Blue Angels Pilot Lost in my Hometown

   Yesterday, June 2, 2016, the Blue Angels, the elite air demonstration team of the United States Navy, arrived in Smyrna, Tennessee for the Great Tennessee Air Show that was to take place this weekend. They flew over downtown Nashville, then headed down to Smyrna, a suburb about 20 miles southeast. They arrived at Smyrna Airport right about 10am. At noon, other performers began pre-show practice. The Angels were scheduled for 3pm. Within a minute of their take-off, the #6 jet crashed. The pilot was USMC Captain Jeff Kuss. The jet went down in a field about a mile southeast of the runway. It was several hundred yards south of an apartment complex. It a few hundred feet from the Sam Davis Home. He did not survive.

This image was taken from Google Maps, I have marked the crash site. In some images you can see a barn and a log building just beside the fence and tree line that he crashed into. This is the log building:

   This is the birthplace home of Sam Davis. Sam was a local hero who was killed during the American Civil War. His home is a local landmark. This log home where he was born was originally located about 5 miles away, but was moved to this site in the 1980s when a subdivision was being built near the intersection of Interstate 24 and Almaville Rd. You can see the fence just to the right in the photo. The photo below is the Sam Davis home, the log home is about 50 yards behind this house.

    That is the "news" view of what happened. Here is my view of the day:
  I live about 4 miles from the airport. Seeing the planes come and go is normal. Seeing the jets from the air shows is also quite normal. The Air Force Thunderbirds routine takes them right over my house several times. In the past though the Blue Angels routine never brought them that close. This next photo gives an idea of how close they are with houses for scale:

   Yesterday morning I had a dentist appointment scheduled. My dentist is located literally across the road from the Sam Davis House cotton field(to the right of the word Google in the image above). However my appointment was cancelled, so my husband and I decided to go shopping. We went to Walmart, located just to the southeast of the image above. Right at 10am we heard them, the whole building shook as they flew in and we knew it was them. We quickly ended our shopping and headed towards the airport. The planes park on the tarmac near the hangers, and it really isn't all that easy to see them from the road behind the hangers. So we went to the road that runs to the west, it leads to the private hangers and a car rental agency. The Breitling Flight team was parked there(same spot that the #7 Blue Angel is in the top photo).

    We admired the jets, took a few photos(I only had my small Fuji, not the Canon with the zoom lens), talked with an older couple who were also looking at the planes. We could see the Angels across the runways, but my camera just wasn't good enough to get any photos. I intended to come back today with the better camera. We left after a few minutes, stopping at the Thornton's Gas Station, also seen in the above aerial image. Then we headed home. With my husband and daughter both home(school ended last week), we sat down to catch up on a few movies. We watched Mad Max:Fury Road, then Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was during Star Wars that we started hearing the planes. Stopped and took a peak outside and saw the F-22 Raptor in the distance. Back to the movie that was only somewhat interrupted by the sound of jets. My husband is former Air Force, we love the sound of jets. And we knew that we would hear them again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
   And then near the end of the movie, we heard them really low and loud. We looked at each other because we knew that wasn't normal but shrugged it off, perhaps they had changed their routine. The movie ended, but I hadn't had my phone near me. I don't get texts often, and usually only from the people sitting in the room with my at the time. But kiddo checks her phone and says that my mom has been trying to text me-a Blue Angel has crashed. WHAT?! I race to the computer and to the local news channels and find that it's true. I am stunned. I am in shock. I am heartbroken because the pilot did not survive. I had feared this ever since we moved to Smyrna and found out about the air shows here. I love to watch them, but they terrify me. I will write more about that tomorrow.
   Today I want to pray for the soldier's family. And think back to the other times I have seen them here at the air show. Here are a few photos from past years:

Caney Fork & Western Railroad Bridge

Located in McMinnville, Tennessee over the Barren Fork River. The railroad bridge was built by the Caney Fork & Western Railroad. The dam is a masonry dam built in 1902 for hydroelectric power(the power plant is now abandoned).

General J.E.B. Stuart on Monument Ave, Richmond, VA

   Located along historic Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. This sculpture was done by Frederick Moynihan and unveiled to the public in May of 1907.

Armour Meat Packing Plant, East St Louis

The Armour Meat Packing Plant was built in 1903 when the company wanted to expand outside of Chicago. There was already a large railroad yard nearby, so a massive complex of stockyards and packing plants grew up in this area north of East St Louis, Illinois. For a number of reasons, the plant shut down in 1959 and sat abandoned for over 60 years.
On April 16, 2016, the plant was imploded. Interstate 70 had been rerouted nearby a few years earlier.
Gone but not forgotten. These photos were taken in March 2011.
--->Link to video of implosion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_-XtxB28tI

CSA Monument, Mulberry, TN

Confederate Monument

   This is part of the Confederate Monument at Greenwood Cemetery in Clarksville, Tennessee.

