A Break for a Family Visit...

You probably didn't notice when our fall 2024 trip seemed to end in Staunton Virginia.  Well, it really didn't end there and some day in the not too distant future I'll post the ending bits regarding this road trip.  As you may or may not recall, the trip started with our first stop in western Tennessee, proceeded all the way back across Kentucky, into Ohio, touching West Virginia a couple of time, then up to northern Pennsylvania, touching extreme southern New York state, then back south passing through Maryland into Virginia.  The last stop I reported on was at President Woodrow Wilson's birthplace in Staunton.

This week Laurie and I have her sister and brother in law visiting East Tennessee all week, so this is the one short post I will contribute until June 24th.  This stop was one of my favorite roadside 'adventures' from that October 2024 road trip. 

This is Duke's Lexington Antique Center which is just off I-81 in Lexington Virginia.  Laurie and I love to prowl antique stores...especially well stocked large antique 'malls'.  I'd listed Duke's on our travel plans and we made sure we didn't miss it.  This antique center covers over 20,000 square feet and it features over 150 dealers offering a huge variety of antiques and collectables.  We had a fun time just looking...but of course we did end up making a few purchases too.

We didn't take a bunch of photos.  Part of the reason for that failure is that I didn't even get very far down the first aisle we traversed.  We always go to the right in stores and then go up and down every aisle.  Laurie did complete the entire journey but, as the photo above indicates, I got 'stuck' in a vendor booth that specialized in antique and collectable postcards!  Yes, rare though it is, that is a smile on my face!  I was a happy camper indeed...postcard collecting is one of my few remaining vices.

I like postcards dating 1920 or earlier, (ideally 1910 or earlier), used with messages on them and they must still have the postage stamp on them.  I prefer ships and trains but I also like city sights and landmarks as they appeared back 'in the day'.  The messages can be quite interesting as well...projecting what parts of life were like over 100 years ago.  I bought a bunch of interesting postcards with my only regret being that Duke's is over 5 hours from our home, probably more depending on traffic and road work.

When visiting Duke's, keep an eye open for Cooper.  He's the house cat and as far as he's concerned he's in charge.  He is very 'chill'!

Duke's Antique Market is located at 1495 North Lee Highway (US Hwy 11) at 30 Pinnacle Drive in Lexington Virginia.  This antique mall is open from 9 AM until 6 PM 365 days a year!  Phone: 540-463-9511.  Website: https://dukedukeantiques.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Miscellaneous Home and Family

With late spring and summer upon us, we are expecting a couple of visits from various family members.  With that garage sale is behind us, we're looking forward to the visits as well as the relatively stress free change in our normal routines.  Not that there isn't always a bit of stress...it's called life...and life isn't all that simple to navigate.

Miscellaneous is the best description for this post.  A little of this and a little of that...

Let me introduce you to "Stumpy".  Why did we give this squirrel such a nickname?  Well, Stumpy is missing his tail but he's a survivor.  Squirrels use the tails for balance and as a blanket on cold nights.  Despite his handicap/physical challenges, Stumpy is now at least 5 years old.  Typically, adult gray squirrels life to about 6 years old but exceptions have been noted... They can live as long as 12 years.  One of the reasons we like Stumpy is that he generally leaves the bird feeders alone.

The two photos above are the last you will see related to our stressful but relatively successful garage sale.  With the exception of the table, all of these items and related cartons are now being sorted out and being priced by the volunteers at our local thrift store, The Good Neighbor's Shoppe.  

Items included that Ethan Allen leather ottoman, golf equipment, wall decor, assorted china, crystal stemware, LP records, a pair of sconces, purses, both men's and women's collared shirts plus a selection of Hummel figurines. 

We are the second owners of our home.  This room with exterior siding originally was a breezeway, but at some point the home owners started with a breezeway between the house and the oversize garage.  Shortly after that, they enclosed the breezeway, adding HVAC to make it more usable.  Now that we sold the buffet, baker's table/hutch and an old dining table, our plan is to remodel the space.  Up to now it's been referred to as the 'plant room'.  We are replacing the ceiling, siding, that 'lovely' red carpet and then adding bookcases, blinds, new lighting, etc.  Of course Laurie will have to find a new home for her plants until after construction is completed.  

Work starts in mid-July.  Wish us luck.  Hopefully no ugly surprises will pop up!

As I've previously reported, we've been trying different pre-prepared food items.  The goal is to always have something we like at our fingertips for quick and easy meals.  We noted this box of "Boomerang Shrimp" at our local Food Lion and we decided to give it a try.

This was our Boomerang Shrimp appetizer, 'crispy shrimp with a creamy, spicy garlic tossin' sauce.  We thought that it was pretty decent, not too spicy, but we couldn't taste any garlic.  We would buy it again for a snack or appetizer...about a 7.5 on a scale of 10.

Margaritaville Foods product line include seafood (mostly shrimp with some calamari), salsa, tortilla chips, BBQ sauce, wing sauce, salad dressing, dipping sauces, and more.  The company's website can be found at https://www.margaritavillefoods.com/.

After a recent medical appointment, our 'favorite', or at least most frequent type of 'social' event, Laurie and I decided to eat at a restaurant that is located almost right across the US Hwy 321 in Lenoir City Tennessee. (Close to the I-75 interchange)

I went over the top and ordered a 12 oz. ribeye steak with thick fried potato chips and both lemon caper sauce and ketchup on the side.  Water with lemon was my beverage of choice.  The steak was decent but a bit overcooked.  I'd ordered medium rare and the steak was medium.

Laurie ordered one of our perennial favorites.  She started with a glass of wine ($6.00 before 5 PM), and a side-Caesar salad.  For her entree, she went for Aubrey's panko crusted Alaskan pollack with those fantastic thick cut potato 'chips' and more lemon-caper sauce.  She was very happy!  One side benefit of our meals were those leftover thick fried potato chips.  I sense a breakfast side item at home...

I will admit that the prices for eating out (or at home for that matter) are a bit out of control.  Our entrees plus a glass of wine and a side Caesar salad ($3.00) came to $68.95 with taxes and tip.  Result: we have cut back on the number of times we go out to eat in 'better' restaurants.  

As usual, we enjoyed dining at Aubrey's.  Aubrey's food is quite consistently good and so is the service. The website for Aubrey's in Lenoir City Tennessee can be found at https://aubreysrestaurants.com/lenoircity/.

Believe it or not, Aubrey's was not the last place we stopped to eat.  For the first time this year we decided to stop at the Tic Toc Ice Cream Parlor in downtown Loudon Tennessee.  It was a warm day but not crowded when we arrived at about 5:30 PM.  When we left at about 6 PM, families with lots of kids were headed in for their summertime treats.

My dessert is the one on the left.  I had a 2-scoop cup.  One generous scoop was the house-made caramel crunch and the other scoop was Tic Toc's blackberry cobbler ice cream.  Laurie got fancy and went for the Yukon Gold Rush Sundae.  It consisted of coffee bean ice cream covered with hot caramel and whipped cream, then topped with a cherry.  Too much food for the day...but it was all good.  

You can view a lot of photos and pick up on ice cream lover's feedback regarding Tic Toc by going to https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g55167-d834598-Reviews-Tic_Toc_Ice_Cream_Parlor-Loudon_Tennessee.html.

One last photo for this post...

This photo shows our youngest grandson (21) in his Silicone Valley apartment in northern California.  He had the distinction of being selected as a summer intern by Google.  The reports so far are that he's doing well, the work is certainly challenging and he's made a number of computer friends.  I did note that he brought a University of Nebraska pennant with him...lying on the chest of drawers.  Keep up the good work Emmett!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Almost Gone! A Local Landmark...Hall's TN Hwy 322

Our entire neighborhood and, for that matter our entire quasi-retirement community, has changed dramatically in the almost 16 years since we moved to East Tennessee from Mt. Prospect Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  I say quasi-retirement because although most residents are either retired or are still working but nearing retirement, there are a growing number of family's that have taken advantage of our open (no gate or age limit) community as it has expanded.  

In any case my point is that change is inevitable.  We can either roll with the changes or we can give ourselves ulcers fretting over what used to be... This is a post about what is close to becoming a special place 'that used to be'.

The building is fairly non-descript.  The sign reading "Hall's" is actually written in cursive, something that is now longer included in curriculum of many schools. (Our youngest grandson uses an app to translate the notes we send him in cursive) Yep, those are gas pumps and we know folks who won't eat at any place that pumps gas....and Hall's does serve food.  In this case the pumps are no longer functional.

Thanks to "The Connection", our village newspaper, I have this photo of the Hall family.  From the left we have Will and Kari Hall Phillips, Erin Hall, Kelly Hall, Helen Hall, Charlie Hall, Chris Hall, Jennifer Hall, Ryan Hall and CJ Hall.

Charlie and his bride, Helen, bought this building back in the mid-1960s and in 1965, it first opened as a local grocery.  Hence it's alternative local name, "Charlie Hall's Grocery and Restaurant".  

Customers order at the counter and when your food is ready, the friendly staff or family member brings it to you.

