Touring Tennessee: Day 7 Boats and Rockets

CrispyA · 1 Oct 17, 02:57 PM

It was an early start today as Andrew had arranged to hire a boat through "AirBnB for Boats" and the booking was from 8.30am!

We all met up at Triana boat dock on the Tennessee River with our swimming stuff and a big bag of snacks and drinks. The boat had a tube and wakeboard and a couple of life jackets.

We had a fantastic morning on the river, tubing and wakeboarding. The tubing was somewhat intense - Andrew drove the boat and took no prisoners! We clung on to the tube for dear life as it bounced over waves and sped across the water. It was great fun, but Paul and me did pick up a couple of injuries - he accidentally kneed me in the mouth as we flew off the tube and I had a rather spectacular fat lip for a couple of days and another time, he came off the tube and rolled at speed across the surface, bruising his ribs. There was also the very scary moment when Hannah and I looked up from the tube to see that Andrew had given Evan the wheel and he was in charge!

Alex had a go on the tube as well and of course, big brother Andrew did his very best to fling her off it. She managed to hang on for quite a while though.

Andrew did some wakeboarding and made it look so easy! Then Paul tried and could barely stand up on it. Evan was much more successful and managed not only to stand up but to ride the board for a few minutes. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get any pictures of it but it was quite impressive!

It was all a lot of fun and something that we would never do at home. By lunch time, we were all pretty hungry and they took us to Cracker Barrel, somewhere we had never been before.

The cousins hung out on the porch.

Then we all had huge breakfasts! We did try the grits but weren't impressed. The biscuits, however, were fantastic.

After that, we were all pretty stuffed. Huntsville is where a lot of space craft are developed and built and there is a really cool Space and Rocket Center there. Andrew wanted to see it as well so he came with us. We had a good couple of hours wandering around and looking at all the kit, trying some of it out.

They also have the Pathfinder Orbiter on display - a shuttle simulator that was used to work out how to move it. It's huge!

Inside, there is a mock up of the International Space Station and various simulators. We were quite relieved that the G Force simulator was out of action so that we could legitimately avoid it without seeming like big jessies . . .

Andrew had fallen about laughing at our tale of Sonic Shenanigans and vowed to show us how to "do Sonic right." So we called for drinks on the way back and he ordered them quite easily and they arrived to the car. So now we've at least had a successful Sonic order. And very nice it was too.

Back at house, we sat on the deck and chatted over a couple of beers before having burgers cooked on the grill. It was a really lovely evening and we had lots of laughs. We also met Mammo, who is Margi's Mom and is the tiniest, cutest Japanese lady. We were so glad that we had finally gotten around to visiting Huntsville as Geoff and Margi made us so welcome and really looked after us.

Melbatb · 1 Oct 17, 04:52 PM

What a fabulous day! We did tubing in Quebec this summer too - O was amazing in that whilst the rest of us clung on for dear life he could kneel on it with no hands!

The Space and Rocket Centre looks really interesting! Lots of different things to see!

CrispyA · 7 Oct 17, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by Melbatb

What a fabulous day! We did tubing in Quebec this summer too - O was amazing in that whilst the rest of us clung on for dear life he could kneel on it with no hands!

The Space and Rocket Centre looks really interesting! Lots of different things to see!

O must have some amazing balance - I had real white knuckles from clinging on!

Mortimer Mouse · 3 Oct 17, 08:16 AM

What a lovely day, although that tubing looks terrifying to me.
Glad you now know what to do at Sonics

CrispyA · 7 Oct 17, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by Mortimer Mouse

What a lovely day, although that tubing looks terrifying to me.
Glad you now know what to do at Sonics

We are ready for Sonic now!

Jesslydevie1 · 4 Oct 17, 10:47 PM

What a lovely day , tubing looked so much fun but I don�t think I am that brave to try it. I have always wanted to try a Cracker Barrel they look so quaint , definitely on my to do list .

