7-24-16 kayaking in Oak Ridge and wandering around the UT botanical garden:

Ken actually suggested we all go kayaking!  He thought if there was a gentle enough slope, he could easily get in the kayak.  So we headed to a river in Oak Ridge where the "kids" had rented kayaks before.  Only when we got there, Ken changed his mind and didn't want to kayak----said his knee was hurting.  Since we were here already, he told us to go on and he'd wait for us.  So we did!  I had a 1 person kayak and the "kids" had a 2 person kayak.  Since it was cheaper to rent for 4 hours then for 2, we did that.
I got in my kayak and waited for Tim and Faith to join me.

 And we're off!

 a selfie with Tim.

Ken actually took a few pictures of us from the shore.

Across the river from where we put in was this interesting cove.

 Too bad the picture doesn't pick up the wild flowers very well that were growing along the shore in the cove.

 There were even some birds.  I believe these are coots.

 cattails and flowers.

 We could see lots of little fish in this shallow cove, too.

 heading out of the cove and back onto the river.

 We could even see the mountains as we paddled this way. 

 We got the brilliant idea to paddle up to Calhoun's and have a light lunch.  Ken met us there.  Only problem was there was nowhere to get out of the kayaks.  The shoreline was all rocks and the boat docks were about head level.  So we just continued on with our kayaking.

We went up to the bridge, then headed back.  Ken took our picture from a distance.

 Checked out the cove again.  By now we had been kayaking about 2 hours.  Don't know about them, but my arms were getting a bit sore by the time we got back.  I'm surprised they didn't bother me the next day!

  Ken was back at the rental place taking our picture as we made our way back.

 It was another hot day in Tennessee---upper 90s.  It didn't seem too bad on the river, but we were ready for an ice cream when we got back to the car.  So we headed to one of those serve yourself places where you pay by the weight of the sundae.  It hit the spot!
Back to the house to clean up and get some dry clothes on, then we took off to another favorite activity of mine---wandering around a botanical garden.  There's a really nice free one at the University of Tennessee.

 As an added benefit, Tim was able to capture a bunch of locations in his online game---not Pokemon, but the preceding game made by those programmers.  I forget the name of it (Ingress, maybe?).  Originally the places to capture were history oriented.  Later players were able to suggest other locations.  So he enjoyed running around the gardens, too.

 The only one that wasn't too thrilled was Ken.  He parked himself in the shade and waited for us.
It is a beautiful garden!

 Thought this was a swallowtail until I realized it doesn't have the elongated tail.  Perhaps a Blue Morph?  I've never seen a Blue Morph in the wild, only in a butterfly house.

 Faith pointing out the interesting planters.

Love all the brilliantly colored flowers.

The shelter Ken hung out at.

 Looks like we were there at peak season for many of the flowers, too.

 UT squirrel!

 Lots of areas to sit and enjoy the gardens.

 Some Canadian geese even decided to call this home.

 One of my favorite channels, HGTV, is home here, too.  The kids even tried to get on House Hunters but HGTV waited a little too long to contact them.

 another interesting planter---the back of the truck.

 They were even growing vegetables.  Wonder why our tomatoes never grew like that!

 interesting artwork.

 more roses.

 so many different kinds of roses.

 Some of my favorites---tropical flowers.

 a newer section of the garden.  Behind this they're building a childrens play area. 

Love the heart sculpture.

 By now Ken was texting me and saying it was time to go.  So I found my way back.  Saw these on my way out.  Loved the bark on these trees.  Reminds me a bit of rainbow eucalyptus only not as colorful.

 It was time to go eat.  So we went to Sunspot in downtown Knoxville.  Again the food was very good---I just got a burger, but it really hit the spot.

 Back at the kids' house, I took a walk through their little forest (their back lot)

 Tim even mowed a path through it.

 Jesse sure likes his new back yard.  I don't blame him!!!

 A few of the pears in their back yard.  Originally they had peaches and apples and a bunch of other stuff, too, but the critters seem to be helping themselves to a lot of it.

Spent the evening watching a Netflix movie.  They've learned to live without dish or cable.  With the way prices have exploded for dish and cable, Netflix and digital tv are a very good alternative.  It would be nice to have Netflix for our place in St. Louis, but we don't have internet there!  I believe they have Roku, too, but I don't know that much about it.
It was another great visit.  The 3 nights went way too fast!