Author: Easin' Along

On Sunday morning a local TV station presented a feature on the sunflower fields at a nature park in our city. When I say fields, I mean fields, as in acres of sunflowers. This looked like a great opportunity for Easin’ Along so, after church, I hitched Midnight (my bicycle) up to Sophie (my truck) and lit out for Ijams Nature Center.

Ijams Nature Center is a 300 acre urban green space that is dedicated to all things nature. It has over twelve miles of hiking trails and a large water-filled quarry for swimming and kayaking. The nature center has been in existence for many years and on most travel and visitor guides for our area it is ranked among the top three “must see” attractions. Nevertheless, until about two months ago, I had never visited.

Our church held an outing there in late spring and since I had never availed myself of the opportunity to see what everyone was talking about, I told Helen (adorable wife) that we should go. Fortunately, I took my camera with me and many of the pictures for this posting were taken on that visit.

On that visit we arrived and joined a small group of fellow church members gathered to walk the River Trail which would lead us along the banks of the Tennessee River.  Our guide was a very pleasant man named Lyn Bales.  This very knowledgeable gentleman would be better described as a Naturalist.  Lyn did an outstanding job of describing the various species of trees and other plant life we encountered along the trail. He answered all of our questions and pointed out trail highlights.

Since I am always curious about what leads someone to do whatever it is that they do, I asked Lyn to tell me how he became a Naturalist at the center. He was glad I asked. Lyn told me that he once had an office job (I can’t remember where) and that he volunteered at the center until one day he was offered the Naturalist position.  He said he leapt at the opportunity and never looked back. He loves what he does and it showed.

The River Trail was a delightful experience and we were in no hurry to move along.  We came across a couple in a boat out for a little fishing, but hopefully we didn’t disturb them.  After we came away from the river, we walked to Meade’s Quarry where visitors are able to swim or kayak in the large spring fed lake.  Kayaks are available for rent at the shop adjacent to the Quarry.

Meade’s Quarry

 

The trail took us to the ropes course where visitors can test their rappelling skills or try their hand at the zipline that had recently been constructed.  We watched as a couple of eager young rope enthusiasts made their way safely along the zipline.  Our tour along the trail soon concluded and we thanked Lyn for his excellent presentation and he left in search of another group to tutor. The world needs more folks like Lyn.

Having made one trip to Ijams, I was looking forward to a return trip, and so were a lot of others…

The sunflower fields are actually not a part of the nature center, but are within walking distance of the parking lot at Meade’s Quarry.  The flowers were planted by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) as a means of giving food and shelter to the wildlife in the area. The sunflowers were planted to attract birds, bees, and butterflies as well as deer and other animals. They attract people too!

I was fortunate to find a parking place as a family was pulling out of the lot when I arrived…better to be lucky than good I always say. I pulled Sophie into the space and unhitched Midnight for a ride along the trail with my camera in the saddlebag (uh, basket—got a little carried away there). Slowly, I worked my way around the walkers and made it to a huge field of sunflowers. The flowers were planted in thick rows and some were now about six feet tall. These big flowers were stunning and I wanted to get the best picture of them as possible so I waded into the rows with my camera strapped to my shoulder.  The blossoms were as big as dinner plates and the bees were busily working them over. They looked to be at or near their peak blooming period. Please enjoy them with me.

Bee on Sunflower

 

 

Midnight and I made it back to Sophie and left, but this was a huge treat. Hope you enjoyed it.

I’ll be Easin’ Along.

Balls first…

When we were preparing for our retirement a few years ago we unloaded a lifetime of accumulations in a three day garage sale. We then downsized to a smaller home with a huge attic in which we placed a few boxes, a couple of shelves, and the Christmas decorations.  Next, we awaited the fulfillment of that ancient and time-proven prophecy…”stuff will accumulate to fill the space available” (or something like that). It’s happening now.

One aspect of retirement that rings true for most of the newly retired is that, like an empty attic, stuff will suddenly appear in one’s life in the space that was previously filled by one’s employer.  We call that stuff activity.

