2016 Christmas Letter Activies for the year

On January 1, 2016, Hubby and I traveled to Franklin, Tennessee, to the Thoroughbred Theater to watch the action, adventure, Sci-Fi, and fantasy movie Star Wars Force Awakens.

In February, I took several classes at the Apple store 

Stay Connected, Sketch, Draw, and Paint with iPad, Explore Apple TV, & Perfect Your Photos on Mac

On March 4, 2016, I toured the Rippavilla Plantation in Springhill, TN.

On March 8, 2016, Hubby and I traveled to Waynesboro, Lawrenceburg, Mt Pleasant, Columbia, and Spring Hill, TN. 

On April 1 & 2, I attended Mule Day and Mule Day Parade in Columbia, TN. 

On April 5, Hubby and I traveled to Red Bay, Alabama, to Tour the Tiffen Motor Plant.

On April 12, Hubby and I traveled to Elkmont, Alabama, to tour the Belle Chevre Goat Cheese Factory. 

On April 9, I attended the Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Athens, Alabama, and Earth Day in Sheffield, Alabama. 

On April 17, I attended the Athens Cemetery Stroll. 

On April 30, I attended the Stroll at Athens State University.

On April 23, Hubby and I traveled to South Pittsburg, Tennessee, for the Cornbread Festival.

On May 20 & 21, I attended the UNA Storytelling festival

May 20, That afternoon, hubby and I attended Jacob and Lindsey’s wedding rehearsal at East Florence Depot.

On May 21, Hubby and I attended the Wedding of Lindsey Smith and Jacob Hughes at Oliver’s Barn. 

On June 25, I attended the Helen Keller Festival in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

On June 28, Hubby and I traveled to Scottsboro, Stevenson, Menton, Fort Payne, and Section Alabama.

On July 23, I attended several functions of the W. C. Handy Festival.

On August 19, Hubby and I attended the Watermelon Festival in Russellville, Alabama.

On September 1, Hubby and I rode to Corinth, Mississippi, where we toured several historic sites. 

On September 5, 2016, Hubby and I traveled to Smith Lake in Cullman to attend the Sweet Tater Festival.

On September 8, I rode to Huntsville to tour the Scare Crow Trail at the Botanical Gardens. 

On September 9, Hubby and I attended a performance by Arvel Bird, a Celtic Indian.

On September 10, I attended Oka Kapassa in Tuscumbia, the British Car Show in Rogersville, and the birthday party for Joe Wheeler at the Wheeler Plantation.

On October 1, Hubby and I traveled to Centerville, Tennessee, to attend the Banana Puddin’ Festival, Car Show, and Quilt Show. 

On October 5, I traveled with a group of women from our church to 

2800 Pittsburg Church Road, Petersburg, KY, to tour the Creation Museum. We spent the night in Dry Ridge, Kentucky.

On October 6, We traveled to 1 Ark Encounter Drive, Williamstown, Ky 41097, to tour Noah’s Ark. 

On October 15, Hubby and I traveled to Nashville to take a Monterey Fall Foliage Excursion train ride. 

On October 22, I rode to Lawrenceburg to take the Mimosa Cemetery stroll. 

On November 9, Hubby traveled to Huntsville to go to NASA and Bridge Street. 

On November 12, I took the Pathway to Prayer trolley Tour in Florence, Alabama. 

On November 15, Hubby and I traveled to Nashville to tour the Opryland Hotel's three gardens decorated for the Christmas Holidays and to walk through the ICE HOUSE with carvings of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and the Christ manger scene. 

November 24, Thanksgiving Dinner at Mike with family 

On November 26, My sister-in-law and I rode to Huntsville to walk through Christmas Tree Tinsel Trail, Madison’s Christmas Card Lane, and shop at Bridge Street.

