Saturday, October 7 through Thursday, December 28, 2017

With the coach tucked away again at All Things Storage in Lebanon, we were settled in for rehab support for mom's second hip replacement. Since this is a travel blog and we were not traveling, I thought I would just summarize a few of the highlights of our stay.

We returned to Tennessee just in time to visit Octoberfest.  My brother, Doug, and I headed to Germantown, a neighborhood in downtown Nashville. It was Saturday, October 7th and the final day of the celebration, but the crowds were out in force.

There was plenty of music with Oom-pah bands around every corner, dancing in the streets, brats and, of course, beer lines everywhere.

On the 16th mom had her surgery. Unfortunately, there were complications with the procedure which meant she was looking at 12 weeks of recovery and rehab instead of her expected 5-6 weeks. Needless to say, she was very disappointed, but she followed her doctor's orders and things progressed well. There were a few extra days in the hospital followed by almost two weeks at the Lebanon rehab center before she came home.

The Lebanon Octoberfest followed the Nashville festivities by a couple of weeks (October 22nd). It was quite different in that the focus was on a huge antique and classic car show and much less on beer and brats. 

I think the classic '56-'57 Thunderbird is my favorite - who knows, maybe I'll have one someday.

The car below had some of the most impressive bodywork and paint. I loved the openings in the hood surrounded by the 3-D paint - what a piece of art!

Mom's rehab was progressing nicely and we were able to get out to see the Lebanon Christmas Parade at the beginning of December. I was surprised at the extent of this parade. It rolled by us for over an hour.

Santa and Mrs. Claus were riding in style in the LFD bucket ladder truck near the end of the parade.

We received some tragic news from Iowa early in December. My cousin, Keith, died in a horrible accident on his farm. We drove up to attend his memorial service on the 7th of December. Keith was well known and loved in the community as evidenced by the number of people who attended. He will certainly be missed.

I have a lot of fond memories of my cousins - especially Keith since he and I were the oldest in each of our families. I always loved visiting the farm as I was growing up.

Story City, IA decorated their Christmas tree in the middle of Main Street.

After we returned to Tennessee, Doug and I headed downtown again. We took in several sites including the new Top Golf facility. The place was hoppin'! Who knew there was such a demand for this kind of place. Virtually every tee was in use. We had a beer and watched for a while as golfers ran the gamut from duffers to pros

Outside of Cumberland Machine, where Doug works, they set up a sleigh perfect for photo ops. Rudolph and the others would have a difficult time pulling this beast fabricated of half-inch plate steel.

Next, we visited the Marathon Automobiles Museum. How did I never know Nashville was home to one of the earliest automobile manufacturing sites? The company was poorly managed and only operated for a few years before World War I, but still?

It was estimated only five of the original cars still exist and three of them were in this museum.

Probably 50 of the machines used on the original manufacturing line were on display in the halls of the old factory.

I guess sometimes you have to leave to discover something new about your old hometown!

On Christmas Eve my nephew, Matthew and his wife Lindsey, brought their brand new baby, Sanders, over for a visit with his Great Grandma, Marjean.

Sanders is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen and who doesn't love that new baby smell?

My niece, Adley, brought her cute little Teacup poodle, Lincoln, dressed in his holiday outfit - as Joani says "how adorable!"

There was a little tension over just whose dog food this was, but ultimately, everything was good.

What? There was no tension! Sam is always willing to share.

Christmas Day was special as everyone gathered at mom's house and enjoyed an endless buffet of great snacking and eventual overeating! Merry Christmas everyone - Life is good!