2017 Moon Pie Festival in Bell Buckle, TN

Howard and I finally went to the Moon Pie Festival after talking about it ever since we moved here almost seven years ago!  The one-hour drive to and from the festival was worth it in and of itself.  We drove through farmland and quaint little towns with everything from dilapidated barns and trailer homes to beautifully restored homes that are at least a century old.  Interestingly, we've noticed that in TN the lawns are always well manicured no matter what the condition of the home is.

We lucked out and got there right when the parade started.  Here are some highlights from the very brief parade.  We loved this old-time fire truck.  One of the riders threw something at us right as I was taking the picture.  It was a chocolate moon pie!  Yelling, I informed them that we needed another one.  (Howard and I aren't very good at sharing chocolate.)  We soon realized that everyone on the "floats" was tossing moon pies into the small crowds.  We scored five big ones and three mini ones.  Howard wanted me to put them in my purse so they would toss us more when they saw that we were empty handed.

Here's the moon pie girl with her moon pie sandwich board.

The one and only band and cheerleaders were from Cascade High School.

We gave a shout out to the trombone section of the marching band.  Howard and his buddy, Joe, used to play the trombone in high school.

There were several Shriners driving cool cars.  I accidentally took two-second videos of some of them instead of pictures.  Doh!

A lot of the locals took advantage of the tourist traffic (expected to be 20,000) and had yard sales.  I became obsessed over this tree at the only yard sale that we went to.  I must have one of these trees!  Does anyone know what kind it is?

So, I had to drink an RC Cola with my moon pies.  Apparently, that's a thing - a Southern thing.  A guy named Big Bill Lister even wrote a song about it.  He was known as "Radio's Tallest Singing Cowboy" measuring in with a height of 6' 7".

Speaking of big, did you know that the largest moon pie ever made weighed 55 pounds and contained 45,000 calories.  That would really blow a diet!  You can find out more about the history of the moon pie here.

We decided that we will go back to Bell Buckle when the moon pie festival is NOT happening.  There are a few antique malls and several cute specialty shops.  It was just too crowded too enjoy them.  I especially want to go back to eat at the Blue Buckle Café which has a 4.5/5 rating on tripadvisor.com.  We found out that today there was a 2.5-hour wait!  That's worse than the wait time in Boston's North End!

You must attend the Moon Pie Festival if you are ever in Nashville on the 3rd Saturday in June.  Put it on your calendar right now!

Soaring Like an Eagle at Dollywood

When you live in Tennessee, you just have to go to Dollywood.  So we did, for three days in a row.  We're pretty spoiled by Disneyland, where we spent lots of time as kids and teens before we knew each other, and then later as a couple.  But, we enjoyed Dollywood, and it definitely has its own charm and character. 

Most of the big rides are roller coaster rides.  I'm not a big fan of roller coasters and amusement parks in general.  I'm especially terrified after my hand therapist told me many horror stories, the worst being the one about the young woman who had both of her feet severed by a malfunctioning ride in Kentucky.  True story.

Anyway, I made myself go on most of them for research sake.  Howard and his brother are working on a game app and we were collecting data on the rides.  Above is a shot of the Thunderhead roller coaster.  It's very rickety and throws you all around at speeds of up to 55 mph.  I really didn't like this one.  But I like this shot because it gives you a feel for how picturesque Dollywood is, nestled in the Smoky Mountains.  There are lots of wooded shady areas throughout the entire park.

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We were pretty close to getting on the Tennessee Tornado after about a 30-minute wait, when they informed us that the ride was closed due to lightning in the area.  I think it was a tender mercy.  I later learned that this thing goes up to 70 mph with a 128-foot drop and that it throws you all over the place.  After learning that, this ride went on my 'um, no thanks' list.

The Mystery Mine was my first-ever upside-down roller coaster ride.  I told you, I don't really like roller coasters.  But, I gathered up my courage and went for it.  It wasn't too bad.  It looks more upside down than it feels.  We even went on it twice - better for data gathering.

Here I am celebrating a successful landing after riding the Wild Eagle.  My heart was racing and my palms were sweating while waiting in the line for this 61-mph ride with four inversions.  It added to my stress that you have to store all your loose items, including shoes that might fly off during the ride.

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The very cool 'trains' are eagles and you get to sit on their wings.  Notice the dangling feet.  The worst part for me on this ride, and all rides like this, is the first drop after you climb slowly to the top of the sky!

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I can't believe that the very cautious, chicken-me rode this ride.  Twice.  You wouldn't have recognized me in line the second time.  I was telling all the petrified crying children (who were being forced by their parents to ride it so they could conquer their fears) that it wasn't so bad, that it was actually fun. 

Here's our failed attempt at making it look like I'm dangling from the claws of this very cool metal eagle sculpture near the Wild Eagle ride.

One of the calmer and more relaxing rides of the three days was the steam engine train ride up into the nearby Smoky Mountains.

Okay, it was relaxing for us, but not for our fireman.  He was shoveling coal during the entire 20-minute ride.  Of course I had to ask him important questions like:

1. How much coal does it take for one trip? (200 pounds)
2. Who does your laundry? (He does, but he has a second washer for coal-covered clothes only.)

There's a lot of focus on food at Dollywood, but we didn't eat there very often.  It's not very tempting to eat a big meal before riding a bunch of vomit-inducing rides.  They serve up 12-pound 30" pizzas and 25-pound apple pies.  If you don't feel like eating the whole pie, you can buy a single slice that weighs only a little over 3 pounds!  

They have a bakery in an old mill where they grind their own grain and sell delicious smelling cinnamon rolls.  I'm proud to say that although we were tempted, we even passed those up.