On November 29, Hubby and I rode to Lebanon, Tennessee, to tour the town and Chad’s Winter Wonderland of Christmas Lights. We rode to Nashville to drive through Jellystone’s Dancing Christmas Lights, then on to Opry Mills for Shopping. 

On December 1, Hubby and I attended the Athens Christmas Parade.

On December 2, Hubby and I attended a prayer for Peace at Pope's Tavern and the lighting of a Christmas Tree at both Pope’s Tavern and Wilson Park.

On December 3, I attended a talk about George Colbert at the Visitors Center.

On December 5, I attended Christmas Dinner and exchanged gifts with my Church Class.

On December 7, Hubby and I attended a Christmas dinner and Christmas Program at our church.

That morning, I attended our Lady's bible Class Christmas luncheon.

On December 9, Hubby and I attended the Florence Christmas Parade.

On December 10, Hubby and I attended Dickens of a Christmas from 9-12, and from 2-4 PM, we attended the Leipers Fork Parade.

On December 11, I took my granddaughter's pictures for graduation.

December 12-14: Hubby and I spent a couple of days in Gulf Shores. We rode to Theodore to walk through the Christmas lights at the Bellingrath Gardens. We spent a few hours on the beach, watching a miniature train show and walking through Heritage Park.

December 17, My granddaughter Hannah Hughes will graduate from UNA on 12/17/2016 at 2:30 PM with a degree in Elementary Education.

December 24, We will have  Christmas with the kids and grandkids. 

December 19-24: Hubby is taking off for Christmas Vacation.

On December 25, My middle son will be celebrating his 47th birthday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 

2021 Aug 10, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens Nashville, Tennessee

Hubby and I traveled the backroads to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville, TN, via Natchez Trace, getting off at the Leipers Fork exit. Hubby parked the car near the entrance and showed the girl at the ticket counter our online tickets.

Pink LEGO Dog 

The first thing we saw as we entered the gardens was a big pink dog made out of Lego blocks. We walked down a long winding sidewalk down several sets of steps to the Train Exhibit, inspired by the Little Engine Who Could.

In front of us was a couple with a very independent little girl with a head full of curls who was about the age of 2 or three years of age. What a magical place as you enter the land of trains and Fairy mushroom villages. The train exhibit was built of rough timbers and five train tracks totaling over 800 feet of track. As we walked through, we saw trains going over bridges and through tunnels, we were in a magical land of trains.

We saw beautiful yellow lilies floating in the lily ponds. We saw pink, orange, white, and red roses busted with life in the Rose Study Garden.

Roses

We saw art pieces made of musical notes made of wire. We saw many Yellow and Black swallowtails on the butterfly bushes.

Yellow Swallowtail 

We saw a red lion, a zebra, a blue bear, colorful birds, a red turtle, a green lawnmower, and a man working in the garden, all made out of Legos. Also, LEGO rabbits were spotted throughout the Bradford Robertson Color Garden. We walked around the mansion, but not inside. Workers were repairing the pool in front of the Mansion in the Martain Boxwood Gardens.

Cheekwood Mansion 

There were waterfalls, ponds, and creeks running through the gardens. We did visit the Art Bark exhibit, which was crayon sculptures by Nashville artist Herb Williams. Inside the visitor center were restrooms, drink machines, and a beautiful rose LEGO sculpture. We took a break to cool off, drink a soda, and use the restrooms before beginning our journey home, We did not walk the entire gardens but had a wonderful time. We traveled home along the backroads, this time taking a different route. We came out in Columbia, TN. We got a late lunch of fish at Long John Silvers and took it home.

🚗2017 July 11, Tuesday, Day Trip to Hopkinsville, Kentucky

Ate a waffle topped with cool whip, blackberries, and walnuts for breakfast. Hubby put syrup on his waffle.
We stopped in Loretta for lottery tickets before beginning our journey to Hopkinsville, KY.
We were traveling I-24 past the Nissan Stadium, Home of the Tennessee Titans, around a quarter till eleven.

Nissan Stadium, Home of the Tennessee Titans 

We arrived at the Rest Area in Oak Grove, Kentucky, around 11:30AM. We always have to stop and check out the rest area/Visitor Center in every state. Mississippi has some of the best rest areas that I have seen.
Kentucky is known for its thoroughbred racing tracks and Kentucky Bourbon Trails, and we saw a little of both here.

Horse Racing and Kentucky Bourbon

We were seated at Logan's Roadhouse in Hopkinsville, KY, at 11:57AM. Hubby ordered the Logan's Roadhouse hamburger, and I ordered the Cod Fish with homemade chips.
The girl who waited for us was very busy, and it seemed to take quite a while to get our food.

The fish I ordered was undercooked and not very good, and hubby said his hamburger had no taste.

Cod Fish with chips, coleslaw, and tater sauce
The fish was tough, and the breading was not done on the inside, but it did look good.
When cooked right, it is delicious.

The real American Roadhouse Hopkinsville, Ky

Pennyroyal Area Museum on Ninth Street.

Former United States Post Office Building, now PennyRoyal Museum 

We were greeted by the curator, who was eating her lunch. We paid the small admission price, and the curator gave us a short history of the PennyRoyal Museum.  
She said the museum was a former Post Office, and it still had windows where people would send packages and purchase stamps.
She also said that we could send a postcard to someone or to ourselves, put it in the mailbox on the table, and they would stamp it. 

Don't forget to send a postcard and put it in the mailbox here.

Upstairs in the PennyRoyal Museum, we saw a display about the early life of a Pioneer in Hopkinsville. 

Pioneer Life in Hopkinsville

Behind the loom was a quilt telling the history of Hopkinsville
25th Annual Quilt Show
Hopkinsville Heritage Quilt
Quiltmakers
Designed by Dixie Thomas
pieced by Kathy Croft
Quilted by Edna Baker, Linnie Wallis, Kathy Croft, Nell Young & Betty Young 

Downstairs, we saw a York Square Grand Piano 1870 made by Weaver Piano and Organ Company and a Winton Upright Piano, 1920 made in Chicago, Il.
We saw local notables such as Billy Boley, the Ventriloquist. 
We saw Robin Penn Warren, the National Poet, and several displays about Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows.
We saw The Mechanical Wonder Horse, ridden by three generations of children from 1907 to 1994.
We saw a display of the Brook Memorial Hospital and Doctor Phillip C. Brooks.
We saw a hand-carved wooden display about the Trail of Tears by George Barrette Floyd.

 Wooden Carved replica of the Trail of Tears

Display about Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet

http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/the-life-and-times-of-edgar-cayce.aspx 

The Kelly Encounter (Little Green Men)
The Kelly–Hopkinsville encounter was a claimed close encounter with extraterrestrial beings in 1955 near Kelly and Hopkinsville in Christian County, Kentucky, United States. 
UFOlogists regard it as one of the most significant and well-documented cases in the history of UFO incidents, while skeptics say the reports were due to "the effects of excitement" and misidentification of natural phenomena such as meteors and owls. Psychologists have used the alleged incident as an academic example of pseudoscience to help students distinguish truth from fiction.

The Tobacco War 1904-1911
http://www.nkyviews.com/Other/text/text_night_rider_movement.html

There is a story behind each display that could be told. 
I bought three postcards, and we paid $2 each to visit the Transportation Museum.

The Transportation Museum was located across the street from the Pennyroyal Museum. It was once a Fire Station. 

There was a crew of men working on the roof, and they were repairing the Clocktower. (Many years ago, the Captain's room caught fire and burned the first clock tower, which was larger than the one now on top of the firehouse.)
The firehouse was built before automobiles, and the first fire truck was pulled by horses.

The curator said
We have the first (Auto) fire truck ever used by the fire department
It was bought by a former firefighter, and he restored it to its glory days.
He gave the town the firetruck when he found out the town was opening a Transportation Museum inside the old firehouse.

