🚙2017 June 13, Tuesday, Day Trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky

We left home around seven, it was a great day for traveling.
Hubby and I traveled north on Highway 43 to Murphy's in Lawrenceburg, TN, where we filled up with gas.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Spring Hill, where Hubby ordered a big breakfast, and I ordered two slices of sourdough toast, one scrambled egg, and two pieces of bacon with iced tea to drink.

Leaving Spring Hill onto I-65 north, traveling through Nashville to Bowling Green.
You can see the Corvette Museum and Car Plant from the interstate.

We arrived at the Corvette Museum a little before 11AM, stopping outside to take pictures of the Michelin Man, Air Tank, and Corvette on display at the entrance.

Designed especially for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA

Michelin Man, Coats Air Gage Tank

Hubby parked, and we went inside the museum, stopping to view a few Corvettes on display before going to the ticket counter.
We were given armbands, and then we were told the plant tour was across the highway.
Our scheduled time to tour the plant was 11:30AM.
Hubby let me out near the entrance and went to park the van.
I walked up the long corridor to the entrance, and once inside, I got in line for tickets.
I already had our tickets, and I asked for a wheelchair.
The tour is about an hour long and a lot of walking. They recommended using a wheelchair if you are having problems walking. (So I said yes)
I was wheeled inside and given a yellow time card and told them hubby was on his way.

Bowling Green Plant outside (no electronic devices allowed inside)

We watched a video, and the 11 15 tours were called.
When the 11:30AM tour was called, we lined up.
We had two tour guides, one in front and one at the end of the line.
Before we went inside, we were all given safety glasses to wear.
We followed our guides and were told to stay behind the yellow lines.
We stopped along the way for the guides to tell us about the assembly of the Corvettes.
The tour took about one hour.
We then rode back to the Corvette Museum.

Entrance to Corvette Cafe 

Entrance to Corvette Museum 

Inside the Corvette Cafe, we ordered a bowl of Strawberry Ice Cream from Chaney's Farm, which we shared.
We ordered a Peanut Butter cookie full of peanut butter chips and healthy toffee.
We ordered one Oatmeal Cranberry full of plump cranberries, buttery oats, and Heath toffee.
We also ordered one Snickerdoodle Cookies butter cookie topped with Saigon cinnamon, all came from Christie's Bakery.

Eating Strawberry Ice Cream from Chaney's Farm 

Snickerdoodle Cookie & Strawberry Ice Cream

Inside the Corvette Museum building, there was the Corvette Cafe, Corvette Archives, Corvette Store, and the Corvette Museum.

What a perfect ride

Our picture was taken driving or standing next to a Corvette before we went inside the museum.
We took our time to view the Corvettes (many on loan from individuals).

Picture inside the Archive's 

Mini-Corvette inside the Archives

Our next stop was the Woodland Cemetery in Nashville,  where several famous people are buried.
Hubby took a picture of me in front of "The Possum" by George Jones.
He stopped loving her today.  Around 4:00PM

"The Possum" by George Jones
"The king of broken hearts"
He sang of life's hardships and struggles, in a way, somehow lightened our own.
His voice was effortless and unforgettable.
He brought unsurpassed emotional eloquence to every song he sang. 
He was and is the soul of country music. No one will ever fill his shoes. 
He is at rest, but his music is alive and ageless. 
He gifted it to all of us, the joyful and broken 
"Walk Through This World with me!"

Driving through Woodland Cemetery, we stumbled upon the Carper Homestead and the Hospital Water Source.

Hospital Water Source 
Because of the Generous, pure water supply available this spring, the area surrounding it was selected as a hospital site for the treatment of soldiers wounded in the Battle of Nashville, which took place during the War Between The States.

Water Source for the Hospital 

Carper Homestead
Known to be one of the oldest houses remaining from the early American era. Originally located on Cane Ridge Road in Antioch, Tennessee. The materials were removed piece-by-piece and rebuilt exactly as they stood when occupied by the Carper Generations. 
Donated to Woodland Memorial Park for Historic Preservation by the children of William Washington and Susie Black Carper
William Herman Carper
Ruth Carper Chasteen
Estella Carper Quest
Louella Carper James
Thelma Carper Ellicott
Kathleen Carper Huddleston
Irene Carper Chahoc
Mary Carper Pulliam 
Dedicated 1969

Carper Homestead

We stopped at Panda Express in Spring Hill, Tennessee, around 5:00PM.
We ordered Cream Cheese Rangoon, Egg Rolls, Broccoli Beef, and Honey Walnut Shrimp.
We stopped in Lawrenceburg at Mapco to fill up with gas.
We were home around 6:30PM.

Another great day of adventures.

🎈🎈🎈2017 May 27, Hot Air Balloon Festival Decatur, Alabama

You have to get there early if you want to see the balloons ascending into the sky.
I hurriedly dressed and left home right behind hubby on his way to work.
He was going to Huntsville and me to Decatur.
I took Highway 72 to Highway 101, turning left on the highway, and went past the paper mill (now being torn down) to hwy 20, which took me to Decatur.

The sun was just coming up, and it was a beautiful site, so I pulled over on the side of the road to take a couple of pictures. 

Traffic was already lined up going into the park, which took quite a while. I did get a park in the parking area on the concrete.

Twitty Bird Balloon

People everywhere waiting for the balloons to ascend into the sky 

The balloon is filled with Helium.

Preparing the balloons

Walked over to the park and watched the balloons being filled with Helium
I was walking around the park taking pictures of the balloons when the announcers said the balloons would not be going up because of the weather.

I stopped at McDonald's in Rogersville for a bagel with bacon, cheese, and egg, but McDonald's no longer serves bagels, so I ordered McGill with bacon, egg, and cheese.

No balloons going up!!! No bagel!!! Should have stayed in bed!!!

🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

2017 June 10, Saturday, Sacred Indian Stone Wall Florence, Alabama Guide Tom Hendrix son

My sister, dad, and great-niece attended the Dennis family reunion at Walnut Grove Fire Department, where we enjoyed a delicious fish meal.
On our way home, we decided to stop and visit Tom Hendrix's Wall.
Tom built this rock wall(which took over 30 years) in honor of his great-grandmother, who was one of many Indians who walked the TRAIL OF TEARS.

I let my dad and sister out at the entrance(my dad is ninety years old and cannot walk very far without his walker) and parked the van.
Dad walked a short piece and sat down on one of the benches.
My sister, great-niece, and I walked the length of both sides.
Dad had walked back up front and was waiting for us, sitting on his walker.

Dad told Tom's son that he had visited the wall many years before and that he knew Tom.
There was a group of people when we arrived and a couple of people on motorcycles when we left.

Rock Faces 

Tree Roots 

Tom would be glad to know that the Legend will never Fade as long as people want to see and hear the story of why he built the wall for Te-lah-nay.

stopping for a picture

Tom's Wall 

Sister and great-niece

Tom's Wall 

Tom's Wall 

Tom's Wall

I was amazed by how cool it was walking among the rocks.
An amazing place, representing many souls, an echo, and a longing for home!

🚗2017 May 30, Tuesday, "A sportsman paradise" & Pink Palace Museum Memphis, TN

Hubby and I rode to Memphis, Tennessee, which took about three hours.
I had a runny nose, and I sneezed the whole trip.
We stopped at Walgreens in Corinth, MS, and bought some Flonase Nasal Spray recommended by the Pharmacist.

Bass Pro Shop 

Bass Pro Shop at the Pyramid on Bass Pro Drive in Memphis was our first stop.
Once inside, we saw a sign that said, "Welcome to Paradise"! A sportsman paradise!
Swimming in the water below us, we could see schools of a variety of fish and swamp-covered trees everywhere.
We stopped to see the alligators; they were behind glass walls, and they were staring at us.

Swamp Covered Trees & Elevator

We saw a 27-foot elevator that was lit up with red, green, and blue lights.
We paid ten dollars to ride the elevator to the top while listening to a pre-recording about the store and catching a big fish.
We exited the elevator into a restaurant, where we were greeted by a hostess. She asked us if we wanted to eat at the restaurant or if we just wanted to take the breathtaking view of Memphis.
We said we just wanted to walk out onto the balcony and see the view below.

View from Balcony 

Once outside, we could see downtown Memphis, the roaring Mississippi River, Mud Island, The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, and the train bridge. There was another balcony with a view of the Mississippi River, houses, apartments, and piers.

View from Balcony 

We visited the Ducks Limited Museum, where we saw a variety of guns, ducks, trophies, etc.
We saw the Big Cedar Lodge, wildlife creations, taxidermy, & aquarium full of fish.
The smell of cinnamon-glazed roasting pecans, cashews, and almonds filled the air.

Our next stop was the Pink Palace Museum.
You can visit the Museum on Tuesdays at 1PM for free.

Hubby and I walked up the grand staircase to the third floor to see the animatronic dinosaurs exhibit.
This was a great area for children to touch models of dinosaurs' claws, bones, and teeth, play with rubbing stamps, and watch a video.

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs

We saw the first Americans, the History of Memphis, log Cabins, slavery, the Civil War, the first automated grocery store (Piggly Wiggly), Yellow Fever, from saddlebags to science, Clyde Parke's Miniature Circus, cotton and Thomas Harwell's mummy casket.

It was after 2PM, and we were hungry, so we rode to Joe's Crab Shack.
Hubby ordered the Crab Legs bucket, and I ordered fish and chips we both ordered water with lemon to drink.

Fish & Chips at Joe's Crab Shack Memphis 

In Memphis, we also rode past several old historic homes, & the Liberty Stadium.
Around 3PM, we started for home, arriving around 6:30PM.

2017 May 19-20, Shoals Front Porch Storytelling Festival

Friday, May 19
8:45-9:00 Opening
9-9:30AM Bil Lep
9:30-10AM Southern Gentleman Tim Lowery told a story about his adventure to the Rattlesnake Saloon.
Break
10:15-10:45 Donald Davis
10:45-12PM Dolores Hydock talked about the USO of WWII
12-2:00PM lunch at the Pie Factory with a friend. I ordered Creamy Tomato Basil dip with bread and Coke
2-2:30PM Don White talked about his teenage daughter
2:30-3:00PM  Bil Lepp
3:00-3:30PM Tim Lowery
3:45-4:15 Donald Davis talked about his camping at the cabin, borrowing a truck, and having fun in the field of milkweeds
4:15-5:00PM Kat Campbell She talked about visiting Ava Mario, Rock City, Lookout Mountain
Supper Break 5-7PM
I ate lunch at Jack
7:7:15PM Bil Lepp talked about his friend Skeeter and the water hoses, condensed steam, Old Faithful, Coal Mines
7:15-7:30PM Don White talked about California and TV

7:30-9:00PM
Mark Narmore sang about Jesse James, What I Like About Sunday's
Kate Campbell sang about her grandfather-in-law's cement boat, burning down Big Mansions
Walt Aldridge sang about the Smell of Rain, Modern Day Bonnie & Clyde
Bobby Horton Speeding, Lord's Supper, Stand a Little Rain, Man of Steel

Saturday, May 20
9:00-9:30AM Don White- Love and Growing Up
9:30-10:00AM Bil Lepp Love my dentist
Break
10:15-10:45AM Donald Davis
10:45-12:15PM Dolores talked about Sally Foster's journal, accompanied by Bobby Horton
Lunch at Legends with a friend, we both ordered a hamburger with lettuce, tomatoes, and onion with water and lemon to drink.
We saw several of the storytellers at the restaurant.
We walked through Wilson Park, looking at all the vendors wearing at Arts Alive
2:00-2:30 Don White talked about his wife
2:30-3:00 Donald Davis talks about his experience in first-grade
3:00-3:30 Tim Lowry talked about finally making it to Disney World after three tries and not losing faith.
My friend and I both left at the 3:30 Break. She was tired, and I was getting sick and was sick for almost two weeks,
Had a great time at the Storytelling Festival

2017 May & June Music in Wilson Park with a variety of entertainers

May 3,  

Music in Wilson Park with Joseph Baldwin- Hubby and I ate lunch at Rosie's Mexican Cantina.
Granddaughter played in the fountain and danced to the music.

Joseph Baldwin

Granddaughter played in the fountain.

Granddaughter Ava helped hubby work on the fence in front of the swimming pool.
 She would hand him a tool, he would say thank you, and she would reply Welcome!

May 10, 

Music in Wilson Park with Shannon Knight - I had an appointment at Bone & Joint to get an X-ray of both knees. The doctor put a Cortisone shot in my right knee. We left music in Wilson Park at 12:45PM.

Music in Wilson Park with Shannon Knight

May 17, 

Music in Wilson Park Cadillacs 11:30-1:00PM 1:30-2:30 Listen to Dolores Hydock's storyteller, "Through the back door, the music that bridged the Bayou"

Storytelling with Dolores Hydock

Storytelling with Dolores Hydock

Music in Wilson Park with Cadillacs

May 24, 

Music in Wilson Park with Mitch Mann 11:30-1:00 The park was wet with all the rain, so everyone that came sat in the center of the park where there was concrete. Bought pizza from Pizza Hut and took it home to eat.
no pictures

June 7, 

Music in Wilson Park with Drum and Drummer 11:30-1:15PM Hubby and I ate lunch at Taco Bell and then Academy Sports, where Hubby bought some Crocs and a large ball (for exercise)

Drum and Drummer 

We missed music in Wilson Park on June 14 and 21.

June 28, 

Hubby and I went to music at the park to listen to Gary Nichols.
 I was feeling great, and I went bebobbing across the street to use the restroom at the library. I popped my right leg down onto the pavement, not thinking, and I went from feeling like a sixteen-year-old to a one-hundred-year-old woman.
I made it across the street and to the restroom.
When I went to wash my hands, my right leg would not move. I stretched it several times and had to stop several times before I made it back across the street to the park.
This being said,
you can not always judge a book by its cover. Because if someone looks great and acts great, it does not mean that there is not something wrong with them. By looking at me earlier yesterday morning, I was walking normally, and by afternoon, I needed a cane.
You don't have to be old to have health problems, and each of us needs to be kinder and more thoughtful to others. I think we tend to forget about these things until it happens to us.
After the music ended, we rode to the Co-Op, where hubby purchased a new riding lawnmower.
My knee was still giving me a fit, so I waited patiently in the van, which took over 30 minutes.
The lawnmower was loaded onto the trailer and followed us home. 
I lay on the sofa for the rest of the day.
My knee was much better the next day.

🚌📖 🚌📖 🚌📖 🚌📖 2017 May 18, Events leading up to the Shoals Front Porch Storytelling Festival

Two buses were waiting at the Florence Visitor Center for passengers to board. One bus takes a group of people on a Historical Tour(guide Billy Warren) and the other bus takes a Music Tour (guide Walt Aldridge).
A couple from Toronto Canada, a couple from Louisiana, a woman from Tuscaloosa, our driver, our guide Billy Warren and myself loaded onto the bus taking the historic tour.
We visited the Florence Indian Mound and Museum, the Rosenbaum House, rode by WC Handy's Home and we visited the Ivy Green Home of Helen Keller.

Our first stop was the Newly-built Indian Mound Museum. We were led into the sitting area where we listened to the curator tell the history of the museum and mound, starting with the Paleo Indians, Transitional, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian and ending with the Native American age

Late Archaic Period

Middle Archaic Period

Early Archaic Period 

Once again, we loaded onto the bus, our next stop was the Rosenbaum House, where we were met by a curator who told the history of the Rosenbaum Family and how Frank Loyd Wright ended up building the newly married couple's home.

We rode by the WC  Handy Home, not stopping while Billy told the history of WC Handy.
As we cross the O'Neal Bridge, Billy Warren said the bridge was named after two governors from Florence (father and son).
Billy was asked about the Train Bridge and why it went only halfway across the river, Billy said that the lift part of the bridge was sold to a company in St Louis, Mo.

Our last stop was Ivy Green, the home of Helen Keller. As we approached the home, we could see a large group of schoolchildren.

Ivy Green and Several Groups of School Children 

The pump where Helen Keller said "Water" is where her education began. 

The curator came outside and gave us a little history of the Keller family.
One story the curator told us was about Annie Sullivan.
Helen locked Miss Sullivan in her room, and she hid the key.
Mr. Keller had to get a ladder for Miss Sullivan to climb out a window.
What had she gotten herself into?

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This young man said, Is this the statue that is in Washington DC?  I said no, it was one of Helen standing by the pump.

The Key used to Lock Miss Sullivan in her room.

Ivy Green as we were leaving (notice no school Children)

Once again, we loaded into the bus and rode back to the Visitor Center. Since it was such a small group, we got to know a little about one another.

I grabbed a bite of lunch at Jack's (kids' chicken fingers, green beans, Rice Krispy bit-size snack, and iced tea.
At 2PM, I watched the Katherine Tucker Windham Tucker Life video at the Florence Library (sat next to my friends). The woman from Tuscaloosa, from the bus tour.

From 3:30-4:15PM, at Florence Library, I listened to Dolores Hydock's talks about "It Could Happen! Stories of Hope and Possibility.
Funny, sweet stories of hope, possibilities, and the little things in life that make hope possible.

Stopped to talk to my writing friends before heading home.
At Rick's Barbecue, I bought some pulled pork, Cole Slaw, iced tea, and Texas toast for supper.

Had a wonderful day, made a few new friends, visited several museums, watched a video about a great storyteller, and listened to a great storyteller with my friends.