For Helen (adorable wife) those activities have included church, grandchildren, friends, flowers, and jigsaw puzzles. Thence came pickleball…

For the uninformed, pickleball is sort of like ping-pong or tennis played on a modified version of a badminton court. Players use paddles as racquets to move a wiffle ball back and forth over a net in an attempt to score eleven points and win a game. A detailed explanation of most things pickleball are shown on the graphic posted here. However, the graphic does not provide an answer to the question as to where the game (and the name) originated.

Pickleball was created by a family in Washington in the mid 1960’s. There are many stories revolving around the name, but the most popular is that the family had a dog named Pickles and that she loved to chase the ball around and hide it in the bushes after she caught it. Thus, they named their new game Pickleball.  Although the story is often disputed, players love the story as much as the game and they’re stickin’ to it. I’m told that pickleball is now the fastest growing sport in America.

Helen’s involvement in pickleball began when she was in the YMCA one morning in late winter and, as is her usual practice, looking for someone (anyone) to chat with.  She’s such a social animal. As she passed by the gym she spotted her first target.  Priscilla, a former neighbor was in the gym holding an oversized ping pong paddle and playing a game with three other ladies. Helen asked her to describe the activity, which Priscilla did, and then invited Helen to hit a few balls with her. 

Later, as Helen was relating her morning activities to me over the phone, she told me she had been overcome with a newly discovered passion and that she would explain when I got home. Well, not knowing what she meant, I drove home, fully expecting to find my personal belongings stacked neatly in the driveway, and the new “passion” seated comfortably in my recliner. Thankfully, such was not the case. The new passion was pickleball.

I need to provide a little background here. Helen grew up in a tennis family.  Her father was a devoted player throughout his adult life but her mother was a tennis legend.  She was an excellent player with a home full of trophies to prove it. At one time she was a ranked amateur player in the South in both singles and doubles. Helen played club and high school tennis and played it well, so her genes and her past probably helped to stoke the fire in her fingers once they were wrapped around a pickleball paddle.

Three months have passed since her introduction to the game and she rarely misses a match with her pickleball pals. She borrowed a paddle from the Y at first, but Amazon (and Visa) provided her with a new one soon after that. A new roving ambassador for the sport was now out and about trying to convert the unwashed. She started with me.

This week I was challenged to come out and hit with her for a bit before her playing partners showed up for the Wednesday morning match. It was a hot and sticky morning and I gave resistance at first, but soon relented and drove to the courts. Using a paddle from the YMCA we hit the ball a few times and it wasn’t long before I became aware that the game was actually easier than I thought it would be. I played tennis a lot in my youth and during my first assignment in the Army. I describe tennis as a hard game that looks easy, and expected this game to be much the same. But, with a smaller court, and a slower ball, it isn’t nearly as difficult. After getting used to those two elements, it’s all about a smidgeon of athleticism, and smattering of hand/eye coordination. I still have a little of both. After warming up to the game and loosening up the old bones, I reluctantly admitted to Helen that the game was a lot fun.

Soon, Abby and Anne joined us, but the fourth player had to cancel and I was asked to fill in. I agreed with the understanding that I would have to leave shortly to be at a meeting.  Helen and I played two games against Abby and Anne. We held our own at first, but these ladies were very good and we went down to defeat.  My male ego was not fractured, but I am hoping for a rematch nonetheless. More importantly, I enjoyed myself tremendously. As I left for my meeting, I found myself turning to Helen to ask “How much are those paddles”?

If any Easin’ Along readers are interested in having bunches of fun and getting some exercise, I encourage you to give pickleball a try.  Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can.

Eggs next…

As long as we’re on the subject of things pickled, I thought I would share one of my favorite summertime treats…pickled eggs.

Admittedly, they’re not for everybody, but everyone in our family loves them, including my beautiful daughter-in-law from Charleston who is a big fan. With the whole family coming home in a few weeks for a summer gathering I thought it was time to throw a batch together.

I use a recipe that I found long ago in a cookbook that was given to us as a wedding present.  The recipe is simple and calls for eggs, vinegar, onions, garlic, pickle beet juice, and pickling spice.  I modify it only slightly and instead of using all of the water listed in the recipe, I may add some juice from the jars of dill pickles, jalapeno peppers, or something similar because I prefer the eggs to be a little bit tangy.

