2016 October 1, Saturday Banana Puddin' Festival, Car Show and Quilt Show Centerville, TN

I could not sleep and was up at 3AM watching TV and writing in my journal.
Ate a banana and two pieces of sausage for breakfast.
We were on the road by 7:30AM taking our time as we rode to Centerville.
The sun was just coming over the horizon and there was a cloud of mist that covered the ground.

We travel north on hwy 43 turning left on hwy 50 near Columbia.
Vendors were still sitting up at their booths when we arrived.
We walked around the square downtown, stopping and looking inside the old courthouse which housed several vendors.
Outside we stopped in front of the chicken wire MINI Pearl to take a couple of pictures.

Minnie Pearl 

We followed the signs to the open field where the Banana Pudding  Festival was being held.
Inside the gate, we were asked if we were first-timers and were given a banana sticker with first-timers written across the banana. There were several people placing pins on a large map to show where people were from.

Monkey Head

Smokey the Bear

Entering the Pudding Festival 

The woman said we have thousands of people from all over the world that come to our festival. We have a couple that come from Australia every year.

The Cook-off
The cook-off consisted of ten contests, we watched the first five.
Each contest made two of the same puddings, one for the judges to sample, along with samples passed out to the audience to judge.
The first pudding was to be auctioned off.

The first 5 contestants in the Cook-off

One of the contestant's Banana Puddin dishes

At 10AM we were at the Puddin' Path for 10 samples of different banana puddings.

The Puddin' Path Samples 

#1 Moon Pie Banana 

Baked by the Puddin'

Baked By: Bon Aqua United Methodist Church 

#2 The Chisel (Chocolate)

Baked by: Fairfield Church of Christ Youth

#3 White Chocolate & Caramel Banana Pudding

Baked by the Relay for Life: Friends of Hope Team

#4Bell’s Best Banana Pudding

Baked by: Shady Grove United Methodist Church 

 #5Pickadeli at the Hicadeli

Baked by Thomas Hickman Hospital

#6 Pudding & Pearls Banana Pudding

Baked by: Centerville Woman’s Club

7#Caramel Cheese Cake Banana Pudding

Baked by: East Hickman Baptist Youth

8#Party-lIne Banana Pudding

Baked by: Nunnelly United Methodist Church 

9#Classic Southern Banana Pudding

Baked by: Mt Zion AME Church 

#10Cinnamon Roll Banana Pudding

Baked by CrossRoads Cowboy Church

The puddings consist of bananas inside a variety of puddings, from various organizations.
Each organization had baked the pudding to raise money for their cause.
The Pudding path cost was $5 per person.
Once you tasted each pudding you could vote for your favorite with a donation.

We could not eat all the samples, some were very good, some not so good.
My favorite was the cheesecake banana pudding.

We stayed to listen to a couple songs sung and played by a group of three young people from the same family.

We strolled through the park, stopping to examine what each vendor had to offer.
We stopped at the car show and took several pictures.
We saw a replica of Mini Peal riding in a jeep.
From the car show, we walked a few blocks to The First Baptist Church on 123 Church Street to look at the Hickman County Quilt Guild.
The show featured, "Something old, Something new"!
Their mission is to promote an interest in the art of quilting.

Something Old, something new 

Two of the sweet ladies that we met at the Quilt show

My quilt pick!

We rode to Grinders Switch Grinder's Switch
Grinders Switch was the fictional hometown of the comic character Minnie Pearl, created and portrayed at the Grand Ole Opry by comedian Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, who grew up in the nearby Colleyville neighborhood of Centerville.

Watertower at Grinders Switch 

Grinders Switch 1940

Minnie Pearl said, People always ask me, "Where is Grinder's Switch?"

As I grow older, the place is no longer a little, abandoned landing switch on a railroad in Hickman County. Grinder's Switch is a state of mind -- a place where there is no illness, no war, no unhappiness, no political unrest, and no tears. It's a place where there's only happiness --where all you worry about is what you are going to wear to the church social, and if your feller is going to kiss you in the moonlight on the way home. 