CrispyA · 7 Oct 17, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by Jesslydevie1

What a lovely day , tubing looked so much fun but I don�t think I am that brave to try it. I have always wanted to try a Cracker Barrel they look so quaint , definitely on my to do list .

Cracker Barrel was fantastic - we may have visited once or twice more . .

**WileyCoyote** · 7 Oct 17, 09:33 PM

Oh my life, that tubing looks exhilarating and terrifying !
What a fab day, great food, family fun and the space stuff looked really interesting . I must admit I don't get the concept of grits at all.

**RachelM** · 19 Oct 17, 09:51 PM

Another great day. Hiring the boat sounds like lots of fun.

1 Oct 17, 02:57 PM	#1
	1 Oct 17, 02:57 PM CrispyA Imagineer
CrispyA Imagineer Join Date: Oct 11	Touring Tennessee: Day 7 Boats and Rockets It was an early start today as Andrew had arranged to hire a boat through "AirBnB for Boats" and the booking was from 8.30am! We all met up at Triana boat dock on the Tennessee River with our swimming stuff and a big bag of snacks and drinks. The boat had a tube and wakeboard and a couple of life jackets. We had a fantastic morning on the river, tubing and wakeboarding. The tubing was somewhat intense - Andrew drove the boat and took no prisoners! We clung on to the tube for dear life as it bounced over waves and sped across the water. It was great fun, but Paul and me did pick up a couple of injuries - he accidentally kneed me in the mouth as we flew off the tube and I had a rather spectacular fat lip for a couple of days and another time, he came off the tube and rolled at speed across the surface, bruising his ribs. There was also the very scary moment when Hannah and I looked up from the tube to see that Andrew had given Evan the wheel and he was in charge! Alex had a go on the tube as well and of course, big brother Andrew did his very best to fling her off it. She managed to hang on for quite a while though. Andrew did some wakeboarding and made it look so easy! Then Paul tried and could barely stand up on it. Evan was much more successful and managed not only to stand up but to ride the board for a few minutes. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get any pictures of it but it was quite impressive! It was all a lot of fun and something that we would never do at home. By lunch time, we were all pretty hungry and they took us to Cracker Barrel, somewhere we had never been before. The cousins hung out on the porch. Then we all had huge breakfasts! We did try the grits but weren't impressed. The biscuits, however, were fantastic. After that, we were all pretty stuffed. Huntsville is where a lot of space craft are developed and built and there is a really cool Space and Rocket Center there. Andrew wanted to see it as well so he came with us. We had a good couple of hours wandering around and looking at all the kit, trying some of it out. They also have the Pathfinder Orbiter on display - a shuttle simulator that was used to work out how to move it. It's huge! Inside, there is a mock up of the International Space Station and various simulators. We were quite relieved that the G Force simulator was out of action so that we could legitimately avoid it without seeming like big jessies . . . Andrew had fallen about laughing at our tale of Sonic Shenanigans and vowed to show us how to "do Sonic right." So we called for drinks on the way back and he ordered them quite easily and they arrived to the car. So now we've at least had a successful Sonic order. And very nice it was too. Back at house, we sat on the deck and chatted over a couple of beers before having burgers cooked on the grill. It was a really lovely evening and we had lots of laughs. We also met Mammo, who is Margi's Mom and is the tiniest, cutest Japanese lady. We were so glad that we had finally gotten around to visiting Huntsville as Geoff and Margi made us so welcome and really looked after us. __________________ West Coast July - August 2014, Howdy Texas! August 2015, Rocking in the Rockies July - August 2016, Bier, Bratwurst und Bahnsteige: Berlin 2017, Touring Tennessee 2017, Expedition East Coast 2018, Hola! Madrid 2019, Great Lakes Grooving 2019, It's Czech, Mate, Prague 2022, Veni, Vidi, Edi, Bibi Italy 2022