2009 ~ Saturday, Sep 26, Site seeing in Nashville, TN with sibling

2009 Saturday, September 26, Smithsonian Free Day Nashville, Tennessee 

Becky drove to my house, and I went to Nashville, TN, through Lawrenceburg and Columbia, up Interstate 65.

We stopped at McDonald's in Columbia, TN, to use the bathroom. 

In downtown Nashville, I made a wrong turn and took a right off Interstate 65 instead of going left, which took me out of town,n so I had to turn around and go back into the downtown area. 

Our first stop was the Parthenon in Nashville. The Parthenon is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. 

The Entry Cost was $5.50 each. The Parthenon had two galleries, the east and west. 

The Parthenon

The Parthenon, Lake Watauga, and rose arbor are all Centennial Park features.

The Parthenon stands proudly as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville's premier urban park. The recreation of the 42-foot statue of Athena is the focus of the Parthenon, just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals.

The Parthenon also serves as Nashville's art museum. The Parthenon's permanent collection focuses on a group of 63 paintings by 19th- and 20th-century American artists, donated by James M. Cowan. Additional gallery spaces serve as venues for a variety of temporary exhibitions.

The address is 2600 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203.

Athena 

The Parthenon's permanent collection focuses on 63 paintings by 19th- and 20th-century American artists, donated by James M. Cowan. 
Additional gallery spaces serve as venues for a variety of temporary exhibitions.

The address is 2600 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203.

Tennessee State Capitol

Next, we rode to Tennessee's State Capitol, where a walk-a-thon was going on. 

I had to drive around several blocks before I found a park. My sister and I walked to the capitol, I took many pictures.

From the Capitol Building, we walked to the Tennessee State Museum. 

The address is 505 Dederick Street, Nashville, TN 37243. There was no charge to visit the Museum. A brochure about the Museum was given. The Museum's upper level houses the earliest known migration of prehistoric people to Tennessee during the Paleolithic period. 

Artifacts from the Paleolithic, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods are on exhibit. The Museum displays bones from a mastodon that roamed Tennessee 10,000 years ago.

The room gradually slopes down into the Mezzanine, life in Tennessee, before the Civil War, the antebellum period. This was life on the frontier and the state transforming into an urban society. A painting and a 3,500-year-old Egyptian mummy were brought to Tennessee in 1859. 

My sister said I am so hungry that I can eat that mummy. I turned toward the paintings on the wall, and my sister walked down to the lower level. 

I stopped by the curator's desk on the second level to ask about taking pictures of the hanging portraits.

The woman at the desk said she overheard my sister say she was hungry enough to eat their mummy. We both laughed. 

The lower level featured exhibits on the Civil War and Reconstruction, including firearms, quilts, silver, battle flags, uniforms, a Victorian painting gallery, and objects from the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897.

On the lower level, they were showing a film and serving popcorn and a drink. My sister said she wanted real food, so we hurried to the Museum and used her lunch.

We stopped at Cocina Mexican Grill & Fresh Deli, located at 

Union Station's address is 501-A Union Street, just a few streets down from the Museum. It was a slow day, and the worker or owner came over and talked to us. I had cheese dip, and it was perfect. 

We left the Cocina Mexican Grill and walked down Fifth Street.

We stopped so I could take a picture of the Ryman auditorium and some historic markers along the way. We walked over to Broadway Street, where I took photos of a guitar with images of several entertainers, and nearby was an Elvis statue.

Prehistoric people in Tennessee 

The mummy, my sister said, was hungry enough to eat!

Civil War

The Elvis Presley Statue is located on Broadway Street. 

Honky Tonk Guitar
Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams Jr, George Jones, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Charlie Pride, Merle Haggard

 First Center for Visual Arts

Our next stop was the Frist Center for Visual Arts. It originally housed Nashville's main Post Office.

The first building became an art museum in 2001. 

Today, the Frist Center is one of the city's most innovative museums, centered on continually changing exhibits rather than permanent collections.

Next, we stopped at the Frist Center for Visual Arts. Originally housing Nashville's main post office, the historic Frist building became an art museum in 2001. Today, the Frist Center is one of the city's most innovative museums, centered on continually changing exhibits rather than permanent collections.

It did not take us long to go to the Museum, but my sister did not care much for the art. She said that there were too many naked statues and pictures. We talked to the curator at the desk and told her we had walked all the way from the Capitol building and were not sure which street to take back.

She said not to go back the way you had come because it is all uphill. 

The curator said for us to go next door to Union Station.

