Tennessee Visit Aug 31-Sep 6

The Wednesday before Labor Day, Frank and I flew to Tennessee to visit with college friend Margaret. College friends John and Sue who had driven down from the Boston area, picked Frank and me up at the Nashville airport and we all rode with Margaret to her new home in Clarksville, about an hour northwest of Nashville. Her house is in a suburban neighborhood nestled among farmlands. Cows visited occasionally over her back fence and chickens scurried along the side fence of a neighbor. The neighbor with chickens has two dogs and the neighbor on the other side has four dogs. Bucolic suburbia is out the front, and country is out the back. Most homes have porches with a tall welcome sign next to the front door. Rocking chairs off to the side beckon visitors to come and sit a spell. Frank enjoyed relaxing and reading on one of those rockers.

Margaret and Joe had moved to Tennessee from Virginia over two years ago to be nearby for the birth of  their granddaughter and close by for support during the times when their son, her dad, would be deployed for the military. Lauren visited "Mimi" (grandmother Margaret) while we were there and she is a real doll. Initially shy, but still full of smiles, we enjoyed our afternoon time with her immensely. I had sewn a mermaid doll for her as a present (DianeLoves2Quilt_8/11/22) and it went over very well – especially the paper bag part of the present. It is a competition who has the rosier cheeks – Lauren or the mermaid. I think Lauren wins.

We stayed a week in Clarksville sharing memories and good old times, eating labor-saving takeout each evening, and in general relaxing while enjoying each other's company. We also indulged in Margaret’s scrumptious home baked goods. While we were there she made blueberry muffins twice (a delicious recipe with oatmeal, honey, and fresh, plump blueberries), apple pie, and bagels. We played two different games (SkyJo and TriBond) and chatted while assembling two puzzles (300 pieces and 1000 pieces). Per geekyhobbies.com

The premise behind Skyjo is simple. You want to reduce your score as much as possible. Each player is given twelve cards which are arranged in a grid. Each turn you will get to draw one card. You can use the card to replace one of the cards already in your grid. Naturally you want to try and replace high cards with low cards. Once one player has revealed all of their cards, the round ends. Players will then score points for the cards in front of them. To win the game you need to score less points than the other players.

Per Wikipedia,

TriBond is a board game that has sold over 3 million copies in 14 countries since its release in 1990. It requires players to determine a common bond between three subjects. "What makes a car, an elephant and a tree all similar?" The wise player knows that "they all have trunks" and is ready to be a TriBond player.

On Sunday after a quick trip to church, we decided we really should explore Clarksville and venture out beyond the immediate neighborhood. We eventually slipped in a minimal amount of sightseeing by driving to the downtown area where we discovered a museum worth investigating.

The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is Tennessee's second largest general interest museum. It features fine art, history, and children's exhibits. The visiting exhibit while we were there was art work of the sculptor Olen Bryant. A hallmark of Bryant’s figures is their embodiment of a Zen-like tranquility as seen through faintly articulated features of soft smiles and heavy eyelids. See examples of his wood and stone sculptures in pictures in the previous link. His simplicity of design subtly conveys a restful aura.

The museum is located in Clarksville's Downtown District on 200 South 2nd Street. Generously sized at 35,000-square-foot it offers many hands-on art & science experiences for children. It is only a few blocks from the banks of the Cumberland River which winds through Clarksville. We decided after the museum, we would walk down to the riverside.

A prominent section of the museum is devoted to the history of Clarksville. A set of embossings showed impressions of prominent buildings in the town. Rails played a large role in the town's development, which pleased Frank immensely.

There was an extensive O-gauge model railroad display. O-scale objects are 48-times smaller than the life-sized objects they model. They tend to be one of the larger scales of model railroad; consequently more visible detail can be incorporated in the layouts. There were logging operations, hardware stores, hot air balloons, cattle transport, and even a partying flying saucer.

Frank admired all the railway cars they had in display cabinets along the walls. I got a kick that all the museum personnel associated with the model railroad area wore shirts that read The Last Train to Clarksville – yep, the same as from the Monkees song from the 1966.

There were other unique aspects from the Clarksville area. Nearby, 4.3 miles and 10 minutes away, is a 144 acre state park with a cave that stretches 8 miles inward. There used to be concerts at the mouth of the cave where cool air being emitted refreshed the audience. There was a swimming pool and other recreational activities there as well. We did not realize during our visit that it was so close, or perhaps we could have made an effort to visit. Oh, well. Next time. Instead, on Google maps there are many, many fascinating pictures uploaded from visitors. I've included one.

There were other interesting exhibits of industries in Tennessee such as the Grange House Tobacco Warehouse. Acme boots was another strong venture. Boots custom made for the president of the company were designed to represent all the Tennessee state symbols. Tennessee is also very proud of its athletes and its winning stock car drivers. There is a full scale mock-up of a racing team in one zone of the museum.

One of the last exhibits we perused was about river boats. Margaret posed in front of this one in particular since it bore her name. Coincidentally, when we left the museum and strolled the few blocks down to the river side we were able to watch the progress of a large ship traveling southward along the Cumberland River beneath a railroad trestle and toward Nashville.

Once back from the Downtown Clarksville expedition we continued to work on a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle set up on the dining room table. It is a photo collage of the trips that John & Sue, Joe & Margaret, and Frank & I shared over the years since 2013. We did not finish the puzzle but left that task up to Margaret to complete upon our departure.

Sadly, another reason for this visit was to pay homage to our college friend Joe, husband of Margaret, who passed away in mid-July this year due to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a degenerative auto immune disease of the lungs that relentlessly deprived Joe of adequate oxygen. We visited the cemetery where he was buried, toasted Joe, and each drank a small sip of the bourbon he so enjoyed. We even sprinkled a few drops on his grave. He either smiled down on us for the symbolism, or turned over in his grave to think that we would waste such good stuff by pouring it on the ground. Drinking bourbon, eating pizza, and reading to his granddaughter were the final few life's pleasures Joe requested and they all were granted. The puzzle we worked on together brought back memories of the trips we shared.

Frank and I headed back on the Tuesday after Labor day, our non-direct flight to Oakland, California routing us through San Diego. We were delayed by the evacuation of workers from the tarmac at Nashville due to lighting. It was ironic that our return to drought-starved California was thwarted by the torrential downpour at our departure airport. Would that we could have brought some of that needed rain back with us... Just look at the flood on the ground! FYI, those white streaks in the sky are not tidy, linear, lightning bolts but rather a reflection of the ceiling lights in the terminal.

We made it back safe and sound. We did not miss our connection even though our departure was over an hour delayed and we had only 55 minutes scheduled between flights in San Diego. Our luck had apparently held during the week we were away, also. We had missed a 4-5 day heat wave with temperatures exceeding 100°, soaring up to the mid-teens! During that time we were still in Clarksville by the Cumberland River watching that boat Rollin', Rollin' Rollin' on the River. The Livermore area broke an all-time record the next day. The city hit 116° on Labor Day, smashing the previous record of 108° set in 1950. Aah...still good to be home.