There are also a lot of shows, similar to Branson, MO.  We went to a few of them.  We saw the Kingdom Heirs, a southern gospel quartet.  It wasn't the kind of gospel music we were hoping for, but we enjoyed it and we heard the lowest bass we've ever heard in our lives.  Howard said his lowest note was lower than the lowest note on a piano.  Now that is stinkin' low!

The quartet has changed over the years, but these are the four guys we heard.  Listen for the jaw-dropping low notes of the bass on the right.  Make sure you hear the last chord.  Remarkable!

Holy Jingle Bells, Batman!

We're celebrating our 20th!  It's hard to believe that we've been married that long.  It's been a great ride.  There have been lots of ups and downs, but we're always trending upwards.  Speaking of rides, I faced my long-time fear of roller coasters.  More about that later.

We started our 20th Celebration Vacation in Pigeon Forge, TN where we stayed at the Inn at Christmas Place.  All the halls (and rooms) were decked out for Christmas.  I'm tempted to go back in December just to see what they could possibly add to the decor.

Here's what I loved about this place:

• The grounds were beautiful and well maintained.
• I slept in 'heavenly peace' because the beds and pillows were divine.
• The staff was attentive, friendly and sometimes jolly - there were a few Santa sightings.
• There were lots of little homey touches, like: lemonade available throughout the day, daily chocolate kisses from housekeeping, chestnuts roasting on an open fire (not really), and freshly baked cookies in the evening.
• The breakfast choices were overwhelming and amazingly delicious.  I was so delighted to learn that figgy pudding is NOT a breakfast item, but pecan pie is!

Here's the front door where you are always greeted by smiling and helpful doormen, sometimes up to three of them!

There are lots of displays like this one throughout the inn where you're encouraged to take 'elfies'.  This isn't exactly an 'elfie' but you get the idea.

You can buy Christmas decor year round in their shops across the street.  If you're ever looking for a nativity in June, this is the place to go.  Or, you can just check out their website.  Beware, the cool-looking blue and white nativity that looks like it was made in Holland was really made in China.  So disappointing!

Back to the shops, there's also a whole room devoted to Department 56.

For just $240.00, you can have your own Downton Abbey mansion!

For all you Christmas Story movie fans, did you know that there's a Department 56 village based on that movie?  But beware, it's fra-gi-le!

There's also a life-size version of the lamp for that special guy in your family!  But seriously, you must stay at the Inn at Christmas Place if you ever find yourself in Pigeon Forge!

Here's my first every trip advisor review, with the same title as this post.

100,000 Tulips

Howard and I decided to have an after-work rendezvous at Cheekwood on one of the few beautiful days we've had recently.  We didn't want to miss 100,000 tulips in full bloom!

Last year I signed up to be a Cheekwood gardener.  It was right after they had pulled out all of the tulips from last year.  The volunteers were moaning and groaning about that experience.  I'm glad I didn't sign up earlier last year!  My gardening days were cut short there when I started teaching seminary, and then took a part-time job teaching high school Spanish.  I haven't come up for air since!  Anyway, back to Cheekwood.

Don't be surprised if you see all of this in my yard one day.

I gotta be me!

Little contrasting flowers were planted around and amongst all the tulips.

Howard, at the entrance of the Japanese garden.

Here's a very cool art installation by Patrick Dougherty. 

You also might see this tree in my yard some day.

Operation Smile

Here's something that kept me very busy in January and February!

Anyone? Anyone?

For the last five weeks I've been subbing in a high school Spanish class.  It all came about very suddenly.  It's been exhausting, challenging, sleep-depriving and fun at times.  Did I mention exhausting?  It has consumed my life with newness: teaching high school kids for the first time, teaching Spanish 3 and IB Spanish, and finally being fully immersed in Southern (suburban) culture after having lived here for two years.

So, it's hard to get used to having students with facial hair who tower over me.  And, I can't get used to students saying things like, "Can I go get my book?  I left it in my car."  What?  You have a car?  Oh yeah, you people drive.  And that's why the parking lot is so much bigger than my middle school parking lots.  And that's why if I leave at 6:25 AM instead of 6:20 AM, it takes me 10 minutes to complete the last half mile of my 30-minute commute.

I'm teaching mostly sophomores and I've come to the conclusion that they're not much different than 8th graders.  Of course, they'd be insulted to hear me say that, but it's kind of true.  Most of the girls are delightful and quite mature, but a handful of mean girls can still ruin a day or at least a class period.  Some of the boys are more mature than 8th grade boys, but most are just taller.  I have to say, though, goofy boys make my day.  I'd much rather have to deal with channeling and focusing excessive energy than having to try to create it.

Teaching something other than Spanish I has been really great.  You can only teach "uno, dos, tres" so many times before your eyeballs start to roll around in your head.  Of course, I think I only taught "uno, dos, tres" for one year in Needham before I discovered the storytelling technique (TPRS) which made a huge difference for me and my students.

It's fun to feel like I've finally been immersed in Southern culture for the first time in two years.  It's been eye opening.  I'm not sure I like some of what I've experienced, and I'm not sure that what I've experienced can be attributed to the South or to difference in working with high school staff and students rather than middle school.  

For the most part, the students and the teachers are very friendly.  I've really enjoyed the quick acculturation that comes through getting to know the staff and students in a new area.  In the staff workroom/lunchroom I find myself mostly listening and trying to figure who and what they're talking about.

In the classroom I always have to get clarification on names and acronyms.  When I first started teaching in the Bay Area, I noticed all my students talked about Piece o' My Heart, which really turned out to be their favorite pizza place, Pizza My Heart.  Here, Zaxby's, a chicken place near the school, gets mentioned often - until someone brings up Chick-fil-A.  When I ask which one they like better, Chick-fil-A always wins.

So, that's what I've been up to for the last five weeks if you've been wondering where I ran off to.