Huntsville, Decatur Al; Chattanooga, S.Pittsburg Tn.

Wed. What a busy day we went to the Huntsville Botanical Garden.  They were getting ready for the new theme Alice in Wonder Land.  The theme before was a giants so  the pictures are a mix.

                                                      They also had things done in medal.

                     There were many animals on display turtle, bull frog, snake, birds, and butterflies.

 We were very blessed to have the chance to release some of the butterflies.  We were thinking of Brighton for hours as he fluttered around.

                                          And yes their were lots and lots of flowers in bloom.

                                          They even had a large train track with a real train going around the track.

On our way to Decatur we stopped by Mooresville to see the old town.  Alot of the movie Huck Finn was taped here. Notice the old Church of Christ building in the lower right.

                           After we made it to Decatur we saw many Annebelle homes on the national reg.

 Here is the old bank one of two that was made with living quarters on the second floor. They were afraid of robbers so the banker by day was the security at night. bottom middle old train station.

 Shannon hooked us up with one of her college friends husband (Tommy Bloodworth) who worked at ULA United Launch Alliance.  This is the place where the rockets are made for the space program. Bottom right piece of the is a 14000 pound aluminum made to weigh 900 pounds from 1 inch to less than 3/4 inch a machine honeycombs the material. Tommy works on the second section that takes the payload into space.

Thur. We went to the Space and Rocket Center where believe it of not Tommy and his family were there. We are so glad that we went to the ULA first because as we looked at the rockets we know how they were put together.  We were amazed how much the army uses rockets and how much they had on display. Picture below top left is a simulator of a helicopter escorting a convoy(we did not do well).  The third top is what Tommy works on. The rest is things at the space center.

Sat. Jim and Nancy Hughes( friends from Linda's high school and we hadn't seen in over 25 yrs!). drove us to the National Cornbread Festival in S. Pittsburg Tn. Sponsored by Lodge cast iron skillets and Martha White flour. Top left is the stage where the cook off is done-town clock-our group at the factory- the ranges Jim works on at the  Five Star Range. 2nd row the iron and ovens to melt the iron-the material put in the ovens-molds used for the pans and dutch ovens-3rd row  mold for the sandblasting-the pans out of the mold-iron pelts used to get the sand off the pans after sandblasting. Bottom row going to be divided then washed-the pan after sandblasting, washed then sprayed with oil-last picture the packing and shipping. They only have tours for these two days of the year!We had such a great time with our friends catching up on everything.
 Top row I am talking to the DJ for the national ice cream eating contest-we are into it-I WON-talking to the person from Mayfield dairy farms. 2nd row Jim talking to DJ while I give address-lodge is also a big green egg sales-one of the many craft tables-some of the many music entertainment. 3rd row more entertainment-demonstrations-Linda and I playing some of the many instruments. Bottom row cooking chicken n dumplings-cooking apple pie- last picture one of the many murals in town.

Sun. Went to church then washed the rig. Back to church then Linda cooked salmon, mushrooms and spinach boy was it good. Mon. We drove into downtown Chattanooga. Top row Linda is standing with the pizza guy-I'm with William Shakespeare-old train station-looking down at a park from the longest pedestrian bridge in the world built in 1891. 2nd row crocked road- park- delta queen- house on the bluff. 3rd row some art- coolidge park next two- renaissance park 4th row We went on a 1895 Denzel Carousel for one dollar each. The local wood workers restored the carousel animals-third picture is a steel plated bull- last picture as we walked down the side walk they had dance steps you could learn.

 1st row we went to the Moon Pie General Store for moon pies(strawberry and coconut) and RC cola are made here-3rd picture we ate at the 212 market rest. a certified green rest. we had the best lobster bisque and bbq trout with grits and snow peas- a cupcake store (we refrained from having any, 2 weddings come up)2nd row we rode on the free electric buses- Chattanooga National Cemetery- one of many brewing works- snake outside our rig 3rd row church building-1915 city courthouse- 1893 old post office- unusual triangle building 4th row old building on the national registry.

Monday night we had a big storm with hail and top three pictures show what we woke up to on Tues. The wind blew the rain so hard that our awning is not working now. 2nd row after doing our laundry we went to a Little Debbie store.  They are made here but do not have a tour.  The old tractor trailer was neat to look at. Bottom row is what the inside of the store looked like.  The prices were very cheap.

Wed. We relax at the rig, took a couple walks , then to church.  When we got home we had tea then bed. It rain all day.