Tennessee sightseeing almost over

If you ever pass through Tennessee, you won’t see one of the most popular local restaurants on any major road.  The restaurant is the Vandever Corner Restaurant.  It’s in a local area, off any main drag and packed on the four days it’s open.  We visited twice in two days if that tells you anything.  Friday it was for their scrumptious catfish and Saturday for their REAL hot beef sandwiches.  We would call this place a dive (or hole in the wall) but remember there are some dives that are better than most other restaurants.  This is one of them.

Food is something we really like and brisket is one of our favorites.  We had one of the best ever briskets the other day.  We bought it and Janice smoked it.   It was amazing! We also had a yellow meat watermelon .. that wasn’t quite so good.

Gobble, Gobble.

It’s not uncommon to see lots of wild turkeys around here.  I’m wondering where they hide when Thanksgiving rolls around.

The weekend was pretty busy.  First we started off at the Farmer’s Market.  Lots of fresh vegetables and canned goods were on display.  

Next, we had to visit the Flea Market.  It’s a pretty big one.  Terry got a chance to visit it the last time we were in this area but I didn’t.  However, after reading about what I missed on Jan and Bill’s blog, I wanted to check it out too.

We bought a few little tidbits but the best purchase was the huge, delicious watermelon for $4.  We were hoping it was nothing like the yellow one we had the night before.  It wasn’t.  It was very sweet and definitely picked ripe.

We had another mission that day and also mentioned on Jan’s blog.  The good thing was our host went to school with the owner of the next attraction and after a few phone calls we were going to take a tour even though it is generally closed to the public.  We were checking out the tree house.

There was even a church including pews, people, choir seats and the Bible.  The steps were very steep.  It took quite an effort for short legs to climb up to the top and back down.  We all felt the after effects the next day.  To say we were  sore, would be an understatement.  (We called the blue chair  above the elevator.  You just needed someone to pull you up and down.)

This structure cost the owner a little over $12,000 in nails as all the wood was pretty much donated for  it.  Every kid has a tree house and so did this fella once it was completed.  What an undertaking it was for sure.  It used to be a big tourist attraction but not so since the fire department closed it down a little over a year ago.

Next stop was the Chestnut Hill Restaurant and Winery.    Needless to say, we walked away with a few more token souvenirs.

Sunday was a work day.  The boys were outside cleaning and waxing.  The girls were inside cleaning and sorting.  I can’t say it was a real fun day but we did get a few things accomplished. 

Fuel continues to drop around here.  Currently unleaded is around $1.91 a gallon.  When  we left Washington state a little over a week ago, it was running over $3.00 a gallon there.

Even Lilly has her own football.  She’s ready to watch the games this season.






We’re back on the road Tuesday.  We had to change our plans because of the holiday weekend.  We also are taking a little detour to check out a canopy we saw on Craigslist.  The good thing is the detour takes us right by the unclaimed airline baggage store in Alabama.  Maybe the suitcase I donated to Southwest airlines is there and I can buy it back from them. 


‘Tis life on the road.