It is called The Worlds Biggest Fish Fry and folks around Paris Tennessee take it pretty seriously.  This is their 60^th year for the event.  We were met with a huge line filling a holding maze and wrapping all the way around the “fish tent” before we could get to the featured fare.  The line moved fairly quickly and the food was well worth the wait.  Tasty, flaky catfish wrapped in a crunchy cornmeal coating….fantastic.  The hushpuppies and slaw were great too.  I can see why folks might return year after year.  I ate more than I should have then opted out of all the spinning, bouncing, and stomach churning rides in their midway.  I am not sure that anyone should have an all-you-can-eat dinner and carnival rides at the same venue!

They have outgrown the tent that originally housed the event and moved to an exhibit hall on the fairgrounds. It has a huge outdoor kitchen that we just had to check out….after we ate of course.  Cooler sized packages of frozen fish fillets were hefted from a truck and dumped into open stock watering troughs (never used for that purpose we assumed) and thawed under running water while stirred with boat oars.  The ten second rule was definitely in full force when handling those frozen chunks of fish.  They didn’t waste any.  The fish was bailed out into milk crates to drain a bit then hand breaded by the hundreds in a mostly cornmeal breading.  Washtub sized caldrons of hot oil came next.  Under the watchful eyes of experienced fryers the coated fillets were transformed into those wonderfully yummy morsels.  Light on the inside, crispy on the outside hushpuppies emerged from other similar vats.  It is evident that they have done this a time or two.

Actually we were working our way through the Cross Creeks NWR.  Snipe freeze among the underbrush and are very hard to spot but when you do, their coloration is fantastic.  We spotted this guy, A Wilsons Snipe, along the refuge road.

Eagles nest here too.  We saw one bird but not their nest.  Shore birds and waders were scattered around and warblers are moving through as they head back north.  It is a time to see large numbers of many species gathered together.  A flock of 100+ American Goldfinches worked their way through our campground.  It was like the ground was just littered with bright yellow flowers that periodically rose up into the air, swirled around, and settled back to earth.

No visit to Nashville would be complete without a visit to the Grand Ole Opry.  All the pre-show announcements were made by a newer version of Minnie Pearl with the pricetag on her hat and her signature greeting.  I had forgotten one negative from the live radio show performance, the commercials.  But, they give them time to change performers on stage.  Fortunate timing presented us with quite a list of performers such as; Striking Matches, Jimmy Newman, Del McCoury Band, Connie Smith, Jimmy Wayne, Shooter Jennings, Jesse Coulter, & Alabama.

It has been 30 years since Alabama performed at the Opry.  Nice harmony and quite an enjoyable evening.

Commemorating 124,000 who fought and the 34,000 who died.  Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP.  It was the first MilitaryPark and so, one of the most well preserved fields of battle.  Cast plaques describe battle movements in the words of survivors.  Individual States designed and placed monuments in the way they felt best honored their valiant and their fallen.  Some are huge and ornate and placed prominently to be seen even from the drive through.  Others are simple and small and found only if one walks cross country though the wooded hillsides or rolling fields.  We do need to remember.

A magical mermaid horse, giraffes, fierce tigers, bunnies, wild boar, elephants and the camel that I rode.  There was even a fish.  The critters on the Densel carousel in Coolidge  Park are remarkable.  All they need to do is get the player organ working and the experience will be absolutely magical.

Moon pies.  Nuke those little babies for about 10 seconds and they taste like a fine pastry.  Well sort of.

I can’t recall any city with as much public art.  Modern, “what does this mean to you?” works that make you think and whimsical statues that just make you laugh.  We loved this fellow who advertises for Mellow Mushroom…

An old Mill houses all manner of antique housewares and furniture along with vintage clothes and hats.  Another shop is filled with wonderful eclectic décor pieces created using repurposed stuff .

This one just happened on its own though…..

A sadder version of repurposing, the Delta Queen Riverboat.  We last saw her in the great paddle boat races at Derby time in Louisville.  Now she is in Chattanooga; mounted on the river bottom never to sail again and living out her final days as a hotel.  How unromantic an ending.

The view from Point Park on Lookout Mountain

high above the city is magnificent.  It is hard to imagine that a Civil war battle was fought on this rugged high ground.

It was integral to the local economy and key to the Confederate war effort.  They had iron ore, limestone and timber for charcoal all within just miles of one another and near many streams for water power.  Furnaces sprung up all around the Birmingham area.  Most are in ruins now but the Tannehill Ironworks state park preserves several for all to see.   They demo iron working and other period trades and crafts during their high season…just a walk through this time of year but still pretty interesting.  They have moved some 1890s cabins into the park and refurbished them as rentals.  I think that could be a fun way to be a bit more immersed in the experience on one of their pioneer weekends.

I didn’t realize how big a role this area played in the early American iron and steel industry.  Birmingham is still huge in cast iron pipe production.  Learn something every day.