A Quick Trip To Bristol TN/VA

Hello friends a recap of last week’s trip to Bristol TN/VA. I had hoped to get a post out during the week about my trip but it just didn’t happen.

First of all I hope everyone had a happy Mother’s Day. I have no human children but I have definitely mothered many through the years. I think mothers come in many different forms. I received a precious message yesterday from a former employee that I still keep in touch with after many years. He wished me a Happy Mother’s Day and said he always thought of me as someone he respected and could come to for guidance and that I was a mom in his life. That truly made my day. It is amazing how just a few words can mean so much. My own mama has been gone for nineteen years and I have to tell you she was the best Mama in the world!!!!! We were best friends and I miss her every single day.

Last week I spent a few days at a meeting in the Bristol Tennessee & Bristol Virginia area with our Southern Highlands Attraction group. The two states are very close and there is a spot on the street where you can stand in both states at the same time. I did however almost get run over doing this once so if you try that be very careful. I am sure the locals hate this area. My meeting was actually in Johnson City but we spent the entire day Tuesday in Bristol.

We started the meeting Monday in Johnson City about a two and a half hour drive for me. I left early Monday morning so I wouldn’t have too many nights away from hubs and the fur babies. We met at the beautiful Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site. If you missed my Wordless Wednesday post I posted a lot of pictures of the site it is beautiful with so much history. You can check out the post here.

Just look at these beautiful yellow Irises

Our meeting ended about 4:00 and I headed to the hotel where we were staying. It was only a couple of miles from Tipton-Haynes. The Carnegie Hotel is a beautiful historic hotel. It is located in the heart of Johnson City with lots of things to see and do around it. We had a little time before dinner. I actually took a small nap.

Dinner was so delicious We went to Southern Craft Barbecue. It was only about a mile from the hotel. The food was amazing. This was probably some of the best barbecue I have ever had.

A deviled egg, cornbread and sugar bacon, this was the appetizer
Salmon, Barbecue pulled pork, okra and sweet potato souffle. We had so much food, we had to do a lot of sharing.

We started Tuesday morning with meetings. And then at 11:00 we took a bus to Bristol which is about twenty miles from Johnson City. We started out with lunch at The Burger Bar. This is supposedly the last place Hank Williams was seen alive. Not from eating there but it was a favorite of his. And that is where he ate his last meal. Just a little local history for you. There you will find the best burgers and milkshakes ever. Just a few of the burger selections: Hey good lookin, cold cold heart Hawaii 5-0, Howlin at the moon. I didn’t get a milkshake but the list to choose from is unbelievable. Check out their website here and plan to eat there if you go and get a burger and milkshake. It is such a sweet place with lots of memorabilia on the walls and just plain old southern hospitality.

Next we went to The Birthplace Of Country Music Museum. This place is amazing and I love it. I have been several times. It is so much more than a museum. A lot of people think that Nashville is the birthplace of country music but actually it was in the small homes and store fronts in Bristol where the very first country music was recorded. We didn’t tour this time but met with some of their staff and board members.

We stopped in at The Southern Churn Ice Cream & Candy Shop and we just had to try this Mountain Dew Fudge. It was actually very good.

Next stop we visited Benjamin Walls’ gallery for a wine reception and some chill time enjoying the beautiful photos of Benjamin Walls and we were actually treated to an unveiling of a couple of his new photos.

That is Benjamin on the left.

Benjamin is an internationally acclaimed artist, avid environmentalist, and successful entrepreneur. I am taking all of this from his website but go and check it out for yourself. His artwork has received seven international awards and has been displayed in dozens of museums, including five exhibits at the Smithsonian and twice at the Natural History Museum of London. It is almost unbelievable some of the photos that he has captured. Check out his website here

A few other places that we visited: The Paramount Theatre
and Lost State Distilling

After the wine reception at the gallery we went to eat at 620 State Restaurant for dinner. Another amazing meal. I had the chicken and rice and a sushi roll, and a margarita. It was yummy. We were exhausted from the day and being on the hot street. It was good to relax and enjoy our meal.

This Margarita really hit the spot after a long hot day.

Our bus picked us up to take us back to the hotel. I think I napped on the way back. The next morning we had meetings until noon and then I headed for home. Although I was only gone for two days I was so glad to get back home to my hubby and the babies.

Breakfast.

If you live near this area or if you are just passing through don’t forget to check out some or all of the things I mentioned. It really is a great trip. Bristol Tennessee or Bristol Virginia is a beautiful area. You won’t be disappointed.

I hope you enjoyed your short trip to Johnson City and the Bristol TN/VA area let me know how you liked it.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

May Day May Day

Hello and happy May Day. Can you believe that May is here already? Well it is. And full summer will be here soon. April was not a great month. My sister got sick in late March and passed away April 8th. It has been such a hard time for everyone in my family. But my Birthday and Wedding Anniversary were both in April and that was great although bittersweet without my sister.

When my sister passed away her neighbor and friend made me and my sister a “Pat” angel. She gave it to us at the funeral and I put mine in my pocket and didn’t open it until after the funeral when me and hubs started home. I looked at it and and I couldn’t believe that she had so perfectly captured something about my sister in this little angel. My sister wore a purple sweater a lot of times when she was sitting outside at the apartment complex where she lived. The angel is made of clay and it is perfect. It has brought me such peace having it with me. This sweet lady makes lots of things from clay especially animals. She has made clay animals of all of my cats. She is so talented.

isn’t this little angel adorable?

Work has been absolutely slammed. I have to leave tomorrow for a few days for a meeting in Johnson City. I will be meeting with our attractions group. It should be a lot of fun. I know they have some great adventures for us and a couple of really nice restaurants. I stayed late on Friday at work to get caught up to be gone for a couple of days. I’ll take lots of pictures of everything and share them soon.

We are still working on getting Gus, the new kitty, used to the rest of the family. The only one who is still not very friendly is Kitty Kitty. I know it will take time. We have been keeping Gus next door at my father in law’s house. We can run over and visit and feed him and love on him several times a day. Last week we started bringing him over slowly to help all the inside babies get familiar with him. So for the last few days we have left him here in the house for most of the day. He hasn’t spent a full night but I think when I get back from my trip we will just leave him here all the time. The visits have been a great help in getting Scruffy and Molly adjusted as well as Gus. As I said Kitty Kitty is still not a fan.

Gus seems perfectly content and is making himself at home. His hair has started to grow a little from where it was shaved.

Our weather here has been crazy. We have had some very chilly mornings and then warming quickly in the afternoon and evening. I think we may have been in Whippoorwill Winter last week because the Whippoorwills were calling like crazy at dusk and then first thing in the mornings. The changes in the weather have made some interesting changes on my temperature blanket. I am a little behind on it but I’m working hard to get caught up. When I have April finished I will show you what it looks like.

And in my own true fashion of getting ready for a trip I have saved everything for the last minute. I planned to pack earlier this afternoon but started doing some other things. I absolutely hate to pack and will probably wait until first thing in the morning. I spent most of the day binge watching Ozark. If you watch it then you know the last few episodes of the last season came out on Friday. It was so good. I also worked on my temperature blanket while I was watching.

So that is where I am on this beautiful first day of May. I had some great walks outside with the babies. A nice May Day. I am heading up to start packing or at least put a few things in my suitcase. It’s a short trip so I won’t need a lot of things, said no woman ever. HA!!!

This is Izzy. Doesn’t her color blend in with the woods?

Have a wonderful week. I wanted to share this poem I found online last week. It has brought me a lot of comfort and I don’t know exactly when it popped up but it was obviously just when I needed it.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!