In and Above the City!
Last week was a busy one! Outside of all the great music madness I managed to get a real taste of my hometown.
Saturday couldn’t have a better day to stroll over the Pedestrian Street Bridge and sip a fine glass of wine. Over a thousand folks came out to the sold out “Wine on the River.” Everyone was greeted with a bottomless wine glass and welcomed to sip on over 300 hundred wines.
Sunday my man, Trinity and I took a cruise in a borrowed convertible out to Loveless Cafe (for our anniversary). We picked up some biscuits, preserves, ham and steak then headed to the park for a picnic. It was another beautiful day in the weather world and Trinity took a swim in the river.
Sunday night we indulged on juicy steaks at Morton’s. Before dessert was served, we took a carriage ride around town. I wanted a little history lesson on downtown, but that didn’t happen.
After the carriage ride we dined on one of my favorite desserts in town, Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake with a liquid chocolate center! Yum!
Next stop- the state fair. Our first date was at the fair, so we had to stop by. It was two hours before closing time on the final night, but we still paid $16 to get in and $12 to ride the Ferris wheel. It was pricey and didn’t compare to the Wilson County Fair! JD of Those Legendary Shack*Shakers painted this sideshow banner hanging at the fair.
FYI: I’m trying to stretch my cheeks like the lady in the picture!
Wednesday afternoon my man took me for a big surprise, a hot air balloon ride!
I was nervous, as neither of us had been up before. Once we took off from Fieldstone Farms the ride was smooth sailing. It was a gorgeous day looking over the river, hills and farm homes. Families stood below watching and waving as we passed over. We went 15-hundred feet up! I was amazed we could hear most everything that the kids were yelling. The typical shout was “Land here!” We brushed a tree once and my heart dropped, but fortunately it didn’t rock our basket. We could see the flight crew following our route most of the time. They communicated with walkie-talkies and we landed in a random back yard, which must be common for Franklin homeowners. The landing scared me; we hit the ground twice before slowly tilting our basket on the ground…but we were safe!
It was a nice relaxing experience, but I probably won’t go up again. It is extremely expensive! For the cost of a private ride you should get a five-course meal, fine chocolates and 3 bottles of champagne! Do you have any hot air balloon stories? Have you ever been up before…or has one landed in your yard?
on September 26th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
years ago my husband and I lived in Florida. On his birthday I surprised him early in the morning when I had a hot air balloon inflate in our front yard and we took a ride. We flew right over the nudist community near our home–what a sight! The trip was thrilling. Not sure I would have the nerve to go up again though.
on September 26th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Wow! That sounds much more exciting than my experience. Was it worth the money then?
on September 26th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
I did a hot air balloon safari in Kenya at the Masai Mara. It was fantastic!!! I am scared to death of heights and for some reason, once we lifted, I was completely fine. I loved seeing the animals roam beneath us. We had a hard landing and we were on our backs. As we scooted out, I kept hoping that I would not scoot into some animals dung. We all finally got out of the basket without incident, and we had a hot cooked to order breakfast with champagne!! FANTASTIC!! I will not do another hot air balloon ride because I want to savor that memory forever.
on September 26th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
Baby it’s amazing, just when you think that you couldn’t get anymore beautiful, I put you in the air and you look like an angel. Not that you didn’t look like an angel before.
lol
on September 27th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
cak- that sounds amazing! I don’t blame you for not wanting to try it again.
Your man- what a smooth talker!
on September 27th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
i have never been on a balloon ride, but i did have one land in my backyard when i was a child. i’m sure it was very enjoyable; the solitude, the peace and quiet (or maybe not with the children yelling “land here!”). maybe one day i will go on a ride myself. it sounds like a grand idea. thanks!