I wish all of you a Grinder's Switch

On our way home we stopped at Ponderosa in Lawrence to eat an early dinner and late lunch.
We both ordered a steak and salad.

We still had a couple of hours to visit the Oktoberfest in St Florine.
The tractor was loaded with passengers as we approached.
We loaded into the wagon and rode around the festival.

Riding in the Wagon 

Oktoberfest

The Senior Center building was full of history about the German families that had settled in St Florine.
We walked inside but I stopped at the first display and began talking to one of the family members that lived in the area.
By the time I stopped talking the festival was about over.

Maybe I can return tomorrow

⛴Trip to Cape Cod

September 22, 2012

My daughter and I rode from Newington, Connecticut to Cape Cod, Mass.

We stopped at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and ordered 8 munchkins.

We rode across the Sagamore Bridge, and facing us was the Rotary sign that said, “Welcome to Cape Cod.”

We visited the white and red Bass River Lighthouse sitting among the Townhouse in West Dennis. 

Bass River Lighthouse

We visited the Light House Inn Lighthouse that now sits on top of the Lighthouse Inn in West Dennis.

Behind the Inn was a rock wall that made a circle in the Bass River. We walked along the wall stopping to take several pictures. It was a beautiful place for a wedding. 

Light House Inn Lighthouse

Rock Wall 

We ate lunch at Kreme and Kone's a family-owned clam shack in West Dennis, where we were served the best seafood on Cape Cod

We split a plate of grilled Halibut on a bed of rice with coleslaw and a vanilla ice cream cone for dessert. 

We stopped at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham where we used the restrooms and toured the museum.

The museum had artifacts, photos, and art from the Mashpee-Wampanoag and Aquinnah tribes.

The Visitor Center also had pictures and articles showing the natural and cultural forces that created Cape Cod's beaches. 

I bought a couple of postcards, Nauset Lighthouse and Three Sisters. 

 Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham 

 Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham 

We also stopped in Eastham to take pictures of the Georgian, Late Victorian-style Eastham Windmill.  

It is the oldest windmill on Cape Cod. It was constructed in 1680 by Thomas Paine in Plymouth. 

We visited the 18 century Judith Baker Windmill, in South Yarmouth. The windmill faces west to Bass River, and nearby is a small boardwalk and beach. 

Judith Baker Windmill

In the town of Orleans, we walked along Nauset Beach, where we saw the Three Sister Lighthouses, & Nauset Lighthouse.

Three Sisters Lighthouses 

Nauset Beach 

Nauset Lighthouse

We saw the historic markers: Three Sisters lit the Way; The Nauset Lights, Pushed back by the sea; & The Long, Black Cable. 

The sun was going down behind the large sand dunes, when we reached Provincetown, Ma. My cell phone was about dead, so I did not take many pictures in Provincetown.

We stopped at Far Land Provisions located at 150 Bradford Street Provincetown, Ma 02657.

We saw the Pilgrim monument, founded in 1892, that overlooks the town. It was said that the Pilgrims spent five weeks exploring the tip of Cape Cod. 

 Pilgrim Monument

We walked several blocks taking in the sights. We saw people sitting on the benches in front of Town Hall watching the world go by. 

We saw drag queens along the streets inviting us into the drag shows, one had a southern accent. I ask the drag queen where he was from, and he said Georgia. Imagine a southern in Provincetown.

We walked along MacMillan Wharf and back through Commercial Street, where we saw shops, galleries, and a Portuguese bakery. 

We spent the night at South Wellfleet Motel. 

September 23, 2012:

We ate a hot breakfast of bacon and eggs in the Motel’s restaurant.

We walked barefoot along the sandy beaches of Chatham Harbor.

We saw the black and white Chatham Lighthouse.  

Chatham Lighthouse

Chatham Beach 

We saw a white two-story siding house with three chimneys with a red roof sitting next to the lighthouse. It was enclosed inside a wire fence. In front of the fence was the historical marker about the History of Chatham Light.  We also saw the historic marker of The Mayflower Story and The Rescue of the Pendleton. 

Nearby was the Chatham Beach-Tennis Clubhouse. 

We rode past the White building of the First Congregational Church United Church of Christ established in 1720.

The two-decker steeple had a clock face on three sides, of the church.

In Chatham on Seaview, we saw an antique building and in the downtown area, we saw a Corner Toy Store. 

At 3 Rivers Road Orleans, we visited the Jonathan Young Windmill, where we saw the interior workings of a windmill. The wind shaft in the interior is attached to the brake wheel/bull wheel (wooden gears).

Jonathan Young Windmill

We walked along the beaches of Marconi, located six miles north of Salt Pond Visitor Center. 

The waves were high and we saw men wearing rubber suits and surfing. It was too cold for swimming but not for the dogs, we saw happily, jumping into the splashing waves. 

The next morning we bought tickets to take the ferry to Vineyard Haven.

We parked the car and rode the bus to the ferry at Oaks Bluff.  

On the bus we meet a couple, they ask where we were from, and they said that they had family living in Florence on Robins Lane.

ferryboat 

Everyone got off the bus and loaded onto the ferry.

The ferry took us to Martha’s Vineyard. 

In Martha’s Vineyard, we walked to Ocean Park, where we saw a flock of geese.

In the park, we saw a bandstand, some markers, and a statue. September is the offseason and it was getting late so most of the stores were closing or closed. 

We stopped in The Good Ship Lollipop Store, where I bought some animal cookies and a diet Pepsi. 

The store owner's wife named the store The Good Ship Lollipop.  

We saw many store signs as we walked through the town, we saw Ben & Bills Chocolate, Ice Cream, and Candies, Skinn & Fat sandwiches, Bite on the Go, Pirate Jacks burgers, Sharkey’s Cantina, Oldies Memorial Fountain, Laughing bear, It’s me, Murdock fudge, Boat skipper. 

Vineyard and Vines 

We did not want to miss our ride back to the main island so we hurriedly walked back to the ferry station, but the last ferry left at 6:30pm.

We were told to take bus 13 to Vineyard Haven, it had the only ferry going back to the mainland.  

We hurriedly walked toward the first bus 13 but that bus was going in the wrong direction. We had to wait for the next bus 13, which would take us to Oak Bluffs where we could catch the next ferry.

The couple we met earlier was on bus 13.

On the ferry ride, we meet two women that lived in Johnston, RI.

Riding the ferry 

Riding the ferry 

Riding the Ferry 

One of the women said that she worked in the Art and Drama Department at the local college in Johnston and her husband owned a business.

The other woman said her husband was an angler. 

The two women were on vacation together and my daughter talked their heads off. 

We rode the bus to the parking area where everyone got off and went to their cars. 

We rode to Val’s house, he was watching the Patriots play the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots lost by one point 30 to 31. We spent the night in Johnston. 

Let us not forget!

Let us not forget!

Thousand fill the asphalt

Their roar shakes the earth

A police car leads the pack

Crowds line the streets

Trail of Tears Ride 
Waving their

Flags

in Remembrance 

Thousand walks the path

Many die! 

Their cries are not heard.

In Waterloo 

Loaded onto boats 

Taken to 

Oklahoma

Where the Indians were loaded onto boats in Waterloo

The Singing River 

Calls!

There is no place 

like

Home! 

Once again tears fall!

Thousand fill the asphalt

Their roar shakes the earth

A police car leads the pack

Crowds line the streets

Waving their

Flags

in Remembrance 

Let us not forget!

The Trail of Tears!

Wooden Indian at Spring Park 

Tears 

Indian Family 

Trail of Tears Memorial 

2016 September 10, Saturday, Oka Kapassa, British Car Show &🎂🎂🎂 Birthday at Pond Springs

My first stop was the dollar store, for a Diet Coke and a package of NeKote's cookies, my favorite.
I ate the package of NeKote cookies and drank a diet Coke, not a very good breakfast, but I was hungry and did not want to stop anywhere to eat 
I arrived around 11:00AM at Joe Wheeler Lodge and State Park.
I parked near Joe Wheeler Lodge which was on a hill. 
The parking below looked to be full so I had to walk down the hill to view the cars. 

The cars that were in the British car show were parked in the shade near the bank of the Tennessee River.
The first row of cars was facing the Tennessee River so I walked along the sidewalk taking pictures. When the front row ended I walked back through the grass to view the second row of British cars. 

I saw in the Tennessee River, tied up at the pier sailboats, cabin cruisers, & motorboats.
I think I got a picture of most of the cars on display.
When I finished taking pictures I walked back up the hill and drove to Wheeler Plantation.

Jaguar

1960 morgan

1951 Riley 

I saw Jaguars, Class A; MGB, New Mini Class O, 2007 Jaguar Vanden Plas, Empire, Morgan Plus 4 DHZ, Riley AMD, DHC, Vanden P125 Princess 1300, Empire Sedan, 1961Austin Healy Buqaye, & 1959 Austin Healy, 1977 Trump TR6, 1972 Trump TR6, 9171 Trump TR6, 1973 Trump, 1969 Trump, 1979 Trump Spitfire, 1975 Trump Spitfire, 1975 MGB Roadster, 1980 MGB, 1976 MGB, 1980 MB, MG Roadster 1975, 1959 MGA Twin Cam, 1959 Austin Healy. 

Tennessee River full of Sailboats

I took 101 across Wheeler Dam, turning left onto hwy 270, then left on Alt 72 east/20, traveling to Wheeler Plantation at Pond Springs. 
I arrived around 12:00pm, at the entrance of the Wheeler Home was a Fire/Rescue Truck with its ladder extended with the words the City of Courtland.
I saw several motorcycle riders, men dressed as Confederate Soldiers, with 1st Battalion Mechanized Cavalry written on the back of their shirts. There were two black, one white, and two brown horses standing near the white fence near the house. 

City of Courtland Fire-truck

Horse and riders 

Motorcycle and riders

Joe Wheeler Home at Pond Springs

The Well-house 

The slave quarters 

Vendor selling food 

I talked to a woman whose father worked as a caretaker of the plantation many years back.
She told me a story about when she was in school and had to write a paper about the plantation.
Her teacher gave her a D because she said no one could go inside the plantation and look at the papers she did not know that her father knew the owner and had let her do her homework by reading the papers, the owner called the school and she got an A.
I walked to the cemetery and looked inside the well and a couple of the outside buildings.

My Next stop was going to be Spring Park in Tuscumbia. I traveled west on Highway 20 to 72 West, turning right onto South Woodmont Drive. 
I parked near Cold Water Book Store, and I walked down the hill to Spring Park.
I walked around taking pictures of the creek, ducks, swans, geese, vendors, and the people that were in the park.

Swan, Ducks @Spring Park 

I watched the Indian dances and listened to the storytellers and music.
Amy Bluemel a Native American Story Teller told a story to the children that she had gathered around her. 

Native Tribal Dancing Oka Kapassa 

She told a story about a baby rattlesnake.
He begged for rattles, well he finally received rattles and he frightened everyone he met until one day he tried to frighten a little girl. 
She was frighted but she also stomped on the little snake rattles destroying them.
He went home crying and should have listened to his father. 
Amy was still telling stories when I left. 

Amy Bluemel a Native American Story Teller

I was hot, tired, and very thirsty.
I walked through the park, past the waterfall wanting to put my feet into the water but I did not stop. I kept walking along the sidewalk up the hill to where I had parked.
I rode to Chick-fil-A in Muscle Shoals where I ordered a kids ' strip meal, which included two chicken strips, a fruit cup, tea, and ice cream. 
At Chick-fil-A, I tried to upload my pictures to FB and Flickr but the internet was too slow.

Ice Cream with Fruit

Chicken fingers