We saw a couple of Dalmatian dogs, a couple of fire trucks, a carriage, Firemen's boots, caps, and the original fire pole the firemen used. We saw a couple of miniature train displays, benches from a train depot, a sleigh, and three different Gasoline tanks: the Shell, Gulf, & DX.

First Gasoline-powered Fire Truck and Dalmatian 

The Clock Tower is being repaired.

Firemen's hats

Miniature Train Display and another fire truck.

Our next stop was the Casey Jones Distillery.

The Casey Jones Distillery

 Grape, Peach, and Apple Casey's Cut
Casey's Moonshine, Barrel Cut, and Total Eclipse Moonshine.
Lights Out

At the distillery, we sampled the Casey's cut Eclipse-A-Rita, the Peach, and Apple.
We were shown how the Moonshine was made and how it was bottled.
There was a wedding later that day at the distillery.

Many different events happen here, including the upcoming Total Eclipse on August 21, 2017.
The weekend of August 18 in Hopkinsville is the place to be for the greatest view of the total eclipse.
There will be music, vendors, hot air balloon rides, and much more.

Our next stop was the Commemorative Trail of Tears Park.
Inside the small cabin, we meet a Cherokee Indian Woman.
She told us how this very spot was a chosen way to stop for the Indians on the Trail of Tears.

The nine flags representing the states of the Trail of Tears
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
The removal of the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole

https://www.britannica.com/event/Trail-of-Tears

Commemorative Trail of Tears Cabin

Statues at the Trail of Tears

We stopped at Chick-fil-A in Hopkinsville, where we ordered Lemonade, Peach Milkshake, and some chicken fingers.

Chick-fil-a Hopkinsville KY 

Peach Milkshake (my favorite), Chicken strips, and Lemonade

Our next stop was the Fort Campbell Memorial Park. 

As we traveled through Nashville, we encountered work traffic.

The sunset on the clouds as we encountered our last mile home
around 8PM

🚂🚂🚂2016 October 15, Saturday, Train Ride! Monterey Fall Foliage Excursion

The sun was peeking through the clouds as we rode through Columbia, Tennessee.
We ate breakfast at Burger King in Columbia, Tennessee. Hubby ordered an egg, cheese, and sausage croissant, I ordered two pieces of sausage and three French breadsticks with syrup and water to drink.
We arrived around 7AM at the Central Railway Museum 220 Willow St Nashville, TN.
Several people had arrived they were parking wherever they could find an open spot. We were the last ones to park in a gated area.
We walked to the museum there were people already standing in line.

We walked into the train museum there were several rows of people sitting. We walked to the back of the museum where we saw a miniature running train display,

At 7:30AM we heard the train whistle, letting everyone know it had arrived and was time to begin loading.
The train holds 500 people and the excursion was sold out.
There was an older couple who had just sat down on a nearby bench.
The woman said the train does not leave until 8:00AM and it will take a while for all these people to board, so we decided to sit down next to them and wait.

The couple had seats in the dome train car.
We were sitting in  25 & 26 on TCRX  4719 First Class.
The conductor/ticket collector had a list of all the passengers and he checked them off as people boarded.

The train's horn blew at 8:00AM as we were leaving the train station.

Selfie as we began our train excursion 

At times the train gained speed up to 55 MPR and would drop down to 35, 25, 15MPR.

The restrooms were not available until the train started to move. Our conductor/ticket collector had to unlock them.
That was my first stop.
The windows on the train were made out of thick hard plastic, not glass which made it hard to get a good picture.

Riding the train up the mountain we saw lots of dried-up creeks and empty fields where the crops had been gathered.
We saw cows, bulls, and other animals feeding along with the hill country.
We rode through the towns of Lebanon, Watertown, Brush Creek, Gordonville's, Caney Fork, Lancaster, Buffalo Valley, Silver Point, Baxter, Watertown, & Cookeville.

