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 of Lego blocks. We walked down a long, winding sidewalk, down several steps to the Train Exhibit, inspired by the Little Engine That Could.

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

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

Roses

We saw art pieces made of musical notes and wire. We also 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 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 Martin Boxwood Gardens.

Cheekwood Mansion 

There were waterfalls, ponds, and creeks running through the gardens. We visited the Art Bark exhibit, which featured 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 didn't walk the entire garden, but we 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 fish lunch at Long John Silver's and brought it home.

Valentines's Day Adventure!❤️❤️

Hubby and I celebrated Valentine's at Famous Dave's at Cool Springs.
We ordered the Valentine's Special
Celebrate your Sweetheart Famously!
Our BBQ Feast for TWO
Only $24.99 -Save $10
4 corn on the cob, 7 slices brisket, Several ribs, two pieces of BBQ Chicken, a basket full of fries, baked beans, Coleslaw, cornbread muffins, and a bowl of Collard Greens!!!!
YUM! YUM!
I love this place, and we do not have one anywhere near where we live.

A Feast for two (corn on the cob, brisket, chicken, ribs, slaw, fries, baked beans, cornbread muffins, collard greens.

We had two boxes of takeaway.
We rode to Hundred Oaks to see the Bedford Falls Train display.
Hundred Oaks is now Vanderbilt Health Center.

A radio station was parked at Hundred Oaks. A man dressed as a Valentine was passing out free ROSES. I took one and thanked him.

Cupid Rhymes with Stupid 96.3 JACK FM playing what we want!

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." 

❤️❤️

The train display was inside a glass case at one of the doctors' offices.
You could see the display from the outside, but to get a better view, you needed to go into the waiting room.
I met this little boy, about 7 or 8 years old, playing with the buttons.
So, together we would go from one button to another to see what each one would do.
One moved the train, another the trolley, a third the sky lift, a fourth the ladder truck, a fifth the fire truck, and a sixth the ambulance. I took several pictures of the display.
The little boy wanted to look at the pictures, so I would show them to him.
When I got ready to leave, the little boy's father said, "Thank you for sharing the pictures with me I told the little boy, and I never thought to ask why he was at the doctor's office. He looked healthy, so everything was okay with him.

You are now in Bedford Falls.
Bedford Falls (or Pottersville) is the fictional town in which the American Christmas drama It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 short story "The Greatest Gift" (on which the film is based) is set. The Bedford Falls railway station is the main form of transport to get in or out of the town. The location is used only once in the film when Harry (Todd Karns) returns from university with his wife, Ruth Dakin (Virginia Patton), while George and Uncle Billy are waiting there. While staying there, George says to Uncle Billy that a train whistle is one of the three most exciting sounds in the world. The other two were anchor chains and plane motors.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet

❤️❤️

We walked to the electronics store, but they did not have what we wanted. We stopped at the Walmart a few streets down and purchased a few items.
We took the highway US 31, where there was a lot of road construction in Thompson Station. n rode by Clarks Distillery, but it was closed.
In Spring H, ill we stopped at Murphy for gas and Walmart. We also stopped at Dairy Queen for some ice cream (they have the best ice cream).


On our way to Nashville, we stopped at the newly rebuilt I-65 Welcome Center at Ardmore, Giles County, which features eco-friendly solar panels, recycling, and a Geo-Thermal Operating System.
Inside, they have five rocking chairs, a fireplace, and a display about the Civil War.

I-65 Welcome Center at Ardmore, Giles County 

It was overcast and rained a little, not much of a day for being outside.
We were home by 6:30 P.M.

2009 ~ May 10-12 Eye Repair in Atlanta Ga & Motor Sports Hall of Fame Talladega, AL

Day 1: Monday, May 10, 2009. Today is Mother's Day. 

We spent the day on the road to Atlanta. It was a trip in the rain...but at least we made it safely. We checked into the RMD House in Atlanta at about 7 P.M. (EST) and settled in for the night. 

After surgery at Emory Hospital

Day 2: Tuesday, May 11, 2009

Lora dropped Meadow and me off in front of Emory Hospital, and we walked next door to Children's Emory Hospital and took the flower elevator to the third floor, where I registered Meadow.

Lora parked the van and met us on the third floor.

We waited until about 11 A.M., when they called Meadow back to get her vitals and put her in a room that overlooked the Hospital Park. 

It was a beautiful park with a pond, statues, and lots of blooming flowers, trees, and shrubs.  

Meadow's retina surgery was scheduled at 9 A.M. (that is what time she had to be in day surgery). Dr. Swinn & Dr. Hubbard talked with us before they took her back.

They returned from surgery quickly. 

They did not perform the surgery to reattach the retina. Dr. Hubbard explained that in her case, the optic nerve is enlarged in her right eye. There was not a tear or hole in the retina. He said this was good & bad news. He said that with this type of anomaly, sometimes the retina will flatten itself back out and reattach. Then again, it might not. He said it would not be worth making a hole or tearing the retina to reattach it, as this could cause more problems for a child of her age. Therefore, he did not repair the detached retina. He told us that she probably has minimal vision in that eye. She may only see light & shadows. He was not concerned with the gray discoloration in her right cornea (the white part of her eye around the iris). 

Dr. Hubbard did a very detailed exam under anesthesia. Meadow had an allergic reaction to one of the eye drops that they used to dilate her eyes. The nurse said it happened immediately following the drops. It gave her a rash. They had to give her Benadryl through an IV. 

He said her left eye looked good, other than the optic nerve hypoplasia. Meadow will need to return for a follow-up in three months and to monitor the right eye. We can only hope that the retina will flatten out and reattach on its own. The longer it is detached, the poorer the prognosis.

Meadow was dismissed from the hospital after drinking some water. We walked around the hospital park and took pictures.

We rode back to the Ronald McDonald House to eat.

We rode to the Carter building, parked the car, and walked around.

Next, we rode downtown Atlanta to a park.

We didn't stay long because we couldn't find anywhere to park for free. Marcus called Lora; he wanted her to call Ron to see if he could pick up Madison.

Lora went up a one-way street while she was on the phone.

She made a U-turn, and we went back to the Ronald McDonald House.

In the lobby after surgery at Emory Hospital

Park at Emory Hospital 

Park at Emory Hospital 

Park at Emory Hospital 

Walking around at the Carter Center in Atlanta 

International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum

Talladega Speedway 

Day 3: Wednesday, May 12, 2009

I vacuumed, cleaned the room, made the beds, and carried the dirty linen to the parking deck.

We ate breakfast of oats, eggs, raisin bread, and tea. 

We washed clothes before we left, which was about 10 A.M.

We stopped at the Talladega Super Speedway in Talladega, where we toured the museum and took the bus to the racetrack.

Talladega Superspeedway is the biggest, fastest, and most competitive motorsports facility in the world. Records for both speed and competition have been established at Talladega.

Talladega Superspeedway can accommodate more than 143,000 seated guests and thousands more in the 212-acre infield. The track offers van tours to visitors daily during working hours except during the weeks around events. 

Adjacent to the track is the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened in April 1983 and is dedicated to the preservation of the history of motorsports

Admission to the museum is $10 for adults, $5 for kids aged 7 to 17, and free for kids aged 6 and younger.

There were three buildings: race memorabilia, cars, trophies, photos, etc.

The bus tour took about 45 minutes. The guide told many anecdotes about racing.

We met an elderly woman in the museum's library who personally knew Richard Petty. She said that she rented a home from the Pettys.

She said, "What do you want to know about the Pettys?"

Only Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison, Bobby Labonte, and Martin have won in three or more racing series at Talladega. In addition, as the only driver to win in four different racing series, NASCAR's R's Most Competitive Track, Martin is in a league of his own.

