We're Back!

We're back home after a great trip! Stopped in Atlanta at Trader Joe's before coming home. We didn't know there was one there -- I love that place!

Hopefully, we will go to Yellowstone in January. We'll keep you posted on our hippie travels!

Have Sweats, Will Travel

Cynthia and I did make it to the tearoom, but she forced me to look nice. Fortunately, she took me to a consignment shop where I bought an entire outfit, including shoes. She couldn't believe I went on a two week trip with three pairs of sweatpants. After we left the consignment shop, we were going back to her house for me to change, but we started talking so much we forgot that and ended up in the parking lot of the tearoom -- me still in my sweats. I had to change in the bathroom. While I was changing, Cynthia was loitering in the hallway when the hostess asked her if she needed something. She just said, "No, my friend is in the bathroom changing. She didn't have any nice clothes so we had to go buy her some so we could have lunch here."

What to Wear?

We're in Cleveland, TN, just outside Chattanooga, where we're visiting our friends Lee and Cynthia. We've just spent a great evening together, but Cynthia is determined to take me to a tearoom for lunch tomorrow. In fact, she's even made reservations. Here's the problem. I'm traveling light on this adventure -- when you only change clothes every three or four days, you don't need much -- so I've got exactly three pairs of sweatpants, a couple of t-shirts and my old lady, white, zip-up tennis shoes. And two of the sweatpants are filthy. I told her I'm not going to go out and buy an outfit (including shoes) just for lunch. Well, she's saying we'll figure something out. I may be the worst-dressed person ever to enter what has been chosen as the best tearoom in Tennessee.

Fly fishing in Tennessee

Manhattan Project

Even though we lived in Tennessee for 23 years, we had never gone to Oakridge to see all the stuff there about the Manhattan Project. In case you don't know, this was the code name for building the atom bomb that ended World War II. Oakridge is a town just outside Knoxville that the government built for this project. It was a "secret" town that wasn't placed on any maps until after the war ended. Although thousands of people worked there, they had no idea what they were working on. It's hard to believe in this day of the internet, CNN and instant everything. They only knew they were working on something important.

There's a great museum there that explains how the town came about, with lots of interesting tidbits from the era. We also heard a talk by a gentleman who has just published a book of black and white pictures from Oakridge during the Manhattan project.

Gary liked the Liberty Bell so much he thought we should take it with us.

Philadelphia

We spent a couple of days in Philadelphia, seeing the sights. The Liberty Bell, the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the first Congress . . . it was awe inspiring to walk where our founding fathers walked.

At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, we jumped up and down where Rocky jumped up and down. Gary ran up all 72 steps, just like Rocky. We also ate Philly cheesesteaks at the place the Food Network said is the best. They were okay -- I guess I just don't like Philly cheesesteaks that much.