My Birthday Celebration – All Good Things Come to an End

OK, I know that I’m dragging this out a bit too much…but what the heck, just having our Omaha family here is a major event.  So I/we like to savor it a bit.  Given David II and Amy’s careers, the distance involved and the crazed schedule of our two grandsons, visits like this are infrequent.  In addition, it will be even more difficult to plan such an event in the future as the boys leave home and begin their own lives…

Justification complete…this post is all about the last day of their visit here in East Tennessee.

Despite the fact that Laurie and I have lived in East Tennessee for 13 years at this point, David II and the family’s previous visits have been orientated toward the Christmas/winter season.  Hence, they had never been out to Tellico Plains Tennessee and had never eaten at Tellico Grains Bakery, one of our favorite lunch spots…and a place to stock up on quality bakery goods!

It was around lunch time on a Friday when we arrived at the Bakery.  The place was packed with customers…and all of the inside tables were occupied.  Consequently, we seized upon a picnic table in the shade on one side of the building. 

As we waited for our food, Laurie took this photo.  Left to right: Yours Truly; Emmett Lee; David III, Amy, and; David II.

Since Tellico Grains makes what we regard as one of, if not the best pizzas in East Tennessee, it was no surprise that our little group procured and demolished 2 of them… The first is a cheese pizza, an Emmett Lee special.  The second one, with Benton’s sausage and pepperoni, made me reflect on a key question…why didn’t I order one of these?! 

The reason I didn’t order that pizza is that I also love the sandwiches at Tellico Grains…

The first sandwich shown above is “Joe’s Italian”…Genoa salami, pepperoni, Benton’s prosciutto, pesto mayonnaise, pepperoncini’s, black olives, red onion, Dijon mustard, lettuce and tomato, all assembled on an herb flatbread roll.

The second creation is the “Free Bird”…thinly slices chicken breast, provolone cheese, pesto mayonnaise, caramelized onions, and Dijon mustard, toasted on sliced sourdough bread with lettuce and tomato.

My choice of sandwiches was “Stu’s Reuben”…thinly sliced pastrami and corned beef piled high and topped with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard (for most folks, house-made Thousand Island Dressing), all assembled on toasted Pumpernickel bread.

This was a positive dining experience as we had expected.  It was nice to finally be able to share this small town bakery with the family.  Tellico Grains Bakery is located at 105 Depot Street in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  Phone: 423-253-6911.  They are open Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 8 AM until 4 PM.  Website: Tellico Grains Bakery | 105 Depot Street, Tellico Plains, TN 37385 (tellico-grains-bakery.com) or on Facebook at Tellico Grains Bakery - Home | Facebook.

There are many nice photos of Tellico Grains Bakery as well as their sandwiches and baked goods on both Trip Advisor and Yelp.  I like the photos on this site that I found on line as they include the family who built this business starting back in 2003.  This is Tellico Grains 20^th anniversary, no small feat in the food industry!  Check it out at Tellico Grains Is The Best Little Bakeshop In Tennessee (onlyinyourstate.com).

From Tellico Plains and our lunch, it wasn’t a very long drive for us to reach our next destination, one which we take all visitors to if they’re ‘in season’ and stay for more than a day.  Tellico Plains is located right next to the Smoky Mountains and the Cherahala Skyway over to North Carolina.  Bald River Falls is accessed from near the beginning of the Skyway.  It was another sight/site that David II, Amy and the boys had never visited before.

As you can see, Bald River Falls is pretty spectacular and also, very accessible.  It was a hot summer day and some folks were down near the base of the falls enjoying the cool waters.  Then of course, Laurie had to take the usual obligatory photos to mark the family moment.    

For more information about the falls, you can go to Bald River Falls | Tennessee River Valley (tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org).  FYI, following rainy weather the falls are twice as large as these photos show.

Back at our house, all was calm…for the most part.  Emmett spent some time on our deck with his smart phone and then he and David III engaged in a competitive video game.  They are good friends but there is no doubt that they are competitive!  At 6 foot 3 inches or more, they certainly are big boys!

As a family we played a couple of board games in the evenings…  They were ”Sequence”, a winner as it is low key and progresses at a casual pace, and; “Scattergories”, a competitive and timed game with way too much pressure on the players, at least from Laurie and my viewpoints. 

In any case, the entire visit was a winner from my viewpoint.  Perhaps we can do it again for my 90^th birthday!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave