August
August was HOT here in the South. I got back from Wyoming and proceeded to melt until the cooler fall weather arrived. I started working for the newspaper and met lots of locals who complimented my work, which felt pretty good. Mike dealt with some Clifton drama surrounding the ability of a Fire Chief to run for City Commission. It was pretty crazy stuff, I am constantly surprised that we don't really live in "sleepy" little town! The American Queen riverboat passed through Clifton on the TN River at the end of August, and I managed to get a decent photo of it. I love the reflection of the lights on the water!
The American Queen
SeptemberSeptember began with Clifton's Annual Horseshoe Riverbend Festival - a weekend music festival that quadruples the population of our little town, shuts down Main Street, and allows people to drink in the street and enjoy the last few days of summer weather. Mike was a busy bee during the festival and since I was covering the event for the paper, I was snapping photos all over town.
Sammy Kershaw was the main event (news flash: he's gotten really old and fat since his heyday in the early 90's) and the loudest screams came when he started the first few bars of "Queen of My Double Wide Trailer." The crowd went nuts. It was hilarious. Other highlights included Mike getting in the dunking booth at the Fire House (I dunked him twice), fireworks over the city, an E-Vac helicopter landing at the airport, and an air-show by WWII planes. I took a boatload of pictures, but here are just a few.
Fly-over by WWII planes!
Look at that crowd!
This photo is now hanging in both City Hall and the bank!
The rest of September included the official switch from Virginia licenses to Tennessee licenses. I look
We also went to the wedding of our friends Zach and Rachel - Zach was in Turkey with us allllll the way back in 2008 and it was lovely to witness their happy day!
Zach "The Beard" ties the knot!
Adorable decorations! Rachel did a fantastic job!
Daniel, the Most Interesting Man in the World
As September drew to a close, we witnessed a small tragedy here in Clifton. The only grocery store for twenty miles burned to the ground on a Friday night. Half the town turned out to watch it go down, and I got some good photos for the paper. It was a sad night and I deeply miss the convenience of getting fresh meats and veggies without having to drive to another county or town. RIP C&C Supermarket :(
Up in Flames - hats off to the Clifton FD for saving the laundromat and the Dollar General!
All that was left :(
October
Fall has finally arrived and the leaves down here in Tennessee are beautiful!! Look at how pretty it is!
The tree and the River at the end of our street
Fall on the Tennessee River
We began October by mourning the unfortunate performance of the Braves in their one-game playoff against the Cardinals (and I was already depressed about my Phillies' performance this year!), but we were hopeful for the Reds and the Nationals. One would think that having three teams (that we enjoy watching) in the playoffs would garner some results but alas, each one fell to our great disappointment. Chipper Jones retired, bringing a tear to my poor husband's eye. It was the end of an era and, although I'm a Phillies fan first, Chipper has always been a class act and it was sad to see him go.
October also brought another wedding, this time in New York! My friend Megan, who I worked with for many years at Mr. Eig's office when I lived in DC/VA, married her Navy pilot Eric! Megan and I spent many a lunch hour talking about our respective boyfriends, waiting impatiently to be engaged, celebrating when it finally happened, and commiserating about the stresses of wedding planning. We both left Mr. Eig within a few months of each other (poor guy); she moved to Texas with Eric and, as you all know, my husband dragged me to Tennessee. ;) Megan's wedding was so beautiful! I brought Mom instead of Mike (he had to stay home for work stuff), and it was great to see some folks from the old office again. I miss that place A LOT. You never know what you've got 'til it's gone, right?
Married :)
Reception at the Settler's Inn
Sign in the Settler's Inn that made me chuckle :)
This was outside of our hotel in Hawley, PA. GORGEOUS.
The political season has ramped up and we have enjoyed laughing at both candidates gaffes (especially at my boy Joey B), yelling at the TV during debates, and rolling our eyes at the outwardly racist comments from some of our fellow Tennesseans. Local races are heating up too and I have learned the hard way that, no matter what you write in the paper, someone is always going to think that you're favoring the other side. My favorite gaffe so far, regardless of party lines, has been Mitt Romney's "binders full of women" comment. I don't care what side you're on, that was HILARIOUS.
Well, that's about all that's gone on down here in Tennessee. I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but hey, you're just lucky I posted. Also, I doubt anyone even made it down this far! Mike and I went to Alabama last night to see a movie, go to dinner, and stop at Target last night (whee!!!) and I had to restrain myself from buying everything in the store. I may miss Target, but our bank account certainly doesn't. ;)
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