2024 April 19, Visitor Center, Kennedy Douglas Art Museum, Coffee Cemetery with AVA

 Today, we rode into town to pick up hubby's medicine at Walgreens. 

We rode to the Blue The Blue Door Thrift Store/SCOPE 310 and bought AVA a game. 

Ate lunch at Culverts. 

Hubby and I split a plate of shrimp, fries, cole Slaw, and Chocolate moose yogurt.  

We bought an AVA hamburger, fries, and chocolate yogurt.

We stopped at the nearby Walmart for a few items. Ava and I walked across the street to the Coffee & Slave Cemeteries. 

A  large old tree at Coffee Cemetery

Ava wanted to visit a museum, so we rode to the Kennedy-Douglass Art Center. There, we saw AROY Artistic Rendering of Youth, which features artwork created by 7th through 12th grade students from 15 different schools! Outside, we stopped to take pictures of the statues. 

AVA and the outdoor art

We walked across the street to Wilson Park there the mist from the fountain seemed to reach the clouds.

overflowing Fountain at Wilson Park 

Color is the music of light. 
Frank Lloyd Wright 
(this marker is on the sidewalk at Wilson Park)

We watched a barge go up the Tennessee River 
men fishing 

Ava enjoyed the playground area at McFarland Park. Our last stop was the Visitor Center, where they saw several displays. 

Large and small-mouth bass
Bass fishing & tournaments are big in the Tennessee River in Florence
Ava enjoyed the one with the big and small-mouth fish. 

WC Handy Statue in Wilson Park 
WC Handy 
Father of the Blues 
1873- 1958 
Born in Florence, Alabama 

Display of WC Handy's music at Florence-Lauderdale Visitor Center.
Handy played the Cornet (pictured here) 
Handy's first hit was "The Memphis Blues".

The W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in Florence, Alabama, sponsored by the Music Preservation Society, Inc., in honor of Florence native W. C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues." The non-profit Music Preservation Society was formed in 1982 with the mission to preserve, present, and promote the musical heritage of Northwest Alabama.

The next 2024 Handy Festival will be Wednesday-Saturday, June 12-15, in Florence, Alabama. 

2023 Dec 8, Moulton on the Square Moulton, Al "CHRISTMAS"

We left Cullman, traveling 157 Highway toward Moulton. 

We always attend Moulton on the Square, but this year, due to ongoing renovations at the old courthouse, the festival was at the Lions Club Fair Grounds. 

A large crowd was already there enjoying the festival. 

The entrance to the Christmas Festival 

We saw several displays and places to stop for photos. 

We saw Santa Claus talking to the children. 

Vendors selling their wear.

The smell of food filled the air.

We enjoyed Tiny Hiney's Petting Zoo, where we saw goats, sheep, Lama, Kangaroo, cow, & poney.

Each animal was wearing Christmas attire. 

Poney dressed in Red

As we were leaving, the snow machine began to fill the air with snow. The children enjoyed the snow falling on their faces. 

Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2019 Oct 28, In Search of Historic Markers, David Crockett Park, Museum, Halloween displays

Our first search of markers was The Killen & Canal System @ Lock 6.
We saw several homes along the river, and to get to the homes, we had to travel up steep hills, which could be very hazardous in the winter.

The Killen & Canal System at Lock 6 was located at the boating dock at the end of Turtle Landing Road.

Soldiers Rest at Butler Cemetery at Butler Cemetery in front of the Polo Club.

 Old Gabe Cemetery, located at CR 42
Gabriel Butler, “Ole Gabe,” was born in the Carolinas in 1779, about the time of the Revolutionary War. His name is on records in Kentucky in the 1800s. He married his first wife, Sarah Whitesides, in Warren County, KY, on December 26, 1803. Gabe was among the earliest white settlers of Lauderdale County. He arrived here during the early 1800s and leased land from Cherokee Indian Chief Doublehead on the Chief’s Reserve. After Doublehead was killed in 1807, the government directed the settlers on his Reserve to leave. 
Gabe and other settlers signed a petition in 1809 asking to remain; however, the settlers were elected around 1811. Gabe and his family moved to the north into Tennessee. Indian Treaties signed in 1817 allowed the creation of Lauderdale County in February 1818. The Federal Land Office was established, allowing land to be sold here beginning in March of 1818. Gabe traveled to Huntsville on November 14, 1818, and purchased land here along Bluewater Creek. Eventually, he owned several acres in this area.

