Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Sheep headgear

So Little Peppermint has not learned. You see peppermint's horns have grown at an awkward angle. They make a "V". She can shimmy and tilt and cram her head through the fence, but once she's through she cannot get her head back out (because of the "V" shape). Often I would come home or wake up to find this.

Oh, and the noise she would make to get our attention was just heartbreaking. Well, we kept hoping that soon enough her horns would grow so big they wouldn't fit through the fence anymore, but that hasn't happened. The past couple of weeks we have been finding her stuck again. I have been so scared and terrified that she was going to get stuck and the coyotes would come up and get her. And the bigger and bigger she gets, the harder it is to weasel her head back out. We have been trying to come up with options to stop her. One was to cut her horns off or file them down. Cutting them off just sounded so painful to me, but it was seeming more and more like what we were going to have to do. Well I told my dad about it, and my dad said, "just duct tape a stick on her horns so she can't get her head through in the first place." Well, last week pep was up to her old antics and this week she is sporting a new look!

At first she was not popular among the others. They did not like her new app. The sheep tried to chew on it and she was harassed for a bit. But now, no one seems to notice. She has even learned that she can use it to scratch her back and clear out a little more personal space at feeding time.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Christmas tree vs. Cat

Christmas is just around the corner! And I'm no where near as prepared as I have been in the past. I feel bad, but my husband is getting basically the same thing he got from me last year. And I have sewing that I really need to do for some other presents for my nephews. I have managed to get Matt and I's non-breakable ornaments for this year. This year a friend of mine from high school that blogs, had a post that describes exactly why I pride myself on my shatter proof tree. Originally the need for eliminating the glass from the tree was because my cats, but I had the child friendly plus in mind too. This year we are adding two giant felt Christmas balls.

Now if I can just find one that my little gray cat is not tempted to chew on, I'll be set. I can't keep that cat from gnawing on my damn tree. She managed to chew through the cord on my pre-lit tree, so Matt had to fix it. Little stinker! I'm just glad it was not like the movie "Christmas Vacation"… "fried pussy cat".

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Thanksgiving Rest

Matt and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Low key! Matt had school work and farm work; and I came down with the congestion and sneezy crud. This picture of our cats pretty much sums up the mood and feel of our Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Starting up and winding down (all at the same time)

Well, we have been busy. I have set up my little office. I've been going to court almost everyday (whether I have a case or not). I have stood at the podium and addressed the court. I'm movin on up! I have a few cases, one of which was a dozy and heartbreaker. And it was on my birthday, but I hope when we go back to court the situation has improved. I have my fingers crossed for my client.

November has come and gone so quickly, and I have been trying to get so many things in order. I'm getting really excited to get out the Christmas décor this weekend and I'm also excited about the Thanksgiving festivities this week. The year is marching right on past. It will be 2010 before we know it. The reality that my best friend from high school will be moving at the end of the year has set in too. She texted me this morning that her house had sold, which is great and sad news all in one.

In Matt news, he killed a deer yesterday! First off, my husband isn't really a hunter. In the 8 years that we have been together I have never seen him shoot a gun. I've heard stories, and he has shown me firearms before, but never actually fired them in my presence. About a week ago, I saw this beautiful buck on the farm and told Matt and the family about it. I had made the comment that Matt should try to get it before someone else does. I'm not usually in favor of killing the wildlife on the farm. I love seeing all the deer. I even like that every evening and every morning about 50-60 turkeys are roosting or wandering around in the field beside our house. But you see, other people, strangers, think that they can just hunt on the farm, well… because they want to. Basically we have a wide variety of people that trespass about this time EVERY year. I've literally drove by and caught them climbing through a fence before. They have a lot of nerve. Anyhow, Matt's dad knocked on our door yesterday afternoon, said he had seen the deer too, thought it was a good size and asked Matt if he was interested in shooting it. Matt decided to, and pulled one of his brother's rifles out of the safe in the house. Matt's late brother loved to hunt, so it was quite fitting that Matt used his gun, and shot a deer on his brother's birthday. He would have been very proud. So without any practice or even firing a gun in the last 8 years, Matt took one shot and killed his first deer ever yesterday.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The great pumpkin did not show up

Well, the great pumpkin didn't make it for Halloween. Its there, it just didn't entirely turn orange. Speaking of Halloween … it really snuck up on me this year. I had made plans to go have dinner with a friend that I haven't seen in a while, so we did that and had a really good time. And on Sunday I did house work mostly and tried to get caught up on some things.