I am going to focus on Civil War sites for awhile, unless I comes across something more interesting in my travels that I want to highlight here. I am hoping to photograph every Civil War soldier monument in Tennessee(not all are Confederates!). If you know of any that are not well known, please let me know where it is!

The Research Phase

    I have not posted much lately because I have been more busy in the research portion of my "job". Writing up my own 'book' of interesting things to see in Tennessee, county by county, town by town. Well, interesting by my own personal taste and point of view. Not everyone cares about old buildings or water towers or weird signs. With every find of a hidden gem, I come across major disappointment. There is a Google Street View feature that allows you to sort of "time travel" by looking back in time at previous versions of that street view(if there are any available). And sometimes it is painful to see what is now missing.
   One town I just looked over, their whole downtown area, two blocks of a road along the railroad tracks and a few buildings up the main street, are now all completely gone. How sad is that? To just wipe out any sign that there was ever a town there. It hurts my heart in a way that I am sure most people do not understand. And it is why I photograph places. Because you never know when they will be gone. Because some day, someone like me might come along to research a place and wonder what it looks like-or used to look like. It is a shame when there is no proof that something ever existed.
   I am just sad now. But also bolstered by the places I 'discover' that should be remembered. And I will do my best to remember them.

No Eggs In Cemetery

   Easter Egg hunt at outlet mall next to McGavock Cemetery in Wytheville, Virginia.

I Hate Spring IV

I Hate Spring III

I Hate Spring II

   Nashville City Cemetery, taken in April. Ugh the smell of those trees...

I Hate Spring

   I hate Spring. Hate it. My face hurts from the stupid sinus headaches from the stupid allergies. All the stupid bugs are coming out. The smell of fresh cut grass makes me nauseous. The foliage is growing back, hiding all of those hidden abandoned places and graveyards. It means no more hoodie weather(eventually, we have had 30 degree temps the last few days). I hate heat and sweating. I hate Spring.

   Only 183 days until Fall gets here

How I Travel When I Can't Leave Home

   My dream life would be living on the road trip permanently. Living out of a recreational vehicle, or motel room to motel room. Adjusting your watch to the local time zone every so often. Deciding which morning news has the most interesting personalities. Visiting the tourist spots, the kitschy places, the historical monuments, the little known sites. Small towns and big cities. I want to see every part of this country.

   Unfortunately due to a number of circumstances, travelling every single day right now is just not an option. When I can't get into the car and just take off, I spend my time travelling via my computer. Some of the things I do every day in a desperate attempt to satisfy my wanderlust:

• Google Street View road trips: Route 66, Lincoln Highway, Canadian Highway to Alaska, and other scenic routes. Find the start point, go down to "street view" and click your way along the road toward your destination. I do this so much that sometimes I forget if I've actually been somewhere or just explored it via GSV. 

  

  Glenrio, Texas, Route 66. Not all of Street View has been updated recently

• Film and tv locations: Because I love geography so much, I get a little obsessed with "locations" when I am watching television shows or movies. Many of them film on studio backlots, but when they are out on location, such as the numerous productions that film in New York City, finding those spots later on Google Street View is quite satisfying. Especially if I am able to locate them without the help of other websites.

  

  Mike's tollbooth from "Better Call Saul", Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Flightradar24: My newest obsession. I'm not much of a flyer, I would rather take my time and see everything in between. "The only thing you learn on an airplane is which flavor peanuts you like"(PeeWee's Big Holiday) . But watching the website, which shows airplanes in flight all over the world, is fascinating. Choosing an airplane, thinking about the people on it and where they might be headed and why. I actually spend most of the time looking for unusual planes, such as NASA training flights, or Southwest Airlines with special liveries(paint job), or anything like that. 

  

  Like this guy over Houston, what the heck is he doing? Makes me dizzy!

• Roadside America: I could spend hours reading about all the unusual places listed on this website. If we are planning a trip I will scour the entire planned route for anything that looks interesting. Making a quick side trip to see a replica Stonehenge in rural Kentucky? Sure! It's not just the "World's Largest Ball of Twine" anymore, though you could certainly see that if you want! 

  

  Shell Station that looks like a...shell...in North Carolina

• Blogs and vlogs: Some people are more fortunate that they can and do travel quite often. And many of them either write about their journeys or post videos(vlogs) of them. I seek these fortunate souls and check up on them nearly every day. I will make a list below of some of my favorite blogs(I don't think I can make a 'bullet list within a bullet list'!)
  
