It's funny that Ruthy shared travel yesterday when I was planning to also share our road trip from last weekend.
We headed from our town (near Atlanta) up to Tennessee to spend a long weekend with our middle son.
On the way up, we stopped a spent several hours in Chattanooga at the Tennessee Aquarium. It was a wonderful visit!! They have the River building and also the Ocean building. We saw every inch of the place! Some of my favorite parts...
First, the river otters! They were so cute. I want one!
Then we went in the butterfly house. Of course, my phone died while in there. I confiscated my husband's phone and took a gazillion photos and videos but haven't migrated them to my phone yet. But here are a couple I took of butterflies before the phone died.
We had a great day at the aquarium! Then headed to Knoxville to see our son. For lunch the next day, we went downtown to Market Square and ate at a recommended restaurant, known for its chicken and waffles. Myrtles Chicken & Beer. Best chicken I've ever had!
The next day, the three of us went to Asheville to spend a couple of days. We love Asheville! We started the morning with coffee from Trade & Lore.
We lucked out that they were holding an arts and crafts festival downtown. I saw some amazing artwork! Bought a beautiful photo for my daughter's upcoming birthday (hopefully she's not reading this!). :) My son really liked a photographer's work--Fine Art Photography by Walter Arnold. The artist takes photos of abandoned sites, showing the beauty in them. My son's favorite was a photo of an arrangement of books at the Cossitt Library in Memphis, TN. You can check it out here. He may start saving for one of the large wall-sized photos that's printed on metal. They're gorgeous.
On the way back to Knoxville, we stopped at Soco Falls. Hubby and son took a hike to the bottom that was steep and slippery (so there were ropes installed to hold on to as you climbed). I stayed safely at the top and took photos. :)
Here they are working their way back up...
We got back to Knoxville Sunday night and left for home on Monday afternoon after having lunch at my favorite Knoxville restaurant, The Tomato Head. They make the best Caesar salad--which I have them add Benton's bacon to. I crave it when we're not there! At our last visit, we ate at the restaurant both days we were there. And yes, I got the salad both times. LOL
This past holiday weekend was a great trip with four whole days to spend with our son (we have usually only been able to spend one night with him). We're so thankful to have the time with him!
I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!
www.missytippens.com
Hi Missy! Color me jealous! East TN is my favorite happy place:) I was born an hour from Knoxville and lived in Cleveland for a good portion of my childhood. I try to go back every year to visit family and friends. I didn't get to go last year because I was sick, so I'm chopping at the bit to get there NEXT MONTH! Smoky Mountains, here I come :)) I'm glad you got to spend time with your son. There's nothing better than spending time with adult children :)) Well, except for kidnapping their children hahaha.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Pat! I look forward to having the opportunity to take the grandkids someday! :)
DeleteI hope you have a wonderful trip next month!! You'll get to see leaves, I'm sure. It's gorgeous in the fall!! We've spent many fall breaks in Gatlinburg.
It sounds like you had a great weekend! We love visiting Knoxville, although we haven't been there since we moved away from Kentucky. :-(
ReplyDeleteThose photos! They're fascinating! Thanks for including the link.
But I'm not too sure about the chicken and waffles... Is it a southern thing?
You know, I don't remember ever hearing about chicken and waffles until I started watching Food Network! So maybe it's a more recent southern trend??
DeleteI was surprised at how much I liked it. The chicken was marinated with lots of flavor. Then the little bit of sweet with the waffle (I went light on the maple syrup, only dipping a bit of the waffle).
Missy, it looks like you had a great trip. A change of scenery is always nice. I haven't been to Knoxville. I might need to correct that one of these days.
ReplyDeleteMindy, if you ever get there, be sure to drive the 2 hours to go to Asheville as well. So much to see and do (and EAT!). :)
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