6 Things To Do In My Area & Hopeful Summer Plans
Good-morning, kittens & dawgs! How was y’all Memorial Day weekend? Did you get plenty of sun and barbecuing? I was going to grill hamburgers but we thought it was best to wait until DH has a bit more energy. He’s still not at 100% since his surgery. Grilling can wait. I just fixed some turkey burgers on the stove top which was mighty tasty. Here we are, it’s the last Tuesday of the month with only a few days left in May. I know most folks are thinking about summer plans. We rarely take a ‘vacation’ because one it’s a huge expense and two yearly vacations sorta removes some of the specialness (IMO). The last time we took an official vacation was in 2004.
I told you we don’t take them often. It’s time that we did but I’m not sure when or if we’ll get to that this year but there’s a slight possibility that we will get to go to Maine to visit DD#2 and DSIL. Should that possibility look more like a certainity, then we’ll review all of our past notes on Maine but it will be fun to let DD#2 show us the places they’ve discovered since moving there last November. Until that time, we have plenty to look forward to around here. You know how much we enjoy our day trips and that’s like a wonderful short get-away. Here are some possibilities of things to entertain doing this summer.
- Knoxville Zoo
- The Old City in downtown Knoxville
- Historic Homes of Knoxville – Marby Hazen House, James White Fort, Ramsey House, Blount Mansion, Crescent Bends House & Garden, Marble Springs State Historic Site, Sam Houston’s School House, and Fort Loudon fort.
- Historic Churches & Cathedrals – St. John’s Lutheran Church on Broadway, St. John’s Cathedral on Cumberland, First Baptist Church on Main, and First Presbyterian Church on State.
- World’s Fair Park – Sunsphere, N&N Train Depot, and East Tennessee Memorial.
- Frequent visits to the Smokies and Blue Ridge Parkway.
What plans do you have this summer? Will you skip out of town or take in the local attractions? Do any songs come to mind that make you think ‘Summer’?
I’m linking up taking a coffee break for some with Random Tuesday Thoughts with Stacy Uncorked and joining Eugenia at BrewNSpew for Tuesday Chatter this morning and you’re invited to come with and let me remind you to visit again tomorrow for not-so Wordless Wednesday.
17 Comments
Kimberly Robello
I hear ya. We don’t take real vacations anywhere far. We just stay within 2 hours from home and do a weekend vacation sometimes. Now that we have 2 dogs, it’s even harder to get away. We don’t want to traumatize them by putting them in a kennel because they are rescue dogs.
Those are great, upbeat summer songs!
Cathy Kennedy
Kimberly,
I guess it’s difficult traveling with pets. We don’t have any but I certainly understand the turmoil. Do you not have anyone who can either house sit or at the very least pop in daily to check on the doggies? At least you can do weekend getaways and do day trips with your dogs. I’m fairly content with our regular trips to the mountains. Long vacations in my opinion are a bit over-rated and inexpensive anyhow. 🙂
messymimi's meanderings
We do go on our one week to the beach every year. Of course, all of us live where we can play tourist at home and see interesting things if we want to. Funny how we simply ignore what’s so close to home sometimes.
Cathy Kennedy
Mimi,
It’s easy to take for granted what’s in your backyard so-to-speak. In 2000 when we were nearly uprooted from our East Tennessee. It was that realization that gave us an even greater appreciation for our area and not take living here so lightly. It’s so much fun to watch or hear tourists reactions when they visit the Smoky’s. What many plans for all year long wrapped up in a one or two weeks, we have the privilege of seeing anytime we want. I hope y’all have a great time for your beach get-away. It sounds like a lovely time, except I think I’d prefer to visit Florida in the winter.
Live and Learn
Later this year, I’m hoping to visit my sister and family who also live in Maine. in the meantime, I have a folder with places to visit in the area that various people have recommended. Most of them are off the beaten path and give us a destination when we don’t want to spend the day doing chores around the house. We did that yesterday with a barn quilt tour and I hope to post about it soon.
Cathy Kennedy
What part of Maine will you visit? Over the years, we’ve visited the Pine Tree state three times. It’s a gorgeous place to see but honestly, I don’t think I could live there like DD#2 and her husband. They seem content with their first winter but I didn’t really expect anything less from our daughter because she LOVES cold weather. It was her husband I was mostly concerned about but he says he likes it. I guess if I had all the money in the world and I could have a home in Maine then I’d give it a try in the winter. However, since that’s not the case I’m not willing to take that gamble. The older we get, the less tolerant we are of the cold. I’m more than happy when our mild East Tennessee winters pass. 🙂 Be sure to have a lobster or crab roll while there. That’s some fine eating!! I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your trip. 😉
Kathe W.
busy busy having fun! Cheers!
Cathy Kennedy
Kathe,
Summertimes are busy times for sure. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. 😉
-Eugenia
Mungo Jerry – OMW, what a treat! No plans for summer vacay, yet. But we’re retired folk so everyday is vacay. We may take a trip to Blue Ridge, my fav place. Make it a great week.
Cathy Kennedy
Eugenia,
Are you speaking of the Blue Ridge Parkway? Retired life isn’t too far away for DH. Hopefully, when the time comes, it’ll work out for him to step down or work part-time if he wants to. Whatever you do or where ever you go, have fun!
Jacqui Murray
My husby loves bbqing. He has a Big Green Egg–the best purchase he’s made. I think it’s easier for him than any other cooking.
Hope your husband feels 100% soon!
Comedy Plus
It’s good to get away now and then, but it’s ever so good to come home. We do boating all summer long so we’ll be out on the water enjoying cruises to places we love to visit. It’s the way we roll.
Here’s a song that reminds me of summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t608ud3FM4 I’m a Beach Boy fan.
Have a fabulous day, Cathy. Big hugs. ♥
Birgit
You deserve a vacation and this is always the first to go when other things pop up or money is scarce. I like that first picture and I am. Looking forward to your vacation pics.
15andmeowing
Looks like you have a lot of attractions in your area. If you get to Maine, let me know and I will go there to meet you because I am not too far away in Massachusetts.
Thomas Anderson
Hi, Cathy!
It was a crazy weekend for us on the West Coast of Florida. We wanted to have a cookout and had invited family who live up the coast from us, but the tropical storm threatened and the forecast because so bleak that we canceled the gathering. To our amazement the storm was never much of a factor in our part of the peninsula. The weather turned out to be mostly sunny and breezy and it would have been an okay day for a cookout. Mrs. Shady was very angry that we scrapped our plans for nothing.
It was great to see another picture of you, this time with your children. I feel like I am just getting to know you after 3+ years. 🙂 They all look a lot like their mother which is a good thing. I would think the weather in Maine is gorgeous at this time of the year. It would be great if you and DH could could break away and visit your daughter.
.
Coincidentally, Kathleen Mae Schneider’s sister and her husband just moved to Maine a few weeks ago. It was very kind of you to swing by SDMM yesterday during your holiday weekend and leave a comforting message for Kathleen. I know she appreciated it. She is replying to all comments on my blog this week and hopefully she will have a chance to reply to yours sometime today. Please keep checking back.
I enjoyed your summery mewsic picks. That Mungo Jerry hit got stuck in my head all summer long in 1970. The Katrina And The Waves video played in heavy rotation on the MTV station where I worked in the 80s. I’m glad you saw my note yesterday about “Summer Breeze.” It was fun listening to the song this morning. Yessum, I have seen the movie Stakeout starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez and one of my favorite actresses, Madeleine Stowe, but I don’t think I saw Another Stakeout.
Have a happy Tuesday and a wonderful week, dear friend Cathy!
Doesnt Speak Klingon (@NotKlingonRed)
No vacation for us this year. We took a few days to fly to Da Nang Vietnam and secure an apartment, and now that we are here I foresee a summer of simply sorting out how to do things in this country! It’s all good, though. There are a few more weekends of the International Fireworks Competition, so we should be able to enjoy those for free!
https://doesntspeakklingon.blogspot.com/
Arlee Bird
East TN is one of the best places in the U.S. to go for a vacation trip. Hopefully I’ll get to do a few things while I’m there, but being with family is also just fine with me.
A summer song that immediately came to my mind is from one of my favorite groups:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD14t_rlk4A
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out