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Archive for go – Page 2

go . Main Street Trolley

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I’m excited to share the first post of photos and images from our recent Fall Break trip to Memphis. We’ve visited Memphis several times, mainly to enjoy the zoo and Mud Island, but we’ve always stayed on the outskirts. This year, I decided I wanted to give the kids a little more of an urban downtown experience. So, I booked our rooms at the Marriott Spring Hill Suites right on Main Street at Court Square (I definitely recommend it). One of the big draws for me in choosing that hotel was the back door access to the Downtown Trolley. The backyard of the hotel is the Court Square park space — another plus, but I’ll share more evidence of that later.

The Memphis light-rail Downtown trolley system has operated since the 1993. The system runs as the last line of Memphis’ original streetcar system, which closed in 1947. The vintage trolleys are from around the world and are each over 40 years old, but have each been restored with brass seats, transom windows, antique fixtures and hardware. The restoration makes for a sufficiently rickety and ambient-filled ride through the Downtown area. We spent our trolley rides on the Main Street line moving up and down the thoroughfare with the sound of bells, wheel lurches and cranking metal. Dark wood, rotating seats, brass window latches and watching for our stop, it was enough like an old-fashioned train ride to intrigue the kids. When we chose to walk instead of ride, the fun came in watching for the trolley and trying to gain the driver’s attention to elicit a beep of the horn. We all cheered when several drivers obliged.

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go . Farmer’s Market Saturday

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There’s my breakfast on this Wednesday morning. It’s a slice of homemade pecan bread with a drizzle of honey and a few shake-shakes of grated parmesan cheese. Yeah, I can’t explain the combination, but it’s good. Soft and a little crusty from the toaster. Nutty and yeasty. Tangy and sweet washed down with a tall glass of iced water. And it probably tastes better because I’m eating it on the patio to the tune of about 65 birds hopping and chirping and foraging and tweeting in the old-fashioned way.

I bought the bread on Saturday at the Starkville Community Market, our local farmer’s market. It opened for the summer last weekend, and I enjoyed getting to check it out. I’ve been designing promotional elements for the Market this year to incorporate a new look with some of the original graphics, and I’ve been hearing some of the plans for the season and excitement from the new Market Manager. It was fun to get to see some of those plans get started for the kick-off weekend. My children decided to sleep in with the company of their grandparents, so I was able to visit the Market with just my camera and some cash in hand for must-haves. And, of course, I found some in the markets-are-more-than-veggies section. I bought us two kinds of bread — the pecan bread and a beautiful sour dough loaf, along with fresh strawberries, homemade whole wheat pasta, grape jelly, handmade soap and some all-natural citrus cleaning liquid. I also took in a culinary demonstration from one of our local chefs — a delicious strawberry & honey basil yogurt dip served with fresh bread. The kids are now convinced that they need to wake up for the adventure next Saturday morning!

Enjoy this glimpse of market finds, and I hope you’ll also enjoy the growing season in a farmer’s market in your area. In MY neck of the pond, the Starkville Community Market is open Saturday mornings from May to August at the corner of Lampkin and Jackson Streets in Downtown Starkville. See you there!

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