Family Tradition - and then Our Road Trip Continued...

Folks tend to talk about family traditions as those annual family activities that span generations.  However, some family traditions resonate with just a single generation and, if you think about it, all family traditions have to start somewhere.  Laurie and I are all about road trips along byways and single lane highways through the countryside, exploring villages, small towns and cities along the way... That is our personal 'tradition'.

Our son, David III and his wife Amy, have created their own family tradition.  It may start and end with them...but it is something different...and its an experience that they are committed to.

Amy and David II have now stayed at 3 tiny cabins, this most recent one being a bit southwest of Duluth Minnesota.  The others were in Illinois and Missouri.  It is their escape from the world's craziness and it provides time together with minimal distractions.  Each cabin is equipped with a small (tiny) bathroom as well as A/C and heat.  The company providing their tiny cabin opportunity was Postcard Cabins.  You can see the other amenities in the second photo... 

David and Amy get a lot of reading done during their down time at the cabin but backroad exploration is also a part of their experience.  The cabins are each set apart by a few hundred feet and generally they back up into the edge of the woods.  Nearby hiking trails are provided.  Postcard Cabins are always near state and national parks and a decent sized city is within an hour or two.  They dine in local restaurants and sometimes stop by small shops.  They already have booked their tiny cabin for next year.

A brief search on the Internet revealed a lot of 'tiny' cabins for rent.  Apparently it is big business.  Postcard Cabins and Airbnb are two major providers.  In East Tennessee, many 'tiny' cabins are available from different sources...although in many instances, the use of "tiny" is questionable.  Postcard Cabins' website is found at postcardcabins.com.  

As I mentioned above, when David II and Amy are experiencing one of their tiny cabin stays, they do drive into nearby towns to look around and to dine at local eateries.  Knowing my obsession with old railroad depots, David II took a photo of this old depot in Superior Wisconsin, which is now a brewery and restaurant.  They stopped in for one of their meals.    

The Thirsty Pagan Brewing and Restaurant is first of all a brewery.  But they also serve appetizers, salads, pizzas, calzones and desserts.  You can check out their website at https://www.thirstypaganbrewing.com/. 

This depot was built in 1908 by the original Wisconsin Central Railroad.  In 1909 it was leased by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, aka 'the Soo or Soo Line".  Three former Presidents stopped at this depot, including Presidents Coolidge, Hoover and Truman.  The last passenger train departed from the depot back in 1965.

...and now, back to our own road trip!

As we headed toward our next overnight stay in Bardstown Kentucky we drove through Murray Kentucky, the county seat for Calloway County.  The Calloway County Courthouse was built in 1913 in the Classical Revival style.  The previous courthouse had burned down but this replacement was finally funded through 'blatant election tampering'.  Votes authorizing the issuance of bonds for construction were falsified.  Voters had actually turned down the needed funding.  Those in favor of the new courthouse cheated to get what they wanted.

    

Since the George Floyd killing in Minnesota, public memorials or statues like this one are unusual, with many being destroyed or moved to private property or cemeteries.  This Confederate monument is located on the northeast corner of the Calloway County Courthouse property in Murray Kentucky.  Featuring Robert E. Lee, it commemorates the 800 residents of the county who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  The monument was originally funded by a chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1917.  Despite repeated and vocal calls for its removal, including pressure from Kentucky's Governor, the Calloway County Fiscal Court has ruled that the statue will be kept in place.

In downtown Cadiz Kentucky we came across a plethora of painted pigs!  Over the years we've seen eye-catching painted cows, dogs, roosters, foals, cougars and more, but we'd never seen painted pigs.  A local artist painted the pigs...some with ads and many without.  We didn't come into town via the Interstate so we missed "Big Pig", a 10-foot sow that features painted images, stitched together like a quilt, showing scenes landmarks significant to Trigg County.  The whole pig statue project was completed to promote the County Ham Festival... The festival pulls in something between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors each year.

