This post should have been published in November. WordPress failed me on this one and two others!
Anyway, about a week after our trip to Savannah, we traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee, on a Friday afternoon. Neither Hubby nor I had been there before, but there was one more conference to attend this year.
According to one blog I reviewed, our first must-do was a visit to the Sunsphere, a leftover time capsule from the 1982 World’s Fair. We walked a few blocks from the Crowne Plaza Hotel, bought a ticket online with my phone, and were escorted into the elevator to the viewing deck in just a matter of minutes.
There were warning signs inside the elevator about jumping, with the promise of “>1 hour wait” for rescue from a stuck elevator. The sign made jumping such a temptation!
Knoxville’s leaves were changing color with gusto this last week of October. We meandered through the park and then headed to Market Square for dinner at Not Watson’s. Not overstuffed by our salad and power wrap at Not Watson’s, we headed to busy Gay St. for ice cream at famed Cruze Farm Dairy.
Saturday was the farmer’s market on Market Square. The dawn was so beautiful that we decided to visit the market and then walk an urban trail from the World’s Fair Park to the river and south along its bank.
Hubby and I enjoyed perusing the wares, purchasing mushroom coffee, homemade caramels (twice), goat’s milk soap, and local artwork.
Then we cut back through hills and dales and stairs of the immaculately kept campus of the University of Tennessee to find a Starbucks.
The next morning, a friend joined us on our 2-mile walk. We again chose the urban trail that starts at the World’s Fair Park, but at the river, we turned north. That pleasant walk ended with a Starbucks stop as well.
Hubby spent the next two days at a conference with an occasional break for a walk and food. One afternoon, we shopped Gay St., spending more time than is wise at the Mast General Store and enjoying street tacos at Chivo Taqueria.
Chivo’s tacos were so tasty that I went back the next day without hubby for 1 brisket, 1 fish, and 1 fried avocado taco. YUM!
I can also recommend the shrimp poke bowl at Kabuki on Market Square.
All in all, Knoxville is a lovely place. It lacks sufficient travel options from the airport, as many conference-goers did attest, and it is still a little “scruffy,” a word that reporters used to describe the city when it was chosen to host the World’s Fair in 1982.
