Dave's Garden party?

For all of you interested in a get-together here at our farm, how does late July, early August sound?

Trish

I would love to attend the Garden Party! Late July-Early August would be a great time to get out of Memphis and visit East Tennessee. In fact, how do you feel about having a guest until the hot and humid weather here ends...'bout October! I design, dig, plant, weed but I don't do windows! Seriously, hope I can make the trip.

That timing works for me! I have several things to go to in May and June. I'll be there with bells on. If you have a good sized group, you can reserve a block of rooms at a nearby hotel and get a group rate!

Sounds great, Trish! :)

Terri

Verdesign, can you stop and pick me up Elena and me on the way? hee hee.....

Yes, Trish and Dave, we'll be there - as long as it's before high school football season starts. I probably shouldn't admit this in a public forum, but we have a football official in our family. (No, he's NOT blind or def, but he IS a ref, and yes, we've heard all the jokes. ALL of them......I think this sideline occupation entitles us to be in the federal witness protection program, but I'm not sure.....) At any rate, it means our weekends are pretty much shot from Labor Day to Thanksgiving.

We'll talk about feeding and housing the masses a little later, there will be several options for ya.

go_vols- not a problem. September would be to late in the year, with harvest and everything. I'm thinking either the last weekend in July, or the second weekend in August.

Trish

Trish, you don't need to feed or house us, dear! There's no way we would ever expect you to do that. We can camp out or get hotel rooms. For food, we can grab a bucket of chicken or some hamburgers and head to your place for the get-together. :)

Terri

We were thinking for food: Get everyone to chip in a small amount of money and we get a local restaurant to cater us. sort of a co-op for lunch. :-)

But we'll bring that up later when we start actually planning this stuff.

dave

Hey Rick*#_@#+?.I mean Dave,
I just had to stop in to sing you
a little tune that popped in my
head when I saw your thread here.
(steepin up on my soap box)
Well I went to a garden parday
to remanis with my old friends...
Ya it's all right now I learned
my lesson well, you see you
can't please everyone, so ya
got to please yourself...
La la la la...do do dee,
la la la la...
No ya can't please everyone so
ya gotta please yourself.
(stepping down from my soap box)
HHHHOOoooooorrrrraaaaa!!!
ME: THANK YOU, THANK YOU,
EVERYONE!

We have the Willie Nelson bash
here every year, it's a hoot.
Willie and all sorts of friends
show up and we all sing. I
liked it last year cause I got
to talk to him again. My good
friend Monty Montgomery is
one of his friends in the guild.
I'm not in the guild, but have
been considering it. If we
weren't so busy I'd come to
help entertain. Well, maybe I
can send a tape or CD for you
friend fest. K?
U & Trish take it easy: Jewel

I received a brand new set of knives as a gift 2 weeks ago. Just show me where the chickens, cows, pigs, etc are!! LOL

Ok- great! No one posted that the last week in July, or second week in August was not a good time, so we'll plan for one of those two weekends.

I'll let you know for sure which one soon (in a week or so), and we'll start taking a head count!

Start planning, everyone!! This is going to be a blast!!

Trish

I can't wait!!! I'll bring the gumbo....Lisa

This message was edited Friday, Mar 30th 8:47 AM

Trish,

Just found this message. The SSE Convention is the third weekend in July. So, if you can plan it for the last weekend, or early August, there won't be a conflict.

Tim and I vote for the second weekend of August! I'll be finished with the Summer semester and able to come then! This sounds like a great idea!

I'll bring the moonshine and the homemade cheesecakes. My favorites while working as a chef were the chocolate ones, with each slice decorated with a Hershey's Kiss and the peanut butter ones with a bite-sized Reece's cup decorating each slice. I took these to a chatmeet of friends in Yahoo's Stockmarket chatrooms and they were a big hit.

Trish; I'd love to be there, especially if there's to be seed trading. By August, a party will be good. I noticed on <http://www.topozone.com> that Loudon has only 2 things as landmarks: hospital and water tower. I thought _I_ lived in a little place!

It looks like August is better than July. I also forgot I have a family reunion in July.

Ivey- don't get to excited....you'll most likey not even see the "big city of Loudon"! We live right on the edge of Loudon and Lenoir City, and Lenoir City is what you will see. The biggest attraction is a Super Walmart.

I actually had to stop and think- "Wow- we have a hospital?!?!" LOL!

Start your planning! Details comming soon!

Trish

Jewel
Willie Nelson is the Man! Hubby and I go see him every time his is at the Westbury Music Fair- here on Long Island. Only sits about 2000 people so any seat is a great seat!!!
Janice

Either time seems like it would be ok with us.......so far, so good. We live such un-exciting lives anyway, it's not like we have a huge social life! :-)

Let us know what we can bring......I love to cook, so would love to help out with that if this party goes off! BTW, are fireworks legal in TN? My son has been going through withdrawals ever since we moved from SC to NJ! Was wondering if he might be able to shoot some off out there....that would thrill him totally!!!!

Fireworks are considered legal in TN. However, as soon as there is a dry spell, they are illegal for the rest of the year. It pretty much happens that was every year. They put the restrictions out on a county-by-county basis. As this is our first year in Loudon County, I have no idea what Loudon gernerally does. I'll let you know as the time comes.

About 10 miles down the road, there is a huge fireworks warehouse, and there are a couple of smaller ones in town :)
Trish

Thanks Trish.....maybe this year will be different! My son would think he was in heaven! I may never get him to come back to Jersey (like I really want to either!) :-)

When does school start back for the kids? Is it the 2nd week in August for anyone?

Terri

Awwww, Pete2 why'd ya have to bring that up? My kids still think the start of summer break is too far away to get excited about - I surely don't want to think about the end of summer already!

But you're right....it may hit with some school startings. Maybe the first weekend in August?

Unless I hear an outcry of objections (such as because of school starting), it will be the 10-12, with the main day being Saturday. I'm still working out minor details before my big post- so you'll have to let me know if this is a problem pretty quickly!!

Trish

Trish...That weekend works fine for us. Please list the hotels in your upcoming post so I can make reservations.
Carol

I will list the hotels. I'm going to call them to find out if we can get discounted rates, along with the pet info that some have requested, and phone numbers, ect.

Expect to hear from me this weekend.

The date has been set for the second weekend in August.

Trish

The earliest that our schools down here would start would be August 13th and quite possibly even later. The dates sound great to me! I'm really looking forward to this get together! :)

Terri

Trish or Dave, i think the only way I can talk my husband into to going is to get some important info..... Where is the closest fishing spot? What kind of fish are being caught during August? And where can he get a fishing license?.... I just noticed, moonshine, bar-b-que, and gumbo!!! Maybe I should give my 2 week notice on august 1, I may never come home!!!!!!! sue

This message was edited Sunday, Apr 8th 11:31 PM

This message was edited Sunday, Apr 8th 11:32 PM

Just sounds great. Thanks for all of the work in preparing for this weekend. So look forward to meeting some of the people who make this site such a joy to visit. And, to talking about plants, plants, plants, and more plants!

Don't want to start an intrastate/interstate dispute, but is anyone up for some Memphis (the best in the entire world) bar-b-que?
Diane

This message was edited Saturday, Apr 7th 1:25 AM

Ruby2,

Tell your husband that some of the best fishing in the south lies within a one-hour circle of Trish & Dave's place.

What's he want to fish for? Bass (largemouth and small), stripers (one of the two best striper lakes in the country is just around the corner from them), trout, crappie, panfish? You name it, they got it pretty close by.

Licenses are available at tackle shops, Walmarts, etc. Or you can get them by mail. And (I haven't checked this) possibly via the internet.

So, come on down. The fishing's fine!

Brook, It would definitly be striper! Oh boy I might be able to get him to go if I say STRIPER!!!!! Thank-you, Thank-you! He spends most of the summer and late fall on a search for the Big-One! He even has my twins doing it now! sue

Ruby2:

Norris Lake is just a short drive from Trish & Dave's place. It's one of the pre-eminent striper lakes in the country. In fact, many authorities believe the next (inland) world record with come either from Norris, or from Cumberland (in Kentucky).

So, you'll have to drag your boat or hire a guide (there are many working the lake).

In August it will likely be deep trolling for stripers, using live shad or suckers. Occasionally, that time of year, you find them in the jumps, and can cast to them.

Were it me, however, and I was traveling that far, I would fish for something I couldn't get at home. For instance, I would gladly visit you when the blues are running, but wouldn't make a special trip for stripers. So, if I were in his shoes, I'd consider something like smallmouth (the lake that produces all the world records is less than two hours away), or even southern-style largemouth fishing.

But, no matter what he decides, there's plenty of great fishing nearby.

Oh boy! Fishing!!! I _love_ to fish!!! Brook, are there places to rent boats or do you have to hire a guide? How much does it cost to hire a guide? :)

Terri

You can rent boats at just about any marina on our big lakes. In a reasonable distance from Trish & Dave's that would include: Norris, Hiawassa, Chicamauga, Dale Hollow, and Cumberland, to name just a few. Plus there's river and stream fishing (the Clinch River is right near them, for instance) and lots of small lakes as well.

Boats for hire range from small fishing craft all the way up to houseboats.

I don't know what guides currently charge. I would imagine something on the order of $150-$200/day.

If you've never fished a southern impoundment, I would strongly recommend a guide. These are inland seas that are all very deep, and require specialized fishing techniques. "Shallow" water, for instance, is typically 20 feet or more.

Thought I might list a few other sites, attractions, and things to do in the general area.

Just to the east is Great Smokey Mountains National Park. In addition to general scenic beauty, there is hiking, backpacking, and some of the best trout fishing in the southeast.

The southern gateway to the Smokies is Cherokee, NC. Most of the town is kind of honky tonk. But two nice attractions are the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and the Oconolufti Indian Village.

The northern gateway is, of course, Gatlinburg. If your thing is crowds, honky-tonk, discount shopping, and T-shirt places, this is the town for you.

John Rice Irwin's Museum of Appalachia is just a few minutes away. This is a working Appalachian farm village that houses Irwin's huge collection of Appalachian memorabilia. If you come for the garden party and miss this one, shame on you.

Fort Loudon is also just a short drive away. This is a recreated frontier fort.

Lost Sea, to the west, is a cave tour that includes a boat ride on an underground river & lake.

And, right around the corner, is Oak Ridge, home of the Manhatten Project that built the atom bomb. Several interesting museums can be found there.

Brook, after that last post I think we need to hire you as our guide!!!!! If you are up this way when the blues are running you are more than welcome. On the quick ride to the ocean or bay, we could make a quick stop at Lemings Run, a great garden that has been written up in alot of magazines! P.S. I will cook the fish but as my husband will tell you, I NEVER clean it!!!! sue

I know you're kidding, Ruby2. But one of the things Friend Wife and I do is run a company called "Escorted Outdoors." This is kind of a unique approach: you decide what it is you want to do. Everything from hunting and fishing to non-consumptive outdoor sports like rafting, hiking, etc. We make _all_ the arrangements---including obtaining necessary gear, hiring guides, arranging lodging, etc. etc. And one or both of us accompany you---not as a guide, per se, but as a friend who maybe knows the ropes a little better than you do.

As for the blues, don't be surprised if I show up at your door. Especially if they run early this year. I have to be in Jersey in late May, to attend the GSHSS tomato plant sale. Ya never know what may happen.

If you choose to go to Cherokee, they have a casino there now, too.

Brook - if you're ever planning a fishing trip here in my area, let me know so that I can accompany you. I love fishing!

Dave