Monthly Archives: February 2018

Americana, Photography, Tuesday Trekkin'

Tuesday Trekkin’ – 021318 Loudon Tennessee

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You may recall that we made a quick stop in Loudon on a previous Tuesday Trekkin’. I decided we should go back during the day and check out the town. We decided to try the back way into town and got a little lost. But it wouldn’t be a Tuesday without a little diversion.

A great lunch

Once we arrived, we had an excellent low key lunch at Annabell’s Emporium. We both had soup and quiche. He had the Italian Wedding Soup. I had the tomato bisque. Both were spot on.

A large mural is painted on the side of Annabell’s Emporium. Inside there is a small cafe and plenty of beautiful antiques.

Around Town

After lunch, we made our way around town. We found some interesting empty buildings. It always breaks my heart when I go to these small towns and see so many empty shops and buildings. And these were some pretty cool places that are just begging for love and art.

An old caboose is parked at the historic train depot in Loudon, TN
A boutique in Loudon, TN.
There has been a funeral home at this location in Loudon since 1916. It is currently owned and run by the McGill family
The Lyric Theatre in Loudon, TN
The historic Loudon Courthouse
The Friendly Florist seems to be closed for good.
The Acme Hospital Equipment Co. is also closed for good.
A gorgeous, brick building in Loudon, TN. It is empty but full of potential.
The Loudon Train Depot houses the Loudon County Chamber of Commerce and also has a cool caboose out front.

More Empty Places

After seeing these historic brick buildings, we rounded a corner and saw this place. It is the old Bacon Creamery / Hosiery and later Hutch Manufacturing. But now it is empty and falling apart. I appreciate beauty in decay. However, I wish it were full of people working and building and making.

A very detailed, metal awning on the now empty Hutch Plant in Loudon
One of several covered walkways between the buildings of the Hutch plant in Loudon
a different view of the Hutch plant
Empty water tower frames in Loudon, TN.
Exterior Sprinkler Alarm on the old Hutch Manufacturing Plant in Loudon
The company will not be responsible for loss or damage to cars or contents while parked on company property.
Hutch is no longer in business. The plant is empty and rotting. But the offices seem to be used by the local utility company.

Tuesday Trekkin’ is fun for us. We see so many new and different things. Places that I did not know existed and would never have found if we didn’t just start wondering around. We will be taking a little break. But hope to be back trekkin’ soon!

Prints are available from all of the Tuesday Trekkin’ blogs here.

Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

A portrait of a different kind

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The weekly photo challenge is A Face in the Crowd.  To create a portrait of a different kind.

What a difference a little work makes! An open window over Market Square. A young woman takes a selfie.
Downtown Havana Evening Sales
©Sharon Popek 2016
Waiting at Europa
Walk into the light
A rider and her horse.
Buskin on the Danube
Americana, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge

Time to Eat the Donuts

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The weekly photo challenge is sweet. I don’t eata lot of sweets on a regular basis. But I do tend to splurge a bit when I travel. When I was Richmond, VA, I went to a local Farmer’s Market where there was a donut truck. People were lined up for these donuts. Once I had one, I knew why. They were delicious! The donut makers were also nice enough to allow me to take some photos.

A woman cuts circles in dough. The dough balls will soon be donuts.
Dough balls that will shaped into hot donuts
Hot donuts drip glaze inside the window of a food truck at the Farmer’s Market in Richmond, VA.
Americana, Photography, Tuesday Trekkin'

Tuesday Trekkin’ Cades Cove and Elkmont

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We finally got back on the road for Tuesday Trekkin’. My Tuesdays have turned into take the cat to the vet day. We have 6 cats and 4 of them are seniors, so vet visits are a way of life. Anyway, back to the real reason we’re here.

Plans? What plans?

We had been planning to go to Jonesborough, the first town in Tennessee. However, plans are more like suggestions for us, so that didn’t happen. It was cold and I didn’t fancy walking around outside in the cold. We decided a car ride might be a better option. We could see things and still enjoy the heated seats. There was also the lure of possible snow in the mountains. Snow can make pretty pictures.

Lunch

We planned to eat at a bbq place in Townsend, but we got there and it was closed for the season. We found a great little Italian place, Brianna’s Italian Restaurant and Cuisine,  just down the road instead. It proved to be a happy accident. Walt had the stromboli and I had the eggplant parmesan. Both were excellent! We will definitely be going back.

Cades Cove

Cades Cove was a bit of a disappointment as there was only a bit of snow here and there. Winter in the mountains is brown. Cades Cove is a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road is an 11 mile loop where you can see tons of wildlife, some old historic cabins, and a few old churches. We took the shortcut though and saw none of that. Onward we went.

They just blew a whole in the mountain and made a tunnel.
The trees are bare and there is a dusting of snow. You know that water is cold!
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is full of trails and paths
Winter in the Cove is quiet.

Elkmont

Walt decided we might try Elkmont, but the sun was setting fast. We weren’t sure we’d make it in time. They close a lot of the roads after dark due to possible hazardous conditions in the winter. But we made it! I had not been there before and found it pretty cool. It’s a small resort community in the mountains where people could stay in the summer. Most of the leases were up in 2001. After that, it became a ghost town. The Wonderland Hotel was once in this area, but in 2005 it collapsed. Most of the historical items were removed and a small annex was left. The annex burned down in 2016.

Several houses in the Elkmont Community are still standing and in decent shape.
A log cabin in the Elkmont Community
A summer cabin in the Elkmont resort community
The steps to the Wonderland Hotel
Sitting on the steps that go up to the ruins of the Wonderland Hotel
The chimney of the Wonderland Hotel stands alone at sunset in Elkmont.
An old sink from the ruins of the Wonderland Hotel.