Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Tennessee



Some of you asked about that photo at the top of my blog. It's of the Columbia River in Oregon. I'm planning to change the pictures periodically and thought I'd show you some of Tennessee. The state is geographically divided into East, Middle, and West Tennessee, which are capitalized because they are the official names of the grand divisions and are represented by the three stars in the state flag. I really don't know why I'm writing about this but for some reason got into it when I was searching for TN photos. Maybe I need to focus on the pretty parts of my state right now.



East Tennessee is known for the Smoky Mountains. The Appalachian Trail goes through them. (smirk) Knoxville is the largest city, home of the University of Tennessee, and on the Tennessee River.





Middle Tennessee
, where I live, has rolling hills and Nashville, the capital, which is on the Cumberland River. That's where Vanderbilt and Fisk University are located as well as about ten other colleges and universities and gave Nashville the nickname "Athens of the South" along with "Music City, USA" because of the Grand Ole Opry and music business. That's why one of the most accurate replicas of the Parthenon was built here and is in Centennial Park. My friend Linda works at the Parthenon. Her blog is Wings Unfolding.





Statue of Athena which was commissioned several years ago.


The Narrows of the Harpeth is near where I live.

General Jackson, a riverboat on the Cumberland River.

West Tennessee is flat and grows cotton. We have corn and tobacco around here. Memphis is the largest city in the state and home of Beale Street where the blues is played, B.B. King has a restaurant, and Graceland is located. I went to college in Martin, which is in the upper left corner of the state opposite Memphis which is almost in Mississippi and Arkansas on the Mississippi River. There's a joke that Memphis is the 3rd largest city in Mississippi - the other two are Mobile and New Orleans. The Pyramid is a sports and events arena and was built because Memphis, Egypt, is a sister city.





Reelfoot Lake on the New Madrid Fault was formed by an earthquake.

11 comments:

Bob said...

Pretty pictures.
i've never been to Tennessee, but it sure seems nice, except for that whole gun thing.

Ms. Moon said...

Tennessee is a gorgeous state. My folks are from the Chattanooga/Lookout Mountain area and Mr. Moon's family is from the Nashville area. Of course, we met in Florida. But I love to go visit. Thank you for these pictures and words.

Beth said...

I'm happy to say that I've been to all three parts of Tennessee and loved them all! It's a beautiful place. Ken has never been to Graceland, so I think on one of our Florida trips we'll come back through there. I've never spent time on Beale Street, and I know I'd enjoy that.

the dogs' mother said...

Only one side of the river is Oregon. The other side is Washington :-) Can't let those Oregonians take all the credit!!

Loves the other pictures. We were in Knoxville for DI Global. It was strange not to see any horizon. Glad to see other parts of Tennessee have horizons.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures! Does Tennessee have a special cuisine as Hawaii does? If so, I would love to see some pics of it.

Joy said...

Bob, that's one reason I wanted to focus on the pretty. One thing that's hopeful is there's a lawsuit the restaurant/bar association is filing against the legislature about it. I've never heard of that, but I hope it works. It's a political ploy to appeal to that base for the next election. They didn't have our vote anyway, but still.

Ms Moon, my daughter and her family live on Signal Mtn. They recently built a high school there, and my two granddaughters go there. Their brother is still in elementary school. My son and his family live in Nashville.

Beth, I went to Graceland once. It's an experience in poor taste in decorating but worth the trip. I want to go back and go to Beale St again.

Joy said...

Thanks, FP. I meant to write WA instead of OR but became Bernice.

Oh yes, we have Southern "cuisine" if we want to call it that. It's barbeque, grits, cornbread, butter beans, turnip greens, fried chicken, sweet iced tea, watermelon, pecan pie, banana pudding, and all that kind of thing. During the "soul food" time, they were really describing Southern food. I like unsweet tea with lemon or lime and don't eat all that heavy food that often but do sometimes.

Sam said...

You've described it beautifully. Wish I wasn't so laZy and could do this for all the states I've traveld through. Glad to hear you boy's better.

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear Brian is doing well, and Brendan is happy as an ant in honey...

Sheena

Marker said...

I too have been to all three parts of Tennessee. I lived in Nashville in 1996-1997 - right on Second Avenue with a view of the mighty Cumberland. Had I stuck around, I believe I would have had an excellent view of the new football stadium. Downtown Nashville has changed so much in the past 12 years - I can only imagine what people who've lived there their entire lives think. I'm not much of a country music fan, but I can appreciate the city's considerable contribution to our country's cultural heritage. My dad certainly appreciated our trip to the Ryman Auditorium and the GOO when he and my mom visited me while I was there.

I've recently been traveling to Memphis for work quite a bit. I am working on a project with some of the medical staff at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - a truly, truly remarkable place. Mepmhis and all of Tennessee can be justifiably proud to be home to this outstanding institution.

Joy said...

St. Jude's is wonderful and does so much for children. You're right - it is remarkable!

I didn't know you lived in Nashville for a while.