On Our Way and Exploring Paris...Tennessee That Is!

Of course, in order to experience a 'found family gathering' in Paris Tennessee as previously reported, we had a bit of a drive to get there.  The distance was about 290 miles...not a particularly long drive for us.

Note:  Tennessee is a long and narrow state.  If one was to drive from the northeastern most point in Tennessee to the southeastern most point, you would cover about 424 miles.

We had skipped breakfast at home before leaving, giving us a good excuse for a meal break and a chance to stretch our legs.  I can't remember where we found this Waffle House location, but I think that it was in Clarksville Tennessee.  There are 124 Waffle House restaurants in Tennessee. 

Waffle House has been our 'go to' road stop in the Southeast USA for many years but, right or wrong we both feel that the quality or consistency has slipped.  Other alternatives are in our future...

This isn't a bridge over the Seine River approaching Paris (France).  Rather it's a bridge over one part of Kentucky Lake approaching Paris Tennessee.  Kentucky Lake is a navigable reservoir created by Kentucky Dam along the Tennessee River.  It has 2,064 miles of shoreline and a surface area of 160,309 acres.  It is the largest reservoir in the USA east of the Mississippi River.  It is connected via a free-flowing channel to Lake Barkley, a reservoir that impounds the Cumberland River and adds another 58,000 acres to this huge dual lake complex.

A short time later, we entered the town of Paris Tennessee.  One of the first things we noticed was this welcome sign topped with a giant blue catfish.  The sign states that Paris is the home of the World's Biggest Fish Fry... To explain this claim, a giant fish fry is held at the Fairgrounds during the last full week of April every year.  Most recently, attendees at this festival consumed about 12,500 lbs. of catfish!  Other events included a carnival, parade, rodeo, a catfish race, arts and crafts offerings, a demolition derby and much more.  For more information, just go to https://www.worldsbiggestfishfry.org/.

Yes indeed, this is the Eiffel Tower!  Paris Tennessee has it's own version of Paris France's original... This iteration of the Eiffel Tower is 60 feet tall.  It is a 1:20 scale replica that was completed in 1993.  It can be found in Paris' Memorial Park.  FYI, there are at least 10 Eiffel Tower replicas in the USA with 32 other nations having replicas of their own. 

 

I 'borrowed' the first photo of the Henry County Courthouse from Wikipedia as it shows how the courthouse appeared before the current and ongoing efforts to refurbish and upgrade the structure.  It was originally completed in 1897.  The city of Paris Tennessee is the county seat.  While the city was named "Paris" in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of America's Revolutionary War, the county was named in honor of one of our country's founding fathers, Patrick Henry.

I just had to include a photo of this 40 inch catfish statue that I noted on Courthouse Square.  A total of 15 catfish statues with different colors and decor were placed around Paris in early 2019.  The idea was to add another promotional element to the city's annual fish fry festival.   

 

...and then Laurie found a shop open while I was exploring the town square!  American Honey Mercantile does indeed sell honey...plus quality costume jewelry, home decor, women's and kid's clothing, pantry items, kitchen cooking supplies, pet accessories and more.  This store is located in one of 4 sections of a large 4-bay mercantile structure that was built in 1899.  American Honey Mercantile is located at 108 North Market Street in Paris Tennessee...and Laurie did make a purchase. 

Looking around the Courthouse Square, I thought that this 3-story Italianate commercial building was worthy of a photo.  I like the different color schemes and I love those old windows.  The structure was built ca. 1880.

I was quite sure that I'd photographed these buildings on a previous road trip.  We did wander through Paris several years prior to Laurie learning that she had relatives in the area... (See link to previous blog post at the end of this one)

I may have even previously photographed the Post Office in Paris.  It was built in 1908.  This structure, as well as the previous three buildings as shown above, are all part of the Paris Commercial Historic District.  The District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  There are a total of 44 'contributing' structures in the Historic District.  To learn more, you can go to https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/88001424.  

This is the James Davis Porter house, which is located at 407 South Dunlap Street in Paris.  The Federal style home was built by Thomas Crawford, a wealthy merchant, ca. 1850.  Porter family in-laws purchased the home in 1859.  The home is most notable as being the residence of Tennessee Governor James Davis Porter between 1887 and his death in 1912.  The home stayed in the family until at least 1972.

In addition to being a 2-term Governor of Tennessee, James Porter also served in the Tennessee Legislature, was a Lt. Colonel in the Confederate Army, then served as a judge.  Under President Cleveland Porter was the First Assistant Secretary of State and later served as the Minister/Ambassador to Chile.  The former Governor also served as the President of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad for 4 years.

This is the Thomas P. Jernigan House.  This beautiful Classical Revival home was built at 918 Dunlap Street in Paris ca. 1905.  Thomas Jernigan was a banker and investor who grew rich through his investments in the E.W. Grove Medicine Company.  That company prospered through the sale of its well-known patent medicine products, including Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic and its Laxative Bromo Quinine tablets.

A few years back I posted a blog that included the old Paris railway depot.   It was built in 1891 to serve the Paducah, Tennessee and Alabama Railway...or in 1896 to serve the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway...too many conflicting dates.  Passenger service was available here until the depot was closed in 1951.

As I researched the history of the depot, I ran across my previous blog post about Paris Tennessee, including the depot.   Apparently I took this photo from the other end of the building.  These days the depot seems a bit more worn out although it is in use as the home of the Paris-Henry County Arts Council.

To view other historic sites in Paris Tennessee that I'd included in my previous post from a little over 6 years ago, you can check out my earlier exploration of the city at https://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2018/09/on-to-paris-tennessee-that-is.html.

That's all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Found - Family

Both Laurie and I are interested in our family histories and we've gathered a plethora of family related items, articles and documents over the past few years.  In addition, off and on we have subscribed to and participated in both the Ancestry.com as well as 23andme.com on-line sites.  While it is interesting to learn that our genetic roots lead back to Scotland, England, Germany, Ireland, Sweden...and most recently Iceland in my case, the real payoff takes place when you discover family and begin communicating with them...    

What better way for us to start a 13 day road trip than to actually visit 'found family', in this case via 23andMe... So off we headed to western Tennessee to meet Laurie's 'found' cousin, Meggen, and her family!

This is Meggen's family's home which is just a bit south of Paris Tennessee.  The family lives out in the country on a nice piece of property.    

I took this photo of Laurie and Meggen shortly after we arrived.  Meggen had just gotten home from work and apparently Belle (the pointer) was really happy to see her.  

Meggen and her husband Bradley have a lot of critters...and both Laurie and I love critters.  Tucker aka "Tuck" is more or less the 'house dog' and his favorite place for cuddles is in Bradley's lap.

This is Bravo.  Despite the presence of so many canines, he is about as 'chill' as a cat can be.  Its like he owns the place!

Meggen and Bradley's farm includes a flock of chickens and one very busy rooster.  Laurie has always wanted chickens but 'sadly' our POA doesn't allow for farm animals.  We both do love fresh eggs and Meggen told Laurie that almost all of her chickens lay eggs with a greenish tint.  FYI, Laurie almost never buys white eggs...

Meggen and Bradley live on a nice parcel of land...wooded acreage with plenty of pasture land and privacy.

Lots of dogs!  This is Gabby and he is an old boy.  When Meggen and Bradley bought the farm, Gabby had been living there for quite a while...so he actually came with the farm.

While both Bradley and Meggen also work elsewhere, he in manufacturing and she in health care, they raise Katahdin sheep on their farm!  Neither Laurie or myself had ever heard of this breed.  This breed was developed by a breeder in Maine...so it is an American breed.  They are a cross-breed involving African Hair Sheep with various meat breeds, principally the Suffolk.  

The Katahdin breed are easy-care sheep.  In addition, they are resistant to many common parasites.  They grow a hair coat with little wool which molts naturally in the spring...no sheering needed.  Meggen and Bradley raise them for their high quality meat, selling off all of their lambs every year.  Meggen does have 4 sheep that have been given names...and those will not be sold!

Note the large black and white sheep in the middle of this photo.  It's the ram in the middle of his 'ladies'.  He is a Dorper ram...the Dorper being a South African breed that was created by the South African government to breed a meat sheep suitable to the more arid regions of that country.  While his 

'harem' of Katahdin ladies average 145 lbs., Dorper rams can weigh 230 lbs.

When raising sheep, goats or other small farm animals, coyotes abound in Tennessee so its a good idea to provide them with a protector.  In this case he is a Great Pyrenees whose name is Buck.  Buck does like a bit of human attention, especially if one of us would pick the burrs off his coat, but he is not a house dog...not his thing.

When owning a farm with critters to care for, an ATV is pretty much a necessity!  Meggen and Bradley rode down from the house to check out their flock of sheep.  They drove the ATV and we rode down to the pasture on a golf cart. 

After visiting the family at the farm, we headed into Paris Tennessee for a family dinner and gathering...

We got together with everyone at Moustos Pasta and Grill.  This restaurant is family owned and has been in business for over a decade.  With over 1,400 reviews on TripAdvisor, the restaurant has a 4.6 out of 5 rating.  As the focus was on meeting 'found family' I didn't take photos of the food, however both the food and service were very nice.  This restaurant has 2 locations in the area now, with another one opening soon.  Website: https://www.moustospastagrill.com/.  Unfortunately, this restaurant's website doesn't feature a menu which is a bit strange.   

Our family gathering included Meggen's son Collin, his wife Jordan, Meggen's mother Alice, then my better half Laurie, Meggen's son Alex at the head of the table, then Bradley and Meggen, then their son Sam...and at the end of the table their son Isaac with his girlfriend Kimora.

One final photo from our visit with Laurie's found family.  Laurie is at the left, then Meggen, and then Meggen's mother Alice.  Alice's mother was Laurie's grandmother's older sister on the paternal side of Laurie's heritage.

It was great meeting everyone and we loved the farm visit with all the critters.  The family has an open invitation to come and visit us at the eastern end of Tennessee!

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

Thanks for stopping by for our family gathering!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave and Laurie

A Neighborhood Gathering

It had been fairly slow and quiet in the neighborhood lately...but then one of our newer couples decided to host a gathering for residents within a block or two of their home.  The host's home is just a wooded lot (the last one) between their house and our home.  Instructions were to bring chairs.  We also brought coleslaw and 'rainbow' vegetable and pasta salad.

This photo captures the back of the home and the size of the backyard of our hosts where our neighborhood gathering was held.  It was a warm day but between the overhang under the porch and the shaded corner of the yard, it was comfortable for all.

This little West Highland White Terrier is named Sassy and she was the center of attention for much of the evening.  Sassy is our host's dog and she is much loved.  Lots of petting, scratching and loving.  Laurie certainly got her dog fix!

This was the masculine half of our host family.  Since his name is Dave, it's easy for me to remember.  His wife's name is Cheri. (I am terrible with names and always have been) As you can see, Dave also served as the chef for this event.

Most of our neighborhood rests on boulders and rocks, a real challenge for builders.  As you can see, Cheri and Dave made good us of some of the boulders that came from their build site.  Those birds fit nicely in with the rocks and the greenery.

The food...and there was a lot of it...was served on these tables under the screened porch.  For those that are used to me taking a lot of food photos, sorry to disappoint you but with one exception, shown below, I failed my usual routine. 

As a committed carnivore, I had to take a photo of the protein that our host, Dave, had grilled for the group.  As you can see, we had hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwurst.  I can assure you that I definitely got my fill!

I took a couple of photos of the neighborhood group at the gathering but I know that none of the photos included everyone that was there.  Origins of the group range from New Jersey to Illinois to Florida and out to California.

Cheri, our hostess, was the organizer for the gathering.  She planned to have the group play croquet and most of the attendees tried out their skill in this old time lawn game or sport.  Dave (our host) did take a little heat from Cheri for not cutting the lawn a bit shorter.  What the heck, it made the game more challenging for the participants!

FYI, croquet was first played in England way back in 1856.  Today this sport or activity is governed by the World Croquet Federation.  The USA has a related governing body.  There are several recognized types of games that are played and a World Championship does exist.  

So...just how close to Dave and Cheri do Laurie and I live?  See the white showing through the woods.  That is our house.  Like Laurie and me, Cheri and Dave hope that that wooded lot stays as it is.  Unfortunately, there aren't any guarantees that it won't be built on.

Tellico Village and Tellico Lake were developed via the Tennessee Valley Authority's Tellico Project.  Through that project, 22,000 acres were acquired through eminent domain law.  The lake flooded several Cherokee archeological sites and many private land owners and farmers were forced to give up their land "for the public good" and at a "fair price".  Almost 60 years later, some former landowners still resent the land grab.  The resentment was worsened by TVA's sale of much of the land to developers who have long since built the community where we live.

That bit of history ties into the photo of the hole in the ground.  It's on the lot between Dave and Cheri's home and ours.  It's an old well, which probably provided water for a home or farmhouse that sat at or near this site.  For us it was an interesting find.  Another related find was an old concrete highway marker found on a lot just across the street from Dave and Cheri's house.  In the winter when the leaves are off the trees, in our back yard Laurie and I can see where a small road used to exist.  Time marches on...

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

On to Omaha and July 4th!

Continuing with our road trip to visit family in both St. Louis Missouri and Omaha Nebraska...

When we're heading from St. Louis on up to Omaha, we always take US Hwy 61 north to Hannibal Missouri and then US Hwy 36 west across the state.  That keeps us off of the super busy, more dangerous and stress filled I-70 between St. Louis and Kansas City.  US Hwy 36 is a 4-lane highway all the way across Missouri.  The speed limit is 5 mph lower than the Interstate but US Hwy 36 features limited vehicular traffic, especially truck traffic.  However, less traffic means less opportunities for both fast food and sit down restaurants.  Thanks to GPS and the Internet, we have learned where dining opportunities exist...and it was time for lunch.

For the rest of the trip, I had one little problem.  I'd left my camera in Bill's SUV back in St. Louis...and I don't carry or want a cell phone.  Laurie wasn't too happy that I'd forgotten the camera as that meant that any photos we took were hers to do on her phone.  I didn't request very many photos for the rest of the trip...but, as you'll see...she did take some for my eventual use.

In any case, thanks to her smart phone, she found Robyn's, a local restaurant in downtown Cameron Missouri.  I borrowed the preceding photo from this restaurant's website.

Thanks to Laurie I can show readers that the interior decor at Robyn's Restaurant is decidedly southwestern.  The website states that the menu also reflects southwestern cuisine but, to me at least, it featured a nice basic diner style selection to chose from.  

FYI, Cameron was founded and prospered in the 1800s as a railway town.  Weirdly, parts of the city are located in 3 different counties.  Cameron has a population of about 8,700 residents.

For her mid-day mid-drive break, Laurie ordered the Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich, opting for cottage cheese vs French fries as her side dish. ($8.99) She said that it was one of the better BLT's she's had when dining out in quite a while.  Translation - There was plentiful bacon!

In addition to other basic sandwiches, Robyn's offers a number of appetizers such as fried pickles, fried mushrooms, cheese curds and sweet potato fries. Wraps and dinner salads are also featured.  

My luncheon entree was this Hand-Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich. ($10.99) The pork tenderloin was breaded with seasoned cracker crumbs, then fried and served on a buttered toasted bun...with lettuce, tomato and onion, all accompanied by French fries.  

From what I could determine, the Fried Catfish at Robyn's is very popular.  I also noted a truly unusual sandwich specialty.  It was the Salted Caramel burger with sea salt, caramel and bacon. ($9.99) If a customer wanted to 'jazz up' this sandwich, they will add peanut butter to the sandwich.  Hmmm...

FYI...Friday night specials include a 12 oz. Ribeye Steak with salad, vegetable, roll and potato for only $21.95 and a 13 oz. Catfish filet dinner for only $17.95.

Robyn's is located at 115 East 3rd Street in Cameron Missouri.  They are only open for lunch on Monday and lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday.  They are closed on Saturday and Sunday.  Food was good and the prices were right.  With 528 Google reviews, Robyn's has registered 4.7 out of 5.0.  Website: https://robynsofcameron.com/.  

Our next stop was our son and daughter-in-law's home in Omaha Nebraska!  One of the first things we noticed upon arrival was this grouping of my mother's hand painted tiles in the kitchen.  The tiles are among the large selection of family related art work that we've given David II and Amy for display in their home.  Laurie and I have always loved these tiles but we just didn't have any appropriate place to show them off.  There is one tile for each month of the year, each with a scene that fits what might have been happening that month in times gone past in a northerly state.

These two tall (6'4" +) young fellows were the key reason for this particular trip to Omaha.  Emmett Lee, on the left is 21 and he has been off to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln studying computer science and business management.  This summer he had an apartment in the Kansas City area where he had a summer internship with Garman Ltd in Olathe Kansas.  David III, 23, attended New York University and he's now living and working in Evanston Illinois.  The odds of seeing the two together are slim to say the least.  David II and Amy are now adjusting to being empty nesters.

This is David III's girlfriend Ryanna.  She has graduated from college as well and is about to start her career in the field of social work.  We were fortunate enough that she was part of the July 4th family gathering and food fest.  It gave us a chance to get to know her.  Despite her being in Omaha and David III being in the Chicago area, they do travel back and forth to spend time together. 

Alas, Emmett attended the July 4th festivities without his girlfriend Carly.  They both attend the same school at the University of Nebraska Lincoln but Carly was off in London England for her own summer internship.  This photo was taken at the WWI museum in Kansas City.  School will be back in session very soon now so they won't be apart for long.

In another upcoming post, our grandson's parents will be included.  But for the moment, it was all about Laurie and I plus our very tall grandsons.  I used to be just a hair over 6' tall...probably 5'11" now...but 'the boys' just tower over both of us.

As I was without a camera and didn't want to keep bugging my better half to take photos, I don't have any photos of the big July 4th food feast that David II and Amy prepared for the family.  It was all about tacos with grilled chicken, sliced steak and more, with all the related accompaniments...including watermelon and adult beverages.

Fortunately, the family's deck sits up high and it overlooks a huge field/shallow valley used by residents for sports, games, etc.  Although the trees around the perimeter have grown significantly over the past few years, there is still good visibility for fireworks viewing.  The area was completely lit up, whichever way we looked.  Explosions rattled the scene.  Laurie did manage to capture a handful of fireworks photos... We hope that everyone else had a great July 4th!

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

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave