Papa's October

Hello Everyone. It's almost the middle of November so I figure it might be time to put the finishing touches on telling you about my very busy October. I promise I'll be doing that in these next two posts. 

I know I've already shared with you some great memory making moments with my grand children during our time in the Smokies. 

But I got to spend even more time with them throughout the entire month. 


Early on the morning of Friday the 18th, I found myself at Jackson's Orchard, the area's most popular fruit growers. 

I was there to meet my grand daughter and accompany her during a school field trip. 

Her Richardsville Elementary School 2nd grade class was there to take the fall harvest tour, have an outdoor lunch, and play in the playground. 

The first thing we did was get on a wagon for a hay ride to the corn maze. 

The children's excitement and enthusiasm was expressed in cheers and laughter as we crossed the orchard. We got off at the cornfield and started walking through the maze. 

I brought up the rear of the group as they walked along the path. 

Aria was so sweet in that she chose to stay with me instead of running ahead with her classmates. 

By the time we got halfway into the maze, we saw her teacher, Ms. Mohon, leading the class back the other way. 

Next on our tour was a stroll through the apple orchard. Each student was allowed to pick their own apple. They were told to get it off the tree and not from the ground. 

Because quite a few kids from other schools had been through the orchard, all the lower branches were pretty bare. So the kids had to do their best to reach the upper limbs. 

I did my best to help them, using the curved handle of my cane to knock down the fruit that was out of reach. I did get some pretty nice sized apples to come down but they fell to the ground. 

Finally, I helped Aria get hers and I picked mine. 

Upon exiting the rows of the apple trees we found ourselves in a pumpkin patch. 

Once again the kids got to wander around and choose a small pumpkin to take home. This was her choice.

After all that walking and choosing it was time to take a seat on a nearby bench and enjoy our new produce treasures. 

Soon we were on our way to the educational part of the tour. 

The class was led through the farm to the building where the cider production equipment was housed. 

We watched a short film that showed the process of making apple cider. Then we went to the picnic pavilion next to the playground. A delicious cup of frozen apple cider was served for a snack. 

Once snack time was over the kids were given free time to go play in the playground for about 45 minutes. 

Soon they were called back to the pavilion for lunch. A bagged lunch and a container of milk was given to each student. But they had to wait until everyone was served to start eating. 

Here's Aria patiently waiting to feast on the Smucker's crustable, Yogurt coated cranberries and raw baby carrots.  

The only thing she liked was the sandwich. Following the midday meal, there was more playground time. 

My granddaughter played in the sandbox and climbed on the pirate ship. 

All too soon it was time for the class to board their bus and head back to the school. 

Aria was sad that we had to say "good-bye". I told her that I would see her later that night at the school's Fall Festival.  

The very next day, the 19th was my grandson, Gabriel's birthday. That afternoon we went to his 3rd birthday party at a new place in town called "Oh What Fun".  

This is a wonderful place to have a kid's party. It is a large open space that is filled with several themed play areas with plenty of interactive toys. 

There's a barn, medical office, produce stand, a firetruck, a house with a slide, and a police station. Also there's a special area for toddler's 2 and under. It's a kid's play time paradise. 

The kids can play as much as they want, wherever they want. The adults can play with them as well.

Gabriel and Aria played together in the diner area. 

I joined them and played "customer". It was a lot of fun. 

The kids were occupied and busy throughout the entire party. Nobody got hurt and there was no random running around, chasing or screaming. Just a relatively calm and quiet playtime together. 

The party's theme was "tractors". 

The cupcakes were grouped together to fit right in with the party's theme. And our little guy loved it. 

He also had a lot of fun opening his gift, which was a real family affair. 

Paula and I had gotten him a gift that needed to be assembled and he wouldn't have been able to play with at his party. So the next day I took it over to his house. 

James assembled it and in about 15 minutes Gabriel was riding around on his new Spiderman motorcycle. 

The fun from these special days in the middle of the month, along with our Smoky Mountain adventures gave me more time with my grandchildren in October than I thought I would. But the month was not over. 

On Sunday the 28th, the grand kids came to our house for a visit. I gave them their new helmets to wear while riding their scooters up and down our driveway on the cool fall afternoon. 

Aria didn't want her picture taken with her new helmet but Gabriel was proud to show off his helmet. 

They also sat on the couch in our living room watching Toy Story 4 and eating microwave popcorn. It was a fun visit. 

Early the next morning, I got a call from my daughter in law asking if I could watch Gabriel during the day. I like to help whenever I can, so I said "yes". 

This would be my first time ever taking care of my grandson by myself. I picked him up...

...and by 9 o'clock he was back at our house playing with his favorite Legos. 

We had a lot of fun together and by the next day he was back at his regular daycare. 

The last time we got to see the kids in October was Halloween night. 
As she is every year, Aria was  dressed in a really creative home-made costume. Gabriel, of course, was dressed as Spiderman. 

So there you have a whole bunch of pictures and stories from time Paula and I got to spend with our grandchildren in October. 

I know this post was slightly self indulgent. But hey, I'm "Papa" and if I can't write about my grandkids, who can? 

Next post, I'm going to wrap up the last of the October events I want share with you.

Thanks for reading the Yankee Near Nashville blog, I'll see you next time. 

   


  

PA Friends Come To Nashville

Hello everyone. I want to thank y'all for your kind comments and concerns about my well being that I wrote about in my last post. It's nice to know there are those who care. 

My review of my eventful October continues as I share with you how in the middle of the month I spent the day in Nashville with some longtime friends. 

On the morning of Wednesday the 13th, I met Larry & Tina Kester and Diane and Dan Reagle at the Opry Mills Mall. They were visiting Nashville for the week. 

The two couples, who live in the same town in Pennsylvania as my sisters. I used to go to church with them.  

Last time I saw Larry was when he and my friend, Gene came through Kentucky on a road trip back in September 2016.  

I don't remember the last time I'd seen Tina or Diane & Dan. But I've been friends with them for decades.

We were going to hang out for the day, so I wanted to show them some things in Music City they had never seen before. 

They had been to the downtown area the day before so I had to come up with something else. I decided that I'd take them to a place that I hadn't been since 2002. 

The five of us piled into Dan & Diane's SUV and headed to Centennial Park. 

The Parthenon is one of the "hidden" attractions Nashville has to offer. 

 It's a replica of the original structure in Athens, Greece. 

Along with the replica statue of the goddess, Athena, it is home to the city's art gallery. 

We spent time on the lower level of the building learning about it's history and observing the paintings. Then it was time to head up to see the statue. 

Even though it had been nearly 17 years since I'd seen her, Athena hadn't aged a day. My friends were impressed. 

By the time we left the Parthenon it was time to get something to eat. I took them to my favorite place to eat on the West End. 

  They had never been to Ted's Montana Grill before and I hadn't been there in at least 5 years. We sat together in a booth talking, reminiscing and catching up with each other. 

As I spent time with the 4 of them, I heard their stories of adventures from the past, and how they joked and reacted to each other.  I quickly realized that I was getting a glimpse into a dynamic between the 4 of them that can only be described as a close friendship. 

 After lunch, we headed to another place unique to Nashville. As fans of the TV show American Pickers,  I thought they might like to visit the Antique Archaeology store. 

The store is located on Clinton Street in the renovated Southern Motor Works factory. 

It's a very popular tourist shopping area filled with small specialty shops and wine tasting experiences. Tour trolleys stop there all throughout the day.  

I've been there several times because it's the home of the Third Coast Comedy club. 

We went into the American Pickers store and looked around. It was full of plenty of old unique items. They were nice to look at but are a little too old for me to appreciate. I had no connection with most of them. 

We walked through some of the other shops but there really wasn't anything that any of us were really excited about. 

After about an hour we left and headed back to Opry Mills. The ladies wanted to get coffee at a shop called "Tin Cup Cafe". 

We walked in the east end of the mall by Dave & Buster's and the movie theater. A check of the map told us we had to walk to the other end. 

Being the most familiar with the mall, I took the lead and headed toward what I thought was the shortest path to our destination. 

We walked up past the food court, around the Rain Forest Cafe restaurant and back down the other side of the mall. 

When we finally reached our destination and all who wanted coffee were sipping from their cups, it was time to head back to the car. 

I decided to show off my mall expertise and led everyone through a side door that led to the "authorized personnel only" area of the building. 

Now I had taken a short cut from the Lego store to the other side of the mall several times before. But I had always started at the Lego store. But this time I was going in the opposite direction. 

As I proudly walked them through this behind-the-scenes area I quickly realized that I had no idea where we were going to come out. I reluctantly admitted this to them.  Then I took the first door that looked like it led back out to the store fronts. After walking for about 10 minutes we came out only about 10 stores down from where we started. 

My friends were all gracious. We all had a laugh and they didn't tease me too much about it. 

Eventually, we made our return to the east exit and headed back to our cars. 

They had plans for the evening and the guys wanted to go back to their hotel and take a nap. I could understand that. We had done a lot of walking and I was tired too.  

We said our "good-byes" and I headed back to Kentucky. 

In all the time I've lived in the South one of my favorite things is when friends or family come to visit me in my little corner of the world. 

The combination of being with people I've known most of my life and the place where I live the life I love is a recipe that always makes me smile. 

It was a fun hanging out with the Kesters and Reagles. I have a reminder of the day on my fridge. They are the latest additions to my souvenir magnet collection. 

And there you have the day I spent with my friends from Pennsylvania. Hope you enjoyed hearing about our day. Come back next time for more about my October. See you then. 

On The Rebound

Hey Everybody, I'm writing this on Wednesday November 6 and for the first time in a little over 3 weeks, I am starting the day not feeling weak, sick, or tired. A "one-two" punch of the effects from a flu shot and a sinus infection has had me down and out since October 21st. I haven't been totally out of the game.

During this time I made a trip to Nashville to see a show, provided daycare for my grandson, picked my granddaughter up from school, had both of them visit us at our house 3 times, gave my son and daughter-in-law a ride to pick up their car from the Kia dealership, and even did some grocery shopping.

But there were quite a few days where I slept most of the time and, other than going out to get the mail, did not even leave the house. As my wife will tell you, that's not me.

Yesterday, in the midst of my "not any getting better" sinus issues and not wanting to develop Pneumonia like I did last spring, I finally decided to go see a doctor at the Graves Gilbert Walk In Clinic.

I was given a prescription of a pretty strong antibiotic. I've taken it twice and this morning I am feeling a lot better. Not going to give details but I can tell that the medicine is already working.

I'm glad because coming up later this month, I've got to help my wife with a couple of Color Street vendor events and got some organization and holiday decorating to do here at the house. We've got a fun weekend getaway in St. Louis with our friends, Mark & Patty scheduled for mid month, and, of course, there's Thanksgiving at the end of November.

Because there have been times where I've felt better over the last 3 weeks, I'm not going to rush to get back to my "normal" routine. Just going to rest and take it easy till the start of next week. Then it's back to business.

But I just wanted to put up this post, to get out into the universe my optimism about feeling better and getting back to being me. I got too much to do to waste time being sick.

Thanks for taking the time to read this relatively short post. I'll be back on Friday with the story of the day I spent in Nashville with some friends from Pennsylvania. See you then.

Fall Break GetAway: Part 4

Welcome back to the blog. This is the final entry in this post series. It tells how Paula and I spent the time we were by ourselves at the end of our Smoky Mountains trip in early October. 

Once James & Brandi drove away, Paula & I did a little bit of a reset to change from being with a group to being by ourselves. 

We went back to our condo and relaxed for a couple of hours. Then it was time to visit the places we like to go when its just us.

We went and looked around in the Old Mill shopping area. We didn't find anything very interesting at any of the shops we stopped in. We even came up empty at the kitchen store, where we usually find something we like. 

In the Old Mill candy store, for the first time this trip, I considered buying some fudge. But when I saw that the price of one of my favorite Smoky Mountain treats had gone up to $20 a pound, I decided to pass. 

Once the sun went down it was time go get some supper. We had a 2 for 1 coupon for Mama's Farmhouse. 