We ate supper at Cracker Barrel and traveled home. 

2015, March 23,24,25 , Spending time with grandchildren

March 23, 24, 25, 2015 Spending time with Grandsons 
I cooked pancakes and fried eggs for breakfast and served them with all-natural blackberry syrup from Carver's Orchard, which I had bought at the Apple House in Cosby, Tennessee.

After breakfast (around 8:00 A.M.), we traveled to Athens, stopping at the car wash to wash and vacuum the van.

We had an appointment at Champion Chrysler Dealership to repair the driver's window control panel and replace the key battery.

While we waited, the boys ate chips, soda, and coffee from the waiting area.

We rode to Decatur to look at a 2007 Honda Van at Honda of Decatur.

My husband made a down payment of five hundred dollars on the Honda, then we rode to Rogersville to get a cashier's check at LECU.
We rode back to Honda of Decatur to finalize the sale. 
We called our insurance company to add the 2007 Silver Honda. 
It was after lunch, and everyone was getting hungry, so we took the boys to eat fish at 
McCallum's is one of our favorite places to eat seafood. The boys had never eaten at McCallum's, so it was a treat for them. 

http://mccollumscatfish.com/contact.html

Montana ordered fried frog legs, fries, slaw, hush puppies, and sweet tea. 
He said he had never eaten frog legs and wanted to try them. I said if you order frog legs, you will have to eat them.
He ate all but two of the frog legs.

Nevada and my husband ordered a plate of shrimp and catfish with slaw, baked potato, hush puppies, and sweet tea.

I ordered grilled chicken, slaw, baked sweet potato, hushpuppies, and Unsweet tea.

We brought home two frog legs and all the hushpuppies.

The food is always good, but it's more than enough for one person; we always have leftovers.

Catfish and hushpuppies

We took the boys to the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Museum and the walking trail.

The boys and I walked to the viewing area where we saw a large crane, turtles, several ducks, and either a hawk or an eagle.

Atkeson Cypress Trail 

 We walked the 1/2-mile Atkeson Cypress trail, where we crossed bridges over a swamp full of cypress trees, turtles, snakes, fish, and birds. The bridge is wooden, part of the trail is concrete, and the remainder is a gravel or grass path.

Walking the Atkeson Cypress trail 

Cypress Trees

Grandsons

Birds flying above the marsh 

At the viewing area, we saw an eagle, but it could have been a hawk. The hawk or eagle frightened the smaller birds into the air; he was hunting for food.

We watched the large bird fly, which looked like it was up into the clouds.

In the gift shop, I bought six huge postcards.
The boy picked out some rocks and Indian arrowheads.

We stopped at the birding trail at Wheeler Dam. The boys and I walked along the edge of the Tennessee River, and we saw many different birds swimming, flying, and catching fish for their dinner.

Looking for birds

Looking for birds

Looking for birds

The boys and I enjoyed the day with my husband while he took care of business. 

The boys were with us from Monday through Wednesday.

On Monday, the boys worked in the yard picking up tree limbs and debris., I gave them money for working in the yard.

Tuesday, we had business in Athens and Decatur. On Wednesday, we had business in town, and we took the boys to the Blue Door, where Nevada picked out a pair of shoes and a necklace.

Montana picked out a necklace, wristband, and hat.

We went to Rosie's Mexican Cantina Restaurant for lunch, and the boys said they had never eaten at Rosie's

We started with a large bowl of white cheese dip, salsa, and chips. My husband ordered a large taco dinner,  which consisted of chicken on soft and crispy tacos.

The boys and I shared a lunch of chicken fajitas, served with three homemade flour tortillas, sautéed peppers, onions, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, cheese, Mexican garlic butter, Mexican rice, charro beans, and guacamole.

The boys and my husband ordered sweet tea, and I drank water with lemon.

We finished the meal with a commentary bowl of vanilla ice cream.

We came back home., I took a nap, the boys played outsid,e and my husband watchedTVv.