I-40 

The train crossed over I-40 several times.
I walked to the dining car for snacks (which was several cars back) I bought two Diet Cokes and two packages of peanut butter crackers which cost me $6.00

Standing Stone Festival was taking place in Monterey, "Where the hilltops kiss the sky."
At  9AM they were having a parade, a Cruise-In after the parade, and at 10AM a Ceremony at Standing Stone.
Near noon they were expecting the Excursion train coming from Nashville.
When we arrived in Monterey the train blew its whistle, letting the people that we had arrived.
Before we left the train we were told to be ready to load onto the train at 1:50PM and the train would be leaving the station at 2:00PM.

Crowd leaving the train

The people of Monterey were prepared for visitors.
The VFW had grilled hamburgers & hotdogs, and a group of women had cooked pinto beans and cornbread.
The Blue Cup and Saucer were filling up with people from the train.

The Cup & Saucer Restaurant 

We walked down the street looking at the vendor's wares.
We stopped at a booth where several young girls were selling cookies.
We bought a package of peanut butter cookies and a package of oatmeal raisins.
We had a diet cook left over from the train ride.
We ate our snacks as we walked through the downtown area, which was a couple of blocks away.
We stopped to look at the cars from the cruise-in which consisted of about 10 cars.

I stopped to take a picture of the Civil War Historic Marker.

Stokes' Atrocity
Four miles north of this site, the atrocity occurred during the War Between the States. On March 12, 1864, Federal Col. William B. Stokes and approximately 200 soldiers of the 5th Tenn. Volunteer Cavalry (Union) surrounded the homes of a Southern sympathizer and shot six unarmed Confederate soldiers. These soldiers, led by 2nd Lt. Robert S. Davis, included members from Terry's 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment and one Alabama cavalryman. They became separated from their original outfit and had recently joined forces with Captain Champ Ferguson's independent cavalry company.
Continued

Stokes' Atrocity
Days earlier the Confederates had routed Col. Stoke's command in the skirmish at Dug Hill on the Calfkiller River. Shortly after the shooting at the house, Lt. Davis — the only Confederate wounded and not killed outright — was taken into the yard, tied to a cedar gatepost, and his body riddled with bullets. His last words were "You ought not to do this, I have never done anything but my sworn duty.

Old Fire Truck in front of Train Depot Museum 

Stone Standing Monument 

Standing Stone Monument
The Standing Stone was a 13-foot (4.0 m)-tall rock that once stood upright on a sandstone ledge in the area. It was the legendary boundary between Cherokee and Shawnee territory and marked the Cherokee Tallonteeskee Trail. The 8-foot (2.4 m) remnant of this stone is preserved in Monterey, where a Standing Stone Celebration of Native American Heritage is held each October

We wanted to see the Standing Stone that everyone was talking about, it was located several blocks away from the festival.
There was a concrete path that twisted and turned near the train tracks, which led to Standing Stone.
Standing Stone was in front of the public library.
After taking a few pictures we visited the library, I needed to charge my cell phone and use the restroom.
In the library, I noticed an article that was near the information desk

