An East Tennessee Adventure

Welcome!

A few weeks ago, Greg and I went for a visit to East Tennessee which we thoroughly enjoyed.

The main purpose of our trip was to celebrate the birthdays of three family members.

Photo by John

The celebration was at Nick and Lisa's where we had an end-of-summer cookout, complete with...

hot dogs...

birthday cake and...

ice cream sundaes.

A great time was had by all!

Greg and I spent the night in nearby Jonesborough, Tennessee in the "Jonesborough Bed and Breakfast," which is a "quaint turn of the century Queen's cottage...", to quote the website. 

It is the number one B&B in Jonesborough, according to "TripAdvisor."

It even has a resident dog, Tori Amos.

The decor is bohemian.

The innkeeper, Brian Mills, who makes you feel at home right away, is from London, and speaks French and Spanish, as well as English.

The large Continental breakfast was delicious, especially the granola with fresh fruit and milk.

FYI:

"Jonesborough Bed and Breakfast"

232 East Main Street

Jonesborough, Tennessee

www.jonesboroughbedandbreakfast.com

After breakfast, Greg and I headed to downtown Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee, where we...

explored around town which was all dressed up in its fall finery.

Jonesborough is well-known as the "Storytelling Capital of the World." It holds the "National Storytelling Festival" every October.

After a bit of shopping (including finding Christmas gifts!), we had a wonderful lunch at one of our favorite places, "Main Street Cafe."

Does this look good, or what! It was!

A little later, we stopped by "J J's" for some ice cream. So good on a warm autumn day!

You really ought to try Jonesborough. Bet you'd love it!

On my 9/18/16 blog post, I discussed things that I've found that made me feel happier and more positive. 

On this post, I'd like to add to that list-

Reading something inspirational, like Rhonda Byrne's new book How the Secret Changed My Life. This book is, to quote the ad, "...how everyday people completely transformed their lives by applying the teachings of The Secret." This book got five stars on "Amazon." Might be a book worth looking into!

Positive thought: "We are the creators of our universe."-"The Secret"

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, October 23, 2016, Becky

A Birthday Celebration at Bruce's Ice Cream Parlor

Welcome!

Hope you are enjoying your day!

Just recently, my cousin Bruce and I celebrated our February birthdays in East Tennessee.

In this area, as in many others, this time of year, you never know what the weather is going to be like so you don't know for sure if you're going to get to have your planned celebration or not due to possible wintry weather.

Last year, we had to put off our birthday celebration two or three times, but this year, we got lucky and had it in between two big snows! Great timing!

It was a really special birthday celebration at-

Cousin Bruce recently set up a really neat old fashioned ice cream parlor where he lives. Years ago, he and his parents had a drug store in Southwest Virginia, and these fixtures, etc. came from that store. In addition, Bruce has added several more pieces to his collection gradually through the years.

Bruce, in His Ice Cream Parlor 

My brother and his family brought delicious pizza for the main part of our meal.

Then, of course, there was the cake which Bruce had bought that cleverly had our edible picture on it of our last year's birthday celebration.

Cake has got to have ice cream with it, so Bruce got to work dishing it out- 

Does this sundae look great, or what!

It was wonderful! Peppermint ice cream with either butterscotch or chocolate syrup! Yum! Bruce works wonders with ice cream!

After the Meal, Were Gifts

Looks Like More Decorations for the Ice Cream Parlor!

Little Table for Two

Everyone should be so lucky to have a nice place to celebrate such as this!

Thanks, Bruce, and to my other wonderful family members who made this birthday celebration at Bruce's Ice Cream Parlor one we'd always fondly remember!

And...

Positive Thought: "The most beautiful view is the one I share with you."-Author Unknown

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, February 21, 2016, Becky

Great Eatin' in East Tennessee

Hey, y'all!

I just wanted to fill you in on a few great places to eat that Greg and I have found the past few weeks in good ol' East Tennessee.

Seriously, though, two of the restaurants are in Johnson City and one is in Elizabethton.

The first one is a new restaurant in Johnson City, called "Tupelo Honey Cafe."

A Sample of Tupelo Honey's Beautiful Decor

My cousin Bruce and I celebrated our February birthdays there, along with Greg, of course, and some other family members.

I love that Tupelo Honey has several items that are gluten-free and organic.

I had delicious organic veggies.

The other restaurant in Johnson is not new, but it was to us.  It's called "Freiberg's German Restaurant," which has authentic German cuisine.

