Birthday Weekend

My birthday was on a Thursday this year.  We were in Nashville, TN.  Bob got me a Paragon Quikfire Kiln, so that I could continue making glass fusion jewelry, while on the road. Now I have all the tools I need to have a good time.  Bob worried for several years, that I didn't have a hobby.  Well now I do and he is very encouraging and supportive.

The top picture is a few of the pieces I did after firing.  The lower picture is before the firing. Each firing brings a new surprise.

We went to see the American Pickers store in Nashville, Antique Archaeology.

The store was in the old Marathon Automobiles Company.

Some of the things we saw, but didn't buy.

Everything cost more than we had, excepts the T-shirts.  Bob thinks that is what they mostly sell.

Then we went to the San Antonio Taco Company for lunch.  Another good restaurant selection by Craig. Yes, we were still in Nashville.

Of course we had to have cake. So we went to Gigi's for cupcakes.

Friday we went to Nashville's Largest Flea Market.

It was different than the ones we were used to in Mission and California.  Less new items and more old and antique items. I wanted to buy this guitar but Bob said no.  It was my favorite color.

That night we had tickets for the Grand Ole Opry.  It was great!!!

Riders in the Sky performed.

        As did Vince Gill.

Plus many more. One of my favorites was a young Christian Contemporary Musician Andrew Peterson.

To top the weekend off, Monday morning we went to the Pancake Pantry across from Vanderbilt for breakfast.  We thought Monday wouldn't be as busy as Sunday.  Wrong, we had an hour wait. It was good but I'm not so sure it was worth an hour.  Thankfully, Bob had his IPhone or he never would have waited.

It was a wonderful birthday weekend.  Thank you everyone for the greetings on Facebook and the many cards from all over the country.

Vicksburg National Battlefield

We came to Vicksburg to visit the Battlefield. President Jefferson Davis knew it was vital

to hold the city for the Confederacy to survive.  President Abraham Lincoln wanted the key to gain control of the river and divide the South. Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates this campaign and its significance as a critical turning point of the Civil War. The battle was waged from May 18 through July 4, 1863.

I sacrificed to take this picture.  When I returned to the car, my left foot was covered with biting bugs.  Not sure what they were, but before I could brush them off they had left hundreds, well maybe 20, bites.  They swelled up and have pus in them.  It has been several days and it is still painful.  So enjoy this picture.

This started a 16 mile drive, through the park, with 15 sites to visit.  We had an audio tape to tell us about the sites along the way.

We saw lots of canons.

Over a thousand memorials, large and 

small.

Statues.

President Jefferson Davis

Of course the battlefield.

A graveyard. 

The small head stones are unidentified soldiers.

A museum. The U.S.S. Cairo Museum

The U.S.S. Cairo was one of seven ironclad gunboats named in honor of towns along the upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers.  These powerful ironclads were formidable vessels, each mounting thirteen big guns (cannon). On them rested in large part, Northern hopes to regain control of the lower Mississippi River and split the Confederacy.

The Cairo became the first ship in history to be sunk by an electrically detonated torpedo. Over the years the gunboat was soon forgotten and her watery grave was slowly covered by a shroud of silt and sand.  Impacted in mud.  Cairo became a time capsule in which her priceless artifacts were preserved.

Some of the artifacts that were discovered.

By studying contemporary documents and maps, Edwin C. Bearss, historian at Vicksburg National Military Park, was able to plot the approximate site of the wreck. In 1956 divers brought up armored port covers to positively confirm the find.  In 1960 the salvage efforts began in earnest.

Canons were found and the pilot house.

The rear of the boat and the iron clad side of the boat.

It was a lovely drive, which had more to see than one day allowed.  The drive was beautiful and fragrant. The honeysuckle and magnolias were in full bloom.

A Drive up the Natchez Trace Parkway

Those of you who follow our blog or know Bob, knows he does not stop anywhere in the motor home.  When we leave campground A to go to campground B, we make no stops except for fuel.  So before we headed up the Natchez Trace Parkway, with the motor home tomorrow, we took a 40 mile journey in the car to see Mount Locust and the Windsor Ruins.

Our first stop was the Mount Locust Inn. When traveling up the Natchez Trace between Natchez and Nashville.  This was an Inn that travelers stayed at as they journeyed along the Parkway.

At the back of the house was a slave graveyard.

Only one grave monument remains.

Lovely park, Bob watch lots of bird here.

We drove on to Port Gibson.  Stopped at the Visitor Center there to get directions to the Windsor Ruins and ask about a lunch place.  She recommended The Country Store for it's buffet, just pass the Ruins.

Windsor Plantation at one time cover 2,600. Construction took place between 1859 and 1861. During the Civil War the house was used both by the Union Forces and the Confederate Armies. The home survived the war and continued to be used for social gatherings in the area.  On February 17, 1890, a guest left a lighted cigar on a balcony and it dropped into a pile of wood chips. The fire burned from top to bottom making it impossible to extinguish and the house was completely destroyed.  The only remnants today are 23 haunting columns, a few pieces of china, and a set of the wrought-iron stairs and portions of the balustrade. The wrought-iron stairs and balustrade are now located at Alcorn University.

We then took the recommendation from the lady at the Visitor's Center and went to The Country Store for lunch.

Would you go to lunch here?  Well, we were not sure but it also had been featured in Southern Living, so we gave it a try.  Best chicken we have ever tasted!!! Plus peach cobbler. Never judge a restaurant by it's exterior.