2019 Feb 8, Celebrating George Washington's Birthday and Picking Tulips in Montevallo, Alabama

So glad hubby and I did a little traveling today because the next few days are calling for rain. 

It was cold when we left home this morning; the sun came out, and it got up in the high 50s today.

But before we got home, it was back in the low 40s. 

We traveled to Montevallo to help celebrate George Washington's birthday, to eat one of the beautifully decorated cupcakes placed on a table before us, and before we left, we picked a basket of freshly grown tulips.

On our adventure, we stopped at Jack's in Athens for a drink and a cream cheese cherry pie.

We traveled I-65 through Birmingham, taking exit 238 US 31 toward Alabaster, we turned left onto US 119 County hwy 11, reaching our destination at 3727 Hwy 119 Montevallo.

Hubby parked the car, and we walked to the front entrance of the museum and paid the admission price. 

The cashier told us to head to the replica of  Mount Vernon to Celebrate George Washingtons' birthday for the party that began at 11 AM.

George Washington made his speech. 

George Washington stopping for a picture. 

Washington walked out onto the front porch and made a speech, and when he finished, the crowd sang Happy Birthday to President Washington.

Washington walked out into the crowd, stopping for pictures and shaking hands with people in the crowd.

We walked inside the president's Oval Office, where we saw on display pictures of several future presidents. 

We visited the Randall Museum with miniature dolls about many events that happened in the US in the last 200 years. 

The Randal Museum also displayed in miniature the Presidents and their wives.

We walked inside the National Chapel, which was just a few yards away from the Randal Museum. 

US Presidents and wives

The National Chapel 

The last building we toured was the Veterans Memorial building. 

Veterans Building

We took the trolley out to the Garden of Tulips, where we were greeted and given a basket to place our picked tulips. 

We were told the soil was soft, to gently wiggle the tulip, and the bulb would release from the dirt. 

There were so many different types and colors to choose from. I picked several in full bloom and several just budding. 

We took the trolley back to the entrance, paid for our tulips, and began our travel home.  

Fields of Tulips

America Village Festival of The Tulips: You pick your own $1.50 each

Panda Express 

We stopped at Panda Express Decatur for dinner, where we ordered Honey Walnut shrimp, one egg roll, green beans, chicken, stirred wheat noodles with onions, celery cabbage, and three cream cheese Rangoons 

2019 Feb 25-26, 🚌 Adventures at Reelfoot Lake, & Paris, Tennessee

After being cooped indoors for weeks because of the rainy weather, Hubby and I decided to take a trip.
The Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers overflowed into nearby fields, roadways, and people's homes, causing people as well as animals to look for higher ground.
You could see the flooding for miles in Alabama and Tennessee.

It was the last week to take the bus tour to see Eagles nesting at the nearby Levee along the Mississippi River, so I booked two tickets for the trip.
It takes over three hours to drive to Tiptonville from our home, so I booked a cabin along the Reelfoot Lake at Sportsman Resort for one night.
The south area cabins of Reelfoot were flooded, so we stayed in the north area cabins.

We arrived in Paris around 11:30AM, stopped at Dinkins Mobile Homes, and walked through several homes.
One of the mobile homes was a woman busy cleaning, so we began talking. I think she was a widow with three grown sons and several grandchildren. She told us a story about taking three of her grandchildren on a trip to Fort Myers to visit family.
She said,  the grandkids kept saying, are we there yet, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.
She showed us where all the electrical lights were along the walkway.
We asked her about things to do in Paris, and she said Paris Landing, Tennessee Wildlife Refuge, and the Eiffel Tower.

First, we stopped at Effiel Tower Park to take a few pictures and use the restroom at about 12:45PM.
At 1:15PM, we ate lunch at a local restaurant, Southside Cafe, where hubby and I both ordered a catfish plate, which consisted of a baked potato, white beans, fillet catfish, cornbread, and a salad.

Catfish plate 

We traveled US Highway 79 to Paris Landing Park and saw the Big Sandy River, a man fishing, and flooded roads. 2:20PM
We backtracked to Paris Landing Visitor Center, where we saw four barn owls, & two bald eagles in cages outside.

While we were at Paris Landing Visitor Center, two park rangers from Reelfoot Lake put a recused Bald Eagle into one of the cages outside because the eagle's cage at Reelfoot Lake was flooded.

Bald Eagle at Paris Landing Visitor Center

Inside the Visitor Center, we saw turtle shells, coyotes, big cats, raccoons, and information pamphlets.
2:30PM-3:08PM.

We arrived at Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge at 3:35PM, and they closed at 4:00PM, so we did not have long to visit.
We walked through the museum and walked outside but did not see any animals or birds.