Gaberial "Old Gabe" Butler 1779-1856 

Gabe’s land was fertile, with an abundance of good water, timber, and game. He built his home on the hill across Bluewater. He expected the road between Huntsville and Florence to be built nearby, giving him easy access to his farmland on the other side of the creek. However, the road was built 1 1/2 miles south in the general vicinity of the modern-day US Highway  72. After 1824, Gabe built his second home southwest of here on this side of the creek. Old Gabe donated two acres of land to start the Primitive Baptist Church at Bluewater on May 16, 1840. 
The churches at Mitchell Town and Elgin Crossroads developed from that church. The cemetery at this location, one of the earliest in Lauderdale Country, was established by Gabe and named for him. Gabe died in November 1856 at the age of 77. He and some of his family members are buried within the rock walls. Old Gabe had three wives and 11 children, nine of whom married and raised families in this area. Many of the descendants of “Old Gabe” are buried in this cemetery.

Gaberial "Old Gabe" Butler 1779-1856 Cemetery
Butler Cemetery 
Deeded to Gabriel Butler Nov 14, 1818

CR 568Spider, Ghost, Skeletons, Witches, Pumpkins "Halloween"

Bettie Anne Highway HIstoric

French Glover Farm on CR 48
Revolutionary War Veteran Benjamin French (1764-1847), a native of Virginia, is buried at this site. Arriving in Limestone County, Alabama, in about 1808, the French acquired this farm in 1837.
The nearby spring is the site of prehistoric Indian Villages and Civil War encampments. The two-story log house, originally located three miles southwest of this place, is believed to have been constructed as early as 1829. It was moved here by the Glover family before 1813, This road was part of the early Pulaski Pike, a major stagecoach and supply route that connected the river at Florence with Pulaski, Tennessee

We were headed to Tennessee for Lottery tickets and were not sure how to get to Loretto from our present location we just asked Sirus for directions.
Bought Lottery tickets and rode to Lawrenceburg, stopping at The Brass Lantern for lunch.

Brass Lantern
Hoyt Tidwell & wife were there promoting their receipt book, which included his wife's famous chicken dumplings receipt.

Enjoyed eating the famous Chicken and dumplings, fried green tomatoes, Jack Daniel's Apples, red onion, cornbread, and turnip greens.
The famous chicken & dumplings are on Monday's special menu, which comes with two sides.
YUM!

Hubby ordered the chicken & dumplings, white beans, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, and one trip to the salad bar.
We had enough leftovers for a to-go box.

Barred Owl bird of prey resting on its perch

David Crockett Museum with carved pumpkins inviting us inside

We rode to David Crockett Park, where we visited the Crockett Museum
 In the museum, we saw Crockett Tennessee Westward Movement, Crockett's distillery, Crockett the Politician, the Great Frontier, Crocket power mill, Crockett the Industrialists, Crockett the Hunter, Crockett's office, his timeline 1786-1822, some of his tools, Markee of the Almo where David Crockett was killed and Crockett the homesteader.

Autumn leaves mirroring the lake, what a beautiful sight. 

Monday, after the weekend of Celebrating Halloween, still lingered at the Town Square of Lawrenceburg. 

Witches sitting, and spiders climbing on the white brick wall
showing the joys of a bright October Halloween Day.

Hubby and I had a great Autumn Day, with our adventures taking us into unknown territory.
Seeing gobblings of all kinds in places we would not have seen if we had chosen to stay home.
We met new people, tried new food, and spent the day together on one of our many traveling adventures.