Union Station Hotel is located at 1001 Broadway, Nashville, TN.

Union Station - A Wyndham Historic Hotel masterfully restored Nashville lodging — built within a 100-year-old railroad station.

I took pictures both inside and outside. 

I was a beautifully restored hotel building that was once a train depot.

We walked back to the car and were going to visit the Hermitage, but we got turned around.

It had been a long day,  and we had walked a mile, so I decided to go home.

We stopped in Lawrenceburg to take some pictures of the downtown area and historic markers.

It had been a beautiful day for sightseeing, but it was getting late, and we were both tired from all that walking.

We were home by 5:50 P.M. 

Union Station Train Depot is now the Wyndham Hotel. 

Union Station Hotel is located at 1001 Broadway, Nashville, TN.

Union Station - A Wyndham Historic Hotel masterfully restored Nashville lodging — built within a 100-year-old railroad station.

Inside Union Station Wyndham Hotel 

2009 ~Thursday May 14, American Villages Montevallo, Alabama a recreated Colonial Village

The Brooks fifth-grade class traveled by school bus to Montevallo to visit the American Village; parents had to drive.

American Village is Located at 3727 Highway S 119, Montevallo, AL 35115.

At lunch, the adults and children sat under the pines at picnic tables.

After lunch, we sat in on a debate, where we listened to people discuss the Revolutionary War, Paul Revere's ride, George Washington at Valley Forge, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, the signing of the Constitution, and Betsy Ross, who made the American Flag.

At the American Village, we have the Liberty Bell, a Colonial Courthouse, Constitution Green, a replica of Washington Hall (Mount Vernon), a chapel modeled after Bruton Parish Chapel, tombstone markers, the twelve Amendments to the Constitution, and a replica of the Oval Office. 

The Pettus Randall Miniature Museum featured a collection of dioramas, including those of presidents and their first ladies. 

Having a picnic

The White House, Washington Hall, the Assembly Room, and Mt Vernon Room

The Pillory

Speaker 

Courthouse

Assembly room

Assembly room

Mt Vernon Room

Meeting House

Encampment

Encampment

Colonial Chapel, patterned after Bruton Parish Chapel
that is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

Bell Garden is centered on an exact reproduction of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

Pettus Randall Miniature Museum of American History is a separate building that houses a collection of 72 handcrafted miniatures of American presidents and first ladies and 35 uniquely detailed dioramas of critical moments (over 400 years) in our nation's history.

President House

Randall Museum

National Veterans Shrine 

That night, Hubby and I went to the RAIN concert at the VBCC in Huntsville to watch RAIN (singing songs of the Beatles). 

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 take her vitals and put her in a room overlooking 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 retinal reattachment surgery. Dr. Hubbard explained that, in her case, the optic nerve in her right eye is enlarged. 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, the retina sometimes flattens and reattaches. 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 a free parking spot. 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 Superspeedway in Talladega, where we toured the museum and took a 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. 

2009 ~Alabama May 4-5, Tubes and Dental Repairs at UAB Children’s Hospital Birmingham, Alabama

Monday, May 4, 2009  

I rode to Birmingham with Lora Meadow and had a doctor's appointment at 12:00 P.M. with Dr. Nathaniel Robins, a genetics doctor at UAB Children's. Dr. Robins has two interns and a co-worker who will see Meadow.

Dr. Robins has not seen Meadow for almost two years, so they will need to take pictures of Meadow for their files.

He ordered some lab work (homocysteine level & some chromosomal study). After the doctors left, Lora changed Meadow's diaper, gave her some milk, and fixed her G-tube in the waiting room.

Waiting at the doctor's office

It is way past lunchtime —around 1:00 P.M. —and we are getting hungry. 

I mentioned going to the Botanical Gardens. Lora entered the necessary information into the GPS to get directions to the Botanical Gardens. We decided to eat somewhere close to the gardens.

We asked these two women where a good place to eat was close by, and they suggested going over the hill to the English Village shopping area.

We decided to eat at Billy's Bar & Grill, a family-owned pub located in the English Village. Located at 2012 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35223. 205-879-2238. Email: info@billysbarandgrill.com.

The bar, tucked away in the old-world charm, has an upscale atmosphere, an extensive menu, and two full bars with a vast selection of liquors and fine wines. There is a large moose head hanging over the main bar. 

We ordered a hamburger with fries for Meadow, and we split a Greek sandwich with chips. (It was grilled with Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, and onion, and  tomato served on whole wheat bread with smoked turkey.)

