Follow The Detours

Well anyone who knows us, knows that we are not afraid to travel off the beaten path just for the heck of it. This past weekend we had a few days of self-imposed detours on our road trip to Knoxville. Friday night we left work to head towards Tennessee, to finally- belatedly- celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. Whenever we head north on a Friday after work, it's always a traffic jam on the interstates of Atlanta. This trip, while cruising along, my husband's quick eye saw all the lanes ahead of us at a dead stop. Just in time for him to zip off the nearest exit and wind our way through Marietta until we could find a clear patch to get back on I-75. Above is local legend, "The Big Chicken", where I was hanging out the truck window in order to get this photo. His eyes and beak move, and he's pretty cool.

We spent the night in Chattanooga, a good "halfway" point for us because it would be late into the night if we drove all the way into Knoxville. Saturday morning we stayed off the interstate and headed to a little town (above), Dayton, in order to get a few coveted pennies for our collection, at their general store. Which was closed "for the birth of a child" (said the sign on the door), but we stuck around and did a little shopping in the antique stores along the main street. We found a shop selling art by local artists, including one lady who has painted every state capitol and was currently set up in the store painting a huge watercolor of the White House. James was even able to find a large, gorgeous framed photo of the UT Vols' football locker room- a very unique piece.

Then we drove along winding country roads to get to Fall Creek Falls State Park, because of course they have a penny machine as well. Once again, our devotion to collecting elongated pennies took us to an exciting destination we otherwise never would have found. We didn't have much time to spend in the park, which is 20,000 acres and includes campgrounds, waterfalls, stores, a golf course, an inn, the lake, hiking trails, and a restaurant- where we did slow down long enough to enjoy the country buffet for lunch. And, below, you can see they also have cabins on the lake. Or should I say "in" the lake, as the cabins are built right out over the water. We were so enticed by these, we decided to make reservations for our upcoming anniversary to spend a long weekend in one of them. (Photos from their website.)

Although our travels often take us out of our normal comfort zone, there are some things in life that never change no matter where you are. For example, here is a photo of James before we left, trying to work at his desk in the home office, around a lapful of Romeo and Hairy begging for his attention.

And here is James over the weekend at his parents' house, with pups Joppa and Missy clambering all over him for a little affection. The dogs are actually smaller than our cats, but they are decidedly way more excited to see us whenever we visit.....