For this batch, I peeled two dozen medium eggs.  I have learned to check the dates on the egg cartons because the older the eggs, the easier they are to peel for some reason. This batch was somewhat difficult however, but we got it done. After the eggs are peeled, it becomes a simple matter of throwing all of the ingredients together. I use a large dill pickle jar I found at Walmart and added the juice from two cans of beets; saving the beets in a refrigerated container (I love pickled beets too). Next go the eggs, then the vinegar, onions, garlic, and spices. I put the jar in a spare refrigerator we have in our garage, but I’m really not certain that refrigeration is necessary. I have a friend who leaves his eggs at room temperature.

That’s all there is to it. The most difficult part for me is waiting two weeks for the eggs to marinate to tangy perfection. For anyone interested, the original recipe is posted on the EA Facebook page.

That’s it for this week.  I’m going out to practice my serve so…I’ll be Easin’ Along. See you next week.

This week’s activity involved planning more activity.

Readers may remember that we launched Easin’ Along last August as we hit the road for an extended trip along the East Coast (see August and September 2015 posts of Easin’ Along).  Well, that trip was so much fun we decided that we would venture out on another trip this August – this time to the Heartland of America.

In earlier times, we had passed through St. Louis and Kansas City, but did not have the time to explore either one. I drove through Iowa and Nebraska once on my way to Jackson Hole where I spent a fascinating evening at a truck stop in Ogallala, NE but, once again, I was just passing through. I have never been to Minnesota, Wisconsin or the Dakotas and it was time to do something about that.

Taking that trip last summer taught us a lot about how to prepare for extensive travel by car. Without a doubt, the most important thing we learned is that you can’t do it all. When we were in the early portion of our trip we would try to take in every attraction we passed and punctuate those events with food and drink at every pub or restaurant that looked interesting. By the fourth day of a five week trip we had reached a saturation point. Nevertheless, America is a place of staggering beauty with a multitude of must see places along the back roads and byways so we knew we had to change our approach if we were going to make it to the end of the trail.

We decided somewhere between Beaufort, NC and Norfolk, VA that the best way to attack the problem was to study ahead of reaching the next stop and to pick out one attraction and one good spot for food and drink for each day.  That plan got us into a rhythm that carried us successfully through an incredible experience. Helen (adorable wife in charge of research) would read the travel books while I drove. She would pick out the activities for the next stop and then go to Trip Advisor for the restaurants. It worked like a charm. With that plan in mind she made a visit to the AAA Travel Office earlier this week and stocked up on all the books and maps she could carry.

Our plan for this year is to take off sometime in the middle of August and point Heidi (adorable wife’s car) in the direction of St. Louis, MO and work our way north from there.  Stops include Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, Grand Forks, ND, and points in between all of those. Once we reach Grand Forks the plan is to go to Winnipeg then work our way back east along the lakes of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.  We will make our way through International Falls, Duluth, and Green Bay before we arrive at a destination we’re really excited about.   

As stated before, I am a retired Army officer and we have the wonderful opportunity to stay at guest lodging on military bases as we travel.  This year we have booked two nights at an inn operated by the United States Coast Guard on Lake Michigan known as Rawley Point at Two Rivers, MI. There is a lighthouse adjacent to the inn and both sit a few hundred yards off the shore. I have placed a picture below.  The setting looks very cozy and inviting. This stop should give us the opportunity to explore Green Bay and travel through Door County, WI where we expect to fill up on a bowl of whitefish stew.

After Rawley Point we need to be in Chicago where our home away from home will be the Great Lakes Naval Training Center for several days. As luck would have it, the Cubs will be in town for a series with the Giants and we were able to secure two tickets in the upper deck of historic Wrigley Field. Talk about excited…

So far we have nailed down most of the plan but we still have a way to go to get in final format.  Hopefully we will be able to work our way up to Mackinaw City, and over to Mackinac Island, but that portion of the trip is still a work in progress.

I have placed a picture of the map showing the details of the trip we have worked out up until now. That route is highlighted in yellow on the map.  As is evident, there are a few breaks in the yellow line and this is where we need help from Easin’ Along readers.  We would love to have your suggestions for places to visit and places to eat along the entire route and especially along the upper portion of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan from Chicago to Mackinaw City. We know there are some well seasoned travelers out there and we would be forever grateful for your input. I hope you will share your advice with us in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

We’re counting the days until once again…we’re Easin’ Along.