• Make Lists: I am a list maker, a 'lister' or 'cataloguer'. Spellcheck doesn't even recognize those words, but I am pretty sure they are correct. I make lists for everything. I probably make at least one list every day. I made a list for this. Before a typical multi-day trip, I will have half a notebook full of lists. Things to bring, places to see, roads to take, buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. 
  
• Explore: Pick a place, explore it. Almost every day I spend time on Wikipedia(or other sources) reading about a place or thing that I heard about. A question on Jeopardy? A "hometown" that I've never heard of before? Today's example: the Harrison, Tennessee 'eagle cam' was mentioned on the news this morning. I will probably spend a few hours now learning all about the town of Harrison, it's history, "street view drive" around the older parts of town-just to learn. Thirst for knowledge. 
  

  When I was a kid, my Grandmother had a set of encyclopedias that I spent hours reading from cover to cover. My Granddad's extra room had wall-to-wall maps and a ham radio. He also wanted more than anything to just "get in the car and go-anywhere". My mom inherited that, so did I. When I can't be out there, these ideas are the next best thing for me. Maybe I'm just weird but "virtual travel" staves off the depression(mostly). And it makes me more ready for when I do actually get out of the house!

• The above-promised list of blogs and vlogs I read/watch:
• Adam the Woo, Vlogger; two channels-The Daily Woo(everyday video blog), and the original Adam the Woo channel(longer, edited adventure & travel videos). For a few years, Adam lived in his van, travelling around America, posting videos every single day from some random location. He settled in Orange County, California last year and does lots of Disneyland videos now, but he still does a daily video. I like to go back and watch his older travel videos now and then. 
• Ditching Suburbia, blog: Family who sold it all, got an RV and travel full-time. Posting about locations they visit and the trials and tribulations of full-time travel, especially with children.
• Scouting LA and Scouting NY, blog: Location scout who previously lived in New York, recently relocated to Los Angeles. Posts about very interesting and historic locations in both locations. 
• Deep Fried Kudzu, blog: Travel around the back roads of the South, around Mississippi and New Orleans and the area. Sometimes upscale restaurants and hotels are reviewed(not my cup of tea though). 
• The Carpetbagger, blog, sometimes with videos: Travel around the south and sometimes the rest of America. 
• The Wandering Driver, blog: Australian travel blogger. It may not be the United States of America, but it's fun to look at his travel photos sometimes. 
• Well, I have others bookmarked, but when looking at them to link them, I noticed that some of them had not been updated in more than a year. So that's it then. If you know of any others in the U.S., bloggers or vloggers, who travel frequently and post frequently, I would love to know about them! Please comment or find me on Twitter!

Images from Google Street View, Internet Bumper Stickers, FlightRadar24, and My Flickr Page

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Mid-Town Drive-In, Closed

  This was the Roane Drive-in in Harriman, Tennessee, from the 1950s to the 1970s. Closed down and the land used for other things. Re-opened as a drive-in theater in 1995 until 2013. Film companies switched from 35mm causing the theater to shut down. The location's website says it is currently "for sale".

Knoxville, Tennessee

Best Hamburger I've Ever Had

   You wouldn't expect a great hamburger from a place named "Wise Guys Pizza", but you would be wrong! I knew we would be making the trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, so I Googled "best hamburgers in Cherokee". My husband and I have a plan to find really good burgers in small towns in each state surrounding Tennessee(so 8 different states). W
   We arrived just after they opened, the only ones in the joint. Of course, this is a "tourist" town, and February is not "tourist season". The titulary pizza had not been made. We ordered burgers, the "100% Angus Burgers", advertised on the sign outside. I got a bacon cheeseburger, with only barbque sauce on it. The prices are better than most fast food chains. The burgers were HUGE compared to most fast food chains. And the taste...we were in burger Heaven! Hands on a Bible, this was the best tasting burger I have ever had in my life! Oh and the fries were pretty tasty as well.
   So if you ever find yourself in Cherokee, on the edge of the Smoky Mountains, looking for grub, please check out Wise Guys Pizza. They are located in the Tepee Village Shopping Center on Big Dove Road just off Acquoni Road-this is pretty much the first stop light on Newfound Gap Road as you come out of the Smokies into town.
   And sorry no photo of the food, that really isn't my 'thing'!

Weird Wednesday and an Update

   I have not been posting lately and for that I apologize to the maybe 2 whole people who actually look at this blog. *waves at Mom as one of them* One of my "resolutions" was to get out more, and especially to take more photos. I have not been doing that. Today is March 2nd, the last time I picked up my camera was February 7th. There has been no real need. Nothing to photograph.

   So here is a weird dinosaur at a mini-golf in Knoxville.

