Movies Downtown

With John and his boys visiting his parents in Tuscaloosa, AL, I spent most of my weekend setting up a Peru photo gallery for our website and culling through over 800 photos to add to the gallery. The result of a weekend's labor of love is 161 photos that most represent our journey. Now, if I can just get each picture captioned I will connect the gallery to the web...maybe by next weekend??!! (http://www.outandback.org).

Friday night, Leslie and I grabbed our lawn chairs and went downtown to Market Square to spend a delightful evening under the stars watching the incomparable Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." 'Movies at Market Square' is a new event for Knoxville in an on going effort to draw people downtown. An estimated 700 people enjoyed a free evening of entertainment. Attendance at the weekly event is growing and the city is making noise about a movie schedule for Spring and Fall 2005. Lucky Knoxvillians! The website is http://www.moviesatmarketsquare.com . Next Friday , "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

See you at the movies....

Fall 2004

Fall arrived at 12:30 pm. Hurry up crisp nighttime temperatures and brightly colored leaves.

Welcome Fall...

Has it been only a week since vacation's end? Feels like a month. Camping equipment is clean, stored and waiting for the next adventure, as yet uncommitted to. Amazing how fast I slide back into the old routine of work, chores and not enough play...from my perspective anyway!

In case you don't keep up with college football, UT beat arch rival Univ. of Florida on Saturday night. The score was 30 to 28. UT-FL football is just not the same without UT's nemesis, Steve Spurrier. John and I watched the game with my family; we missed watching Steve throw his visor, jump up and down and twist his face in unnatural expressions. Alas, Coach Phil Fullmer must have breathed a sigh of relief, the team squeaked by another year. Of course there is some question about illegal clock use at the end of the game that allowed UT to score the winning field goal.

We do not usually attend UT football activities but had no plans for Saturday so we decided to go to the riverfront to see that was goin' on. Activities were minimal so we strolled on the boardwalk, ate hot dogs and barbecue from Calhoun's outdoor stand and settled into a swing (on the boardwalk) to do some serious people watching. The Vol flotilla, usually an impressive display of money and horsepower, was small. On Thursday, the Coast Guard issued a stong warning against boating on the Tennessee River until the effects of Hurricane (tropical storm) Ivan subside. Water levels on Saturday were still high and the current, very swift. Five hours before the game, loyal Vol fans were out in mass, parading their amazing orange outfits up and down the boardwalk. Frightening what some people will wear in public.

Over the weekend, Hurricane Ivan also made his presence known on I-40 at mile marker 4, just over the TN-NC state line. High water levels in the Pigeon River washed away a 180' stretch of the right hand lane of the Interstate, east. The entire interstate was closed with plans to open one lane on each side by Monday. Repairs are expected to take at least 6 months.

This could derail our usual Asheville Christmas trip:-((...



Downtown Knoxville from the Gay Street Bridge

Calhoun's on the River, game day

Darn That Neighbor's Cat!

Mowed part of the yard this evening before I ran out of gasoline. Hmmm, thought I had tanked up after my last mow in preparation for the dastardly deed awaiting my return from Canada.

My neighbor's cat has taken to pooping in my yard. Dog poop is easy to spot but cat poop gives no notice, it just sneaks up on the mower tires and squishes into the tread. This is the same cat that spends the winter stalking hungry birds at my birdfeeder and leaving dead bunnies under my porch in the spring. I sure do dislike my neighbor's cat!

I have dreams about what I can do to that cat...

Home Again, Home Again

Weary and trail worn, we are home from Canada. Our travels did not go exactly as planned due to the ever changing weather! Pelted with rain, sleet, lots of snow, ice, winds and more rain, we felt relief mixed with sadness when it was time to leave. The incredible Canadian Rockies made for great adventures; the backcountry of Banff National Park, Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Park and Kootenay National Park did not disappoint us...when we could see beyond the clouds, rain, snow and ice. Calgary energized us with its big city atmosphere, great shopping and 137 miles of greenways while Banff charmed us with its Apsenlike feeling. And the food, vacation is always about great food!

Now the drudgery of clean-up and and put-up, the end result of any great vacation. I will drag this part of the adventure out through next weekend, maybe longer if I get lazy! My grass is knee high and other chores await. Oh how I wish vacations lasted longer....