2023 May 6, The Moulton and Cullman Strawberry Festivals

 

Artist paintings at Cullman Strawberry Festival 

Farmers Market in Cullman 

a gallon of Sweet Strawberries

Saturday, we rode to Cullman to the Strawberry Festival and arrived around 9AM at the Warehouse District, where the Farmers Market is located. There were already lots of people, and more pouring in. We walked to the Farmers Market, where we bought a gallon of Strawberries. 

We had been at the Farmers Market a few weeks before, and they had sold out of Strawberries.

We bought a gallon of strawberries first thing, and Hubby took the strawberries to the car. 

After that, we walked around looking at what the vendors had to offer. We listened to several bands. There were vendors selling clothing, food, household items, handmade items, etc. (Burger Boys, Funnel Cakes, Icee, burgers, Lemonade, Kettle Corn, etc.

There was a small train ride and several children's rides. (berry-go-round, Ferries wheel, etc.)

We bought a cup of chocolate-covered strawberries in one of the shops in the Warehouse district. (Sweets by T Chocolate Shop).

Miss Piggy was walking around advertising Barbecue. 

A petting zoo with a sign that said Feed me

Tractor Show 

Car Show 

We then rode to the Strawberry Festival in Moulton. They had a tractor show, a car show, rides for the kids, and a Petting Zoo. 

There were several food vendors. They even brought in a Chick-fil-A. There were different vendors with items to win from a spinning wheel. We bought a bird feeder from a school group that they had made. The day started out cool, but by the time we left Moulton, it was up to 80. 

Grilled Chicken Fingers with baked sweet potato, toast, and dipping sauce at OH!Bryan's 

We rode to Hartselle to eat lunch at Oh! Bryan's. It is one of our favorite places to eat when we are in the area. It was getting late, but we did stop at Wheeler Dam, where we saw lots of Great Blue Herons, a few snake birds, and several Great White Pelicans (most of them were on the islands far away). We had a great day but were worn out from all our adventures. 

Great Blue Heron with his catch a fish 

2019 June 12, Day Trip Cooks Museum of Natural Science, Decatur Depot, Huntsville, Athens, Alabama

Hubby and I rode to Decatur, where we visited the newly opened Cooks Museum of Natural History. 

There, we walked through a cave, the forest, the Arctic, and the desert exhibits. 

Cooks Museum of Natural History 

We saw live turtles, saltwater fish, live coral, moon jellyfish, river fish, gopher snakes, American bullfrog, American Alligator, and a variety of insects.

We saw a live beehive with thousands of bees that were connected to the outside, where the bees could collect pollen for the hive. 

A meteorite from outer space, a digital seashell generator, a kinetic sand table, and a tree with a rope bridge to climb were just a few of the inter-actives at the museum. 

Cooks Museum is a place where you can touch, feel, see, and hear different species of animals, reptiles, birds, insects, and fish. 

It is a great place for school groups to visit. 

We had a great time. 

Bee Hive 

We were greeted by a well-informed curator at the Decatur Train Museum. 

He told us some of the histories of the museum.

We saw an engineer running a miniature train around the tracks along its path was a replica of notable buildings of Decatur.

We saw The Princes Theater,  the Old Bank building, the Turner-Surles Community Resources Center, The Train Depot, and the Dance-Polk House.

We saw a Coca-Cola engine, Army Supply Train, Orange caboose, CSX Engine, C& X, K Line, Seaco, ADM Box Car, etc. 

Signs along the walls that read SouthernRailway “The Southern Serves the South,” Rail-Road Crossing, & Will not clear man or side of the car.

Decatur Train Depot Museum 

We saw the early Memphis & Charleston Railroad 1869, steam engines, and carriages cars.  We saw an early telephone hanging on the wall, the early Western Union Telegram, maps of early Alabama, and an old Underwood Typewriter. 

On display inside was a Red 1941 Chevrolet 1 2ton pickup truck

On display inside was a Green and Yellow John Deere model “LA” general-purpose tractor 

We shopped at the new Duluth Company Trading Post( located near Intergraph in Huntsville), which had men's and women's clothing.

We ate a late lunch/dinner at Golden Corral. I always overeat at buffets. 

We bought an HP Office Jet 9015 Printer and ink at Office Depot in Huntsville. My old HP had died.

The car was loaded with two cases of water we had bought at Sam's the day before. 

We bought vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, squash) from a local grower on our way to Decatur.

We bought a few groceries from Oldies in Athens.
We bought some baking soda at CE Pool, where we got our pool water checked. 

So, the car was loaded with items to be put away.

I had taken several pictures but was too tired to upload them to the computer. I will do that another day.

Ready for some couch time!

2017 June 17, Saturday, RC Moon Pie Festival Bell Buckle, Tenessee🌝🍰

Cooked waffles for breakfast topped with walnuts and cool whip.
Loaded the van, programmed the GPS, and began our trip.
We traveled north on hwy 43, turning right onto hwy 64 East, traveling through Giles County Pulaski, TN, crossing I-65
to 244 northeast, traveling through Lincoln and Marshall counties Petersburg, & Bedford County Shelbyville.

Town of Petersburg Library

Town of Petersburg in Lincoln and Marshall Counties with a population of 580.

Our next stop was Bedford County, Shelbyville, TN, home to the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.

Walking Horse National Celebration (Horse farms)
The historic Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville, TN, is home to the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, which takes place each year in late summer for 11 days, ending on the Saturday night before Labor Day.

Veterans Memorial Plaza in front of Bedford County Courthouse

Shelbyville is the county seat of Bedford County "Courthouse"

Arrived at Bell Buckle around 10:00AM.
We found a close park, walked up to the stage, and found seats on bales of hay. Where we sat and listened to music and watched a group of young girls and women clogging.

Cloggers (stepping high)

Milking Machine

Railroad Town (several trains came through while we were in Bell Buckle)

We walked around checking out the vendors, where we saw giant corn dogs, funnel cakes, deep-fried Oreos, snickers, and Twinkles.
We visited Everybody's Antiques and More, Bluebirds Antiques, and Ice Cream Parlor.
We visited the Livery Stable, now an Antique shop with many rooms of antiques.

Livery Stable is now an Antique Shop. 

We saw boxes of strawberry, banana, chocolate, mint, & salted caramel moon pies.
There were moon pies and RC colas for sale everywhere we looked, and prices varied.

Ice Cold RC Colas 

Boxes of Fresh Moon Pies

Uncle Sam greeting the crowd at the  Parade.

We met a couple from North Carolina who had been to softball tournaments in Birmingham.
We met an older couple that had visited the festival many times.
There were people from everywhere who were still coming when we left.

We ate lunch at Bell Buckle Cafe, where we both ordered a barbecue sandwich and a glass of iced tea.
It was almost time for the parade, so we gobbled down our lunch.
It was the only cafe in the whole area, so it was a long wait just to eat lunch.

Standing in front of the Mural of Moon Pies and RC Colas 

We came outside to watch the parade, and after the parade, we started home.

Moon Pie Girl in the parade

We took a different route home, we rode through Tullahoma, Lynchburg, & Pulaski.
We stopped in Lawrenceburg for gas and to-go meals from Long John Silvers.
We stopped at the fruit stand in Lawrenceburg for vegetables, and we were home by 5:00PM.
We were home about an hour when hubby got a call out from work, so we loaded into the van and headed to Huntsville.
As we were entering the gate, we were in a Jurassic Park jeep with a dinosaur in the back.

When the Jeep moved, so did the dinosaur
Jurassic is relating to or denotes the second period of the Mesozoic era, between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods.

The sun was setting as we traveled home. (around 8:30PM)

🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️2000 June 24, Saturday, McFarland Swimming

At about mid-morning on Saturday, we loaded into my LS Saturn and rode to McFarland Park.
My grandson Justin, two granddaughters Hannah and Madison, and my son Ronald.
The kids had not planned to get into the water but it was hot and they stripped down to their underwear and jumped right into the cool water of the Tennessee River, hoping that a large bass or catfish would not nibble on their toes.

In water up to their knees. 

Madison kept on her hot pink tee shirt and her hair was pulled on top of her head in a ponytail.
Hannah was wearing a light blue floral top with matching shorts and Hannah's hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
Ronald was wearing blue jeans shorts and a black tee shirt with the sleeves cut out.

Ronald in his cool shades. 

They stayed near the edge not getting in over their heads. They walked along the edge of the lapping Tennessee River bending over to pick up unusual rocks.

Picking up shells 

Jumping on boulder

The kids played on the giant boulders that were dotted along the River. They would jump from one to the other.

Playing in the park 

The kids played on the playground equipment and we watched several barges float down the river.

Barges on the Tennessee River 

We also saw the Miss Nari New Orleans, LA cruise boat that was docked along the Tennessee River.

Towboat 
Miss Nari New Orleans, La
The historic towboat M/V Miss Nari is named for Mrs. Narcissa “Nari” Conrad, the late wife of Eddy Conrad, the CEO of RiverBarge Excursions Lines. Miss Nari is the only river towboat in America with a twin propulsion 3,000 horsepower Z Peller 360-degree unit, which can completely turn the entire tow in place. The Miss Nari was built in 1951 and started her career in the Delta Cities. If you check your history, on September 13, 1970, the Delta Cities’ tow of gasoline-filled barges broke loose crashing into the Port Arthur Bridge. The barges, the bridge, and the Delta Cities were engulfed in flames. The Delta Cities suffered severe fire damage and remained out of service for years. She became known as “the Hulk” for some time as she lay dormant. Today the newly equipped and refurbished Miss Nari still shows the scares of this tragedy with heat-warped decks. The Miss Nari pushes the barges along at speeds of 9 to 10 miles per hour although faster speeds can be achieved depending on river currents and conditions.

We could also hear the sounds of the traffic as it crossed the Tennessee River on the O'Neal Bridge.

Busting traffic on O'neal Bridge