I've started working as an attorney here at the office and I am completely thrown into trying to learn the ropes at the office and the court house. It's a lot to take in but I'm enjoying it. Friday we set up my little office and I'm still trying to get acquainted in it. I have a few clients and I have also been introduced in court and can cross the bar in the courtroom. You would think I would be totally excited about this because of all the hard work and law school and such. Well I am, but I was more excited not to have to sit in the gallery any more and observe. I sat in the gallery a few times last week and there were so many sick and hacking people around me I decided just to get up and leave. It wasn't worth trying to watch if I was going to catch H1N1.

On Monday Matt and I went to see Maroon 5. We were exhausted before the concert began, and we were real exhausted when it ended. But it was a good show and they sounded great live. It was quite fun for this old married couple :)

Nobody blink, it will be Thanksgiving before we know it!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Two things I don’t know how to do YET: play guitar and drive a stick


My birthday is next month and Lord knows I don't need anymore junk. In fact, I'm still trying to clean up and weed out the junk I already have.

Anyhow, Saturday was the beginning of my birthday present. Matt and I are taking 6 weeks of guitar lessons at Mary's Music. I'm so thrilled about this present. I don't have to wash it, dust it, or find a home for it in my already crowded house. Matt already had the guitars. Our first lesson was good and overwhelming. The strings, the frets, and my fingers screaming at me for making them stretch in ways they never have before. I also quickly learned that my long pretty nails had to go.

So long pretty nails.


I'd love to be able to play a thing or two, and I'm really hoping that I can wrap my brain around all the information. Maybe I'll be able to play myself happy birthday by my birthday!

I also had to practice learning how to drive Matt's stick shift. We went out for a lesson/drive on Sunday morning. I did ok, I'm learning. I'm also learning that people are not very courteous. I had to take off on an incline, which is already a challenge. I had some butthole pull up too close to the rear of the car. I looked at Matt, who was already giving the guy the stare down and said, "I'm not taking my foot off this break, because I'm going to roll right back into the grill of this jerk's truck." That's when the truck driving jerk started honking at me because I wouldn't budge. I rolled down the window and just waved for him to go around, and the occupants of both vehicles all looked at each other with that "you're a douchebag" face.

I did get a compliment this weekend. When I was taking my trash to the receptacle, the older gentleman that is the attendant came up to me and said, that he is always glad when he sees my car pull up. He said, he always knows that when that door opens I'm going to get out with a big smile on my face, and say hello to him. He said, that I make his day when I come because I have such a pretty smile. I laughed, told him thank you, and said that was the point.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Trick-or-Treat! Goats and Sheep!



Monday, October 19, 2009

I Passed! then I worked till I passed out!

There's no other way to celebrate PASSING THE BAR EXAM, like taking on a little home improvement project. That's right! I passed the Bar exam! No more school, No more studying, now begins a whole new part of my life that doesn't have written tests looming in the future.

Well, the party animals that Matt and I are, we decided to rip out the carpet in the front room and hallway and replace it. It's nothing fancy, but it is so much better than the dirty stained carpet that we did have. All the trims haven't been completed, but for the most part here is what it looks like now (Sorry I didn't take any before pictures).

I figured I needed to go ahead and take a picture of it now before I fill the room with all my crap. I'm actually going to try not to put all the junk back in there and weed things out. I figure now's the time.

Here is Hans saying goodbye to the old carpet.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Proud moments from the weekend

Saturday some friends and I participated in the race for the cure in Nashville. We were a part of the team "Myra's Milers" which was formed in honor of a friend from college's Aunt who passed away less than two years ago. I myself have had two Aunts that had breast cancer and have passed away, so I was thrilled to be able to join the team and participate this year. The event was really great, and if I'm correct, "Myra's Milers" was the largest team and ended up raising the most money. I thoroughly enjoyed the Race for the Cure, the weather was a little gloomy but it was nice and cool. I finished the 5K in around 30 minutes. I didn't really time it, but it was in that area. Honestly I haven't been running as much as I used to, but I ran the whole thing, and I'm not too sore today. Now I did tweak my back Sunday, but that is a whole different story and totally un-race related.

A few weeks ago my dad blessed our goats and sheep with a new dwelling.

They absolutely love it. We couldn't even get the roof screwed down before they were in it. This one will be much better in the colder months that are to come. It will keep the wind off of them and give them more protection from the elements. They have already gotten an upgrade on their house.






They got a front porch. Actually this abomination was our front porch up until last weekend. I kid you not, this was actually the unsightly entrance to our house. It looks just fine for goats to stand and poop on, but it did not look very nice on our house. It was old, it had nails that would work their way out of it. It was too small for Matt and I to even stand next to each other.



This is our new front porch, and I love it. We added about a foot and a half to each side. It also comes out much further. Not only can we stand next to each other on the porch, but we can stand next to each other on the steps if we want too. I put the finishing touches on it this weekend by painting the wood framing under the composite decking. We still have a lot of work to do to make the house more presentable, but this is a huge improvement. Another improvement you can see is the tin roof we had put on this summer. Apparently the pitch of our roof is really low, and every time a big storm came through (which we have had a lot this year) I would walk around in the yard and pick up shingles that flew off the roof and of course there was the leaking that would follow. Matt did a great job on porch, and we only yelled at each other once during the project.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Like Mother, Like Daughter


A few weeks ago I got this email from my friend Sabrina that simple said "help". I opened the email and she had a picture of the Halloween costume that she had decided on for her adorable 6 month old girl. Apparently there was a small problem. They don't make this costume in an infant size. And the original polar bear idea had been scrapped by her hubby. I was so excited about a sewing project I really didn't pay much attention to what it actually was. And then as I studied it, it dawned on me. "That's no elf… That's a garden gnome!" and Sabrina confirmed. So project "Garden Gnome" began.

My mother has made my Halloween costumes for as long as I can remember and they have always been fantastic. Much better than the flimsy store bought kind. She said she really likes making them because of how much fun you can have with them. For Halloween 08, she made me a "Little Red Riding Hood" outfit with a red (lined) cape and knee length full skirt. (Click here to read the post from 2008 about it)

So here is the debut of my very first Halloween costume produced with my beginner/amateur skills. I now give you (drum roll)… "Baby Garden Gnome"

TaDaaa!


It is going to look so cute on the baby! And I can't wait to see pictures of her in it.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Awaiting the arrival of the great pumpkin.

Against all odds and to my utter surprise, I have ONE little pumpkin growing.

I'd given up on anything coming of my little pumpkins, but it seems the great pumpkin may show up after all. I'll have my fingers crossed for the next 4 weeks for it.

"Linus: Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see."

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

the normal pets we have... well... maybe normal isn't the right word...

Sunday I got hit hard and fast with some sort of virus. And by Monday evening I was feeling much better. I'm still a little spacey and getting myself back together, but definitely glad to be over that. To top it all off, I smashed my big toe on Monday night too. Matt said I hadn't gotten enough sympathy, so I had to go and turn my toenail purple and green.

Totally unrelated to my sickly weekend I thought I would share some cute pictures of my little pets.

Hans here is my fat cat. He is seriously sweet. When I was sick he lay at my feet in the bed off and on. Most mornings he wakes me up. He absolutely loves to get in confined spaces. I've seen his fat body disappear into little places that I thought there was no way possible he was going to fit. This tub had yard sale things in it, but he didn't care. He had to test it out before I put it away.


This is Biscuit. Our little sweet mutt, with the claws of a Velociraptor. She is also super fast and can appear and disappear in a flash. She is the defender of her dog pen and barks like she is a big deal. In reality she is scared of her own shadow. He is allowed to come in the house at times, but Matt and I have to be her body guards. You see, she slipped up one time and let the cats see that she is afraid of them. Now they can smell her fear when she comes in the house. Here she is sleeping sweetly on her makeshift dog bed. Making her a cute one is on my list of projects to do.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

I’ve learned my lesson about peppers!

Last year we had an abundance of jalapeño peppers from our garden. Matt made and canned salsa. I pickled some. I also learned how the make pepper jelly. Well this year the jalapenos didn't do as well, but we do have quite a few habanera peppers. I wanted to make some jelly again so that I could use it as a glaze for some chicken or pork. So last night I picked a few and got a new recipe to try that added apple juice in with the peppers. The recipe said to wear glove, something the recipe I followed last year also told me to do. I hadn't done it last year, and things went just fine, so I proceeded on gloveless last night too. I made the jelly, canned it, processed it, I washed my hands repeatedly and religiously, sat down to watch TV and work on a sewing project. Then the heat. My fingers turned red, and burned. So I washed them. It didn't quit, so I washed them again. Bed time came, so I washed my burning hands again and then made a huge mistake. I took out my contact lens. Holy Jesus! What was I thinking?!?! I lay in bed weepy and red eyed, squeezing my blazing hands. I got up and washed them again. Matt asked me to scratch his back and I told him that was probably a really bad idea. I woke up through out the night because of my burning hands.

This morning I woke up to my hands STILL tingling. It was that tingling/stinging sensation you have right after a slap. I did not even attempt to put in my contacts, for fear of being blinded. And at around noon today I noticed my hands were back to normal. I'm in no rush to try my blazing concoction and I'm seriously considering tossing those lens a little early.

I also got to thinking of all the clever names they have for hot sauces and levels of heat when you order hot wings. I thought I would probably name mine something like "don't taze me bro" after my whole little experience.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

I can see clearly now the rain is gone…*

Some days I'm less than enthusiastic about living in the country, and wish that I lived closer to town, closer to friends, maybe even in a neighbor hood with lighted streets. I would really enjoy having a good grocery store where you don't discover you've purchased rotten produce. I have bought 2 boxes of rotten tangerines. Of course the five on top with the side facing the net were beautiful, but when I opened the box, green mold and mushy fruit. You better believe I investigate every carton of strawberries too.

Well for a few minutes Sunday all the rain we've been having stopped and the clouds opened up. The sun actually shined and everything outside looked green and gorgeous! Not to mention there was a full rainbow over the trees. I love being able to walk out side and enjoy the beauty of where we live. I can always drive a few minutes longer into town for the fresher food, but if I lived in town I may not have been able to enjoy this (as well as all the other things we enjoy out here).

*Johnny Nash I Can See Clearly Now, the Rain is Gone



Thursday, September 17, 2009

Yard sale legal advice and 2nd graders

As mentioned, last weekend my friend and I had a yard sale. Yard salers are such a weird mix of folks. If I hadn't been one of the people deciding prices and what not, I might have enjoyed the people watching.

Well one gentleman asked my friend what she did for a living. I heard the question and began to coil up against the wall where I was sitting, hoping and praying that no one would notice me and I could fly under the radar for a few moments. And I did, at least for a few moments. I thought I had escaped this one, but then my friend (who is very proud of me) piped out, "She's a lawyer."

DAMN IT! I'd been outed, and I braced myself for possible bombardment. I got lucky. The first words were not, "my baby daddy", "It's not me, but I got a friend who…", "My brother/sister/cousin is getting a divorce and…", or "blah, blah, blah, blah… and can they do that?". He asked about probating an estate in Kentucky so I got out really easy. I was able to say I had not received my bar exam results yet, and I only took it for the state of Tennessee. So I didn't know anything about Kentucky, and I couldn't answer any questions. AWESOME!!! I wish I were so lucky every time. Most the time I feel like Jerry Springer has descended upon me.

In other news, Matt substituted for a 2nd grade class this week. He had a good time. But he explained that it felt like someone took some chalk, drew a box on the ground, and then dumped out a bag of kittens and told him to make sure they stayed in the box. He also said that they all had to go pee, and everyone's stomach hurt after lunch. I told him this afternoon my tummy hurt and he asked me if I needed to go see the nurse.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Wicked weekend

So for our anniversary Matt and I tended the sheep and goats early, and us two bumpkins went out for a night of culture. We went to see Wicked at TPAC. It was absolutely great! Really good songs, great twist on the Wizard of Oz, and the performance was just wonderful. It was a good way to celebrate our anniversary. If you are interested in seeing it, you really should try to go.

I also had a two day yard sale with my friend from High School over the weekend. I had forgotten how draining having a yard sale is. I made a little dough, but most importantly… I got rid of some of the clutter at the house. Don't get me wrong, there is still a lot of clutter. But it has definitely given me some relief. We also decided to take down and store the spare bed at our house to get more room. No one has visited or slept in that room for 2 years now, so obviously it wasn't being used. I'm still weeding through things and trying to get things situated after the four years of neglect from being in law school, but things are starting to improve.