There is a lot of seating at Hall's.  The restaurant is a landmark, a meeting place, a family place for the community.  It's frequented by truck drivers, construction workers, farmers, and retirees from nearby retirement communities.

When larger grocery stores opened in the area, Charlie decided to focus on the restaurant business...a smart decision that allowed he and Helen to raise their family and put two sons through college.

Laurie and I stopped by for a late breakfast, falling directly between the early morning breakfast crowd and the lunch rush.  Note some of the grocery style racks along the walls and at the back left of the last photo above.

Hall's isn't open on Sundays or holidays.  But every Sunday and holiday, the Hall clan traditionally gathers here for a family dinner. 

When's the last time you saw a sign like the one shown above?  A breakfast platter for $5.49!  

We skipped the breakfast platter special, going our own way instead.  Laurie ordered the biscuit and sausage gravy with bacon and an over medium egg.  That gravy had a little bit of a bite to it and, as per Laurie, the bacon was perfect.  

I ordered 2 slices of toast with 2 over medium eggs, a large sausage patty and hash browns.  It was all good... Want to guess how much our breakfasts cost?  With tax but before our tip, the ticket came to $14.00.

We do love the old time ambiance and more importantly, the feeling of family and community at Hall's.  Charlie is 82 or 83 now and he's lost his fight with the Tennessee Department of Transportation.  It was strike and deal with TDOT or have the right of eminent domain used to take the property.  Charlie has sold the property and the end of a community landmark and anchor is near.

As with most government projects, this highway 'improvement' project has taken a long time to come to fruition.  First funded in 2014, it's been in the works for about 11 years now.  For videos about Hall's Restaurant and it's approaching demise, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr4tQJDNtp8, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPJ1YlWY0Mw.  You'll meet Charlie, Helen and a number of loyal customers.

Halls is slated to close on July 24 of this year.  Laurie and I plan to enjoy a couple of Hall's famous burgers before then.  Hall's is located at 4500 Sweetwater Vonore Road near Madisonville Tennessee.  They are open from 5 AM until 3 PM Monday through Friday and from 6 AM until 3 PM on Saturday.  Phone: 423-442-3083.

I thought that I'd end this posting with a silly photo of a silly dog who desperately wants a belly rub from Laurie!  Fiona lives next door to us with her buddy Shrek.  The only thing that Fiona likes better than a belly rub is a treat...

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

No Post Week! (Almost...)

We're so tied up this week with the pending neighborhood garage sale that this will be the closest thing to a blog posting I'll even attempt.  Seventeen houses in the immediate area are all having garage sales on Friday and Saturday from 8 AM until 2 PM.   

We are still digging for other items to sell and we seem to be constantly reorganizing our garage sale offerings... We did sell one set of ladies golf clubs already.

Laurie caught 'some old guy' in this photo of one side of our garage.  We have signs on all the upper shelves stating that nothing on those shelves is for sale.  We've also covered our yard tools...rakes, shovels, etc. as they aren't for sale either.  I did sell a sledge hammer and an axe to one of folks from the crew that washes our windows a couple times a year.

This is a view of the other side of the garage.  Note the hanging items on the wall plus all the fishing rods and reels along the wall.  More golf clubs too.  That couch/love seat at the left by the garage door was sold today and it's gone.

I am selling a bunch of 'collectables' including some Olympic Games vendor's pins... This is a Vons Grocery Store pin from 1984.  I have lots of them from Atlanta and even a couple from Barcelona.  In addition, since I spent my career in retail security and loss prevention I have over 100 security badges bagged for sale.  Who knows?  I might sell a few of them.  Also on sale are 3 Montgomery Ward collectable trucks in their original boxes...

We did manage to sell a set of Mikasa China on-line and we just pulled a scattering of these Czechoslovakian plates and serving pieces out of storage, even matching boiled egg cups.  My mother inherited them from my great aunt Elsie ca. 1951 or so.  Someone might buy them... If not we'll find a home for them in a thrift store.

This rain-style shower head came with the house when we bought it.  It's been in the garage ever since... It will sell or it will become recycled metal!  We are running out of things to put out for the sale.

We have sold a number of furniture items in addition to that love seat previously mentioned.  This antique table came from my mother's house where it served her well for years.  We also sold a buffet, a baker's table with an attached hutch and 2 rocking chairs.  Basically the big stuff is gone and the sale doesn't start until this coming Thursday.

The weather forecast for the sale is that there is a 40% rain on the first day and 60% chance of rain on Saturday.  Whatever will be, will be!

All I know for sure is that this will be our first and last garage sale!  We are looking forward to 'just chillin' with a beverage on our screened porch after the madness we're expecting to take over the neighborhood.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  I'll be back with a new post on 6/10.

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie