Tag Archives: tennessee travel

Americana, Photography, Tennessee

Bristol Tennessee Virginia

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Wow! It’s been awhile since I posted here. Yikes! I’ve been concentrating on my podcast, Tourist in your Town. Be sure to check it out! A recent episode of the podcast was from Bristol, TN/VA. I thought I’d hop over here and share some of the photos that I took while there. It rained while I was there. But I got some great photos of the historic train station, the Paramount Theatre marquee, and lots of other cool places around town. Enjoy!

The Bristol Sign

Bristol is a town that is split between two states, Tennessee and Virginia. The split is right down the middle of the street that runs through downtown. The Bristol Sign sits across the road with one side in Tennessee and the other in Bristol. This sign was placed in this location in 1915 and originally said “Push!…That’s Bristol“. In 1921, the town held a contest to select a new slogan. “A good place to live” was the winner.

The Bristol TN / VA sign.

Bristol Train Station

The historic Bristol Train Station was built in 1902. Passenger service to the station ended in 1971. The station is currently an events venue.

Bristol Train Station at sunset.
Bristol Train Station on a rainy night,

The Paramount Bristol

The Paramount Theatre in Bristol was built in 1931. The first showing was “It Pays to Advertise” with Carole Lombard and Norman Foster. The theatre is now a concert venue.

The Paramount Bristol marquee at sunset
The Paramount Bristol after dark.
The divide between states

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my images! Prints are available of all images, just click on the image. You can also visit my gallery for more of my travel art.

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Americana, Photography, Tennessee

Evelyn Hazen: A Story of Sex, Lies, and Love Letters

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Evelyn Goes to College

Evelyn Hazen entered college at the young age of 14. She was a young, naive girl, raised by a very proper victorian woman. She falls in love with a man named Ralph Scharringhaus.

Sex

For over 15 years, the two have a relationship. They start having sex early on. She agrees with the promise of marriage. There are several love letters where he talks about when they will get married. But he continually delays marriage with excuses and lies.

The Lawsuit

When Ralph breaks it off with Evelyn, she feels lost and afraid. She is in her early 30s and her reputation is in tatters. So, she files a lawsuit against Ralph for breach of promise of marriage and seduction. Image what it was like for her in the 1930s, to have the whole world know that she had sexual relations outside of marriage. She was embarrassed and devastated. But stood up for herself and did what she had to do. Want to know more? Listen to the podcast on touristinyourtownpodcast.com

Prints of the above images are available, just click on the pics!

Photography

Renaissance Festival Fun

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In my previous post, I told you about Murfreesboro and all the great food and drink we had there. Now, it’s day 2 and we are finally going to the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.

Breaking our Fast

We spent the early morning with coffee and Abby (old dog) in the sweet garden at the Childress house. I found a book on the historic homes in the area and found our Airbnb in the book. I love little details like that. On the way out of town we stopped at Coffee Fusion. They had so many great treats, it was hard to choose just one. I got a biscuit stuffed with eggs, cheese, and I don’t remember what else. But it was gooood.

Golden Retriever Abby was happy to keep us company while we broke fast in the garden.
Inside Coffee Fusion, it was hard to decide what to order.
Historic homes in Murfreesboro. The airbnb we stayed in was in this book.

Entry

We made our way to the festival, after a slight traffic delay. We got there at exactly the same time everyone else did. But traffic moved fast and we were inside the faire in no time. Pro tip: buy your tickets online. The will call line was completely empty so I was ready to enter the faire in no time. But my friends had to wait in line to buy their tickets. The good thing is the line moved quickly and we were in the gates, ready to faire.

©Sharon Popek
My friend and I as we enter the Faire

Travelers of all kinds

What I love about the Renaissance Festival is that it is full of travelers. It’s a safe bet that most of the people we saw have never been on an airplane or out of state or maybe they’ve never even left their home town. But when you visit the Faire, it’s like walking into a completely different world. People are dressed up as everything. There are knights, princesses, queens, peasants, elves, aliens, everything imaginable. The vendors are artisans. They make what they sell from jewelry to clothes.  I bought a staff and the man offered to put my initials on it. I thought I’d leave it and come back. He said, “it won’t take long.” (see pic below). It’s all there and most of it is handmade. We drank some lovely dark ale and ate giant turkey legs as well as pretzels. We watched several comedy shows. And yes there is jousting.

handmade drinking horns
Jousting overseen by the Queen herself.
Swash and Buckle are a family friendly comedic duo.
Staff with my hand carved initials. He did this while I stood there.

