's Roadhouse Chattanooga
The Logan, we decided to eat at, but when we left the mountain, we got turned around. 
Got on the Interstate and then Highway 11, where we saw a Logan's sign.
Hubby said this is where we got off the first time to go to Lookout Mountain.
It was meant for us to eat here.

Sirloin steak with baked sirloin potato

I ordered a 6-ounce sirloin, baked potato, Caesar salad, and iced water.
My Hubby ordered a New York Strip with a baked potato, Caesar salad, and sweet tea.
For an appetizer, we ordered fried mushrooms, and we had two large rolls with butter. YUM!!
We had enough food for supper to bring home!!

We rode through downtown Scottsboro but did not stop.

We stopped at Russell Stover's in Athens, where I got a cookies-and-cream ice cream Waffle cone.
Hubby got a pint of strawberry and French Vanilla Ice cream.
And we bought a large bag of Russell Stover's Candy.
We were both on a sugar high!!

2006, Tuesday, August, 29, Day Trip Mayfield Ice Cream Plant Tour, Lost Sea Cave and TVA in Fort Lauden, TN

We left home at 7:30 A.M. and traveled for about 4 hours, stopping for lunch at Logan's Steakhouse.  

We arrived at Fort Lauden, Tennessee, where Hubby has an interview with TVA, which should take about an hour.

We left Fort Lauden and rode to Sweetwater & Athens, Tennessee, where we toured the Lost Sea Cave and the Mayfield Ice Cream Plant.

  

The Lost Sea is located at 140 Lost Sea Rd., Sweetwater, TN.

The Lost Sea Adventure

Going into the Lost Sea Cave, we were a group of six led by a highly knowledgeable guide down a corridor that took about an hour.

The long corridor 

The cave was gorgeous, and at a constant 58 degrees.

Inside Lost Sea Cave

When we arrived at the bottom of the cave, we all loaded into a glass-bottom boat that took us onto the lake, where blind trout fish were jumping out of the water.

They were blind because they lived in total darkness.

The boat returned to the dock, where everyone disembarked from the ship, and we all started the long journey back up the steep hill to the top of the cave. 

Our last stop of the day was a 30-minute tour of Mayfield Dairy Farms to see how milk is processed into Mayfield Ice Cream. We were just in time for the last tour of the day.

The plant is located at 4 Mayfield Lane, Athens, TN   37303 1-800-MAYFIELD

Hubby parked the car at the Mayfield Dairy Plant. We got out of the car and started walking toward the plant, and were greeted by a sign that read:

Welcome to Mayfield Home of the "World's Best Ice Cream", since 1923.

Then we began following a yellow walkway covered with Jersey cow hoofprints.

Welcome to Mayfield 

May Field Dairy

As we approached the building, we saw a mural painted on the wall. In the mural, we saw a huge red roof barn that houses the Jersey cows, a beautiful, lush green pasture, an old farmhouse, and, sitting next to the farmhouse, was an old Model T milk truck. 

Red Roof Barn for Jersey Cows

On the side of the yellow milk truck were words painted in jersey brown: Mayfield's Creamery, Pasteurized, Grade A Milk. Below was written Athens, Tenn., Phone 386, and in white were the words: Dept. of Public Welfare, Bureau of Health, City of Athens Milk, Permit 20/202.

Painted behind the yellow milk truck were beautiful Jersey cows grazing in the lush green pasture.

Mayfield Creamery Truck

Once inside the building, we were given tickets to tour the plant, but had to wait for a guide.

Our guide greeted us and then led us through the plant, where we watched the employees process and package Mayfield ice cream.

We saw many flavors of ice cream novelties, many flavors of Sherbets, & light frozen yogurt being processed and packaged.

The packages were beautifully displayed in 5-quart and pint sizes, in many shapes and forms.

We thanked the guide and exited the gift shop, where we could purchase the freshly made ice cream. 

On our way out, we stopped to say goodbye to Little Lady, Mayfield's Jersey Cow, who lies in front of the plant. 

We had a great trip. Hubby had an interview with TVA, we ate lunch at Logan's Steakhouse, visited The Lost Sea and Mayfield's Dairy Processing plant, and were home about 11:00 P.M.