Touring Tennessee: Tullahoma & Lynchburg

This week, I decided to cross off a few spots in the Tullahoma area. 

 I grew up just a few minutes from Tullahoma city limits, so to me, it's home.  The town is home to a few historic stops on the Tennessee Trails & Byways "Jack Trail", so I thought I'd cross off a few while visiting my family this week.  There are lots of great local places, but the Sweet Aroma Cafe at the old Coca Cola building is one that I've never been to.  This was an original bottling plant built in the 40's.  Once a state-of-the-art facility, it produced 120 bottles of Coke per minute until it closed in 1973. Locals remember attending school dances here, and the time when it served as a designated bomb shelter. It has recently been restored as a restaurant and retail destination.  It's been featured in Southern Living Magazine...so I thought I'd check it out.

As far as cafes go, this was a great little place.  It boasts a lighter fare...sandwiches, salads, wraps, and hot dogs.  Yummy looking desserts and the local coffee stop.  After lunch we took a quick walk through the shops that share the building.  There were some cute handmade items and lots of nostalgia.  It was a great place to cool off after hitting the city park (few blocks away).

Next on the list was Historic Lynchburg, home to the Jack Daniels Distillery.  I grew up being able to smell the sour mash from my house on a day when the wind blew right...but I've never been to take a free tour.  It wasn't going to happen this trip, mostly because we had 2 toddlers with us, but also because my mother and sister aren't invested in this project enough to endure the 75 minute tour with me.  So I will leave that for another blog.  Because I will go soon...the visitors center alone was too pretty not to snap pics of.

We headed past Jack Daniels to the square to walk around and visit the local shops.  It's a small square but full of Tennessee charm. 

The highlight of this trip was Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House Restaurant. 

It is a hundred year old boarding house turned restaurant, and is home to family style southern cooking that I've heard about in grown-up conversation for years.  The restaurant has several dining rooms, and ours, The Motlow Room, was located on the second floor.  So the dinner(yes, we call lunch "dinner") bell rang at 11 and we headed up the stairs to eat.

In Miss Bobo's hospitality tradition, each table has a hostess who shares local history and makes sure the food gets passed to the left.  You are seated at a table with people you may or may not know, but by the end of the meal everyone has a full belly and a new friend or two.  This might be my new favorite.

The restaurant was bought by the Jack Daniels company when Miss Mary died and works with the distillery to serve tourists and locals alike.  A few of our servers were actually fulfilling a working scholarship funded by Jack Daniels.  The distillery gives them a scholarship to attend Motlow University(Turns out Jack and Motlow were cousins), and in turn they serve tables at Miss Mary Bobo's.  Pretty cool.

It was so yum, and we made it out-2 toddlers in tow and no catastrophes!

So until I take the distillery tour....To Be Continued

Brain Dump

I love Britney's idea of a brain dump...so here goes.

There are a few projects that I need to do around the house.  Not big ones...but they require just enough effort to keep me from getting started.  Maybe because all of them require a small shopping trip, which should be easy now that Carter can handle a day trip...but it means that I have to argue that mommy buckles him in and "no, I will not sit and wait for you to figure it out yourself." It's like a mini war every time I get him in and out! I can hear his brain thinking "I want to do it MYSELF." It also means that I have to heave him in and out of a car seat.  Quite frankly, it makes my biceps burn.  So why don't you do them on the days when Carter is at Grandma's, you might ask.  Because I'm so stingy with those days!  I want to lay by the pool or watch the shows that I can only watch when my husband's not around to make fun of me.  So those projects continue to sit.  Unfinished.

I'm scared that I won't enjoy my trip to Seattle because I'm so nervous about taking Carter on a plane.  No escape if he gets fussy.  Can't let him down to run around when he gets squirmy.  I'm gonna be that parent with the rotten kid who won't shut up.  I'm scared.

I'm officially a youth leader.  There is only 1 young girl right now, but that number will grow.  Am I good enough?  Am I really the best person for the job?  Do I have a story to tell?  I've been saved my whole life...I don't really know if there was ever a shiny moment when things became clear and Jesus miraculously changed my life.  I've been continually blessed...always.  But is that was kids want to hear?  Will that encourage them to be followers of Christ? 

My husband got an IPad2...I miss him.

I'm in the process of buying my son big boy furniture.  How did this happen?  I thought I'd never get to this point...and now that it's here I kind of want to put it off.  Potty training?  No Paci?  Twin bed?  Packing up the highchair?  I find myself clinging by the tips of my fingers to the days of baby Carter.

We need a finished attic....our house is bursting at the seams with STUFF.  Baby stuff, bachelor stuff (which is way worse than any other kind of stuff), our childhood stuff.  But then, if we had an attic...it would just be full of junk!  Today is one of those days that I'd like to throw it all in the back yard and burn it (which would violate Homeowners Association as well as city codes)

If you list something on craigslist...it should be mandatory to mention if you (A.) own a cat and (B.) are a smoker.  It might make me think twice before buying a dresser that emits toxic fumes.  Also...please make sure someone is awake to answer the door when I come knocking.  It's not my responsibility to "pound like hell until they hear" me.  Those are the seller's words...not mine.