Time to go back to the real world

 

After we had Ren faired ourselves to exhaustion, we headed out. But before leaving Murfreesboro, we had to stop at The Green Dragon for one last ale and a snack. It’s a hobbit’s life for me.

Charcuterie board at Green Dragon
In front of the Green Dragon
Pub Cheese and Pretzel Chips

 

Americana, Photography

A visit to Murfreesboro, TN

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It’s May, that means it’s time for the Renaissance Faire in Middle Tennessee. The Faire takes place in Arrington, TN on the grounds with an actual castle. It takes place each weekend in May. My friends, S and P, introduced me to this awesome event!

Arrington is located between Franklin and Murfreesboro, TN. It’s a 3 hour drive for us, so we spend the night in Murfreesboro, so we are nice and rested for the Faire.

The Green Dragon Pub and Brewery

We drove to Murfreesboro on Friday afternoon. We stopped at the Green Dragon for pints and snacks. The Green Dragon Pub and Brewery is an homage to Tolkien’s works. The owners are true Tolkien fans and it feels exactly like I image a pub in Bywater would be. We love it! They always have great beers and the food is perfect. It’s not bar food. It’s real food.

Ale menu.
The Green Dragon has every kind of brew you can imagine. They also have some great mead.
These stuffed mushrooms aren’t your average bar mushrooms.
Found in the privy at the Green Dragon

Our Airbnb

After drinks and snacks we went to our Airbnb called Childress House: The Gardner.  This was my first Airbnb and I’m pretty sure it was a perfect way to start a new trend for me. Our host was Sandi, a sweet lady who lives in the downstairs of the historic house. In addition to our full apartment, we were given access to the Parlor, a lovely outdoor garden area, and the large porches. Sandi also provided cream twists for snacking. Oh, and there was a Keurig in the apartment with coffee.

Our little kitchen reminded me of an apartment I had in college.
The living room wasn’t big, but the sofa folded out and was fairly comfortable to sleep on.
Our sweet host provided us with fresh flowers throughout the apartment as well.
The full bath was clean and the water pressure in the shower was perfect with plenty of hot water.
This retro bathroom is located in the downstairs of the house. Pink everywhere.

Around Town

The Gardner was located within walking distance of downtown, so off we went. Murfreesboro has a thriving downtown with bars, restaurants, shops, barbers, salons, and some friendly people. We had a pint at Liquid Smoke, located on the main square. The smoke was too much for me, so we sat outside and did some people watching.  Some great signs from downtown.

I love this Puckett’s sign. A guitar at the top and a fork at the bottom. Food and music, the best combination.
A simple sign in downtown Murfreesboro, TN. But eye catching with the dark blue against the light metal. A very vintage feel.

We had a reservation for dinner at Five Senses. It was too far to walk, so we got a Lyft to the restaurant. Where we ate some of the best mushroom soup I have ever eaten. There may have also been a stop for a pint at a nearby bar. We Lyfted back to the Gardner where we had those cream twists awaiting us.

Perfectly cooked and soft as butter.
This mushroom soup was so simple but fantastic!

Down to the garden we went for dessert. We were greeted by dear pup Abby and a couple other dogs which were a bit too timid to visit with us.  We also enjoyed our morning coffee in this quiet back yard.

Abby kept us company in the garden.
Our host provided us with cream twists and fresh strawberries, an excellent late night snack.
An inviting garden patio for guests of the Childress.

After our first rounds of coffee and Abby pets, we were off! Renaissance Faire details in the next installment.  I’ll give you a hint, there might be some drinking and eating.

 

Americana, Tuesday Trekkin'

Tuesday Trekkin’ Burlington

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We’ve been having a hard time getting out of Knoxville the last few Tuesdays. It seems Tuesday has become errand day. Maybe after the holidays, we can get started up again. Today’s gallery is from the Burlington area of Knoxville, TN.

Burlington is east of downtown Knoxville. It is currently full of empty and run down buildings. But there are quiet a few people trying to rebuild it and bring new life and prosperity to the area.

The Homer Hamilton is an amphitheater in Chilhowee Park. It is used for concerts during the Tennessee Valley Fair.
Ace Building Golden Gloves Arena in Chilhowee Park
Greenlee’s Drug Store has long been closed for business.
The Lunch House in Burlington is a popular spot for breakfast and lunch.
Keeton’s Jewelers sign. I have a thing for clocks on signs. This is a favorite of mine.
Lema’s World Famous Chittlins. The red building stands out and sits next to a small fire house.
OK Furniture I love the faded letters on the front of this building.
Scott’s Place is known for it’s hamburgers and onion rings. But how cool is that giant ice cream cone?

Americana, Photography, Tuesday Trekkin'

Tuesday Trekkin’ – Norris, TN

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Tuesday Trekkin’  – November 7 – Norris, TN

We changed plans several times for this Tuesday Trek due to weather concerns. We were originally going to go to Norris, then on up to Rugby. After checking the weather and the rain possibilities were looking good, we decided to just go to Norris, since nothing in Rugby would be open anyway. Apparently Tuesday is an off day for everybody! This morning we got up and it was a pretty steady rain, so we decided would stay in Knoxville and maybe go downtown for lunch and an afternoon movie. We’ll have a leisurely coffee and hang until about 11am then head downtown for lunch. Uh, yeah, the coffee pot is broken. So, my packrat husband found his grandma’s old percolator and we made coffee with that. It was fine coffee, if not a little messy.

Our coffee pot this morning.
Rural King in Halls
Boots, boots, boots

 

After a bit, the rain stopped. So, we debated whether we should try for Norris or stick with the movie plan. We decided to go to Norris, skip Rugby, and go to a movie when we get back into town. On the way to Norris, we stopped at a place called Rural King so the husband could buy some oil for his car, he likes to change his own oil. We were taken with the place, but didn’t buy much. I did have to drag my husband out. We finally made it to Norris. I found a little cafe in town that was supposed to be great, we went straight for it. They had some interesting appetizers, trout cakes with butter cabbage (?) and a pecan cheeseball, on the menu that we wanted to try. But guess what? They were out of both. No worries, we ordered some sandwiches. I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak and Walt ordered the grilled cheese with bacon and pickles (blech). The philly was fine. He liked the grilled cheese okay, too. We haven’t hit any home runs in the food department of Tuesday Trekkin’. But I think Tuesday seems to be an off day for most places. We will keep trying.

We should have tried the pizza
Sweet Cafe in Norris next to the Post Office and a general market.
Lots of bread. The bread was great, though!
Pickles….

After lunch, we walked around the small town square for a few minutes. We found a museum connected to the library. So, it’s only open on Tuesday and Thursday, but it doesn’t open until 2pm. It was 1pm. We had to laugh about it. We left town to go to see Norris Dam. On the way, we spotted the Norris Musuem and around the corner an old Grist Mill and Barn with a thrasher, both moved piece by piece from other locations. The museum was closed, of course, the mill and barn were locked but we were able to walk around and get some great pics!

It was closed for the season. But we were able to look around.
A very picturesque threshing shed.
He stood very still, showing very little fear of us.
A piece of the largest Trigonia Elm found in the US. It was cut down by TVA in 1980 after it was fatally damaged by lightening.
It’s Solar Powered and they provide power cords!
They even provide power cords!
Norris Dam
One of our favorite local pizzeria in downtown Knoxville

We finally made it to the dam where we met a nice man showing off East Tennessee to his visiting family. I had to take some pics of the visitor center with it’s midmod architecture. We made it back in town in time for Walt to take a quick nap before heading out to the movie, Thor 3: Ragnarok. The movie was great! It was patently ridiculous and silly, but I loved it. Afterward, we picked up pizza from our favorite pizza joint, Dazzo’s Pizzeria. It was perfect!

Stone steps at the Rice Grist Mill in Norris Dam State Park. The autumn leaves have fallen and the recent rain gave them the feel of an orange water fall.
Historic Rice Grist Mill at Norris Dam State Park is surrounded by beautiful autumn leaves.
Orange and Yellow leaves create a fiery bed around the historic Rice Grist Mill in Norris Dam State Park.
A rusty metal water tub at the threshing shed in Norris State Park
Threshing Shed at Norris Dam State Park with a blue wagon waiting to be put to work.
The colorful autumn leaves are reflected in Norris Lake on the quiet, still water.
A heron sits still and quiet by the stream in Norris Dam State Park in the fall.

Prints are available here.