Mama's is one of the Pigeon Forge restaurants owned by The Johnson Family. The Alamo and Bennett's  

Bar-B-Que are as well. Those two are among our favorite places to eat in the Smokies. 

Mama's is an "all you care to eat" restaurant specializing in "home cooking" and "comfort foods" which are served family style. 

We arrived at there after dark but here's what the building looks like in daylight. 

The atmosphere in the place was very similar to that of the Applewood restaurant. 

The way the food is made and served is very similar to Paula Deen's at The Island. But the whole Mama's experience is a little more authentic and relaxed than the very commercialized Paula Deen's.

From the menu we had a choice of 3 entrees and 4 side dishes. We got Fried Chicken, Meatloaf, and ham. The sides we chose were Chicken & dumplins, mac & cheese, cole slaw, & fried okra.

While waiting for our meal we were served biscuits and jam. They were delicious. 

This isn't exactly what we were served but it will give you and idea of the aesthetic of the presentation. 

 The food was pretty good. But for the amount of food my wife and I can eat at one time, it was way too much. 

For desert, Paula got banana pudding, which she said was ok but she's had better. I had a peach cobbler but only had a couple of spoons full because I didn't want to over eat and get indigestion. 

Our bill, with the 2 for 1 coupon, was a little over $25 plus tip. This included 2 soft drinks. That was not that bad given what we had. Had we had to pay full price, for us it would have been, a little bit expensive.

If you are someone who can really fill up on a good amount of food then the price for the meal may not be bad at all. Kids under 5 eat for free. 

The food was pretty good and I like the atmosphere. But just like a buffet, this type of restaurant just isn't cost effective for us. 

I am curious as to what their breakfast is like. Maybe if we go back it will be for that. 

You can check out the details and make the choice for yourself. Here's there's website. Mama's Farmhouse

After dinner we were pretty tired from the last couple of days. So we went back to the condo, got some preliminary packing done and watched TV the rest of the night. 

By 10:30 on Tuesday we had checked out of our resort and headed to breakfast. 

We wanted to try out a new place called Brick & Spoon. It serves breakfast and lunch. It reminded me a lot of Another Broken Egg, a place we found in Destin, FL a few years ago. At least the building and interior decor reminded me of it. 

I could tell as soon we walked in that there was something not quite right about the place. We waited about 5 minutes to be seated. There were only 2 young ladies working the dining room. 

Once we were seated it took about 10 minutes for a server to even take our drink orders. 

We each ordered a 3 egg omelet. Paula's was supposed to have crab meat in it. It was not chunks but shredded pieces. She said you could taste it but it was very sparse throughout. 

My ham & cheese omelet had diced ham and not very much cheese. Diced ham is something you find on the salad bar at a cheap buffet. But I'd expect more in an omelet in a place like this. 

Our bill came to over $35. For that price point the food was very low quality.

Now, I know every place can have a bad day but they only get one chance to make a good impression with us and they didn't.  

Because it's a great place to get some bargains we went to the Carter clothing store in a strip mall along the parkway, to get my grandson some winter clothes.

Before heading back to Kentucky we had to make one more trip back to The Island. 

There was one thing we hadn't done this trip that we always do. We had a game to play at the arcade. 

Our favorite video game anywhere is Harpoon Lagoon. Here's a video of Paula playing the game. This video was shot mainly to spotlight her Color Street nails against the colors of the game. 

 After playing video games in the arcade, (mostly Harpoon Lagoon) for about 45 minutes and bringing our coupon total to over 11,000, we went next door to the Timberwood Grill. 

We each got a club sandwich, which wasn't the best choice at what is mainly a steak house. But we needed something to hold us over after our disappointing breakfast. 

On the way out of the restaurant Paula met a "friend" in entrance and they compared their nails. 

 At this point in the day it was time to start heading back to our old Kentucky home.  

We had a busy but fun 3 days in our favorite get away spot with our family. Our 13th trip to the Smokies was very different for us but we were taking home a lot of memories. 

It was a good start to what was going to be an event filled month.

Thanks for reading this Fall Break trip report post series. I hope you enjoyed reading about our time in the Great Smoky Mountains. 