That purple pig at the end of the group of pig photos shown above just happened to be placed right in front of The Purple Pig Antiques and Artisans retail store.  Yes indeed, we did make a couple of small purchases... It was an interesting store with a lot of variety for those who enjoy browsing for 'treasures'.  To learn more about The Purple Pig retail establishment, you can just go to ThePurplePigAntiquesAndArtisans.com.

Our next stop was in Cadiz Kentucky.  This town's Downtown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places back in 1988.  A total of 16 contributing buildings are included.  That includes the former commercial building at 63 Main Street as shown above.  A portion of the building now serves and the Cadiz City Hall.  Although I'm sure that this structure was built prior to 1920, I couldn't confirm a completion date.

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Party Time and a Little More

Laurie is finally rid of her boot as her ankle has healed.  But we’re still hanging around home.  The good news is that, with Daylight Savings Time, now its light until about 8:30 PM.  Given that fact, the odds of us upping our local explorations/adventures in the near future are greatly heightened.

In the meantime, it’s all about our home and our neighborhood…

Recently, our neighbors Sue and Steve were hosts for a neighborhood gathering for the folks who live on our street as well as similarly named streets.  So our street is ‘Way’, another is “Circle”, another is “Lane”, and yet another is “Trace”.  I only took a few photos.  This first picture shows that almost everyone focused on something happening off to the left of the photo. 

Note: I estimate that there were about twice as many attendees at this neighborhood gathering than are shown in the photo.

This is Dale… He walks his "Westies", aka West Highland White Terriers, past our home a couple times a day…and as is evident in the photo, Dale is a musician.  With his guitars, microphone and sound system, he was the focus of the group in that first photo.  Not only can Dale play the guitar, he can sing too!

Note: Both Laurie and I ‘tend’ to carry dog treats in our pockets whenever we’re headed to the mailbox or hanging around in the front yard.  It’s how we get our dog ‘fix’ without having a dog.  The local dogs look for us now whenever they pass by our house.

I did neglect to take photos of the 3 plus tables laden with food.  Everybody brought something to share.  Our contribution was a big bowl of KFC ‘nuggets’ with a variety of sauces.  There were meatballs, little sandwiches, veggies, chips, casseroles, desserts and more for the crowd to nosh on…

We did get rained on for a short time.  Most of us hung out on Steve and Sue’s front porch or in the garage.  However Wayne made do/adapted as necessary given the situation.  Comfortable in his chair under his umbrella, he continued to enjoy a variety of the food offerings available.  That's what I call multi-tasking!

This was a pleasant neighborhood event and everyone had a chance to meet new people and spend time visiting.  I suspect that it was successful to the degree that we’ll see other similar gatherings in the summer and fall.

…now onto our home and various changes and views. 

This photo shows the front of our home looking from our driveway.  Note those 2 large reddish loropetalum bushes to the right side of our porch as well as that tall straggly looking almost red hued loropetalum bush to the left of the photo next to the magnolia. 

A year ago we thought that they had been killed due to a cold winter...but they came back.  This past winter, we had a prolonged and unusual December cold snap and there wasn’t a sign of life from those bushes for several weeks into spring.  But Mother Nature triumphed again and they are staging yet another comeback.  

Once they look healthy enough to survive a shock, the two at the right will be cut way back as they are both too large and too tall.  We may eliminate that tall straggly one and plant flowers or a different bush. 

In the picture showing the front of the house, you can see that despite a stunning growth spurt in our neighborhood and the area in general, we still have some woods adjacent to our home.  When we first moved in almost 15 years ago, we had woods right across the street, behind us and beside us on the right/garage side of the house.  Much of that has disappeared…

For now at least we can take comfort and appreciate the remaining forested areas.  The first photo above was taken from the front porch on the left looking along that side of the house.  The second photo, taken by Laurie, shows the wooded area on the left side as taken from the back yard.  The third photo shows the woods on the left as viewed from the front porch…and that final photo is of the one wooded lot right across the street from the one next to us. 

