You just gotta have a little drive

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."- Tim Cahill

This may have been a short trip for us but it is definitely, as Tim Cahill says, more than the miles that matter.

As our next trip was approaching I kept checking the weather and it was looking bad with storm possibilities basically blanketing the entire route. I thought about postponing or cancelling it since it was to NC and technically Meg and I were already there in our first road trip of the year... but our Mom wasn't with us on that one and still needed the state to complete her own 48.

Now this one wasn't that far but because of the timing of when I wanted to get to one of the stops it required us either leaving on Thursday for part of the drive or leaving at like 2am on Friday morning. Since we know sleeping in the car is going to be part of the future for our long two week trip out west I opted for the sleeping in the car option so we can get used to it a little. So we picked up our Mom in Nashville and began making our way East on I-40 toward North Carolina. We stopped a little bit outside Bristol and slept at a rest area.  I've been using a bandana as a mask and this weekend the bandana really showed off its versatility. I used it overnight as a blindfold to help block out light from the rest area security lights. I used it as a hair tie at various points. And, obviously, I used it as a mask. 

The next morning the first order of business was coffee; and for that we crossed state lines to Bristol, VA, and the Blackbird Bakery. 

We were refreshed and energized and ready to explore a few spots in Bristol so we drove all the way ;-) back to Bristol, TN. Otherwise known as driving around the block. State street was split with TN on one side and VA on the other side. The street lights even had the corresponding state flags hanging from them. 

We drove to the birthplace of Tennessee Ernie Ford. Ernest Jennings Ford was born in 1919 and he began his career in music in 1937 at WOPI Radio. In 1946, after returning from service during WWII, he continued his career in radio traveling to CA and hosting his own morning show. He enjoyed success in radio, tv, and his own recording career. So much so that he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame 1991, given three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1984. He had one of the first and big country-pop crossovers with his working man's anthem of "Sixteen Tons" which spent multiple weeks at the top of country and pop charts.

Our next stop in Bristol has been labeled the birthplace of country music as the site where Ralph Peer first recorded "hillybilly" artists like the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers in the Bristol Sessions for the Victor Talking Machine Company. Here is a recording from the second session of Jimmie's "Blue Yodel."

      

Across the street was a strange metal man holding a guitar. I walked over to get a better look at it and passed by one of the city of Bristol water works sewer caps. On it was a fiddle so I decided to leave my fiddle rock there with the Music Man.

  

And then we were on our way to Jefferson, NC. We took a northern route through VA for a bit before cutting back south to NC through the mountains.. and by through the mountains I mean our GPS decided to take us on a crazy one lane dirt path up the winding cliffside of a small mountain. Thank God no one came from the other direction because I would not have been able to get out of the way. It was so beyond being a road that grass was growing in between the worn tire tread marks. I forget what the name of the 'road' was but it was definitely one of the most tense drives I have ever had. But despite the strange route we ended up at our next destination: St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. And pretty much on schedule. This was Church six out of seven from back during Lent when I was trying to visit seven Churches in seven States. I picked the Church because St. Francis is one of my favorite Saints, the patron Saint of animals. And I pray to him often. We prayed to him when Roma got out of the house and was missing for over 72 hours, when our German Shepherd Schultzy passed away, and again when Roma became mysteriously ill. 

Since we had Gypsy Rover and Domino with us we asked the priest if he could bless them and he did. Then I brought Gypsy around to a statue of St. Francis at the front corner of the property. I will write more about the visit to the Church when I write the blog post for the last four churches in my Lenten resolution. 

We were right on schedule and it was time for lunch so we went over to the cute downtown area of West Jefferson where it looked like there are actually several small breweries. We settled on New River Brewing which had outdoor seating. Unfortunately the clouds were getting threatening but we thought we had enough time to eat... at one point there was a little sun shower but I think the dogs appreciated the rain as a break form the sun and heat. The wings with their signature sauce were delicious and I liked that the food was served in baskets with a fake newspaper liner. The article was marking the anniversary of the Miracle on Ice when the USA men's hockey team went on to win the Gold Medal in the 1980 Olympic Games.

Next was a bonus stop because Meg spotted a sign with an arrow pointing down a side street that said "Church of the Frescos." St. Mary's in Ashe County is one of two rural churches that house fresco paintings by Benjamin Long. Ben was born in Texas but grew up in Statesville, NC. He went to Chapel Hill to pursue an education in art. When other young men were being drafted he enlisted into the Marine Corp with hope of using his education to serve the military and becoming a combat artist. On his second tour in Vietnam he served as Commander of the Combat Art Team and some of his work from that time is on display in the Smithsonian Museum and can be found at his website.

In 1976-1977 Ben worked on the three frescos in St. Mary's: The Mystery of Faith, Mary, and John The Baptist. I sat in the church admiring the frescos and the detail in them. I loved the imagery of an eclipsed sun above Mary.

Next we drove east to High Point, NC. Our first stop was a statue of Atlas holding up the earth however it was behind a gate on the campus of High Point University. We could see it from the road but could not get close. Our next stop was the American headquarters for Italian Furniture company, Natuzzi. Their office building is in the shape of a ship, well half a ship, complete with a porthole. The effect is best seen from the front. 

It had been a long day and we were ready for dinner so we searched for a hotel along the way to our next stop and ended up in Hickory, NC. For dinner we went to the Blowing Rock Brewery. They had a great outdoor atrium with live music and tables and then to the right was the closed in bar. As we were waiting for our table I ordered a beer, kolsch. A fellow from the local paper, Hickory Daily Record, asked if he could take our picture for Hoppin' around Hickory. Meg didn't want to be in the picture so she held my beer while my Mom and I posed with our respective pups. 

As we sat outside in the atrium enjoying our meal and beer we got to listen to the awesome acoustic performance from Kevin Smith. By the way they had the most delicious home made chips. If you are in the Hickory area go there and order the chips you won't be sorry.

The next morning our hotel actually had breakfast! For the first time since we re-started going on trips again. It was plated instead of buffet style I had scrambled eggs, sausage patty, and home fries. It surprised me because I know NC is one of the more lock-downed states but it was a nice bit of normal to start our day. That being said I still wanted more coffee and googling coffee and Hickory, NC, one thing was clear... we had to go to the 'Coffee Bus.' The company is Taproot Coffee. And the owner is Malachi Morris. He was 19 when he decided coffee was his future and has been bringing people together ever since. As we pulled into the back of the parking lot where his coffee bus was parked it was quite clear that even Covid-19 couldn't keep people away form the coffee and the experience. There were several different pods of parked cars with lawn chairs in the parking lot as people gathered to sit and enjoy their relaxing Saturday morning.

Our next stop was a quick one in Old Fort, NC, where they have a 30 foot arrowhead monument beside the town train station. They had a cute park and a gazebo so we sat and took a photo with our non-stop on the go puppy.... you can see how well that turned out.

 

Afterwards we drove to our last stop in NC: Lake Junaluska. The town is named for one of the leaders of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indian Tribe. He fought alongside Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and was credited with saving Jackson's life. A moment he would come to regret as he and his fellow Cherokee were mistreated and forced out of their home to the "Indian Territory" in Oklahoma. Junaluska would return years later and again make his home in NC. 

With our trip through North Carolina finished we began driving home to TN. Looking at the time it worked out perfectly that we would be arriving in Knoxville right in time for some dinner with a little sightseeing before that. But we had a little bad luck. Our first stop was to see a giant Rubiks Cube located in the lobby of a hotel, a gift from Hungary to the city. Unfortunately the hotel was under construction and closed. 

Next we went to World's Fair Park to find a statue honoring the late Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff who played his last concert on February 17, 1943, in Knoxville.

   

And here is the master at work:

I almost didn't find the statue. It was nestled in a very peaceful circle of trees. Meg was able to use Google Earth satellite images to guide me to his location.

Our next stop was a fun and random statue of a man rowing a boat in the middle of the sidewalk. I don't know why the statue is there in front of a bank. I left my last rock with him though for safe keeping.

Our last stop was a nice stop and a bit of TN history. On August 18, 1920 Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the Constitutional Amendment that gave women the right to vote. The final vote according to legend was cast by 24 year old Harry T. Burn. It was a letter from his spirited mother Febb Burn where she wrote:

"Hurrah, and vote for suffrage, and don't keep them in doubt... I hope you see enough of politicians to know it is not one of the greatest things to be one... Don't forget to be a good boy."

Burn himself would eventually give his mother her due credit explaining:

"I knew that a mother's advice is always safest for a boy to follow and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification."

Certainly a very fitting statue to visit as we approach the Centennial Anniversary of that historic vote.

Now we had just one more stop to make at yet another brewery (our shortest trip has the most breweries). I'm pretty sure if I lived in Knoxville I would be there every weekend. It was the Schulz Brau Brewing Company. We entered a stone portico with benches and tables. To our left was a row of benches with coverings on them so we set ourselves up there since it gave the pups a booth and some privacy to rest. We went inside and built some flights and then came out to decide on our food. The food served is traditional German faire... and I had the Fleischkase Burger and potato salad- I was certain they would have delicious potato salad and I was not wrong. Fleischkase is a bologna sausage and the burger had a fried egg and sauerkraut, mustard, and green peppers on it. I'm going to be honest on this Meg picked the place because she read a ridiculous sounding review that gave the place a one star. Not believing the rating was warranted she wanted to see for herself. I haven't gone on yet to give it a review but I promise you it will be a lot higher than one star!

And then we finished the last two hours home and we were actually home on a Saturday! Which meant we had Sunday to rest and prepare for the next road trip. It's a big one. Here is an updated map on all the states we have visited using weekend trips from TN.

As you can see it's time to head west...

Spontaneity for the Win

 Last week Meg and I left my Mom's condo around 6pm and began driving home like normal. However on the way I began telling Meghan about a cemetery I had been looking up in Aberdeen, MS and Meghan said, this is paraphrasing but close enough, "we should go there, want to?" And I said "yeah, do you mean now?" And she said "yeah" and I said "yeah" and so we changed direction and highway and began driving south. It was about 7pm on Friday and we had work at 5am on Sunday so this had to be a quick trip. Also we had nothing with us. Meg called a hotel in Tupelo to get a room and I went inside a Walmart to get toothbrushes, tooth paste, and a few other essentials. When I came back out I called my Mom, who was waiting for us to call her when we got home, so she would know not to expect the call for awhile.  

Funny thing is when I made the Natchez Trace trip I purposely made sure we wouldn't be driving it at night because it is very dark and there are a lot of deer and I know my luck... So guess what road the GPS decided we should take between 9-11pm. Yup. Guess what we saw: a lot of deer and one super adorable fox. We also made it just fine with only one or two real serious brake checks. The room was nice but there was one problem... we were right across from the elevator and Gypsy Rover was determined to keep us safe from the dinging of the elevator bell with all her might.  So we turned up the air and put the tv on to try and block the sound of the elevator and that worked pretty well. 

Having had such good success with Hunt's Donuts in Branson I searched for best coffee in Tupelo and Strange Brew popped up, even better it was five minutes away. 

I got their signature drink the Albino Squirrel with white chocolate and hazelnut while I got Meg a Darth Mocha or as it described it: "the latte you are looking for." And we each got a parfait. 

Then we began driving the rest of the way to Aberdeen and the Old Aberdeen Cemetery to look for two specific graves. However I did not realize there were two cemeteries and we ended up spending some time in the Odd Fellows Cemetery before finding the one we really wanted. In the Odd Fellows cemetery we saw two graves that grabbed our attention they were from the same family, Terrell. One had a weeping angel lying over a grave the other had a woman with her fist held high.

 

Then the grave of James Ronnie Warren, cobbler, which featured a shoe flower pot with beautiful flowers in it. I also stopped by the intricately designed grave of Karen Rye who died young at the age of 55. 

 Having not found either of the two graves I had come to find we began trying to find a more specific location and that was when we learned we were in the wrong cemetery. Across the street was the Old Aberdeen Cemetery which I had just assumed was also another name for the Odd Fellows. In the old Aberdeen Cemetery the oldest grave is from 1838 when Abel Pierson was buried on the property. The first record of this being a public cemetery was in 1845 when graves were being sold by the city for $5. In 1979 the cemetery was certified as a historically significant abandoned cemetery. In the 1920s the Cemetery Care Organization used the Aberdeen Examiner to publicize the name of the people who helped and donated to the care of the cemetery. Today it is definitely being maintained in fact the ground crew was there and doing an excellent job. 

The first grave we were looking for was Alice, wife of Needham Whitfeld. Urban legend says that Alice loved her rocking chair and knitting and that she died while knitting. Also legend goes that she is buried in her favorite chair. The second grave we were looking for was Mary Points who was killed in a  fire in 1852. On the grave her image looks as those it is on fire. Her stone is toppled over and has a crack in it but can still be seen.

On our way to our next stop, because now we were looking for things on our route back home, we passed a cute small town square in Houston, MS which a memorial stone explained was named by Joel Pinson in honor of his friend Sam Houston. Joel donated the 80 acres that the town was started on.

And then we reached Vardaman, Mississippi the Sweet Potato capital of the world. They have a festival in November so we can go back sometime for the festival. But for today we got a sweet potato cheesecake and some pies and sweet potato sausage balls. 

A fun roadside gimmick that I have seen listed in several places is the hot and cold water towers. You know when you have water towers dotting your landscape why not have a little fun? Bad angle but one says hot and one says cold Ruleville, MS.

Now it was getting late because we had spent way more time at the cemetery than I planned so we started toward TN and Memphis to catch I-40 and go home. On the way as we were driving along a small country highway we looked to our right and saw what we could only describe as a baby tornado. We now know it was a dust devil caused by the warm earth and an updraft of air. 

 

We made our last stop in Nesbit, MS to see snowball throwing polar bears outside an ice cream stand. And we were going to get ice cream but they had a really high fee for using credit cards and we opted not to pay it.

Shortly after that we crossed back in to TN near Memphis to catch  I-40 home but first we needed to stop for dinner. Meg found a brewery called Meddlesome Brewing which conveniently had a food truck, Flying Sobie's Hen House, out back. So we had half a cornish hen with Memphis Gold barbecue sauce and a flight of house beer. Delicous. 

Now with most sports cancelled because of Covid 19 a lot of channels have begun showing classic games. well we found a radio station playing a classic radio broadcast of Game 1 on the 1967 World Series. There we were in the seventh inning with Bob Gibson pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals and Harry Caray and Pee Wee Reese were announcing. So many names were familiar like Lou Brock who went 4 for 4 with two runs scored. Roger Maris one of my baseball heroes, Tim McCarver, and the versatile Carl Yastrzemski. Gibson was well on his way to a complete game and ten strike out game. Sadly we lost the station early in the ninth inning and returned to music. 

A couple days later at home we had the cheesecake and a crowler of Meddlesome's Under Pressure. 

Next trip is a drive north to Ohio. Not a new state because technically we already stood in Ohio but this way we really get to see the state.