If you have ever been to the Smokies and would like to share your memories or experiences please feel free to send me a DM on Facebook. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Still to come in my review of October, I will be sharing with you the places my wife's Color Street business took us, a day spent in Nashville with some friends from Pennsylvania, and a special night enjoying one of my all time favorite entertainers.  Come back next time for more of the Yankee Near Nashville review of the month of October.   

My review of October events continues next time. Please come back to 

Fall Break GetAway: Part 3

Well, its the first day in the month of November. The end of 2019 is on the horizon and some consider today the start of the holiday season.   

I've seen Christmas commercials for both Wal-mart and Target on TV today. 

This means I've got start thinking about the changes and improvements I want to make to our living room decorations and tree set up for this year.  But the "deadline" for those are still a couple weeks away. 

Let's get back to my October, which was so full of events and fun that I have to keep writing about it. 

Now its time to take you back to my Fall Break getaway. This is part 3 and recalls what we did on Monday of our long weekend. This post has several links to videos on You Tube. Please take the time to watch them. It will help you get the full picture of what this day was like.  

Another day in the Smoky Mountains means another beautiful morning and sunrise. 

James and Brandi had to check out of their cabin by 11 then they were heading back home around midday. 

We met for a late breakfast at a place I've been wanting to take my grand children for a while now, The Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe. 

This unique restaurant opened in 2017 and is located on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge, right next to the Comedy Barn, Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe is fun for the whole family. 

They serve breakfast and lunch every day from 7AM to 1PM. You can check out their menu and other info here. 
Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Cafe

What makes this restaurant different from the others in the Smokies is the entertainment that comes with your meal. That would be (click this link) 
100 Chickens.

I have a personal connection with those crooning cluckers. They were created and programmed by Steve Axtell and his company Axtell Expressions. 

My ventriloquist puppet, Cecil the turtle is an Axtell Expressions creation as well. Here's Steve holding one of Cecil's brothers. 

In addition to being their creator, Steve provides the voices and sounds for the the Farmhouse entertainers, too. 

There's an interactive animatronic at the front of the restaurant that he voices as well. Here's a link to a video that shows this guy has an answer for everything.  Talking Rooster

Once we were seated I told my grand children that the puppets sitting above us in their nests were Cecil's cousins.  

Soon it was time for the first show of our visit. Click this link to my You Tube video to see them in action. 

Frizzle Chickens Sing "At The Hop"

While we were waiting for our breakfast our server gave the kids a white plastic egg and something I'd never seen before, a spinning egg decorator. 

They were also given a set of markers so they could color their eggs. Here's
a video of Aria and Gabriel working on their creations. 
Decorating A Frizzle Chicken Egg
Here's the results of their efforts. 

Our food was delicious and it was fun too.

 The prices are reasonable compared to other breakfast places in the area. I highly recommend a visit to this wonderfully entertaining restaurant next time you are in the Smokies. 

There was one more thing we wanted to do together. We headed south on the parkway to Crave Golf. 

This is a candy themed family friendly entertainment center. It has a candy store, sweet shop, mini bowling alleys, indoor and outdoor mini-golf courses, and a pair of escape rooms. 

I thought the mini-bowling looked like a lot of fun. 

Next time I am in Pigeon Forge I'm going to try it. 

My granddaughter wanted to play the outdoor mini golf. So we got our putters and colored golf balls. My wife made sure her nails were color coordinated.

We had fun playing the course. Aria got a little impatient with the pace of play and played way ahead of us but the adults stayed together. 

Gabriel liked the candy train. 

After we finished our round of golf it was time to for the Conner family to head back to Kentucky. We got kisses & hugs from the kids and watched as their SUV pulled out onto the parkway.  

As I stood there watching them head north, I realized that these couple of days together allowed us to experience the mountains in a way we hadn't in a long time. Spending time with our adult children and grand kids helped me realize the many ways to enjoy time in the Smokies. 

Thanks for the memories you guys. Let's not wait another 10 years to do this again. 

Paula and I were on our own for about the next 24 hours; until we had to head home ourselves the next afternoon. 

I'll post what we did with that time in the 4th and final post in this series. Thanks for taking the time to read this YNN post. See y'all again soon.