In the last 2 photos above, note the new homes peeking through the woods…

Laurie took this photo in our backyard.  That house is behind us and it wasn’t there just a few months ago.  It will be completed soon and we’ll have more new neighbors.  That lot was completely wooded but we are lucky in that there still is a nice dividing fringe of woods between the houses and now that the sun can reach the ground and do its job, the undergrowth will thicken up.  Laurie saw our neighborhood fox the other day and once construction dies down for a bit, perhaps we’ll have an occasional visit from our local deer herd. 

Mother Nature and a passing bird probably ‘planted’ these pretty wildflowers that popped up in Laurie’s circular front flower bed.  The bees and butterflies liked them…so they stayed.  I’ve been unable to identify them but they are very decorative and pleasing to the eye.  If you know what they are, let us know...

The rose-breasted grosbeaks are back!  Laurie managed to capture a few photos of these colorful birds at our feeder and our water source on the deck.  Sometimes referred to as a ‘cut-throat’ given the coloration under its head, this large seed-eating bird is a member of the cardinal family.  As usual with birds, the male is the colorful member of the family. 

An average maximum life span in the wild is a little over 7 years but in captivity they can live for up to 24 years.  Rose-breasted grosbeaks flee to warmer climates in the winter, where they range from southern Mexico through Central America and Cuba to Peru and Venezuela.  These birds are plentiful and are classified as a ‘least concerned’ species by wildlife experts.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

Independence Day in the USA!

 Happy Fourth of July!

Commemorating America's Declaration of Independence!

Local Happenings!

Time for a short break from my long running July road trip narrative…  We’ve partially pulled back from too many outings.  Despite having had the vaccine, we are both of a certain age and with varying stages of health so we wear our masks in stores and generally avoid large crowds.  Eating out has less appeal as well, just from a risk avoidance point of view.  As the old saying goes, ‘different strokes for different folks’.  In our case moderate caution is our current mantra.

But, we do make exceptions in certain circumstances…

Next door neighbors Sherry and Mike invited us to their annual shrimp boil and, while we skipped it last year out of caution, this year with most of us older folks in our community vaccinated, we joined the party!

As we joined the party, I took this photo.  People were still arriving but one of the shrimp boil pots is visible and so is a big set of Jenga blocks.  The objective when playing Jenga is to remove blocks from the stack without the stack collapsing.  The game stresses me out!

As the crowd grew, it spread out.  The first photo shows part of the gathering in the garage and the second is of those who migrated to the back deck under Mike and Sherry’s louvered roof.  Other folks situated themselves at the island in the kitchen and on the screened porch.  There were people from around the USA in attendance…typical for our community.  We talked to people from New York, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and California.

When the food was ready, the potatoes, shrimp, sausage and corn were dumped into these big serving pans.  By the time I took this photo, this pan was greatly depleted… We usually aren’t big fans of seafood boils but, as they say, it’s all about timing and Mike timed it right!  Even the corn was perfect…as most corn on the cob that we’ve experienced at boils is mushy.  Not the case here! 

The stunner at this party was the dessert table and the over-the-top selection!  I took these 3 photos and I didn’t capture all of the options.  We brought some caramel cheese popcorn for an appetizer and our dessert contribution was that extra-large Costco Apple Pie.  It was almost completely gone when we headed home.  I had a slice of the pie and two…or perhaps three of the cookies.

When we headed home, most of the attendees were still going strong.  Two couples were playing Jenga and some of the guys were chipping golf balls at a target or playing corn hole.  Most of the ladies had retired to the screened porch or the deck.  It certainly was a beautiful day for a party!

I did take one other photo as we departed.  This is one of couple’s dog…her name is Maddie.  She’d trading in the toy she brought with her to the party and replaced it with a large rock from Mike and Sherry’s yard.  She wasn’t giving it up either!  Very cute!

Dawn Marie flew up from Miami to spend a few days with us.  We hadn’t seen her since last January.  Her job with an IT company usually has her on the road but during the pandemic she’s been mostly working from home.  As she’s as vulnerable as we are to infections, we stayed home for most of her 3 day visit… Watching her ‘relax’, I’m sure glad that I’m retired because in today’s work environment, you can’t get away from ‘the job’.  She has international responsibilities so she had conference calls at odd times and the emails/texts never slowed down.  Still, it was a comfortable change of venue for her and we got in quite a bit of football on TV.  

Fiona was our most recent houseguest… She lives next door with Mike and Sherry and they’d asked us if we could dog sit over this past weekend.  Mike was off playing golf in South Carolina and Sherry was headed to a mahjong tournament in Nashville.  She has 2 beds…one was near Laurie’s recliner and the other was in our bedroom.  She seems to favor lying on her back and she’s always asking for belly rubs.

Fiona’s visit went well too…except that she expects to go for a walk and to be fed later than 7 AM…and we usually don’t get up until 9 AM.  We adjusted to her schedule on the second night.  It was a nice visit except when she sprinted across the bedroom floor and leaped on our bed and did a couple of circles and leaped off the bed.  She apparently sprained a muscle in her left hind leg…nothing broken, thank goodness.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave   

Time Passes Quickly – A Celebration!

It seems like just yesterday…or perhaps just a few years ago that Laurie and I got married.  But as April 2021 rolled around, so did our wedding anniversary.  Looking at the calendar and then looking back at our wedding photos provides proof that many years have actually passed since we tied the knot!

We were married in April 1979, a mere 42 years ago!  It all started with a ‘blind date’ that my admin had arranged at my behest.  I’d guess that putting that pressure on Debbie these days would be inappropriate behavior… In any case, Laurie and I met in April of 1978 and we got married exactly a year later.  Dang, I even had hair back then! 

Our wedding party was very small indeed.  We were pretty much broke at the time and didn’t want to roll up a big debt.  After the wedding, the group reassembled at a local restaurant.  Our wedding party consisted of our mothers, David II, Laurie’s maid of honor, my best man, the minister and his wife.  Our honeymoon consisted of a night at the Marriott Hotel at the St. Louis-Lambert Airport and, after a drive across Missouri to Kansas City, a night at the Regency Hyatt Hotel.  On Monday, it was back to work for both of us…

For our celebratory dinner this year…after skipping anniversary dinner out in 2020…we returned to the restaurant where we’d celebrated our 4oth anniversary, an Outback Steakhouse in Knoxville Tennessee.  It’s not a particularly romantic restaurant but, as you’ll see, it was perfect for the occasion. 

It would have appeared more romantic if we sat next to each other but sitting across from each other allows for a better conversation and reminiscing.  Time for a toast with our adult beverages!  While Laurie had a fancy special cocktail, blackberry and lemon vodka martini, as usual I went for a Miller Lite.

Our pleasant and eager to please waitress snapped this photo… We sure look a little different than we did 42 years ago.  Laurie sure did marry an old guy!  It’s hard to imagine where the time has gone…but our memories are strong and we’ve had a lot of great adventures, as well as a few mishaps, along the way.  Right now we’re looking forward to visits later this year with family and friends as well as continuing our explorations along the back roads of the USA and Canada.

My choice for dinner was a 12 oz. ribeye steak grilled medium rare.  It was accompanied by a baked potato stuffed with butter, cheese and crumbled bacon.  We’d started the meal with some bread and very flavorful matching Caesar salads.  My steak was good if not great…but it was very satisfying. 

One of the reasons that Outback Steakhouse fitted our needs…or at least our wants…was that I could order a steak and Laurie could order her favorite food…lobster tails with drawn butter!  They were sided with some nice home style mashed potatoes.  She was a happy wife for sure, especially after a year in self-imposed quarantine and zero lobster.  It was just great to get out and about!  FYI, the other reason for our choice…we had 3 gift cards for Bloomin’ Brands that we’d been unable to use for almost a year!

Only 8 more years and we’ll be able to celebrate our 50^th! 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie 

Not Quite Back to Normal…but Better than Before

Both vaccine shots in our arms equals less risk from Covid-19 and we are out and about more now.  However, given the millions of Americans that haven’t been vaccinated, caution is needed.  Vaccine hesitancy, resistance or fear is one issue but the Johnson and Johnson vaccine blood clot issue and related publicity has exacerbated the problem.  Of course, while it is possible for vaccinated folks to still be infected with the coronavirus, we at least have a much improved chance of avoiding hospitalization.

In any case, we’ve been getting out more, visiting with friends and neighbors and even eating in local restaurants.  Being able to get out and about more safely is certainly a positive feeling!

Local farmer’s markets in the area are beginning to open.  One of our first stops was a couple of weeks ago at the Mennonite Farmer’s Market in Tellico Plains Tennessee.  We actually have 3 of these markets in our area, with the other two being located near Englewood and Delano.  From the outside, they all look pretty much alike.  This conservative religious order seems to have a loyal and eager clientele at all their markets!

This plant building is right next to the market itself.  As you can see, it was loaded inside and  out with all types of starter plants for vegetables, herbs as well as flowers and some trees.  Laurie picked up replacements for her parsley and basil plants that didn’t make it through our winter. 

As I wandered through the main store, I spotted this horse and wagon tethered at the back of the store.  It’s like going back in time just seeing something like this.

The main store didn’t have too much to offer that early in the season.  Mostly root vegetables, jams, pickles, some early leaf lettuce, granola and several bakery items.  We picked up 2 bags of the granola (Laurie’s favorite) as well as a couple loaves of the sourdough bread. 

Before we left, I walked over to the edge of the hill where the market sits and took these two photos of the valley that this group of conservative Mennonites live and grow their crops.  The scene is very bucolic…and quite peaceful.

Early this past week we were off to a party, something that we haven’t done in more than a year!  A new resident had discovered that we had lived in Attleboro Massachusetts for a while…and she invited us to the couple’s 20^th anniversary party…a no gift rule was in force. 

As you can see above, the party was held outdoors in their driveway.  Guests brought their own chairs… It was the largest group of people that we’d seen or been around since early 2020!  One person was wearing a mask, probably due to not having his jabs yet.  Two other people attending said that they weren’t going to get the vaccine.  We stayed away from them! 

This was the happy couple.  JoAnn and Tex got married in Hawaii so that was the general theme of the get together.  JoAnn has discovered the joys of quilting since moving into the neighborhood.  They are a lively couple!  Tex is a former heavy metal rocker/guitarist.  When he hit a certain age, he told me that since he wasn’t a ‘Mick Jagger’, it was time to do something else with his life.  So he became a stockbroker.  He told me that 3 out of the 4 members of his band had taking up the same profession…  What are the odds!

Lei’s were furnished to all the party goers and the couple set up this long table loaded with a variety of tasty desserts.  My favorite was the Tres Leche cake from Costco but cheesecake, cookies, chocolate cake, a chocolate torte and much more was available.  It was a nice change after a year of self-isolation!

Looking ahead at a positive development in our area… We already have 2 ice cream parlors in our area.  One is located in Loudon and another is adjacent to Tellico Village but we will soon have a third option.  The La Michoacana Ice Cream Parlor will soon open in Lenoir City!

A little research revealed that La Michoacana is a group of different Mexican ice cream parlors with more than 8,000 locations in Mexico alone.  This loose ‘chain’ is a successful business model network of family-operated businesses. 

No single company operates them as a formal franchise operation.  Training and image related materials are provided through the ‘parent organization’, but the fact is that these stores are truly independent businesses that choose to use the name.  Consequently, the quality of the product, pricing and variety can vary widely between locations.  Hopefully, this outpost for the group will be a winner.  Another location can be found in Knoxville itself.  We’re looking forward to giving this one a try!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave