Driving Around our Area and a Visit by a Friend

I’ve finally settled down to focus on what we’ve been doing around our home and our general area here in East Tennessee.  I couldn’t believe just how many blog posts I published that were related to our August 2018 trip to the northeastern USA!  I would guess that the number was between 70 and 75…and I really wrote some long posts that combined 2 or 3 topics in order to complete the written portion of the journey, otherwise I wouldn't have finished the trip on the blog until this August.

In any case, on a nice day about 3 weeks ago we went for a drive to explore some of the early spring scenes in the country plus we stopped in a couple of small towns along the way…and we had to stop for lunch too.

We stopped in downtown Sweetwater Tennessee so we could drop in to peruse one of Laurie’s favorite stores, Natural Elements Interiors, and visit with owner Fairy Lambert.  You can check out this store’s well designed website at http://naturalelementinteriors.com/?fbclid=IwAR2kxCZG1IM3q5wua4R33VIdR5FyDoIekI_X3XkbA2KXBMU3bq1MHBtR1dE. 

In any case, I parked on one of the side streets and I just liked this image…with the entrance for Sam’s City Barber Shop ‘alone’ along the wall of this old building at 101 Wright Street.  FYI, all 11 reviews on Google are very positive…

The last time we came through Decatur Tennessee, this attractive old building appeared to be empty.  It was a welcome sight to find that not only was it back in use, but in addition it’s in use as a local restaurant.

This is now Dixon’s BBQ and Cheesecake… The good news was that our timing was good and it was time for lunch!

Love those beautiful windows and the brick walls.  The mismatched chairs and the service counter are the right fit for a local BBQ joint.

For many years this building was the home of the Meigs County Bank.  I’d never heard of something like this before, but when the bank was founded in 1907, its office was actually in the County Courthouse.  The bank moved into this building when it was completed in 1920.   

The menu board is basic and straightforward… Meat and 2 sides along with your beverage for $7.99!  How can that be?  The choices on this particular day were pulled pork and pulled chicken, with brisket as the special. 

We both decided to go for the brisket special.  Trying to minimize the carbs, we just sided our brisket with the coleslaw.  The brisket was good although it was a bit more ‘loose’ than most brisket we’ve had over the years but the flavor was there.  The slaw was very nice.  All in all, with beverages included in the price, this was a hell of a deal for the money!

Perhaps the next time we’ll try the cheesecake… Dixon’s BBQ is located on Decatur’s Courthouse Square at 365 Abel Avenue.  Phone: 423-454-0351.  You can find Dixon’s BBQ on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/dixonsbbqandcheesecakes/.

Following our lunch at Dixon’s BBQ we wandered north along local roads and highways in the general direction of home… We spotted and made note of Uncle Gus’s BBQ Mountain Pit Bar-B-Que at 810 Peakland Road at TN Hwy. 304.  It looks worthy of a visit when we’re over this way again…

At one point as we followed TN Hwy. 304 north along the Tennessee River/the Watts Bar TVA Reservoir, I stopped to take this photo.  The field were ‘greening up’ and we could see the Cumberland Plateau in the distance.  That was a pretty good size yacht/boat that was working its way upstream.

Back in the early 1980s I worked for the retail division of Household International (Household Finance) based in Des Plaines Illinois.  Laurie took this photo of Greg yours truly.  He was a highly valued and most rational member of our loss prevention team back in the day.  We had some great and strange adventures, that’s for sure.  In any case, we’ve been friends and have kept in touch over the years.  He and his family were on vacation in the area so we had a chance to catch up in person…which was even more interesting as he succeeded me in my last position when I retired. 

    

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