Florence, Alabama turned out to be a big surprise. It's just across the Tennessee River from the famous, Muscle Shoals, where Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Willie Nelson, the Rolling Stones, Paul Simon and many more, recorded hits. It"s also the home of Northern Alabama University, has the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in the state of Alabama and is just a few miles from Tuscumbia, Alabama, where Helen Keller was born and grew up.
Because there was so much to do there, we stayed in Florence for seven nights. The town marina had a loaner van (we had to keep putting water in the radiator, but what the heck - it was wheels!), so one day we visited the local ancient indian mound and museum, the Frank Lloyd Wright House and "Ivy Green," the house where Helen Keller was born and where Annie Sullivan taught her to read and write in braille (remember Patty Duke and Ann Bancroft and the well?).
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| Indian Mound |
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| Wright House |
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| Wright House Living Room |
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| Helen Keller House |
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| The Famous Well |
Florence is only a 2 hour and 45 minute drive from Nashville, TN, so we, and our friends Loretta, Bob and dog, Shayna from "Carol Anne," rented a car and drove up to Nashville for a spectacular dinner at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel (which is a kind of combo Disneyland and giant conference center), followed by a show at the Grand Ole Opry. That night's show included Clint Black, Diamond Rio and Charlie Daniels.
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| Loretta from "Carol Anne" during our Gaylord Opryland Hotel Dinner (we hadn't had a white table cloth/candle lit dinner in a LONG time) |
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| Inside Gigantic Gaylord Opryland Hotel |
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| Inside Gaylord Opryland Hotel |
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| Us in Grand Ole Opry-Appropriate Blue Jeans |
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| 4,000-Seat Grand Ole Opry Packed On a Tuesday Night |
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| Charlie Daniels bringing down the house |
While waiting for the shuttle from the restaurant to the show, I got a BIG surprise! Jack Mishler, a friend and colleague from Aetrna, whom I had not seen or talked to since 1999, walked up to me and asked if I was having a nice evening. What fun it was to catch up. He lives in Colorado now. Small world, huh?
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| Old Friend, Jack Mishler and Me |
The next morning, after leaving the nice, dog-friendly, boutique hotel we'd found so Shayna the dog could come with us, we drove through honky tonk downtown Nashville, then onto The Natchez Trace Parkway. The Natchez race Parkway, is a 444 mile long, 80 foot wide National Park. It stretches from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, TN with no billboards, no commercial vehicles and a 50-mile per hour speed limit. It is an ancient pathway (now paved) that was first used by animals, then indians, then fur traders, then Confederate and Union soldiers and now tourists. It's a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road (it's similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline/Drive).
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| Natchez Trace View |
Unfortunately, because it's National Park, the Natchez Trace welcome center, the rest rooms and the Meriwether Lewis monument, were all closed (just like Shiloh ...just.love our government these days). The closed signs on all the restrooms had amusing graffiti written on them.
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| Look closely for the comment: "I'd like to pee in John Boehner's pocket" |
The Tennessee section of the Natchez Trace Parkway, is 102 miles long and pretty much took us directly back to Florence and our boats.
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| Lunch at Ms Hazelbea's just off the Nachez Trace |
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CHANGING THE SUBJECT
Herbs :
This is my 3rd herb garden. #1 was taken by Canadian Customs and #2 was taken by US Customs. #3 seems to be enjoying this endless summer.
Opportunistic Herons:
The Great Blue Herons at Wilson Lake Lock, are smart. They've learned to hunt when the lock is full of trapped fish. They put on a fun show for us while we were locking trough.
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| Look carefully and you'll see 5 hunting Herons on the lock wall |
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| "Carol Anne" and Heron waiting to spot a trapped fish |
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