The sunset we saw while traveling from Paris to Tiptonville

We arrived at Sportsman Lodge after 6 p.m.
We stayed in a one-room Fishman cabin that was just enough room for a small table, futon, countertop stove, microwave, bed(with bed springs), satellite TV, and bathroom. If you want to ruff it, this is the way to go.

The neighborhood dog slept on the front porch in a chair. I'm not sure what kind of guard dog he was, for I never heard him bark. He sure was friendly.

We did not get much sleep because we could feel every movement the other person made, and the bedsprings made this screeching sound.

You could walk outside our cabin just a few feet, and there was Reelfoot Lake.
The sunrise was beautiful, overlooking the lake.

Sunrise over Reelfoot Lake 

We ate breakfast at Sonic in Tiptonville. I ordered Texas toast with sausage and cheese, and hubby ordered a hamburger and corndog.

We rode to historic downtown Tiptonville, where we saw the schools, cemetery, churches, and several historic markers,

Carl Perking boyhood cabin 

We stopped to take pictures of Carl Perkins's boyhood home.
We rode to Reelfoot Lake State Park Visitor Center, where we saw a live barn owl, rattlesnakes, copper head, and birds.  There were several displays and activities for children, and outside was a flooded walkway and owl cages.

Cypress Boardwalk and Scenic Crusie all flooded 

Barn Owl at Reelfoot Lake State Park

At 10AM, about 20 people loaded onto a school bus.
Our guide was a Park Ranger named Jerry Lewis, but I am not sure of his last name.
He said we are traveling along the Mississippi River levee to see bald eagles.
The levee road was above the water, with floodwaters on both sides.

The bus stopped one time, and we saw a couple of bald eagles nesting.
Almost everyone got off the bus to stretch their legs and view the eagles.

When the tour ended, we started at home.
We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Dyersburg for lunch.
Hubby ordered a roast beef plate. I ordered a kid's pinto beans, carrots, cornbread, and an onion plate.
We split a bowl of hot peach cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Scarlet Macaw 

We stopped at the five-mile drive-thru Safari Park Zoo in Alamo. We bought a bucket of food to feed the animals. You have to be careful feeding the animals, so I only feed the small deer.

When we finished the drive-thru, we parked and walked through the petting zoo.
We stopped at McDonald's in Savannah, Tennessee. Hubby ordered a hamburger and fries. I ate peanut butter crackers and a banana.

Flooding on the Tennessee River at Savannah, TN 

We arrived home around 8PM, both worn out from all the traveling and the sleepless night before.

2019 Jan 7, Day Trip to Guntersville, Alabama State Park

Hubby and I rode to Guntersville, but before we started our trip, we stopped to purchase our lottery tickets for the week and to get our weekly B12 Shots. We stopped at Foodland and purchased two canned drinks and again at McDonald's in Rogersville for two apple pies. 

What a way to start the day!

We traveled US 72 E to I65 S to I565 E to US 431 SE to Guntersville. 

We arrived in Guntersville around 11:30 AM, stopping at Lake Guntersville to take pictures of 100s of Cormorants and seagulls that were perched on the piers. 

Gulls

Cormorants

At 12:40PM, we stopped at KFC and ate from the buffet. 

I chose a chicken leg and wing, fried okra, and collard greens

After a hardy lunch, we began our adventure to Guntersville State Park.

We stopped at Guntersville State Park Birding Site #34 to take a few pictures.

Signs there said that we might see Signature Species, waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, and Birds of Prey sadly, we did not see a single bird at site #34.

We rode up the hill past the State Park Cabins and Lodge and down the hill to the Campgrounds, beach, and pavilion.

On our way down, we saw a doe hiding in the brush.

At the State Park Lagoon, we saw two goats and 3 Emus.

Five Donkeys 

The beach was desolate, but there were hundreds of American Coots and gulls. 

As we were leaving the beach, we saw these two do.
They came right up to the car and stopped for a picture
They were still there as we drove away.

We left Guntersville State Park around 2:30PM and headed to Bucks Pocket.
We missed our turn and rode 8 miles too far. 
Turned on our GPS, and it took us down several winding roads.

Waterfall @ Bucks Pocket State Park

We walked down to the overlook at Bucks Pocket State Park, where we saw a waterfall in the distance. 
We walked back to the car, and hubby plugged our home address into the GPS, which led us down this winding road that crossed the bridgeless South Sauty Creek. The creek water came from the waterfall we had seen earlier. Like so many backcountry roads in Tennessee, there was no bridge. There was only a poured concrete foundation where the creek flowed over the concrete. The road to the Ranger station was closed because of all the rain. Hubby said he saw tire tracks, so he felt the bridge was safe to cross. 

We stopped at Weathington Park Overlook Sections, Alabama
It overlooks the Tennessee River

The sun was setting as we entered Scottsboro, and a few clouds had drifted in, giving us a spot of rain.

