Nashville time - part 2

Tuesday Oct 11  -

William is in school! James and I decide to have a nice walk. Nashville has very nice "Greenways". We already know some of them and we decide to start at the Dam.

It was a perfect weather day and we enjoyed our walk very much. It goes along the river.

We saw several birds standing in the sun drying their feathers. 

We also saw a very healthy-looking ready-for-winter groundhog in the middle of a large lawn (next to his hole ready to disappear). James went to have a closer look (the red spot on the right). It was fun to see the little guy.

The only thing I don't like about this greenway ... it's not a circle ... it's a forth and back. You have to go back exactly the same way. It's funny though that the way back seemed shorter.

At the other end we found a map at the trailhead.

The detail of the total greenway we had walked from Percy Priest Lake to Lebanon Road (or ... our landmark is "Kohl's")

Back to the other end again. See the moon?

My Fitbit is happy.

Wednesday 

I worked on odds and ends but after lunch had to get out. The weather this week is just so nice. It was just a walk in the neighborhood but in streets I haven't been in before. James walks almost every morning before I wake up and knows pretty much every corner.

We picked William up from school at 3 pm ... and then went a little shopping. This map was on sale. We mounted it with 3M velcro strips. William can draw on it and dry erase it. He had a lot of fun with it. Papa pointed out certain areas ... where Papa was born ... where Omi was born ... where Auntie Sarah lives ... where we all were on vacation in January ... where he was on vacation last week ... etc etc

Thursday

James and I went to school to keep William company at his lunch time. We have done that several times before and he likes it. He introduces us to his friends.

Since nothing else was planned for that day James and I took a walk in Long Hunter State Park. It wasn't that long but very nice anyway.

Friday

I can't remember what we did (actually I have trouble piecing the whole week together including meals we had together several times). 

Helen and William went to Taekwondo in the evening and then she brought him over to spend the night. That is a must! If there is no school the next day a sleepover is a must!

It was 8 pm by the time they arrived but he was so good - so tired but so good - and went to bed happily.

Saturday   

Breakfast and then a little play with the trains. Those tracks go forth and back between VA and TN.

We picked Helen up and went to Cheekwood Botanical Garden. There was a Fall Festival going on. We were there promptly at 10 am. 

Still lots of flowers in bloom. We were making our way to the part in the garden where the story time was supposed to be at 11 am.

We were a little early so we had time to admire things in detail.

William loved climbing on these rocks, the seats.

The story teller was first class. Children of all ages had a lot of fun. The book was about a mouse and the Gruffalo. 

VIDEO!

Afterwards we kept wandering around. So much to see.

Then we stumbled upon the arts workshop. Just walk in anytime and you get to do the project.

Helen and William really got into it. William did the tearing of the papers and Helen did the glueing. 

Papa set on a wall outside and was perfectly happy to listen to one of his podcasts. He "doesn't do" art. But two days later he told me that their piece looked really nice when you view it stepped back. Alright!

William decided were he wanted to go next. He liked this little house.

And then it was lunchtime. Cheekwood had done some remodeling. They had taken down a hedge and a fence and made a beer garden behind. Picnic benches, some people had blankets, and live music. There were also food trucks. 

There were only three food sources but one was offering very healthy options. Helen said she wished she had known because she had packed her lunch. She is wonderfully careful now what she eats.

The Thai Power Bowl was great.

The last thing on our agenda was looking at the scarecrows. There must have been about 20 (wild guess). Lots of them were very clever. Luckily William was not scared and enjoyed it too.

One week of visit is quite short when you have a lot on your to-do list. So we packed the shopping trip into this afternoon. William needed some clothes and so did Helen. We are so proud of her. Giving a good example to William for healthy eating and exercising has paid off greatly. A lot of her clothes don't fit any longer. What a terrible problem to have, ha-ha. Yes, we are very proud of her and it was fun. She and William found things they liked.  

Except they didn't have the shoes he wanted in his size.

After Helen left us to drive home, the three of us went to Opry Mills. James and I decided to try to find Williams shoes there at Sketchers. He had to try on several pairs and finally said these were comfortable! He was sure.

Oh well, why not? We went to the Aquarium Restaurant. It's expensive but so much fun. And we had a very good table right next to this.

Another sleepover night. A bath and hair washing. It's all fun.