No One Reads My Crappy Blog

 

Pink Motel

The Pink Motel, classic neon motel sign, in Cherokee, North Carolina

Space Shuttle Challenger

    It's been 30 years now since that fateful day, January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just after take off. Remembering those lost on that day:

• Francis R Scobee, Commander
• Michael J Smith
• Ellison S Onizuka
• Judith A Resnick
• Ronald E McNair
• Gregory B Jarvis
• S Christa McAuliffe

   One of those moments where you "know where you were at that moment". I was living with my mom. Out of school, but not working. My best friend had just been killed a few months earlier. I was in a constant state of depression, either crying or sleeping. I was sleeping at that moment. Mom was at work, a kid's clothing store at the local mall. There was an electronics store just across from them. The launch had been playing on all of their televisions out front. Mom saw it and called me. I will never forget that phone call. "Wake up! The Space Shuttle just blew up!" I couldn't believe it. Turned on the tv and watched in disbelief. I was obsessed with the Space Shuttle. Did a full science fair project about it in like 3rd grade, had the models, photos of myself with one of them when they flew through and stopped in Houston. It was pain on top of pain.

   This is the memorial for the Challenger astronauts at Arlington National Cemetery, taken in June 2003.

  We will never forget them, not the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'tough the face of God'

P-38 Lightning

   On January 27, 1939, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning took its first flight. Nicknamed the "Fork-Tailed Devil", this particular P-38 is on display at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
    P-38s were used extensively during World War II for everything from reconnaissance to bombing to combat fighting. Production of them only went on during the war, ceasing in 1945 with the surrender of Japan. They were still used until being retired by the Air Force in 1949. Many were then sent to Italy and other countries air forces. Eventually most saw the scrap yard.

Audie Murphy

   Audie Murphy was born June 20, 1925 in Kingston, Texas. He tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor but was rejected by all branches for being underage and too small. Sounds like Captain America doesn't it? His sister forged papers for him and he was finally taken into the United State Army.
   His first tours of duty were in the Mediterranean, where he was promoted all the way to platoon sergeant and received a Bronze Star for helping take out a German tank in Italy. His platoon eventually took to the European campaign through southern France. Near Ramatuelle, he advanced on a house alone that was occupied by German soldiers, where he killed six, wounded two and took eleven of them as prisoner. For this he received the Distinguished Service Cross.
   He received his first Purple Heart after being wounded by shrapnel on September 15, 1944 in L'Omet, France. Over the next month he helped attack and capture more German held areas and prisoners and was also shot in the hip. He was back with his unit by January 1945, in the Colmar area of France. Near the town of Holtzwhir, the platoon came under attack and he was wounded in both legs. Despite his wounds, he was made commander of his company.
   On this day in 1945, January 26th, his company was forced to take position in the woods after the Germans had destroyed one of their tanks, though he remained at his post. He alone fired upon the Germans and directed artillery fire at them. He climbed on the destroyed tank, fired the massive machine gun mounted on it, and killed a squad of Germans who were crawling toward him. He killed or wounded nearly 50 Germans, only stopping when he ran out of ammo. He had been wounded again in the leg. He insisted on staying with his platoon. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Two weeks later he would be promoted again and removed from the front lines.
   Murphy was one of the most decorated combat soldiers of World War II. He would go on after the war to be a Captain in the Texas Army National Guard. He also starred in nearly 40 movies including playing himself in the film "To Hell and Back".
   He died on May 28, 1971 when a small plane he was riding in crashed in the mountains of Virginia. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Real Mayberry-Mt Airy, North Carolina

   Birthplace of tv actor Andy Griffith, it is believe that he based the town in the show "Mayberry RFD" on Mount Airy.

Snow Day, Not Exactly a Blizzard

   We don't get lots of snow here. And yes, we kinda freak out when we do. I desperately want to live somewhere that two feet of snow at all times is normal. Forgive me for taking a day away from travel photos to post something extremely local. I'd love to get out and take photos around town, but (a) we don't have anything interesting to photograph in the snow and (b) hubby took the Rogue and I'm not driving the little truck on these roads! Sorry.

Forgotten Friday-McFadden Farm, Murfreesboro

   When I first moved to Rutherford County in 2002, one of the first places we explored was the Stones River Battlefield. One of the tour stops is known as the McFadden's Ford. It was in this area on January 2, 1863, near the McFadden's family farm, that the Confederates attempted to cross the Stones River from the southeast to attack the Union forces entrenched on the hills. Cannons pounded and the Confederates were killed by the hundreds.
   Currently at this tour stop you will see a monument, cannons, a small family cemetery, and you can walk down to the river where fighting occurred. But when I first visited(with my non-digital camera) in 2002, there was an old abandoned farmhouse. I took only this one photo of it, thinking I would take more in the future. And then one day it was just gone. I asked a park ranger who said it was removed because it wasn't original to the site. And that is rather sad, because it was still clearly a quite old home.