While we waited for our food, Meadow tapped her foot to the music playing and kept time. 

We sat in the dining area downstairs because we saw no ramp going upstairs.

The restroom was upstairs, which was much needed after two glasses of Coke, along with more dining area, and another bar.

The food was delicious; we thanked the waiter and headed back down the hill to the Botanical Gardens.

Lora went to the restroom at the botanical gardens, and Meadow and I went to the Rose Garden. I took many pictures of the roses; many were in full bloom, yellow, red, white, and pink, mixed so beautifully. 

Lora was on the phone trying to get us into the Ronald McDonald House.

We walked through the conservatory, where we saw plants of commercial importance, such as banana, vanilla, coffee, and cacao (the source of chocolate), as well as wondrous tropical species of palms, cycads (including a 100-year-old specimen), and tree ferns.

On the north end are the Camellia, and on the south side are the desert plants such as American agaves, aloes and cacti, Pacific rim plumerias, and succulent euphorbia from Africa.

We walked through Bruno's garden of fresh vegetables and herbs. We saw fresh sweet peas, Lettuce, onions, kale, cabbage, and broccoli.

On the Herb terrace, we saw rosemary and thyme.

Japanese Garden, Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Next, we walked to the Japanese garden, opened in 1967 by the Japanese Ambassador to the US and spanning 7.5 acres.

I said to Lora, "I see a red gate ahead," and she said that it was probably a sign outside the gardens. Instead, it was this spectacular curved-top torii, "The gate to heaven," painted a traditional bright red. 

Lora had been to the gardens several times before, but never to the Japanese gardens.

After entering the gate, we stopped to take pictures next to the bonsai tree and the Japanese Maples. A man stopped and asked us if we wanted our photographs taken of the three of us, and we said yes.

The path was not paved with concrete but filled with pebbles, and it had rained a lot for this time of year, which made pushing Meadow's wheelchair very hard.

The man said there was a large goose at the pond, so we headed toward it.

It was such a beautiful pond, dotted with boulders within and without, and the stream flowed into it. You had the feeling that you were actually in a Japanese garden. It was so beautiful that day, even though the day hung with rain clouds.

The pond had fish, turtles, and two geese. The geese were not afraid and would come right up to us. I got a little too close, and one of the geese flared up its chest at me.

Rose Garden in Botanical Gardens

Vulcan Museum

We were just coming out of the Japanese garden when it started raining, so we headed to the van. By the time we had loaded the wheelchair and Meadow, it had almost stopped raining, but we were soaked.

Next, we went to Vulcan Park and walked around. I took pictures, and we visited the gift shop.

Vulcan the Iron Man is located on the summit of Red Mountain overlooking the heart of downtown Birmingham and stands 56 feet. 

We stopped at Walgreens and got Meadow some gauges for her g-tub irritation.

Next, we rode to the  Ronald McDonald House, where we will spend the night.

RMH sleeping

The clerk at Ronald McDonald House said our room would be ready at about six P.M. and that our Room number was 211 on the second floor.

We checked in and ate supper of chicken, beans, and a brownie. Our room was not ready until 7:30 P.M.

I gave Meadow a bath, dressed her for bed, and turned out the lights. Meadow went right to sleep. 

Meadow could only have clear liquids up until 2 P.M., so Lora got up during the night to give Meadow some clear liquids.

The next day, we had to be at UAB CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL at 5:45 A.M.

Birmingham Children after dental surgery

May 5, 2009

I heard the clock go off, I got up, took a shower, and dressed.

Lora got up and dressed.

Meadow woke up in a perfect mood, and I dressed her.

We loaded into the van and rode a couple of blocks to the day surgery. 

Meadow is going to have tubes put into her ears by Dr. Shirley, and Dr Curtis is doing crowns and fillings in her teeth. Dr Robins has ordered lab work to be done while she is asleep.

Dr Curtis cleaned & did a fluoride treatment on Meadows's teeth. 

Meadow came out of surgery about 10 A.M, and she was not a happy camper. Once the anesthesia wore off, she became more agreeable.

She amazingly started sipping water from a cup! The water felt good to her dry throat, and she drank about four ounces. She did so well that we were able to leave about noon. 

We rode to the Ronald McDonald House, ate lunch, packed, and then checked out.

Meadow ate some more of the leftover soft chicken from the day before. I was surprised she wanted to eat after all the dental work. 

I was afraid it would rain all the way home, but it turned out to be very friendly, and we were home about 4:30 P.M.