Freiberg's

The food was superb.  If you don't believe me, just look at Greg's "before" and "after" plate!

The final restaurant I'd like to share with you is called "City Market" in Elizabethton.

Since this was a cool spring day, I really enjoyed the wonderful beef stew with corn bread.

Greg and I ate there with some of the (family) members of what we call our "Monthly Lunch Club."

Lisa, Nick, Greg, Me, and Bruce

(Photo, courtesy of Brandon Hicks of the "Elizabethton Star."  The funny thing is, I needed someone to take our picture for this blog post, and I asked a man walking near us if he minded taking our picture.  Little did I know that he was a professional photographer with the local newspaper!  How's that for synchronicity?)

City Market is a favorite of the locals, as you can see from this accolade which is one of many on the walls.

Hard to decide where to eat with all these choices?  Why not try them all, just as we did!

Happy eatin'!

F.Y.I.
Tupelo Honey Cafe
300 Buffalo St.
Johnson City, TN 37604
www.tupelohoneycafe.com

Freiberg's German Restaurant
203 E. Main St.
Johnson City, TN 37640
www.eatbrats.com

City Market
449 E. E St.
Elizabethton, TN 37643
(on Facebook)
(423) 543-1751

Positive thought: Here's a lovely Irish blessing someone (Betty) sent me recently that I'd like to share with you-
"May God grant you always...
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering Angel,
So nothing can harm you,
Laughter to cheer you,
Faithful friends near you,
And whenever you pray,
Heaven to hear you."
-An Irish Blessing

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there (including my wonderful mother!) on Sunday, May 10.

Thanks for visiting!  Until Sunday, June 7 (or sooner!), Becky

A Birthday Celebration in East Tennessee

Welcome!

It's really cold in East Tennessee, and the above photo proves it!  That's nothing compared to the day I was born when there was actually a blizzard!

Thankfully, there was no big snow this year for my birthday celebration, so everyone was able to get to the celebration sites easily.

Since my cousin Bruce's and my birthdays are just a few days apart, we got to celebrate together.  There are several other shared birthdays throughout the year in our family in which people celebrate together.  That probably holds true in your family, as well!

To begin the celebration, we all met at a local restaurant in Elizabethton, Tennessee, Dino's.  Dino's is a great place to dine, especially if you're fond of Italian cuisine, although they serve American food, as well.  Greg and I have never been there before, and the food was an absolute delight!

                            The Celebrants at Dino's  (Photo by Dino's Haley Hannan)

                               Greg and I are now big fans of Dino's Chicken Alfredo!

After Dino's, we all went to Mama's for dessert and gift-giving.

                                                 What can top cake and ice cream!

                                                        There were gifts galore...

                                                     ...including nostalgic ones!

Thanks again to my wonderful family members for all the great gifts.  I'm already looking forward to next year's celebration!  Can't wait to see what we'll do then!

Positive thoughts: Life is what you make it!  Find a reason every day to just celebrate!
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday, Becky

Buddy's bar-b-q Is Great!

Welcome!

                                         
Every time Greg and I go back to visit our folks where we used to live, we just have to stop at a Buddy's bar-b-q restaurant, one of a small chain of restaurants in East Tennessee.  (We love and promote local!)

                                               Kingston, Tennessee Location

We sometimes use their drive-thru and other times we dine inside which is attractively decorated according to where the restaurant is located.

                                                         Sevierville, Tennessee

The bar-b-q is great.  Greg's favorite is the pork.  In fact, their bar-b-q was voted # 1 in Sevier County by a local survey.

Besides bar-b-q, there are several other tasty items on the menu.

                                             I love their Hawg Back Potatoes!

                   A Hot Fudge Cake is a great way to finish your meal!  (Yum!)

We heard of one man who traveled a hundred miles to one of the Buddy's locations every time there was a big church function, so he'd have something delicious to take for the meal!

For great quality food served in a friendly, rustic atmosphere, you can't beat Buddy's bar-b-q!  What a great alternative to the big chains!

We can hardly wait until our next trip back to Buddy's!

They also cater.  Check out their web site.

F.Y.I.
www.buddysbarbq.com

         Notice our wedding anniversary gifts, including a Buddy's cap and gift certificate!

We also recently celebrated the birthdays of three family members all at one time!  Happy birthday Greg, Julie, and Nick!

Positive thought:  Celebrate life!
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday, Becky