It was getting dark when we stopped on the East side of Huntsville at McDonald's for dinner. 

We stopped at Dicks and Cabela's in Huntsville to look at Scopes.

We talked to a couple of employees at Dicks about scopes and camera lenses.

We watched an employee feed the fish at Cabela's.

We arrived home around 8:30PM. 

I was exhausted from all the traveling, took a shower, put on my PJs, climbed into bed, and was asleep in no time. 

On Feb 22, three young people drove across this South Sauty Creek, and their jeep was swept into the floodwaters two of the young people were rescued, and as of March 1, the third Koy Spears has not been found. 

Tennessee and Alabama have been flooded with rain. The ranger's station at this location was closed when we crossed South Sauty Creek in my opinion, the creek should have been closed. Thank God the creek was not roaring that day, but the creek was up, and you could not see the concrete. 

2018 Dec 4, Day trip to Nashville to see Grinch Ice, Gardens Opryland Hotel, & Opry MIlls Nashville, Tennessee

Hubby and I ate lunch at Cracker Barrel Spring Hill.

Hubby ordered a Hamburger, coleslaw, and pinto beans.

I ordered a kid's shrimp tarter sauce and fried apples with cornbread. 

Before entering Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The ice display includes over 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures. 

Everyone must line up to get a blue coat to wear inside because the rooms are kept at 9 degrees Fahrenheit. I wasn't going to get cold! The coat I am wearing here I wore under the blue coat, along with gloves and boots. It was still cold inside, you could not stay long inside.

The Grinch and his sleigh and I bundled up 

Me and the Grinch 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Opryland Gaylord Hotel stopped for a quick picture in front of  Sleigh and Christmas Tree.

A quick picture with Trace Adkins

bird of Paradise 

Red Poinsettia 

Purple Orchard

Lots of beautiful flowers throughout the three gardens at the Hotel.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. 

We took our time at Grinch Ice, Three Gardens at Opryland Gaylord Hotel,  and we walked around at Opry Mills.
We ate dinner inside Opry Mill, and we did not run into the work traffic on our way home.
We arrived home around 9:30PM.

2018 Dec 2, A Visit to see Santa Clause at Santa Land Elgin, Alabama

Hubby, Ava, and I went to visit Santa, Mrs. Clause, and the Reindeer at Santa Land.
Hubby parked the car in the field, and we walked to the ticket counter. There, we purchased our tickets and were told we could take our time strolling the grounds before entering the castle. 

Entrance to Santa Land

SantaLand 

We saw Micky, Minnie, Winnie Pooh, Tiger, and many other Disney Characters.
Ava and I enjoyed listening and dancing to the music that was played at the Looney Tunes Area with Wylie Coyote, Road Runner, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, and Tasmanian Devil. 

Ava and I were dancing to the music, and hubby overheard a little girl say I want to go there and dance. 

SantaLand is home to Santa Clause, Mrs. Clause, Reindeer, and many other characters. 
Ava loved all the outdoor decorations but wanted to go inside because it was a bit chilly outside. 

Ava said, "I am Cold!" 

Once inside the castle, we saw a menagerie of Christmas Decorations. 

A couple of Puffins 

The Grinch 

Santa and his talking Reindeer 

We were greeted by Santa's helper and waited our turn to sit in Santa's lap and talk to Santa. 

Ava went right up and sat in Santa's lap, she told him what she wanted for Christmas.
She told Santa, and we continued walking through the Castle. 

Ava and Santa Clause 

Ava and Mrs. Clause 

Next, we saw Mrs. Clause. Ave went right up and sat in her lap, and she gave Ava a Candy Cane. 
We took a few pictures inside and walked outside.

We could hear the Chip Munks singing in the distance. Ava said they were singing too loud. 

Alvin, Simon, Theodore the Chipmunks

Ava kept saying I want to go back inside and see Santa Claus. So we took her back through, and Santa was going on break. He asks Ave if she wants to go see the Reindeer, and she says yes.
Santa took Ava's hand, and they walked outside, stopping to see the Reindeer. 

Ava and Santa visiting the Reindeer 

Santa holding Ava's hand 

Ava told Santa Merry Christmas 🎄
We walked around outside some more. It was damp and cold outside, so we
went back inside.
We bought Ava a gingerbread cookie and took it to a table to be decorated. On each table were three different colors of icing to be used to decorate the cookie. We used green for the eyes, red for the buttons, and trimmed him in yellow. He was yummy and sweet. 

Ava with her Gingerbread Cookie, we ate all but the head.

Gingerbread Cookie: I helped her decorate

Ava didn’t want to leave, we told her Santa Clause had to go to bed
She was okay then.