Lee
and Karen Duquette
drove from Lebanon TN
to Nashville, TN
to take their 33rd Segway tour
June 2, 2022 |
Along the way,
Karen Duquette quickly snapped photos of things she likes to call "big
oddities". But sometimes, she is not sure exactly where the
photos were taken, especially if they were quickly taken out the window
of a moving car or RV. If you know the location of these photos, please
sign the Guestbook at the bottom of most pages, and tell them the location
(mention the page). Thank you. A big list of big oddities can be seen
by clicking here and scrolling
down to oddities. But if you go there, be sure to return here to finish
this page. |
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Below: A Rest
area off I-40 East at mile marker 73, Jackson, Tennessee. |
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Below: Lee and Karen Duquette
would love to know more about this giant spear shown below, but they
could not find out any information on it. If you know about it, please
sign the Guestbook button below with the information. Thank you. |
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Below: Walking around Nashville,
Tennessee before their Segway tour, Karen Duquette snapped some interesting
photos. |
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Below: An amazing paint
job on a semi. |
Below: The "East" mural by
local artists
covers more than 4,500 square feet
of the parking garage at 5th & Woodland
in Nashville, Tennessee. |
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Below: The Musicians Hall
of Fame and Museum honors all musicians regardless of genre or instrument.
The timeline starts with the beginning of recorded music. Inductees
are nominated by current members of the American Federation of Musicians
and by other music industry professionals. It was closed at the time
Lee and Karen Duquette were here. It did not cost to enter, on this
date. |
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Below: Lee and Karen Duquette
arrived a bit early for their Segway tour, so they relaxed a bit at
Church Street Park, 600 Church Street in Nashville. It is downtown Nashville's
slice of a green oasis in the urban core. The park offers a respite
for all Nashvillians and visitors, with seating and tables and a variety
of free events. All of the programs at Church Street Park are provided
by local small businesses and non profits. Nothing was happening when
Lee and Karen Duquette were here. |
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Below: Lee Duquette liked
the painting on this side of this building, but it did not impress Karen
Duquette. She thought it was ugly and old looking. Everyone sees art
in their own way. |
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Below: Tall
buildings and great reflections on the buildings. |
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Below: Then it was finally
time for Lee and Karen Duquette's 33rd Segway tour. This time at iRide
Nashville Segway of Tennessee. Stephen was the guide. A bottle of water
was supplied to them, which is NOT always the case on Segway tours. |
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Occasionally, Lee and Karen
Duquette asked Stephen to take a photo, and he did. But Karen Duquette
was disappointed that not enough photos were taken on this tour, because
they did not stop often enough. Plus looking at the slideshow on the
Guided Segway Tour of Downtown Nashville site, Karen noticed a lot of
places they did NOT get to see. It is not always possible for Lee and
Karen Duquette to get back to the missed places later. Sometimes, they
have already booked something else later, sometimes they can not find
the places, and sometimes Lee Duquette has other plans. It does not
matter, because they both enjoy whatever they get to see and do, and
quickly forget about what they did not. Life is too short too worry,
or be upset. And Lee and Karen Duquette know that they are blessed to
be able to do all the things they do. |
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Below: The Tennessee State
Capitol stands today much as it did when it first opened in 1859, and
is a magnificent tribute to the people of Tennessee. This graceful structure
was designed by noted architect William Strickland who considered it
his crowning achievement. When Strickland died suddenly during construction
in 1854, he was buried in the north facade of the Capitol.
The cornerstone for the building was laid on July 4, 1845, and construction
finished in 1859. The grounds of the State Capitol contain statues honoring
Sam Davis, Sgt. Alvin York, and Presidents Andrew Jackson and Andrew
Johnson. The tombs of President and Mrs. James K. Polk are also located
on the Capitol grounds. |
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Below: When you are on the
highway and it says that Nashville is 37 miles away, it means you are
37 miles from the marker shown below, which notes, "Distances
on state highways measured from this point." TDOT placed this
marker at Bicentennial Mall State Park when it opened in 1996.
The original Zero Milestone was placed on May 12, 1924 at the corner
of Union Street and Sixth Ave. in Downtown. Later it was relocated in
front of the highway department's new building on Charlotte Ave. Later,
a new TDOT building was built and this multi-ton stone was misplaced.
The new zero milestone seen here was added to the park after an extensive
search for the original yielded no results. |
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This 19 acre park in the heart
of Nashville serves as a monument to the bicentennial celebration of
the State of Tennessee. Location is 600 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville. |
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Below: Lee
and Karen Duquette, and their guide, rode their Segways over a giant
road map. |
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Below: Tennessee WW II Memorial |
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To honor Tennesseans that
served and perished during WWII, this memorial features several components.
Focus of the plaza is a 8-ton solid granite globe, engraved with countries
during the 1940s. Lines stretch from Tennessee to distant destinations
of the global conflict. The globe at the time of placement was the largest
such engraved ball. It rotates in all directions on thin cushion of
water. |
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Below: A 2800 square foot
granite plaza contains ten vertical pylons, each with engraved images
from war time years. The panels on the east side recall events to the
east (Europe and North Africa), and panels on the west recall events
to the west (Pacific). Text below the images inform visitors of the
history of the conflict and how Tennessee and its soldiers and citizens
contributed to the national effort to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial
Japan. |
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Lee and Karen Duquette were
the only two people on this Segway tour (which has happened more often
than not). So they were given a small amount of free-wheeling time here
at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. But Stephen said he usually
does not support free-wheeling time, but given the fact the Lee and
Karen Duquette have had a lot of Segway experience, he allowed it this
time. |
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