thursday's ten: on my daily drives

today's ten is a photo journey...and unfortunately not all of them are mine.  as much as i find taking pictures from my car window fun, it's not always the safest thing ever...

photos obtained elsewhere are marked as such :)




please join me in this!  i'd love to see the strange and unusual things around where you call home!

1. batman building

photo from google images

it's the most recognized part of our city's skyline...and i still smile when i see it

2. traffic circle on music row

photo taken by me

natives have their own nicknames for it, but the official name is "musica"

3. "that awful mailbox"

photo by me

i discovered this mailbox years ago when driving to babysitting jobs. it's on a well-traveled street just off the interstate, and it's U-G-L-Y. i don't even know what it's supposed to be...a dead animal? a portion of one? any ideas?

4. krispy kreme

photo courtesy of google images

the original nashville krispy kreme was just down the street from my university (that's right. the ritzy universities got the starbucks and the eclectic shopping areas but WE had easy access to the "hot now" sign.)
clearly, i don't make it a daily stop, but it is nice to indulge every few months :D

5. front yard phonebooth

photo shakily taken by me

somewhere, on a residential street in our fair city, is a family who owns (and is quite proud of) a phonebooth from the UK. i played creepy stalker and took a night picture of it, but i didn't linger TOO long, so it's not a fantastic shot. sorry.

6. odd tours

photo courtesy of google images

photo taken (badly) by me

photo on company website

who wants to see nashville like a normal person? we have the nash trash tours as well as the redneck tours. i've seen both out and about, but only been able to snag a photo of the redneck bus--and in the rain at that! :)

7. walmart valet parking

photo taken by me

i have NO idea what the reason is, but there is a wal-mart in town that has valet service. hilarious...and i want to try it every time!

8. parthenon

photo courtesy of google images

complete with a huge statue of athena...it's a pretty impressive replica. it's also in one of my favorite parks!

9. casino style movie theater

photo courtesy of google image

i kid you not, it's a theater. it's obnoxious, but i don't think anyone in nashville would be able to handle it if it wasn't lit up like this every night :)

10. super secret target parking lot

photo by me

ok...i hesitate to post this. BUT there IS a target in town with a secret lot. i refuse to say which one, but it exists, and here's photo proof, kinda ;)

so...what's a bit different about where YOU live? :)

nashville snow drivers

i've written tips about winter weather

and have done my fair share plus of complaining about nashville drivers in the snow

today i'll give you a slight glimpse of what i'm talking about.  which is timely because ICE is predicted today.  oh joy!

as i see it there are a few distinct categories of nashville (or southern) snow drivers

in no particular order (except how it comes to my brain) here they are

the recent transplant

characteristics: doesn't understand what everyone is complaining about, forgets temporarily that tennessee gets less snow and more ice, also forgets that nashville is very hilly

driving style: at least 20 mph faster than everyone else on the road, over-confident

(for tractor trailers, add 10 mph and a whole lot of aggressiveness.  yikes)

the nervous nellie/ned

characteristics: have rarely if ever driven in snow, decide that wherever they need to go is clearly more important than the safety of everyone else in the city, bundled up in a heavy coat, thick gloves and a hat that keeps dropping over their eyes but they are too afraid to take their hands off the wheel to push it up

driving style: at least 20 mph slower than everyone else on the road, frequent braking, hands at 11 and 1 on the steering wheel and sitting at the very edge of their driver's seat

the native

characteristics: is only experienced in driving to his or her local grocery store for bread/milk/eggs but feels that experience is just as good as anyone else's

driving style: speed varies, but braking is frequent

the oblivious

characteristics: knows there is snow/ice on the road and that it's slowing everyone else down, but doesn't feel as if it affects him/her, often spotted with "multi-tasking" items such as cell phone or coffee in hand, or makeup brush poised

driving style: at least 20 mph faster than everyone else, reckless when there ISN'T winter weather, so completely hazardous when there is.  avoid this person at all costs.

 

on a scary(ier) note, here's actual footage of tennessee drivers on ice.  yikes!

and some tips, should you need them.  i kid in this post (kind of) but in ALL seriousness, be careful out there!

(all photos from google images)

Monday's Memory: the one with the trip back from clarksville

we had been dating for about 2 months

went to clarksville

about an hour away

to attend the 50th wedding anniversary of a family (mine) friend

my parents happened to come down as well, so anthony met them for the first time

we had an event with our kids that evening, so we left in PLENTY of time to get back

unfortunately

this is tennessee

and weird, weird, weird things happen on our highways

that hour long trip

took several

because of hazardous waste on the highway and re-routing

thank goodness anthony had a deck of cards in the center console

although we eventually grew tired of playing slaps

ahhhh, good times

(and yes, we're always paranoid now

when driving back home 

on 24)

Thursday's Ten

As for my drive in today...may I please refer you here?

In the (anti)spirit of today's weather, I'm going to tell you 10 things I love...about SPRING

1. 7 days after the official beginning of spring is my birthday (the 28th!)
2. trees are budding and blooming, and even though the Bradford pear trees aggravate my allergies, they're worth it
3. jonquils (daffodils according to some of you)
4. warmer weather is on the way!
5. for just a few weeks, no heat OR air needs to be on in the house. yay for ceiling fans. and cheap electric bills.
6. working in my garden--even though I truly don't know what I'm doing out there!
7. sunroof open in the car 24/7
8. summery drinks become more appropriate (mojito, anyone?)
9. flip-flops also become more appropriate. not that I haven't worn them some all winter long...
10. we jump forward an hour and FINALLY I get out of the funk I've been since we "fell back".

(by the way, 3 more posts until my 100th! If you haven't asked me a question...or you want to ask me more...you might want to do that soon!)

Notes to Tennesseans on "Winter" Weather

Yes. When you got to your car this morning there probably was ice on your windshield. This came from the literal freezing rain overnight. No, the can of de-icer you bought to get rid of the pesky frost didn't really cut it. Neither did the flimsy scraper on that can. You've got to use a REAL scraper and the "defrost" option on your car coupled with windshield wipers on high. This does mean that you have to plan time to get the ice off. It's gonna take longer than the 2 minutes you normally spend de-icing the frost.

Just because there was ice on the car does not mean there is ice on the roads. This, in all likelihood, means that you can travel at a normal pace on...say, the interstate.

When it begins raining again at 11 am, but is 37 degrees outside, you can certainly drive at a normal rain pace. Rain does not freeze at nearly 40 degrees, people. And it most certainly won't create a massive freeze-out all of a sudden. Stop driving at 20 miles per hour as if you are anticipating a sudden sheet of ice to encompass the road and your car. That's not how it works.

Ice does not equal snow. Snow does not equal ice.

Furthermore, stop riding your brake in expectation of finding that one patch of ice. Be thankful it actually ISN'T there...because if it were, riding the brake would be the sure way to skid and cause a collision. You don't HAVE brakes on ice.

We don't have true winter weather here. It's cold. We've had snow AND ice this year--woo!--but seriously? Boston. New York. Chicago. THEY have winter weather. And the kids go to school through it all...amazing.

The grocery stores and gas stations truly appreciate your business, but you might want to spread it out a little. Flooding the gas station for when a snow is predicted just may cause another gas shortage. Please don't do that. Most of you don't want to drive in the snow anyway. And going to the grocery store for milk, bread and eggs...unless you're truly out of them or want to make french toast, don't bother. The snow/ice will really only last a few hours and then you can go back to Publix to do your grocery shopping for the week.

Ahhh. Ok. I feel better.