News on the pumpkin front is grim. The plants are definitely getting bigger and bigger. Problem is, for some reason my female plants are not flowering (I think I must have planted them too late). They keep shriveling up and dying. Like I mentioned before, this is a learning process. I had no idea that there is a male and a female part of the pumpkin plant. And well, as one would imagine... the two have to meet up to pollinate and make a pumpkin. I guess we won't have any pumpkins this year, but our odds next year are going to be pretty good after all I've learned this year. I've got my fingers crossed that I might have at least one, but it isn't looking too hopeful.

bloomed male flower

female flower- no bloom

The little pumpkin on the bottom shriveled away :(


Thursday, September 10, 2009

1...2...3...4... ahh ha haaa!


"Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination."

-Roy Goodman

I really think this is a good quote for Matt and I's 4th anniversary. Matt and I aren't where we were four years ago and we aren't where we're going to be four years from now. But I can proudly say we are happy. We have maneuvered these first few years of marriage alright. We are still trying to get settled, establish ourselves, and just plain figure things out. As frustrating as it may be at times, I can say that we are happy, laughing and making our way.

You know Matt once gave me a Valentines or an anniversary card that was thanking me for all the things I do as his wife. And then on the inside of the card, it thanked me specifically for not killing him as he slept. Every time I come across that card I giggle. Especially when I look at his little emphasis added by his scribbled handwriting stating, "no really, thank you!"



Friday, September 4, 2009

Show and Tell

I'm sure kids all over have show and tell today and I thought I would join in.

First- my latest crafty projects.

This is my first actual successful attempt at making a fleece hat. In doing so, I was supposed to sew down the two points at the top, but I thought that they would make a cute owl hat if I left them as they were. Since my college sorority mascot was an owl, and they are very in these days, I created just that. It is really cute to look at, and a friend's daughter is just the right size for it so I gave it to her (along with some other stuff) for her first birthday. I have to admit the hat was much cuter in theory, because it seriously conjures up images of the pope when actually worn by a child.

I'd like to preemptively apologize to the future 16 year old baby K for the possible embarrassing pictures that maybe a result of my actions.

Here are some pictures of my other gifts to her.

Of course a stuffed owl, and a cute little appliqué shirt.

Speaking of Birthday's... My mom celebrated her Birthday this week.

Happy Birthday Momma! I love you!!!


Monday, August 31, 2009

Aquarium pictures

To finish up the run down on the Chattanooga trip, we went to the aquarium. We had a lot of fun there too!

Here are a few pictures from the ol' iPhone

Friday, August 28, 2009

The Stone Fort Inn

If you are going to Chattanooga anytime soon you should seriously consider staying at the Stone Fort Inn. It was absolutely adorable. After the excitement of the day, we were so ready to just chill out. We checked it, and were given the run down by one of the ladies running it. The Wine and cheese hour (which was included) was about to begin and we were told where breakfast was going to be in the morning. They then took us to our room. It was gorgeously decorated and very charming. It had exposed brick walls, old hardwood floors, subway tiles in the bathroom, whirlpool tub, aveda products. It was the whole sha-bang. Matt immediately noticed that there were chocolate chip cookies in a bowl right when we stepped off the elevator and was ready to partake. The room was very comfortable and there was an old coke machine in the hallway that dispensed the 8 oz. cokes in glass bottles. We relaxed for a bit, checked the library of VHS tapes that we could help ourselves to if we felt like watching a movie in our room; and then, I had some wine while we decided where to have dinner. We were so tired from getting up at 3:30 a.m., we knew we weren't going to be up for too much that evening. We walked downtown ate a little dinner and came straight back.

The next morning I got another wonderful surprise from our Inn. I had read that there was a continental breakfast, which is a big selling point for me. I don't want to have to go seek out a place to eat first thing in the morning when I go out of town. Well folks… the Stone Fort Inn goes way beyond a continental breakfast on the weekends. They had two chefs come in and cook a gourmet hot breakfast. Homemade berry scones, breakfast casserole, quiche, bacon, sausage, vanilla yogurt with fruit, French toast, Yummy! They had cereal too, but with all that, who would eat cereal? Caliborne and Brian, the chefs, did a wonderful job. I also found it thoughtful they had disposable travel cups for the coffee. I definitely made myself a large to-go cup when we checked out to go down to the aquarium. I've paid more to stay at places that don't even come close to my stay here. I highly recommend it, if you are looking for a relaxing get away.