The article said: that Thomas Jefferson Whittaker 
Dec 18, 1818-Nov 30, 1900 "Murdered by Grandson just 150 ft Yards from here."
This piqued my interest so I read the article. 
One of the earliest pioneers of Standing Stone, now called Monterey, T.J. Whittaker stood 6-ft 2in. in his stockings. The son of Capt.  John Whitaker was a War of 1812 Veteran who fought in Gen. Andrew Jackson's Army. Whittaker was born about two miles from the present town. 
He married Nancy Dillard Clark in 1841 and raised a large family. In 1853, he bought the old homestead from his father. The home is set on what is now the corner of N. Elmore St. and Old Walton Rd. 
An Avid hunter, Whittaker killed deer, bears, wildcats, wolves, panthers, and more. 
Whittaker Park was donated to the town by him.
On his last day on earth, Whittaker arose early. About noon, he took his mules along with some horseshoes to the blacksmith. Returning home about 4:30PM on that Friday afternoon, he came across his grandson, Jackie Whittaker, and a Cooper man arguing in front of the Standing Stone monument. He tried to get his grandson to go home, but it seemed to make the situation worse, so he pulled the mule and headed home.
After traveling about 150 yards, Whittaker's grandson came up from behind him and demanded his mule and took it away from him. Whittaker picked up a stick to defend himself, but his grandson stuck a knife into his grandfather's neck, killing him. 
Jackie Whittaker ran home and got his pistol, daring any of the womenfolk who had gone to help TJ Whittaker. Police Chief Alec Weeks (Later Putman Sheriff) came to the scene. The young Whittaker fired at him, by missed. Weeks returned fire hitting him twice. The grandson recovered to spend time in prison. Thomas Jefferson Whittaker is buried in the Whittaker Cemetery, just north of here on Elmore St. not far from where he lived and not far from where he died. 

The Story Teller 

We walked to the Train Depot Museum, there were many people from the train Excursion inside.
We walked through the museum viewing the many items that were on display and heard locals telling stories about Monterey.
When he finished talking, I said we have stories about our town that are similar, especially about the war.
I told him a story about an ex-Civil War Soldier named Tom Clark and his gang of bushwhackers, how they came into our town and ravaged it.
He and his gang were captured and hanged. Tom Clark said (so they say) that no one would ever ride over him.  He was buried in the middle of Tennessee Street and is rode over every day.
The man laughed!
He said, my last name is Clark and I have a distant relative named Tom Clark how ironic is that?

1909 Imperial Hotel 

We walked back to the vendors to buy some meat skins and water.
We bought the water from the group of women selling beans and cornbread.
One of the women asked how much it cost to ride the train.
We walked passed the 1909 Imperial Hotel stopping to take a couple of pictures.

We heard the train whistle.
People shouted THE TRAIN IS COMING!
People were taking pictures and videos as the train made its way toward us.

When the train came to a complete stop, the conductor called OUT ALL ABOARD!

While we were visiting the town the train had rode up to the switchyard.
Switching the Engines from the front of the train to the back of the train.
Now the gift shop, dining cars, and women's restrooms were in front of us.
The conductor had turned our seats in that direction.
After everyone loaded into the train, the conductor checked his list making sure that he did not leave anyone behind. He had told us earlier that the train would leave at 2:00PM and anyone left behind would have to take a taxi home.

As we were descending down the mountain the train moved slowly, breaking so the train would not become a run-a-way train.
Sitting in front of us was a man from Connecticut, he was telling the conductor a funny story.
I told the story of my daughter's plane experience. How a doctor or nurse was needed and she and a dentist were the only ones on the plane.
A woman was in the restroom, sweating profusely, she had taken two Ex-Lax Laxatives before boarding the plane.
When my daughter bent down to take the woman's blood pressure, her pants couched on the edge of something and made a big rip down the back of her pants.

My daughter lived in Newington, Connecticut, Boston, Mass, and Providence, RI.
I told the man from Connecticut, about all the places that we visited when I came to visit her.

The sun was setting and I wanted to get a picture so I walked to where the train cars connected.
I stuck my head out the window and started taking pictures. I even got one of the full moons.

We arrived at the train depot in Nashville around  7:57PM.

Full Moon 

Panda Express

Cream  Cheese Rangoon

Honey Walnut Shrimp 

We stopped at 7:50 p.m. at Panda Express, Spring Hill, TN.
Hubby ordered a plate with Chow Mein, orange chicken, broccoli & beef, and one chicken egg roll.
I ordered a small plate of Honey Walnut Shrimp and three Cream Cheese rangoons.
We were home by 10:00PM, hubby's bedtime.