For some reason time continues go by too quickly, you know how that goes.  So here is some catching up from my last post.  We have been to Milwaukee for my cousin Joe’s daughter’s wedding.  Bonnie was a beautiful bride and we had a wonderful time.  Too early for us to head home in April so we flew up for the weekend.  We flew out of Orlando to get a direct flight and spent an evening with Darren and Sheryl at a favorite place in Sanford.   Getting to Milwaukee Friday gave us a chance to have a meal with my brother and his wife.  Saturday’s wedding was so much fun, and a chance to see what is left of my family.  Getting back to Florida we had the chance to see some of Chris’s cousins.   Charles and Anne-Marie came over from Switzerland and Jackie hosted them and Elisabeth to get together in Titusville.  You have to take advantage of those opportunities, before we left Florida we lost one of our neighbors to cancer, Bob rest in peace.

After getting back to Florida we saw weather in Wisconsin improving and decided it was time to head north!   So we had started gathering what needed to go back north.  We have had great Florida weather but needed to dig out the cold weather clothes we used on the ride down and packed them up.   We worked on cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer,   I thought we started working that down early enough, but still had too much left!  After all we wanted to visit some of our favorite restaurants before leaving.   We did have a great meal at Baciami across the street and a brunch at Butcher and the Bar.   I was pretty successful at reducing our liquor cabinet before leaving.

So Monday the 23^rd we headed out with Valdosta GA in mind.   It was a good ride, Florida rest stops on the tollway are the best.  We made it to Valdosta late afternoon and after checking into the hotel headed to Georgia Beer Company which we visited a couple of years ago.  They are still doing a good job with their beers and Chris found a blueberry beer that was very tasty.  Then went to an Outback Steakhouse that was next to the hotel for a full meal.  After a restful night and breakfast at the hotel off we were to Chattanooga TN. 

So Tuesday the 24^th we hit some traffic slowdowns around Atlanta but nothing crazy, and were good until we were close to the Tennessee border.  The GPS recommended we get off I-75 and take another route since we were not far from Chattanooga.  It worked out great since at the off ramp was a Bass Pro Shops store.  I had discovered I had not taken my good travel rain coat with me (back in the Florida closet) and we had plans to do some walking the next couple of days with rain predictions.  So a nice tour through Bass Pro and then took the state highways into Chattanooga and to the hotel.  A very nice Marriot in downtown Chattanooga.   We checked in and then took a walk to the local Public House which had great cocktails and food.  The pimento cheese and fried pickles were a great way to start to relax after the day’s drive.  We did get back to the hotel before the rain started and were able to watch the lightening from the hotel room.  Although we first stopped at the hotel bar for another and had a nice conversation with a tow truck guy from Louisiana who once was in Wisconsin to buy a truck.  He spent a night riding with a driver, in -13 weather  helping to get trucks righted and running.  He will never forget.

The next destination on Wednesday was Nashville, only about another 2.5 hours.  So we had planned to visit the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Park.  I have enjoyed reading some of the history of the civil war and the battles here are considered the largest, and a turning point in the war.  The visitor’s center tells an amazing story and has a first class movie about the battles.   And many states that lost home sons in the battles have erected monuments throughout the park (including Wisconsin) and the park has a self-driving tour marked to see significant battlegrounds.  The amount of lives lost in the civil war is staggering, and the visitor center features some of the personal stories of those involved.  I had also wanted to visit the Point Park area of the National Park at the top of Lookout Mountain.  The drive was extremely interesting on winding roads which sometimes felt like single lane driveways!   But even though we were on a cloudy day with impending rain it was worth the trip.  A beautiful overlook of several states and the city of Chattanooga.  Since the drive up was hard it was difficult to imagine how (or why) the soldiers climbed to the top and battled for this overlook.  The Battle Above the Clouds seems unfathomable.  With the weapons of the day and lacking of provisions how soldiers could drive themselves through the woods and mountainsides and engage in battle is beyond understanding.   The first days of battle below had over 34,000 casualties.

We left the Point Park and headed off to Nashville.  We had some rain on the way, it is a drive starting in the mountains and leveling out on the way to Nashville, and that went well.   Downtown Nashville is pretty busy but we only needed to go a few minutes off the highway to be downtown.   We checked in and it was late afternoon, time to find some food and cocktails.  A few minutes away was a local Martins Bar B Que.  We did not want to venture far as more rain was forecast to be coming soon and this turned out well.  The brisket sandwich was delicious, as was the selection of local beers.  Black Abbey in Nashville makes a great Belgian Blonde.  https://blackabbeybrewing.com/  Baptizing new believers 12 oz at a time.  Then back to the hotel room to relax and plan for the morning.

We had a Gray Line tour planned for the morning and were up early (for us).  The tour included the Ryman Theater and the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as a number of sites around town.  It was entertaining and we are glad we did it.  We had a hotel not far from the Country Music HOF which worked out well.  We left the HOF and were ready for lunch so went to Broadway and spent some time at Jason Aldean’s place.  One of the great things about Nashville is the number of musicians available, so the music starts early.  We had lunch listening to a talented duo.  There was another band playing on the floor below, and there would be a band on the roof later.  Many of the bars look like buildings in many towns, long and narrow.  But they have used them well and used each floor.  Some have 4 floors of music.   We also made it to Blake Shelton’s Big Red and Miranda Lamberts.  By late afternoon on Thursday the bars were already filling up.   We are past the point of staying out late elbow to elbow, so when we headed back to the hotel for a break we were not going to get back to Broadway.  We took a break and found a local eatery for dinner.  Which turned out to be delicious and at a discount to Broadway!  We will go back to Nashville, there is more to see.

After Nashville we were getting the itch to head home.   So we planned Champaign Urbana Illinois for the next night.  And from there we could reach Oshkosh in just under 5 hours.  A stop at a Loves then we made a rest stop at Ooga Brewery in Beaver Dam WI.  Then on to Oshkosh. 

The cable and internet is connected, we are remembering what is in which cabinets.   Chris has some loads of wash done.   Next further settling in, catching up with old friends, and the many plans for this summer.