Here are some pictures:

Front Lobby

Where the wine and cheese was served

One of the private balcony rooms

*This was not our room, ours was smaller but just as nice*

Breakfast area

with charming outdoor dining patio

One of the bathrooms

Be sure and click on the link in the blog to see the photos of other rooms, they are very elegant.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

We’ve been hit! Or so I thought.

After we left the train station, Matt and I decided to punch in the address to the Inn/Hotel on the GPS and head there to relax for a bit (We like to call the GPS our "Guups"). And as usual with all the road trips that Matt and I have been on, we manage to find a low income part of town. I swear every time we go to a different town on a little trip we manage to find at least one little section of hood. For example, We decided to drive around and look at the old antebellum homes in Savannah Georgia one time we went to visit. We are all, "ewww… Ahhhh… look at that one!" and then we get to the end of the street and make a turn and BAM! Ghetto! What the heck!

Anyhow… back to the Chattanooga story. The Guups sent us straight into a lower income part of town, it wasn't completely ghetto, but it wasn't exactly somewhere we wanted to visit. We just drove along aimlessly following the Guups directions and commands. We were stopped at a light, when we heard an extremely loud pop followed by what sounded like crackling. Matt ducked, I pop up and stiffen and start looking around. I'm looking for a rock, a bullet hole, some point of impact or entry. I was sure we had been hit by something. Then we hear the spewing and hissing. Matt had left two cans of coke in the back seat of my tiny car. During our train ride, they had apparently gotten really hot. Which led to them exploding at just that moment. After our heart rates lowered to a functioning level, we surveyed the damage in the back seat. The mess wasn't that big. But as for the butt puckering factor… I give this one a 10! It scared the Hell out of us.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Chug-a-luga-CHOO-CHOO!

Matt has been requesting that we take a train ride for quite some time now. So that is just what we did for his Birthday Extravaganza this year.

Me waiting to board

We left at 4 am to make our 10 o'clock train in Chattanooga. It took us 3.5 hours to get to Chattanooga, plus they are in Eastern time zone, so we lost an hour. We got there a little too early, but we wanted to allow plenty of time in case we had needed it. Matt and I had tickets for the Chickamauga Turn (Check out all the tours they offer: Tennessee Valley Railroad). The train ride was slow and relaxing. It was a diesel engine train and staff and guides were very entertaining. The swaying of the train car made Matt and I want to go to sleep. The weather last weekend was fantastic and fall like. Matt could have made the entire train ride while standing on the vestibule or in between cars with his head hung over the side. The train also passed through a horseshoe shaped tunnel in the mountain. It is one of only two, in the state of Tennessee that is still usable. During the civil war the union and confederate soldiers engaged in hand to hand combat in the middle of the tunnel in pitch blackness.

Matt looking over the side of the train

Around noon we arrived in Chickamauga, Georgia. It was a quaint little town. We had lunch, walked around the Gordon Lee mansion, and visited some of the shops. They had a hat shop, and if any of you know my love of hats, you know that I must have tried on every hat in the shop. I seriously fell in love with a 20's/30's era hat with large feathers and netting and a green velvet hat that I can't describe, but Matt gasped and said that I should buy it. I didn't though. I haven't any idea when I'd be able to wear such a formal hat.

Gordon Lee Mansion

On the way back to Chattanooga, the train made a brief stop at Chickamauga National Military Park. It had tons of monuments, but we only stopped at one. It was shaped like a chess piece and you had to climb 136 stairs to the top observation deck. I hope that Matt and I can make another trip to the park and check it out further. On the ride back Matt and I again fought off the urge to drift asleep and just enjoyed the ride.

Matt in front of the monument

We arrived back at the Depot, took a look at the exhibit of amazing photography from the 1950's, looked at a few more train cars, headed to the hotel. We had so much fun! And I have so much more to tell you about the trip, but I'm going to break it up into a couple posts.

Maybe later this year or next we'll go back and take the Autumn Leaves train that is the steam engine (I love the smoke coming from the stack and the sound that whistle makes). They have different cars added to the train for these rides. They have a car that was used in the filming of the George Clooney movie Leatherheads and one similar to the Marilyn Monroe film Some like it Hot. It was a wonderful little trip and I suggest that you click the links and check it out the train for yourselves. If I had children, I would totally take them to the Polar Express one with hot chocolate served and Santa aboard. The only thing I would have changed would to have headed down on Friday evening so we would not have been so tired.

The tunnel

 

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